All of sudden, ten years flew by and I had a tall, dark and handsome French husband, a flat in Paris next to the Bois, and two gorgeous little Franco-Americans…I would not have even dared to dream of a life so perfect. Except it wasn’t really perfect, because life never is. Paris is a breath-taking city, but it’s a bit lacking in the UV department. In 2010, our family moved to sunnier days in the South of France, which reminds me a lot of my native California. Once again, I feel like I should pinch myself – I truly am living the dream!

During my 15 years with a global telecommunications company, I worked in areas as varied as Finance, Strategic Development, Marketing and Project Management. It was when researching the possibility of moving my parents over that I became interested in providing solutions to English-speaking retirees in France.

If you have ever dreamed of living in France (like I did), Renestance is here to make it easier. Learn from our experience and enjoy the exceptional quality of life in France, without all the hassle.

From age 9, when I met my first American friend at a hot air balloon fair, I’ve been interested in the English language and culture. Lucky enough to travel quite a lot to Canada and the United States and being exposed to English, I’ve then become fascinated by computers, their pseudo-languages and the first RPG games in text mode. Later came the early Internet, where most of the resources were in English (and very few in French). By the time I was twenty-four, I was fluent enough to be ready for the next step of my life : meeting the american woman who would become my wife and the mother of my two kids.

Knowing that, it feels quite fitting that I now have the pleasure of helping anglophones move to France from the front stage (by co-founding part of Renestance) as well as from behind the scene (by providing online tools) with one goal : make their life a dream in France!

Complementing my repertoire of French life experience, I have married and divorced in France, overseen three of my own property renovations, and now rent out my current family home for short term summer rentals, and my gîte (holiday cottage) for winter lets. After my daughter was born in 2006, I ran a cottage industry business for several years, renting baby and toddler equipment to holidaymakers in the region. Now that my daughter is steadily working her way through the French school system, I am back in the working saddle again!

I see myself as friendly and efficient, and I love my job! I’m ready and waiting to help remove the complexities of French administration so that you can relax and enjoy your life in France.

I grew up in the southern part of Sweden, where the eye meets Denmark and the Hamlet castle Kronborg only 4 kilometers away. I have spent the major part of my adult years in our beautiful capital Stockholm. In 2004 we packed up the family, i.e. my husband, our two, now adult children, a guinea pig and me and moved to Basel, Switzerland. We stayed for 3 years and then returned to Stockholm again. In 2018 we decided that it was time for a new adventure, this time we moved here, in Montpellier, and settled in the city center. We absolutely love it, even though it can be a challenge sometimes. Since the children still live in Sweden, we visit every now and then and they come here to enjoy the French life in the sun.

I have experience from both the retail and the production industry, where I have focused on customer service and logistics for the last 10 years. I speak Swedish, English, some French, German and Danish.

It is well known that the French way of doing things are not always the way one would expect, but it is their way. I hope that I will have the opportunity to assist you settling here in France.

For family reasons we decided to move back to Birmingham and I suddenly felt like an alien in my home town. Only a couple of months later we decided that France was where we needed to be to raise our children.

We decided on the Languedoc region as it has a little of everything – close to the mountains, the coast, plenty of rural life, but not too far from cities big enough to offer everything a growing family needs. The proximity of numerous international airports and the ease of travel from the region sealed the deal, I love to travel and explore. We moved here in 2016 and haven’t looked back. The children are well integrated in the French school system and we all feel very much a part of our community.

My career in the UK was in finance, and since then I have worked in the travel industry for companies who specialise in offering the personal touch along with first class customer service. No request can surprise me now! Having moved to another country with a different language and culture myself, I know how daunting this can feel. If I can use my knowledge and skills to help ease the path for others to enjoy our region, I would see it was a job well done. I am happy to be that reassuring person who you can pose any question to and will always offer a sensible solution.

After graduating in 2000, I moved straight back to nîmes and have been living here ever since! I married a French man and we have two perfectly bilingual children. During this time I have had lots of experience navigating French administration and its challenges! Among other things, obtaining my carte de séjour, carte vitale and changing my driving licence for a French one. I have also had personal experience of the French property market as I’ve bought, sold and renovated houses, and I currently rent flats out on short-term and long-term lets. I have experienced the French education system both as a parent and as a teacher. I’ve been teaching English to adults, students and children for over seven years. Previously, I also worked as a bilingual PA and bilingual project manager, as well as in translation and proofreading, purchasing and import, honing many skills along the way.

I am delighted to share all my experience and knowledge of life in France and help out other English speakers arriving in France to live out the French dream!

Our clients at Renestance choose to move to France for a variety of reasons whether it be to find themselves, for work, for love or for the lifestyle, which are all the reasons that I also have remained connected to, and some might say destined to remain in, France for the last 30 years.

I moved to France at 17 the first time following my nose, a thirst for independence and, as I realise in hindsight, as part of my lifetime’s pursuit in self-awareness. After four years and back in London, the language skills I had acquired served me well for organising many international events and conferences focusing mainly on West African oil and gas producing countries. This, however, did not satisfy my love for personal development and so I moved on to training and coaching whilst studying to become a psychotherapist; skills that are still at my finger tips today as I assist people as they adjust to the complexities of moving to a new country and culture.

During this time, I met mon cherie and we have two beautiful children together. A variety of reasons including an insatiable taste for change, a desire for our children to become fully bilingual, not to mention the climate, food and laidback lifestyle brought us back “home” to France four years ago and we haven’t looked back since. It is with great joy that I now have the pleasure of assisting our community of fellow intrepid explorers to make the same life-changing leap to France…