Paris, Here We Come!

A glimpse into the first steps of our moving journey.

After several years of deliberation, we’ve finally decided on where we’re headed next: Paris! If you’ve been following along here for awhile, it’s no secret that moving has been on my mind. I can’t tell you how many conversations we’ve had questioning where we should move our family, debating the pros and cons, timelines, and more. Last year I even wrote a Substack post “So…Where Should We Live” where I documented my personal criteria for choosing a new place to call home, as well as some thoughts on how our environments affect our overall quality of life.

Throughout this process, I’ve continuously been reminded that life is made up of seasons, and even when we’re feeling impatient for a change, we’re typically exactly where we should be. Austin was the absolute perfect place for this past season. It has provided a comfortable environment surrounded by family and familiarity as we were confronted with so many unknowns, from Leo’s immigration journey, to having our babies, COVID, career pivots, and more. And while I love my hometown and am grateful for the moments created here, we know it simply doesn’t align with our ideal lifestyle and the future we envision for our family.

Timing has been a main barrier to making a move, between waiting on Leo’s US citizenship to be granted, to having our baby boy last year, however, over the past few months, we finally felt like a move was possible. With that, we’ve decided to trade some of the conveniences and comfort here in the US to incorporate more of the things that matter most to us, like travel, high quality of food and living, and proximity to (the other side of) our family and friends (but we will miss our family and community here most!)

While I am SO excited about our next season of life in Paris, it’s not without some unknowns, concerns, and acknowledgement that there will be uncomfortable moments. As Leo is originally from Paris, and myself having lived there for several years, we know that the city can be an inconvenient and frustrating city to call home at times (especially when you add kids into the equation!) But every place comes with both pros and cons and all you can do is make the most aligned decision based on your personal values and priorities. And for us, that means Paris!

We are at the beginning of a long moving process and I hope to document every step of the way. It goes without saying that an international move with two little ones is going to be quite an undertaking, but we’re taking it one step at a time and I know in the end, it will all be worth it.

A Glimpse at Our Moving Journey So Far

In case you’re curious, here are some of the tasks we’ve been working on to make the move possible. If you’re thinking about planning a move, these to-dos may guide your journey as well.

• Expense Planning: This is where we started. We mapped out our (estimated) expenses between housing, school/childcare, food, etc. and also took into consideration the differences of living expenses between the two countries. For example, we won’t have cars in Paris, which means no car, insurance, or gas expenses. Another factor is our home rental. Since we’re planning on renting our home here in Austin, we had to estimate rent profits, taking into consideration property management, HOA, and other fees. This portion of the planning was really important because it showed us if the move was even possible to begin with, as well as what our options and overall budget is for the move. Also, since both Leo and I will be navigating our work situations, we had to be sure we had enough of a security fund to support us in case of transitions.

• School Search: This part was relatively simple as we knew we wanted a bilingual school, and we also knew the exact neighborhood we wanted to live in. This narrowed it down to two options. My in-laws toured the schools, while we virtually attended webinars and had a Zoom call with the admission’s team. Luckily we found a great fit and are excited for Ella’s future at this new school!

• Passports & Visas: Since Leo recently received his US citizenship, he had to apply for his new passport. The baby also needed his first passport, and I had to renew mine before applying for another French Spouse visa. Thankfully, the visa process for me is pretty straightforward, relatively quick, and cheap.

• Prepping Our Home for Rental: As we’ve decided to rent our home instead of sell it, we’ve started preparing for our home for rental. Firs step is to get it “photo ready” for the rental listing. I haven’t even fully entered “packing mode,” yet even clearing the clutter from the home has motivated me to implement some much needed "minimalism” into our lives. A small apartment in Paris will undoubtedly enforce my future minimalist efforts.

passport office + packing to-dos

Next Up…

• Solidify Dates & Travel Plans: Our exact moving dates are still up in the air as Paris is hosting the Olympics this summer, so it’s going to be (more than) a bit chaotic! Our goal is for Ella to start school there in the Fall, so we will be moving at some point this summer. Most likely in mid-late August. The travel trajectory from Austin to Paris isn’t the simplest, as there are no direct flights. Typically, we break up our trip there, especially now with little ones. Sure, this does add some extra expenses and time, but we try to make a “mini trip” of sorts through our connections. For example, last time we stopped in New York/Brooklyn for a few days on our way there, and took the train to London from Paris on our way back. We plan to do something similar this Summer, and stay somewhere on the East coast for a bit before heading over (to dodge the Olympic craziness and also the intolerable Texas heat in August!)

• Packing, Selling, Donating & Storing: This is probably going to be the most time consuming part: Going through everything in the house to sell and donate, with the goal of storing the bare minimum.

• Apartment Hunting: While I’m busy daydreaming of having a clean slate to design and furnish to my heart’s content, we will initially be moving into a furnished rental. There are a few reasons for this: 1. We are still treating this move as an experiment of sorts; testing out the school, the spot in the neighborhood, and even Paris in general with the kids. 2. The move is already going to be hectic enough without adding the (financial and time) responsibility of furnishing an apartment from scratch. 3. Having a furnished apartment allows us to get settled into everyday life, and not have to rush into committing to a place. This way we have plenty of time to browse apartments and wait for the perfect apartment to come along. However, I’m still over here creating all the mood boards for our future Parisian apartment, and will undoubtedly share those inspirations here as well! But here’s a little inspiration peek in the meantime…

I’d love to hear from you, whether you have questions about the moving process, living in Paris, or any other ideas for content you’d like to see. I’m excited to document the journey, and I’d love to provide as much value and inspiration as possible along the way, so please pass along any thoughts! Feel free to reply directly to this email, or shoot over a quick DM on Instagram.

Thank you reading along,