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How do the general population treat senior citizens?

Regarding the bank account for Americans: I moved to Paris for a couple of years in 1972. I took a cashier's check from my American bank and had a bank account established within an hour or so. No problem at all. Also, to me it seems that some of that information should have come from your husband, who you said is French.

Le problème des langues... Il y a un pays, que je connais, ou c'est épique Au Japon! Avoir une tête d'européen fait de vous un américain. Parler quelques mots de japonais les ravis. Même si leur anglais est "spécial", beaucoup d'entre eux refuseront d'essayer de le parler. Et il arrive aussi que des occidentaux parlant le japonais ne soient pas compris de certains d'entres eux. Il y a un blocage cérébrale qui s'il était inconcevable qu'un européen puisse parler japonais. S'il y a un asiatique dans un groupe et qu'il ne parle pas japonais. Ils pourraient ne parler qu'à l'asiatique en japonais même s'il ne le parle pas et que c'est un occidental du groupe qui le parle. Et quand vous dites que vous êtes français, les gens sont ravis et vous parle de Napoléon, Louis XIV et de la mode. Les français et les japonais partagent un amour mutuel pour leurs cultures réciproques.

Excellent video.

Il n'y a que deux façons de parler couramment le français : vivre en France ou rester à la maison et trouver une petite amie française. i have spent 20 years studying french and i am that person you were. i am proud of what i know but i know i will never be totally fluent.

Thank you, Karen, for your helpful video. Mostly appreciated 🙏 My husband and I are retiring at the beginning of 2025 and planning to move to France sometime in September, where we have some family and friends. We'll then start gathering the paperwork and apply for the VLS-TS. Any advice on which health insurance would be a great choice to purchase price wise and affordable?

Really enjoyed this, Karen! You’ve nailed some of the biggest surprises about moving to France - the bank account and driver’s license process can be such a headache. It’s great to hear how you’re navigating it all with flexibility and patience. As someone who works with expats, I know these tips will help a lot of people. Keep sharing your journey, it’s so relatable!

I've been telling people that at my age, learning French is like trying to push a cucumber into a brick. An awful lot of the cucumber ends up on the floor.

What a nice video. I was struck at the end when you talking about accent. My French is still pretty terrible, but as I am kind of a myna bird, my accent is FANTASTIC! So I enter a shop or something with a polished sentence set up and ready to go, do so in my superb accent, and of course then the recipient hammers away in hyper French that I cannot understand more than 10% of. Then we both laugh when I explain, "c'est tout" that was it!

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Scissors, pliers, pants -- English also has "false" plurals.

Typically American ignorance

Money = argent = silver ! Too easy...

43 here, married to a French person too, and been in France since 2020 (yeah, that year was hard, lol). It's not my first time living abroad, actually me and my spouse met and got married in a 3rd country, so we learned to really rely on each other because we had no support system there. While in the 3rd country, we were expats, and yes we did tend to run in expat groups, but it wasn't fulfilling at all, because of the transient nature of expats, everyone wants to make friends as quickly as possible, but no one wanted lasting friendships, it's also why it was extremely rare for the locals to want to be friends with expats because they knew you would leave, I was able to make some lasting friendships from that experience, but none of them are here in France. Fortunately my spouse has a really good friend group here in France and they accepted me with open arms, and they are ok that my French is coming very slowly, though they do forget I'm still learning and talk really fast and only use English if they think I'm not getting it at all. But it's not the same as having friends that have had similar experiences to you, it can be very lonely sometimes when the only people you know are people from that country, they laugh at jokes you don't get because you don't know the cultural references (sometimes they explain them, sometimes they say it's complicated and never explain), they were raised in a different culture so sometimes they don't understand your perspective, things like that, and since Ile-de-France is a very big region, sometimes we only see people in this friend group 3-4 times a year because they have their own lives and families and responsibilities, and no one is in my town or close enough where we can visit whenever, every thing has to be planned sometimes months in advance (which reminds me I have to remind my Frenchies about us hosting Thanksgiving soon, lol). But I've also been super hesitant to make friends within the immigrant (from Anglophone countries) community and/or expat community here, maybe I'm biased or have a prejudice or something, or bad memories of trying really hard to make real friends in those groups in the other country I lived in and them all mostly being superficial. Like I do want to be considered an immigrant that actually tried to integrate and not the kind that only associated with people from my home country or only speak my native language (there are immigrants/expats in many countries that are like this, English speakers in France are sometimes no different), I met those in that 3rd country who had been there for FIFTEEN years and never really learned the native language well and only associated with people that spoke their native language, and I know there are groups like that here too. But it's also hard because I do miss being able to speak in English without having to repeat myself constantly and understand certain things about the culture I grew up in without having to explain myself, like I don't want to lose the good things about my culture, I want to integrate but I DON'T want to assimilate

