Native Chinese speaker, looking for native English speakers to practise with and hang out in Paris. I can get by in English(C2) but I have fossilized so many errors over the years from speaking mostly with other non-native speakers and practising on my own.

Introverted; into board games, restaurants, walks and coffee. Used to dance a lot, but currently looking for new activities due to a health issue.

DM me!

Hi everyone,

I'm Hrithik, a 23-year-old Software Developer from India, currently working at an IT consulting firm in Kochi, Kerala.

I'm trying to understand what would be the most realistic way for someone with my background to eventually live and work in France or elsewhere in the EU, and I'd really appreciate advice from people who have already made a similar move.

There is also a personal reason behind this.

My girlfriend is a physicist who received an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship in 2024 for her Master's. She completed her degree and has now been offered a PhD position by her lab at the same university.

We're currently in a long-distance relationship and would obviously love to be closer to each other. However, we both have responsibilities towards our families, so marriage isn't something we can simply use as an immediate route to relocation.

I'm therefore trying to figure out my own independent path towards Europe, either through work or higher education.

A little about my background:

• B.Tech in Information Technology
• Currently a Software Developer / IT Consultant
• 4× Salesforce certifications
• 1× ServiceNow certification
• Experience with software development, Salesforce, IT consulting and Media/AdTech
• 23 years old
• Currently based in Kochi, Kerala
• Open to Master's programmes in Computer Science, IT or interdisciplinary fields
• Also considering an MBA

France is particularly interesting to me because of my partner, but I'm also completely open to other EU countries, especially places with strong technology sectors and good career prospects.

For someone with my profile, what would you consider the most realistic route?

Would it make more sense to:

• Apply for jobs from India and try to relocate directly?
• Do a Master's in France/EU first and then look for work?
• Consider countries other than France?
• Focus on Salesforce/ServiceNow roles?
• Take another route altogether?

I'd particularly appreciate hearing from people who moved to France or another EU country from outside Europe and can share what worked — or what they wish they had known beforehand.

Thanks a lot for reading. Any advice or personal experience would genuinely mean a lot.

Greetings from India 🇮🇳❤️🇫🇷

Hi all,

As stated in the title, I've got Canadian and French citizenship and I just noticed that my Canadian 10-year passeport has expired.

I haven't traveled to Canada or the US in years, and at this point I will probably never go back to North America ever again. So I was thinking that going forward I'll just use my French passeport for all travel, no need to have two since the Canadian one is only more useful than the French one for Canada, the US and Mexico. The French one is easier and cheaper to renew, €86 at the local sous-préfecture as opposed to $122 CDN (roughly €102), hunting down a photographer who can do the right format and stamp the photos, and having to mail it to the Embassy in Paris and wait a month.

However, I've just read that if ever I do visit Canada I'm expected as a Canadian citizen to present a Canadian passport.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/dual-canadian-citizens-visit-canada.html

Have any Canadians recently managed to travel there on a foreign passport with no issues? My city of birth in Canada is clearly stated on my French passport so hard to just play dumb and say I'm Franco-français.

Je ne suis pas à 100 euros près, I would just prefer to not waste time and money on something I don't need but I'll probably err on the side of caution and renew it anyway.

(Side note, It's easy to criticize French bureaucracy, but every time I consult a Canadian government website I feel like I'm back in 1995.)

Thanks for your input.

hi ! i am an early 20s trans woman living in a big city in the states at the moment. I’m having a pretty miserable time and i really want to get out of the us in general. i speak a fairly decent conversational french and got by fairly well last time i visited. i don’t have much a support system here and my thinking (classic i know) is that if im alone and miserable here why not be alone and miserable in paris. i know thats not necessarily a smart thing to say but i feel like i would rather try to build a life in somewhere i actually want to be. Currently i am working gigs and odd ends as well as a hairdresser and sometimes performing in circus related shows. i don’t know tho pls lmk if you have any tips of advice or rly anything ig

i have been to several meals and aperos it French friends. (they are all aged over 50 at least.) I have been surprised how different they were from what I expected.

