Meet Jenifer and Mike, who moved from the USA to France and are LOVING life after renovating their dream home in Bordeaux!
📞 Book a FREE chat with us to explore your options about moving to France: https://bit.ly/46tvjMp
💼 Prefer a 1-to-1 consultation with our Founder, Richard?
The €90 fee is fully refunded when you move forward with any service.
👉 http://bit.ly/3Tr9OUZ
🇫🇷 See how we make moving to France easy: https://bit.ly/44d627U
Could moving to France help you build the life you’ve always dreamed of? For Jenifer and Mike from New Jersey, it meant reconnecting with French culture, food, and wine—and finding a beautiful apartment to renovate in the heart of Bordeaux.
In this episode of Real French Connections, host Lizzie O’Hara-Boyce is joined by Jenifer and Mike one year after their move from the USA to Bordeaux. With help from the team at French Connections HCB, they successfully navigated the visa process, connected with our trusted renovation team, and transformed an historic Bordeaux apartment into their dream home.
Now fully settled into life in Bordeaux, they share their love of antique fairs, cooking, wine tasting and the walkable charm of their Chartrons neighbourhood. They also reflect on their first experience of French life with their children in Lyon decades ago—and what it feels like to return to France as second-time expats.
In this video, Jenifer and Mike share how French Connections HCB helped with:
Visa support and relocation advice when moving to France from the USA
Connecting with French Connections HCB’s team of qualified artisans for their full apartment renovation
Communication, admin, and ongoing support throughout the entire project
They also reflect on:
Why they fell in love with Bordeaux (and how it compares to Lyon)
Living without a car thanks to great public transport and walkability
The joy of exploring La Cité du Vin and learning about wines of the world
French food markets, antiques, and cooking with seasonal local produce
Their journey on learning the language and making France feel like home again
Whether you’re dreaming of renovating in France, relocating or retiring to France or just want to see what daily life in Bordeaux really looks like, this story will inspire you to see what’s possible with the right support and how a new life in France might just be just what you’re looking for.
Chapters
00:00 – Meet Jenifer and Mike from the USA and learn about their French renovation project
02:55 – How French Connections HCB helped with Visas when moving to France from the USA
03:30 – Being introduced to the French Connections HCB team of artisan builders
08:35 – Settling into the Bordeaux lifestyle
09:17 – Enjoying the Brocante antiques fair in Bordeaux
10:13 – Living in Lyon for 6 years, falling in love with the culture, food and wine
11:10 – Placing their children in a French school without speaking French
14:33 – What made them choose Bordeaux
17:08 – The food, wine, walkability and transport system of Bordeaux
18:30 – Enjoying La Cité du Vin wineries
21:34 – The Sunday morning Bordeaux markets
23:32 – Discovering the beauty of Bordeaux
25:14 – Close proximity to Europe
26:18 – How important is learning to speak French
29:03 – Help from French Connections HCB with admin when moving to France from the USA
31:21 – Discovering the greenery, antiquities & wineries of Chartrons
36:22 – Wine tasting in La Cité du Vin
40:31 – François Didier’s 3D maps of the city of Bordeaux
41:49 – Final thoughts on living in Bordeaux
👋 Thinking of moving to France?
From a one-off solution to a full-service package. We’ve helped thousands of clients successfully settle in France. Everybody’s story is different, so our relocation services are tailored to your specific needs. From applying for a visa to setting up a business or renovating a property, our expert team can handle it all. https://bit.ly/4lextDZ
—
👉Watch Next:
Why This American Couple Moved to France at 70 | Life After Starting Over: https://youtu.be/oU4Bzdwewto
Ready to Retire or Move to France from the USA? Steps to Make It Happen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vhDMC-Njk0
Find French Connections HCB on Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frenchconnectionsHCB/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrenchConnectionsHCB/
Thank you for watching! 🌟
#MovingToFrance #LifeInFrance #AmericanExpat #RetireInFrance #AffordableLiving #FranceRelocation #FrenchConnectionsHCB #RuralFrance #ExpatStories #SimpleLifeFrance
16 Comments
We are Americans loving the French lifestyle in Provence. Congrats on your new home.
I went to Paris about two years ago and fell in love. I have friends that live about an hour outside of Paris. And I’ve been watching this wonderful show and I feel my heart longing to move. And unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of money, but I think it could be done and I’m gonna work towards it. And I would absolutely love to live in Bordeaux and be friends with this couple. I love their beautiful apartment. They have the taste that I like it’s minimal that yet Elegant and warm and welcoming so I would love to be there Friend because if I move there they could help me settle in who knows one day, my dear friends we might be friends. Thank you for sharing your beautiful apartment home. And thank you for this French connection and all they do to help people get settled without getting ripped off and making the move very easy. One day I’ll be calling both of you. Lol enjoy your new home. You’re beautiful beautiful couple. Oh by the way, my family had a house in Ocean City New Jerseyso we have a jersey connection.
Love this video. ❤
If I may ask, were the improvements made to the apartment cost-effective? Would an appraisal show an increase in value greater than the cost of renovation?
Lyon and Bordeaux history. The Bartholdi Fountain in Lyon was originally commissioned by the city of Bordeaux. Bartholdi came up with the design based on the four rivers of Bordeaux with the woman holding the reins. The city loved the idea and commissioned Bartholdi to create the Fountain. When he finished the Fountain, Bordeaux did not want to pay for it. Lyon heard about the disagreement and offered to buy the Fountain. Thus, the Bartholdi Fountain is in Lyon instead of Bordeaux. At least, that is what I read on the internet. Hopefully it is a true story.
What a lovely couple and so well suited to France.
Thank you so much for this video. It was lovely to get to meet Jenifer and Mike and to see their beautiful apartment. And to learn more about Bordeaux. It has been on our list to visit and we will have to go soon. I always enjoy the conversations that Lizzie has with expats. She does a wonderful job. Very enjoyable and helpful and inspiring.
Such a delightful couple, a wonderful interview, and a beautiful home. Just fantastic! Thank you.
😎👍👋
My husband and I are moving to Bordeaux this December! What neighborhood do you live in? Are there many available homes in your neighborhood? Do you have A/C, washer, and dryer? We would love to meet for a glass of wine and hear more about your life in Bordeaux.
This is an odd question but do you work with people who are not this wealthy? I looking for an @ 40m2 1 bed in Nice thats in decent shape already.
High-Educated and secular american always fall in love with France : our culture good history, our progressism 😅 🇫🇷😁☮️🇫🇷
Very interesting video . A nice presentation of actual Bordeaux.
Looks like persimmons. I have two trees in TN.
📞 Book a FREE chat with us to explore your options about moving to France: https://bit.ly/46tvjMp
💼 Prefer a 1-to-1 consultation with our Founder, Richard?
The €90 fee is fully refunded when you move forward with any service.
👉 http://bit.ly/3Tr9OUZ
🇫🇷 See how we make moving to France easy: https://bit.ly/44d627U
Does French Connections charge per service? Helping with paperwork, looking for a home/or a leased apt, car, etc?