Lovely video, full of great ideas. I wish I'd had this kind of direction when I moved to London for a year in my early 20s. I'm in shock that you're in your 50s, as you look to be mid-30s! Your hutzpah in moving to a new country, becoming fluent in French, and also getting married now, is pure inspiration. Loving this channel; please do more! Merci! 😊

So happy to see you back on RUclips. :-) Very interesting topic and useful tips, as always. You are a true inspiration. Big hugs from Hungary! :-)

I am French and have lived in Missouri and in Texas and I had to take the driving licence exam again (theory and driving tests).

This is a brilliantly stark, honest, but inspiring representation of the true struggles of language learning (but also how one can overcome those struggles). It was incredibly validating to hear that someone else had had the same experience as me with the "oh you speak x language, when we're in x country you'll be able to sort everything". I'd been learning French academically for maybe 4 years, so my writing and reading were at a decent level, as was my understanding of basic grammar (tenses, agreements etc.). Yet, similar to you, I couldn't complete a task as basic as ordering in a café, or finding a bus! My listening comprehension was ok with pre recorded clips, pronounced slowly and clearly, specifically made for language learners - but when it was native speakers talking in an everyday situation, I was completely and utterly lost. I also couldn't speak for the life of me; forming sentences on the fly was difficult and terrifying. This of course seems crazy to a non language learner who might think "well if you've learnt French for 4 years, why can't you speak it?" Well I'm glad to say that, although I'm still learning, I've finally started to notice the progress from immersing myself in the country (moving to France to study abroad) and constantly listening to the language. A lot of it is about mindset. Some people will say that mindset is a "wishy washy" topic, but in fact I think it would be a terrible idea for anyone to ignore it. When you remind yourself of the small wins you are having daily, that intrinsically motivates you to continue. Language learning is a brutal thing. Really, it's unfair how difficult it is. For so long, there can be so little reward for so much effort (especially if your mindset is wrong). It's incredibly likely that someone could learn 1000-2000 words in a language and still not be able to speak it - and learning that many words isn't quick and easy. They could also learn every tense inside out and still not understand a single word when listening; native speakers are just simply too quick for them to understand. If this was a video game, nobody would want to play it, because why waste 100s of hours for seemingly no reward? You're also probably not even getting paid for that time. But the fact that language learning is so objectively and undeniably unfair, is one of the things I find most profoundly rewarding. It's unfairly difficult, yes, but when those breakthroughs do start to come - well there isn't a feeling like it on earth. To be able to connect with other people in a different country, and understand another culture on a deep and intrinsic level is one of the gifts of the human experience. That's what makes me love language learning.

Merci I parce que vous … I just committed to a on line Session with my long ago French teacher 💋💋

Sorry but the French government no longer allows people to come to France except beautiful women

yes I am researching and looking into living in South of France but I need to visit different areas. Do you have a realtor that can help me find a place Rental not to purchase. Glad I found your you tube channel.

Hi there, you look like someone who once worked at a place called Upstairs at Greene st.NYC....not sure you're the same!

Thanks so much for mentioning the Driving Facebook group! Glad it was helpful for you!

Would you share the name of the bank that opened an account for you? Also where do you reside in France ? Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed your info and your presentation.

That is so true about starting any conversation with french people with Bonjour. One time in a supermarket I started with asking my question without saying Bonjour and the employee said D'abord Bonjour 😊😊

What about if you are a RUclipsr?

I loved this Saga Madame! You reminded me of my friend Celine who had to take it4 times and got it with tranquilizerss prescribed by her GP!

