38 things I’ve learnt in the last year living in France
On the eve of my 38th birthday here's 38 things I've learnt over the last year living in France
Taking lessons to improve your French is essential if you want to get your French grammar sorted!
Buying a baguette from the supermarché instead of the boulangerie is frowned upon!
Get your cheese board ready and take all the cheese out of the fridge the morning of your meal. Nobody likes cold cheese in France!
Get used to no sinks in toilets at home. People just wash their hands in the kitchen sink!
Nounous (childminders) are angels and will teach your child so many things!
Wednesdays will always be a childcare juggle. Children don’t go to school on Wednesdays until senior school, and even then, it’s just for the morning!
Join a club to meet other people, even if you’re not sure you’ll enjoy it. It’s important to mingle with the locals, and you might learn to love it!
Facebook Messenger is more common than WhatsApp, so get better at checking it regularly.
Facebook groups are also a big thing here, so spend time finding the right ones to stay updated on what’s happening in your area.
Everyone has to do a tax return in June. Just get it done!
The doctor’s visit isn’t free. You pay upfront and get reimbursed partly by the state, with the rest covered by your personal insurance if you have any.
Politics here is just as divided as in the UK!
If a bank holiday falls on a Wednesday, that’s the day it stays. They don’t move public holidays to Mondays or Fridays.
Most medical institutions use the Doctolib app, so it’s easier to book appointments.
It’s as hard to find a dentist in France accepting new patients as it is in the UK!
Most new mums go back to work 12 weeks after having their baby (payments from the government stop then), so don’t expect to find lots of baby classes or clubs during the week!
Working freelance (Auto-entrepreneur) is really common, and the government has set up processes and services to support freelancers.
It’s normal to take a week to go skiing in winter and two weeks by the coast in summer.
Most businesses close for three weeks in August.
Lots of shops (and banks) are closed on Mondays.
Most shops close for an hour at lunch.
Post boxes are normally a distance from your front door and not built into it, so you’ll often forget to check your mail!
You’ll only find seasonal fruit and veg in your supermarket!
The village Sunday morning market will become a ritual, and the quality of fruit and veg is so much better!
To get your MOT (Contrôle Technique), you can only go to a dedicated center.
If you don’t speak fluent French, don’t expect to find work with a French company!
Living in the Loir-et-Cher is the equivalent of living in Somerset. You’re considered a country bumpkin.
Children build châteaux, not towers, with bricks!
You can’t avoid becoming even more of a wine snob!
Buying wine by the case from local vineyards regularly is normal!
You’ll miss pubs, but guinguettes in summer are great, and you’ll get used to your local coffee shop / bar.
You can easily open oysters with a butter knife if you put them in a hot oven for three minutes.
Dinner parties never start before 8 p.m. at the absolute earliest. You won’t sit down to eat the first course until 10 p.m! Forget arriving at 6:30 p.m. for dinner at 7 p.m like we do in the UK!
January is Galette des Rois month. Frangipane is the best!
Super U is the best supermarket for weekly shops, but E. Leclerc is good for a splurge!
Supermarket home deliveries exist but aren’t popular. "Drives" (click and collect) are more common!
A simple "Bonjour" when entering a shop and "Au revoir" when leaving will make you blend in like a local.
You'll quickly realise that your new life in France is all about slowing down - embrace it!