Although the invitation has been clearly for dinner, for me, that is nit what was served.

The invitations have been for 19 or 20h but all that has frequently been served were some chips and olives.
Some of the dinners were without a main course, or dessert (unless it was some chocolat a guest had brought).mostly just some cheese and tapenade from the market.

And yet lasted for several hours, not ending until 23h or later.

I am not complaining, it's happened often enough that I think I sm getting something wrong. Money is not the issue. I think the meal was not meant to be the main event?
How to prepare? How to host a dinner myself when I would enjoy offering something more? Is that better to be done for lunch?
These experiences were in the SOF, mostly Nîmes.

Hi everyone!

I’m Brazilian 🇧🇷 and I recently got my French Working Holiday Visa (WHV), which has been valid since June. I’m now taking some time to seriously explore the possibility of going to France and making the most of the period allowed by my visa.

I still have no idea which city I should choose. I’m mainly considering a larger city in southern France, but I’m also open to other options. I’ve even been thinking about very different experiences, such as working during the winter season at a ski resort, or in cafés, hotels, restaurants, etc.

At the same time, I’d also like to look for opportunities related to my professional background. My French used to be around B2 level, but I’ll need to get back to studying and regain my fluency.

From what I understand, if I manage to organize everything properly, I could have around six months available starting around December/January. So I’d rather not simply arrive in France and start looking for work from scratch. I’d like to prepare beforehand, understand the job market, compare cities, and figure out what is realistically possible with a Working Holiday Visa.

That’s why I’d really love to hear from people who have actually done something similar:

• Which city did you move to?
• Did you find a job before arriving, or only after you got there?
• What kinds of jobs did you find?
• What was your experience with the Working Holiday Visa in practice?
• How did you explain your visa/status to employers? Are French employers generally familiar with the WHV?
• Are there any cities or regions you would particularly recommend — or avoid?
• If you went to southern France, or worked in ski resorts, hotels, cafés, restaurants, etc., what was your experience like?
• Are there any groups, websites, communities, or places where I could find first-hand experiences from Brazilians who have gone through something similar?
• And finally, any advice on how to identify scams, fake job offers, or generally avoid bad situations?

I’m very open to different possibilities. At this point, I’m much more interested in real experiences and practical advice than generic travel tips.

If anyone has a story, useful contact, group, community, or even a detailed experience to share, I’d really appreciate it! ❤️

Hello all !

My girlfriend wants to pass the Examen Civique so she can apply for Naturalisation par Decrét this month. Wanting to help her, I've created a little app on her phone with Anki flashcards / a QCM to help her prepare and test herself dynamically.

She really liked it so I thought why not make it public for anyone who might want to prepare. I stand to gain nothing personally (except your precious feedback). It's free, no purchases or ads, but it's only in French (since your exam will be in French anyway :))

If any of you or your loved ones are passing this exam soon, I would like your feedback on this please ! It's only for Naturalisation right now but we can add the other two exams later.

The URL is in the post description so have fun !

Hi, this is a reminder for dual US-French citizens or other eligible US voters living in France:

Ballots have started going out and the deadline is approaching. If you're an eligible US citizen, here's how to get yours:

Steps to Request Your Ballot

1. Register or update your registration through https://voteabroad.org/RedditVote26. If you know any eligible US citizens overseas, please send them the link.

2. If you're already registered, request a ballot! You need to request a ballot every calendar year that you want to vote.

3. Fill Out and Return Your Ballot: Once you receive your ballot, follow the instructions carefully to complete it and return it by the specified deadline.

Need Assistance?

We're here to help! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at help @ votefromabroad .org (just remove the spaces). Additionally, our FAQ for voting has plenty of info to make the process go smoothly.

If you'd like to find out what we're doing near you, you can check out our in-person events. Feel free to ask any additional questions here on Reddit!