J ai trouvé vos informations utiles! I smiley when you mentioned the driver's license and the banks.... I am also a sworn in translator.

I totally agree with you about having a teacher. i took French "lessons" for several years after not speaking French since college - a 50 year gap! I would meet my Prof at a French restaurant and we would speak French for an hour. My French was probably better than her English. She was a Sorbonne-educated Parisian who had lived in several English-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries with her French family. We also both spoke Spanish and would occasionally go to a French exhibit at a museum or a French restaurant together. We became good friends and our conversations became more personal but always took place at a deep level. She did not use any kind of slang whatsoever - I never heard her use the work 'truc"! I was amazined, and so was she, at how much my French inproved. She moved back to France about a year ago and I did not want to Zoom, but I was introduced by a friend to a young woman who grew up in Belgium and lived near me. We became friends and every week we woud get together and speak French for an hour. She was fluent in English and French but she was just a friend to whom I could speak French. She used slang all the time - but I am so much older and even my English is more formal than hers. She did NOT do what you have talked about a true teacher doing and I can tell I have lost a lot of ground. I could communicate but I did not feel challenged in any way. She recently moved back to Belgium and so I have to figure out what I am going to do next. I have been watching your videos because I can tell I am getting lazy about practice. Thanks for your suggestions and encouragement.

This was the most informative video I have found to date on moving to France! Merci.

You are an immigrant, no matter how many times you say “expat”.

Hi Karen, first of all I loved your video. It was so truthful about the ups and downs of learning language. I am currently at a level B2 and living in the south of France, where not very many people speak English, so it’s great for practicing. I realize that I am weak in conjugation and past tense verbs, would you suggest getting a book to study or getting a French teacher? Side note: within the next year or so I would like to start getting my masters in French so I realize that I need to up my French game before pursuing an education in France. Thank you in advance for any input you might have. Allison

These are many of the same issues you will encounter if you move to Germany, e.g. the hurdles to banking & investing which are the result of complex EU / U.S. DoT/IRS regulations. PS Don't feel insulted, but your French can be a touch hard to understand at times... It would have helped if you'd have put the administrative / technical terms up on the screen in writing to make it easier to follow you and do online searches afterwards for further clarification.

You're an inspiration.

I suspect that the examiners were judging how most beginner drivers are taught to drive a certain way. As the result, there are some nuances that they expect learner drivers to exhibit for safety that may be different from experienced drivers in terms of the way different manuevers are done, clearances between other cars, speed around objects, lane usage, and others. This may explain why the examiner took the wheel on your third test and failed you. There also could be ways of driving of how we encounter things that are different in france versus the USA too.

half of your video is dedicated to just point #1 , out of 6 points in total ..

Hi Karen, I used to live in France and when I was taking my driving test I was so nervous that I did the same thing,I did not stop on the red light because of the traffic lights being on the side instead of above…

"Merci de m'avoir rejoint" -> "Merci de m'avoir rejointe".

I'm very happy for you. In early 2022, I made the move from NYC to Paris for love, as well. And am going through the same driver's license hell you went through :-) Thanks for sharing your experience.

Thank you, Karen, for very useful and succinct information! In regard to the documents submittal for visa extension in France, do we (US) need to apostille each of them and if yes, at which point - English copies before translation in French or translated in French copies? I would appreciate your response. Thank you!

Thank you!

Great information. Wish I had seen this before I travelled to France.

Quick question: Is the residence training presented in French only? I'm thinking that many new arrivals speak little or no French and would get very little out of the program.

Hi Karen nice to meet you , my mane is Alisa my dream was same way I was thinking 😅 I am study French now here and there right now 😁 I am a hair style entrepreneur I like to do the same over there I am planing go visite next year. And plan to move if you have e any advice for me that will be appreciated.

Bonjour, belle Karen. Mille mercis!

Thank you so much ❤❤

Fortunately, I will be coming from a state with an exchange agreement with France, so I just have to deal with the admin side within the first year.

Amazing ❤❤❤

Merci beaucoup, cherie!

I agree that when you want to be good at a language, you need to practice it every day just a sport activity. I listen on a daily basis foreign language videos