How do you move to France from the USA? Lots of people are asking! We did this in April of 2024, after at least 3 years of planning. Find out what the steps are, how we did it and where to find the answers online and in our past videos…
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Hi! We are An and Jeff Scott, two happily retired septuagenarians from the USA, who had a dream. That dream was to retire in France. So, we sold most of our “stuff”, packed and shipped the rest, and with our bossy little Yorkie, Bella, said “goodbye” to the USA. In 2024, we moved from the sunny coast of southwest Florida to the sunny coast of the south of France, to enjoy our “golden years” and embrace the “joie de vivre” available to us, here in beautiful Nice, France.
Moving from the USA to a foreign country was no small “project”. Through our videos, we’ve been taking you through the Long Stay Visa process, the packing, the purging, the moving, searching for an apartment, creating a great Dossier, learning the way things are done administratively in France, and sharing the steps, talking about what we’ve learned and the ups and the downs.
And now, we continue to share our life, our new life, here in Nice, getting settled, adjusting to the “French” way of doing things, dealing with the French “red tape”, reveling in the beauty of the world around us…and all the while, making every wonderful day in Nice, the best day ever…
SUBSCRIBE, FOR FREE, to our channel and come with us!
Here’s a link to a great step-by-step webinar/instructional video on how to renew your VLS-TS Long Stay Visitor Visa – https://youtu.be/JDf4J64a0KY?si=uhdHzV-JnljzEG13
MUSIC CREDITS: (Most of our music comes from the artists of Epidemic Sound)
Skip To Sunshine by Medite
Most of our videos are shot with An’s Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Smartphone and a circular ring light, as needed.
34 Comments
Bonjour An! ❤
Bonjour An. Everyone who is listening now or in the future… who want to move to Nice, Listen To An! I moved to Nice in October 2024. I followed her videos while in the States on getting the Visa. Although I found my apartment on my own, I still follow An for each and every ongoing step(s) of what I need to do here to be legit. Whenever I have a new administrative procedure to complete, I don't panic, I simply find An's video on the subject. I can't thank you enough An. Thank you.
good effort but audio level is too low and somewhat echoy
Thank you An and Jeff for documenting all of the steps in your process. Your Youtube videos that you’ve curated have been so helpful to me as I am preparing my move to Nice❤. Merci!
An, I just have to leave another comment about how beautiful you are today! You look so rested and refreshed. Nice looks so good on you!
Bonjour An. A few questions for you and Jeff. Do you know anyone doing the 90 days in and 90 days out (Schengen shuffle) as to not apply for a visa if taxation on worldwide income is a concern? Wishing Jeff a speedy recovery
Hi An. 👋 Jen here from sunny Jupiter FL. My husband and I have been watching your videos from the beginning. We have 5 more years until we retire. Until then, we continue to save money, reduce our belongings, and learn French.😊 Enjoy your day in France!
Good video! Not live per se, but an actually more efficient way of answering questions youve been asked! Thanks for referencing your others on specific subjects and the link on renewing the visa.
The application process itself doesn't worry me as much as having to coordinate disengaging from the house I own, get rid of my last remaining furniture and car, and get my diabetic dog cleared to come (and find a place that accommodates both of us well). But my biggest concern is that, being in my now very late 70s, moving there alone, how would I cope if some unforeseen health event happened. You and Jeff are hugely lucky to have each other there!
Oh yeah: just what does the Visa requirement concerning health insurance mean by repatriation coverage? Does that mean repatriation of your remains if you die or repatriation of yourself in case you become seriously ill? I think if I move to France, I would want to stay there until I die, and wouldn't want me (or my remains) to be returned to the United States if I got to the point of needing a nursing home (this would be another good subject for you to address in a video, if you've considered that prospect). And I'm also not clear on what it neans abiut having $30000 (I think) of no deductible coverage. Does no deductible mean no copay? My BCBS, which I use as a Medicare supplement, would still work in France, but I don't know that it would cover repatriation of remains. Is there an insurance that provides only that?
Hope Jeff gets well soon!!!
I luv your videos so inspiring! Too many negative Nellys discourage my move.
Thank you An for this video. I had planned on validating my visa as soon as I get to my airbnb. I didn't know they sent a letter to the address you give them. I thought the appointment for OFII was sent via email.
