Hidden reasons people move abroad

Why not just move somewhere else in the USA? Why make your life harder by moving abroad? People often say it's for things that are easy to explain, like better weather, affordability, or healthcare but there's more than that...

About Us:
We are an American family of 3 who moved to France for an extended stay adventure in 2022.
We wanted to experience Europe as more than rushed tourists on a 10-day vacation. To dive into the culture, learn a new language, experience daily life, and truly know what it was like to work and live somewhere other than the US.

In France, we set up a business, enrolled in a middle school, found housing, and even got our cat a European passport!

While in the US preparing to leave, the information we found about staying in France for longer than a short vacation was directed at college students, young & single digital nomads, or retirees. Where was the useful information for families like us?

With a year under our belts in France, we created Baguette Bound to pass on what we have learned. We hope to make it easier and inspire other families who are interested in experiencing a long stay in France with their families. Stay tuned for more information on French culture, local travel ideas, and the logistics of moving across the world.

PLEASE NOTE: While we love hearing from viewers, we do not give personalized advice on moving to France by email.

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[reneclaude]

Bien que Français, je suis très intéressé par vos vidéos. Et, comme tous les français, j'ai souvent tendance à critiquer et dénigrer mon pays natal. Vos vidéos me permet de mettre en valeur les qualités de la France (et aussi ses défauts) et surtout de me rendre compte que nous avons beaucoup de chance !!! Espérons que cette volonté de "vivre ensemble" qui vous plaît tant, continuera à nous animer. Merci encore.

[CROM-onbz]

Family meals. It is indeed cultural and it affects all regions of France, I remember meals starting with an aperitif around noon and ending late at night without ever stopping eating and drinking, all accompanied by passionate discussions, songs and laughter. When you are a large tribe it is quite fun and it makes memories for life.

[cristelbouillier]

Vous semblez tellement plus jeunes que lorsque vous avez commencé ces vidéos. Continuez j'apprécie votre vision de la France, elle m'ouvre aussi les yeux.

[IesKorpershoek]

Thanks for this video. Many of the things you mention are because of the American style of living and culture. The US social culture is very paternalistic and, a kind of, living in their own world. knowledge about other cultures, countries, folklore, food, and way of life is poorly developed. Maybe because people think and are taught that the US is the center of the world. I'm a European who lived in the US for many years and I was shocked how little people knew about, so many aspects of the "outside" world. And so many misconceptions about other countries and cultures, just from hearsay. You had the courage and broke the chain. And from your videos, I learned you found what you were looking for in France. We live in the Netherlands now and making plans to move to France in the future. Please enjoy life.

[TheFroggie]

Your reasons for moving to France are the same as the ones my hubby and I have. We have lived in CA, FL, and now CO (for almost 20 years). I grew up in NJ, so I feel like I have lived in pretty much every American culture, at this point. We feel like we want the global culture experience and to see things from a more global perspective, rather than only the American perspective. And we adored France so much when we spent two weeks there that we were actually homesick for France when we came home. There is just something about the people, the culture, the environment, the whole French way of life that is pulling us really hard. We hope to retire there in 3 years. The plan is in motion!

[fontainerouge]

French here. Lived in the US for 10 years. Went for reasion #4. Nothing beats that.
6 months of exhaustion (Everything New) & 2 years for fluent language level & feeling at home.

[Ben-ixzIq]

Everything you said feels right. I had the opposite experience. I am from France and I moved to the US for some time. It was just like walking in that clothes store where everything fits so well. I hated the extremely long family dinner on Sunday. Having buffet dinners party style in the US felt liberating to me. I lived in a city in France that’s too big to have everything at walking distance and too small to have good public transportation. Getting around was a chore. In the US having the car as the default mode of transportation and having parking everywhere was so much easier. My American friends were up to do anything, everyone had a car and willing to drive any distance to get together. I had so much fun. That being said, all in all Europe is a healthier and more humane place to live in. But sometimes you crave for something radically different from what you have, and falling in love with a place abroad and making it your home is a beautiful thing.

