Category Archives: expat life

la Carte de Séjour

We finally each have our official residence permit, called the carte de séjour. This is what we will renew every year until we will have been here five years, at which point we can apply for “permanent” status, and, citizenship … Continue reading

Posted in Angoulême, expat, expat life, France, Nice, France | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Réfléchissant.

It’s been more than a year. It feels like much more. Moving to a foreign country is hard. There are the expected hurdles and adjustments. Then there’s reality, all the things that were impossible to anticipate no matter how much … Continue reading

Posted in culture, expat, expat life, France, Nice, France | 14 Comments

De Retour

We’ve been back in Nice a little over a week, and have been surprised at how many small and large changes have occurred in the relatively short time (four months) we were away. The biggest change has been in the … Continue reading

Posted in expat, expat life, France, Nice, France, Promenade des Anglais | 9 Comments

À la prochaine

Sunday morning I heard a few successive popping sounds in the hills above. Hunting season is on. There isn’t much game left in these whereabouts, but one wild animal there is a lot of is Sanglier, or boar. Given the … Continue reading

Posted in Céret, expat life, France, Occitanie, Pays Catalan, Pyrénées Orientales, Travel | 2 Comments

Serrabone

The road from Céret to Serrabone winds its way upwards at a slow pace for 600 meters, through a thick oak forest, stands of cork, olive groves, and an occasional cactus. We pass crumbling farmhouses and solitary villas and, surprisingly, through … Continue reading

Posted in culture, expat life, France, Occitanie, Pays Catalan, Pyrénées Orientales, Serrabone, Travel | 12 Comments