Thank you Ann, It was so detailed and helpful.
You are looking better and better. Nice looks good on you and your apartment now looks like a home.
Happy living
A few questions, please. In previous videos you talked about making three copies of each document for the VFS appointment–how many did you actually need to provide? You also talked about name change documents due to marriage/divorce–did you need to provide those? Lastly, were pension certificates sufficient or did you have to show bank statements, too? I realize you can speak only about your experience and cannot anticipate what other people may need. Thank you!
Great video as always, An! I hope Jeff feels better. I love seeing y’all and Bella enjoying your new life in Nice! ❤ 🐾 🇫🇷
Thank you for this excellent explanation of visa process. We are dual us/italy citizens and are looking to retire in Nice. Could you tell us what section of Nice you chose to live and is it walkable for a couple of seniors. Thank you so much An. I so enjoy your site!
That was a great video Ann. For me hearing about the financial part and apartment hunt was most helpful.
Bonjour An & Jeff
Hopefully Jeff will get better very soon. Thanks An for an another excellent vlog.
I am French-speaking Canadian and wish following your exemple, when retiting in 2 years.
I admire your tenacity and courage, to begin another chapter of your life in a foreign country, where you don't have family. I have one family member and some good friends living near Paris, and still it will be a challenge for me moving abroad. So I watch your channel and some others to get the courage and motivation. ❤❤❤
I’m watching on 2/9, so hopefully Jeff is feeling better.
An thank you again for another wonderful video. This is so so helpful. You have laid out step by step how a senior can move from the USA to France. I have been following your journey since way back when and you have been a world of help for my husband and I. We are planning to move to Nice at the end of 2025 and we are so grateful to you and Jeff for helping us navigate the process. Sending Jeff my regards and a speedy recovery.
Excellent video, thank you.
EXCELLENT!! Thanks again!
Merci for the update!!! Love how happy you are with your move! I have also decided to live in or near NICE and look forward to inviting you to my place someday in the near future! (When I find it and get there! LOL) Enjoy a couple of glasses of wine on me now:)
Thanks!
Thanks for your time, An. Your video is very thorough.
THANKS FOR THE GREAT INFO AN!!!!!
FEEL BETTER JEFF!!!!
LOOKING FORWARD TO JOINING YOU IN FRANCE!!!!
LOVE TO YOU ALL, AND LOTS OF PETS TO BELLA!!!!
About the apartment hunt. How long after you signed the contract for the apartment were you able to move in? I know each situation will be different, but we are coming over at the beginning of April and we're trying to figure out approximatey how long we'll need alternate housing. We are using Adrian Leeds too.
Hello An,
I've been enjoying your videos so much! You are a wealth of information, and I like the way you present everything in such an organized way. My husband and I are considering a move to Nice, but there is one possible deal breaker that worries me. Do you happen to know if there is a way to ensure if my U.S. will would stay in force if I were to pass away while in France on a long-term visitor visa? I'm concerned about forced heirship since I'm concerned about my husband's well being over that of my adult children. I certainly understand if this out of your realm. Thank you!
Fantastic job, very well done! One thing that was unclear is that you mentioned when I arrive. I would have to validate my visa, but you didn't explain how. Could you please clarify that for me? Thanks!
Bonjour An, thanks for your video. I've been following along your journey and hope to move to Nice towards the end of the year. If I may ask, what was the final cost for moving your belongings? I'm not taking any furniture but I will have about the same number of boxes (60) and some medium size artwork so I'm just trying to get a ballpark figure at this stage for planning purposes.
Phenomenal presentation and walk thru, An. we are on a similar path to start the process. Isn’t there a requirement to have all documents like birth, marriage certificates all translated in French in the dossier we carry to the visa office on appointment day, or is it something we need to do in the first 3 months once we arrive there? I need to look up. Wonder how much it costs to get mutuelle? Will check your other videos, you recommended. Merci!
As a couple of other people said, your audio levels were VERY low, and while sure, you can crank up your TV to maximum, all of the ads are then EXTREMELY loud. Best if you figure out the problem on YOUR end for your next videos.
My wife and I are in our 60’s; me in my early 60’s and she’s four year older now in her second half of her 60’s. We're planning on retiring and moving to Europe in the next year or two.
