We moved to…
PARIS!!
That’s right! Nearly three years after our first expat adventure took us to Ireland, we’ve packed up and hopped a little further to Paris, France.
To say this move has been an adjustment would be a massive understatement. Back in 2016, I thought the transition from California to Ireland was a big deal (and it was), but, in retrospect, Ireland was like having expat training wheels.
Right now, the learning curve in Paris feels so much steeper. This is the first time we have…
- Lived in a non-English speaking country (we are learning, but neither of us speaks much French, yet)
- Lived in a large city (we’ve always opted for the suburbs, but we are now in the heart of the city)
- Relied heavily on public transportation in our daily lives
Truthfully, there has been a lot to navigate and some heavy things in our life the last few months…. The lengthy paperwork process involved with moving to a new country, the adventure of finding and furnishing an apartment, a major plumbing leak just a few weeks after moving in and learning all about the insurance process here, feelings of isolation in a new place where I struggle to communicate, the death of our beloved pet and a death in our family that had us on a last-minute flight back to the US.
It has been hard, but we are remembering our travel rules – which are just as important in everyday life as they are when navigating airports. Each day we are moving forward and choosing happiness.
And there is so much to be happy about.
We absolutely love living in Paris where we can…
- Step out our door and be sipping wine at a sidewalk café in minutes
- Have spur-of-the-moment date nights at the Louvre
- Look up and see the Eiffel Tower on the walk home from the grocery store
- Take easy train trips all over France and Europe
- Wake up every morning excited about what we will learn and experience
It’s hard to believe we have already been in Paris for 4 months. This time of transition has kept me quiet, both here on the blog and on social media. But, I’m settling in and getting ready to share again.
I still have loads of stories and tips to share about traveling and living in Ireland. There’s been plenty of trips to Amsterdam, Belgium, Prague and more that I can’t wait to post about. And, I’ll be getting honest about the joys and sorrows of expat life.
I hope you’ll come along for this next stage in our European adventure. And, follow along on Instagram, where I’m sharing some of my favourite travel photos as well as peeks into our daily life in France. And, don’t forget to check out my Pinterest page where I round up some of my favourite travel articles and destination inspiration.
