France is easier when someone's been there before you.
I landed in Lille in 2016 with comic-book French and too much luggage. Ten years and nine languages later, I share the shortcuts I had to learn the hard way.
Everyone in France is somewhere on this road.
Find your stop. Everything on this site is free to read, except two books that took me ten years to write.
Moving here
Visa, préfecture, a flat, a bank, the first payslip.
Fit-in in FranceSettling in
Salaries, negotiation and the perks nobody claims.
Read the blogSpeaking French
You understand more than you can say. Stop freezing.
FrenchMeshStaying for good
Naturalisation, the interview and the civic exam.
Nationality guide
Two books. Ten years of shortcuts.
Short enough to finish on the flight. Specific enough to save you months.
Two of my nine languages, right here.
Poser un lapin
To stand someone up
Ne pas venir à un rendez-vous
« Elle m’a posé un lapin hier. »
یہ جادوئی زبان اپنائیں
Adopt this magical language. I learnt to read Urdu in 28 days with a 2,200-year-old method.
Learn to read Urdu
Languages can get you closer to your dreams.
On the TEDx stage I told the story of how each language opened a door I didn't know was there. I still visit campuses to talk to students who are where I was in 2016.
What changed in 2026
- The civic exam is now multiple choicePart of naturalisation. I scored 39/40. How I studied
- Naturalisation now asks for B2 FrenchFrenchMesh is built for exactly this gap.
- New naturalisation feesWhat to budget, in the nationality guide.
From the 2026 update on the nationality guide.
What I’m working on, by email
Right now that’s my two books, Fit-in in France and FrenchMesh: how they’re coming along and the day they’re out. When I move on to something new, you’ll hear about it first.
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