[CelloOne]

It appears France has everything - can't wait to visit!

[houghi]

Yeah, Eating out (or together) in Europe is a social event, not something you do because you are hungry. That is what fast food is for.Just going for a pizza with a friends will be something that will occupy the whole evening from say 17:00 (5PM) till after midnight. First meet each other somewhere, have a drink, then go to the restaurant at say 19:00 till 22:30 and then have some more talking afterwards somewhere else. And this can happen every day of the week. Sometimes we meet later, depending if we are homeworking or not. But regardless if it is pizza or Michelin star restaurants, the main focus is being social. The only moment we get out our phone is making reservations for the next time.

[asterixky]

Life IS an adventure, it's exciting, and like you I embraced it. Hello from a French expat in Dayton.

[rqcastro]

Could not agree more! As a Brazilian, living for 5 years in Portugal and now moving to the Netherlands next week. The life is an adventure!

[marieadriansen]

Accueillir de telles personnes avec du courage, une telle ouverture d'esprit et beaucoup d'humanité est un honneur pour nous ! Je pense que beaucoup de choses sont différentes entre la france et les us sont différentes à cause de notre histoire différente, merci de regarder au delà des apparences. Je pense que nous avons à apprendre les uns des autres. Welcoming such people with courage, open-mindedness and a lot of humanity is an honor for us! I think that many things are different between France and the US are different because of our different history, thank you for looking beyond appearances. I think we have to learn from each other.

[ciconia]

I like that France is connected to many other countries, such as Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. Ireland and the United Kingdom are nearby. I went to see Adele in Munich this summer, and it was an easy drive.

[abtinafshar]

It's interesting to have a perspective from a foreign family who spent several years in France and shared their opinion about my country.

[rickflood]

Preaching to the choir. It draws me because of history, genealogy, affordability, architecture, due to being priced out of everything in Texas. It just seems to be more my speed. Great minds think alike!

[levanle]

Je visionne vos vidéos depuis quelques temps et je dois dire que je suis assez admiratif de votre courage; car n'en faut il pas pour abandonner la terre de sa naissance, de sa famille, de ses amis, abandonner une culture, un mode de vie, un style de rapport aux autres, aux choses, finalement tout ce auquel nous sommes habitués et façonnés depuis l'enfance. C'est courageux, voire téméraire et bravo à vous d'avoir entrepris l'aventure et de l'avoir apparemment superbement mené à bien. Surtout avec un fille dans votre sillage.
Quant à moi, je n'ai jamais eu le désir de m'installer ailleurs et j'ignore ce sentiment que l'on aspire à vivre autrement dans un autre endroit. Peut être est là un moteur suffisant ?
Bravo à tous les 3

[slicksalmon]

#2 resonates with me. The US is not a collegial place. You have to earn your way into social groups. In France, fraternity is a fundamental cultural value.

[andrewbowden]

Greetings Jason and Raina, I recently stumbled upon your Baguette Bound videos and - as an American who has lived in Germany for the past 12 years - immediately became a fan! Thank you for posting this video about four reasons that people move abroad. To your excellent list I would add the very minimal costs of university studies in European universities, especially when compared to the extremely high costs of university studies in the USA. As a result, many university students in the USA take out loans to pay for their studies and by the time they graduate can owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt. Having conducted my doctoral studies in Munich and now completing my post doctoral studies elsewhere in Germany, my family and I hope to stay in Germany as long as possible. And again, thank you for the Baguette Bound videos!

[phildoyle]

You've absolutely nailed it guys. Those are all the reasons why my wife and I have lived and worked in 13 different countries so far. One of those countries was la belle France and we intend to return there in about five years for la retraite. I so enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work!

[michelgrangeret]

Life is a journey ! The way you travel reveals not only who you are, but who you really want to be. No matter WHERE you decide to drop off your suitcases, the most important is WHY.
The quest of happiness (or at least the sensation of happiness) require sometime to make great decisions, like moving to live abroad. That's precisely what you did !
As a french guy working for an american company (nobody's perfect), I just can say : Enjoy your life in France !