We're very lucky, though. She's German born and raised, and was able to reclaim her German citizenship a few years ago, so she's now a US/German dual citizen. She can literally just show up in France and work, or not work, or whatever. EVERYONE in France is required to have health insurance, and obviously, it is a good idea to have, but since she doesn’t actually need to check in with anyone, no one actually checks that she HAS insurance.
I'm trying to see if I can get Polish citizenship by descent based on my grandfather, which would make things easier, but as the spouse of an EU citizen, the process for me is VERY different than most other US citizens trying to move to France. I do NOT get a long-stay visa in advance, and just show up with the normal non-visa Schengen visa. Then, I have to go to the local prefecture with a bit of paperwork, like my passport and such, my marriage certificate, proof of insurance, proof of income (and/or spouse’s income), and then while it obviously isn’t instant, I can get a residence permit of up to 5 years (depending on how long my spouse plans on staying) and supposedly, while they're processing, I get a temporary card.
So like any EU citizen, I can live and work, start a business, etc.
We're not quite sure where we want to go, though. My wife has family in Germany and wants to be close to them, so we're thinking perhaps the Strasbourg area (since I much prefer France for a lot of reasons), but neither of us have ever been there. Been to Paris a number of times, and I'd love to live there, but real estate is even worse than in LA where we live now. We'd like something at least the size of what we have now, which is a roughly 100 sm condo, and that's going to be at least several hundred grand more than what our similar place in LA is worth.
One major concern is that we have five cats, and we wouldn’t want to stick them in a cage in the cargo hold for a 10+ hour flight, and most airlines allow one pet per person (you can sometimes take two if they fit together in a single carrier comfortably) and only two in the entire cabin. We're afraid it is going to take us several back and forth trips, and/or having her family come from Germany to LA, then fly back with cats on a different flight.
BTW, another good thing (and PART of why I'd prefer France to Germany) is that I took French from 1st grade through 12th grade, and then German from 9th grade through 12th. I've definitely forgotten quite a bit; we used to read classic French literature (Balsac and such) and write reports on it. But there's definitely a lot of day-to-day and just general conversation that's missing or forgotten.
So I don’t consider myself fluent by any means, and I test poorly because my spelling in French is terrible these days, and I’m awful at those “fill in the word” questions even in English, but I can get along doing things like trying to buy a laptop charger, or talking to a flight attendant about our failing number 2 engine (long story – our flight home last time got turned around). My French is still significantly better than my German, though. And my wife speaks absolutely NO French other than a few words she's picked up from me (she pronounces it completely wrong, but she knows the word “merde”).
Almost forgot… there are English versions of French sites, but also, most browsers can automatically translate French sites into English. Doesn’t always work perfectly, but… that's always an option for when there ISN’T an English language site, or when the English site is different and things don’t work.
Also, fun fact… French health insurance pays a higher rate in Alsace by law. I forget the numbers, but something like 90% instead of 80%.
I've also seen and read that another plus of having a “mutuelle” is that a lot of doctors may not want to take you on as a new patient, or not have appointments for months, if you just have the standard French insurance, but may be more likely to take you on and/or magically find a free appointment if you have a mutuelle.
As for social security always being there, the current administration is trying to decimate it.
And most people don’t have a PENSION but rather a 401K or other type of retirement plan, which is somewhat different, and not quite guaranteed and usually, based on the particular investments. Considering that the current administration seems to almost be TRYING to kill the stock market, even 401K retirement plans aren’t necessarily guaranteed.
Curious… how your French skills are, and whether you've taken a language test (which, by the way, you can take BEFORE you come to France from a number of places that are approved).
HALLELUJAH AN! Thank YOU! So clear. <3
What a great video! Exactly what I was looking for even though I will be travelling from the U.K.
I realise some things might be slightly different but it really helps to hear it face to face. Thank you!
**Big Question**
What are your thoughts and concerns about this?
I've been investigating a similar relocation.
Suddenly, I am quite concerned about the talk and possibilities regarding social security, our current administration, and what I've always thought was a guarantee, which now might not be a guarantee.
Feedback much appreciated from an elderly relying on social security.
Thank you so much for the lengthy, detailed and pertinent info-very grateful.