I am retiring next year. I would like to move to Paris for 6 months to a year. Where should I start?
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
You should start by researching the visa regulations for moving to France for 6 to 12 months.
Posted by
Lawrenceville, Georgia
693 posts
The Schengen Agreement (most European countries are participants) restricts visitors from non-Schengen countries to a 3-month period, within a certain time period (I think it's 12 moths). Check with the French Embassy in DC or a consulate in your neck of the woods for visa requirements if you want to stay longer than three months. There are lots of reputable companies that rent apartments. One of them is vrbo.com. There are others; I just recently ran across one called clickappart that has pretty nice places from reasonable to high-priced. They seem to specialize in short-term, however. As I said, there are several others and you may want to re-phrase your query, asking for names of rental companies. Good luck! I envy you. I'm retired, too, and wish I were unencumbered by house and garden and stuff.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10633 posts
We've used sabbaticalhomes.com for a long-term rental but we were already in Paris and able to visit the apartment in person.
Posted by
San Francisco, California, USA
446 posts
That's great. I wish I could do that!
You can probably get a visa if you can demonstrate you have enough money to live on your own in France without employment and that you can pay for medical expenses should you have any.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
The Schengen visa agreement is 90 out of 180 days and the clock starts when you set foot in the first Schengen country. Second, I would try for a 3 month stay just if you can make everything work. We are working on a similar plan but the issue of managing finances and personal affairs for an extended periods requires some thought. We probably will do a three month trail run in England just because of the language. But if you speak French then it would be just as easy to go a trail in France.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
76 posts
Lucky you! I plan on doing the same thing in a couple of years. Your closest French consulate is in San Francisco.
http://www.consulfrance-sanfrancisco.org/
They will be happy to assist you with the required paperwork.
Forget all the tourist rules you have heard; you are not going there to be a tourist!
Bonne Chance!