Our Visa Story (So Far): From Research to Reality

Ralph and I are less than three months away from the big move to France! Finding somewhere to live was obviously a huge piece of the puzzle, but once we found the house, it was time to turn our attention to the next critical phase: visas. For long stays, France requires you to apply no […]

Read More

Paperwork, Pear Trees, and Progress

Our visit is coming to an end, and as I sit at the Bordeaux airport (which, fun fact, is both tiny and surprisingly janky), I find myself reflecting on the last few days. We’ve crossed off some major milestones with this logistics-focused trip — opened a bank account, secured home insurance, and got to know […]

Read More

When things go wrong…they go WRONG

Well, well, well. What a way to wrap up the trip! There’s a reason “mayhem” is one of my blog tags, and now I have an impressive collection of examples to share with you! After we finished dinner in Avignon, we walked by a fabulous building with a bouncer and a red carpet. TOO COOL […]

Read More

No One is Getting a Shower in Nîmes…

It was dark by the time Jen and I checked into our swanky hotel in Nîmes. Our first priority was finding a restaurant for dinner. The hotel was in the heart of downtown, so we had plenty of options – just no reservations. Luckily, we found a spot with covered outdoor seating and a blanket […]

Read More

Side Trek to Uzès

Part of the joy of seeing homes in person is checking out the highlights of the area. Otherwise, driving from house to house could feel like a slog. But it’s also the responsible thing to do, because you know what they say about real estate – location, location, location!  So as my househunting sidekick Jen […]

Read More

Back on the Road…to Bagnols-sur-Cèze

Once the tickets to Toulouse were booked, I started browsing websites for more homes to see. I figured we couldn’t fly all the way out there for one house…I needed more lined up to make the trip really count. It wasn’t long before another house on FB marketplace caught my eye. It was a 3-story […]

Read More

The (Almost) 6-Month Update

Well. It’s been a minute (ahem, about 3 months) since my last post. Things got real after the kidney stone episode and moving into the house. But now that we’re so close to being “settled,” I figured it was time to dust things off and capture some of the highs and lows we’ve experienced since […]

Read More

Everything Is Going Wrong, Part 2: The Kidney Stone

I’d started writing another Part 2 but that will have to wait…because today, I can share with you all the drama of our first medical emergency abroad! BTW – I cleared this with Ralph. Might be a little TMI – but there’s also some useful information on what to expect if you end up in […]

Read More

Everything is Going Wrong, Part 1: House Hunting

Ok…maybe not everything. But in the spirit of keeping it real, I thought I’d share some of the latest musings as we close out our second month in Germany. Now that all the newness and wonder has worn off, the frustrating bits have become more pronounced and noticeable. Someone pour me a stiff drink! It’s […]

Read More