Welcome to The Local’s “Americans in France” monthly newsletter for members, featuring all the news and practical information you need as an American resident, visitor or second-home owner in France. You can sign up to receive it directly to your inbox before we publish it online via the link below.
Dear Americans in France,
Hopefully you have been able to enjoy some turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie this month. If you are planning to stay in France for the holidays, we’ve put together a list of our favourite Christmas markets, as well as a guide to what you might expect at a traditional French Christmas dinner.
For those planning ahead, if you want to send packages to or from France you will want to begin preparations soon. In previous years, it has been recommended to ship at least 2-3 weeks in advance.
The big topic for Americans in France this past month has been a wide-ranging survey on citizenship-based taxation (CBT) and FATCA by the group “Stop Extraterritorial American Taxation” (SEAT), which garnered hundreds of responses.
We reached out to readers to hear about their own experiences – the main issues that came up were access to banking, stress related to IRS fines and penalties, and disappointment over lost opportunities. Several Americans in France also discussed the challenges that CBT has caused in their personal and romantic lives, with some even considering divorce.
To help anticipate and perhaps avoid these struggles, we asked readers to give their best tax-related tips for handling life as an American resident in France.
With each edition of this newsletter, I like to remind readers that you can fill out our ongoing survey to let us know the topic you’d like The Local to cover and give your tips to other Americans looking to move to France.
One reader, Heath Thomas, had a tip for those looking to cross the Atlantic: “If you continue to study and improve your French, your life will keep getting easier.”
While a great piece of advice, sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start. Another reader responded to the survey asking for more resources on “how to maintain or better my French language skills”.
Luckily, France has plenty of free and affordable language course options – though many of them are geared toward working individuals. The typical advice of working in a bar or nannying might also be more suited to young people.
As such, we also put together a guide for how to keep learning and improving your French as an older person. Many people tend to be discouraged by the prospect of learning a new language in their golden years, but it does not have to be intimidating – plus you might make some new friends or pick up a new hobby along the way.
As always, feel free to get in touch or leave a comment. You can reach me at [email protected]
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