When Eve left Russia nine years ago, she didn’t intend to build a new life in Paris. “It wasn’t really a decision about making France my ‘new home’,” she admits. “It was more of a transit point for further adventures — a transit point in which I got stuck a little.”

The adventure began with a degree programme she couldn’t find back home: Langues Étrangères appliquées aux Affaires Économiques Internationales. A semester in Toulouse had given her a taste of French life, and she returned determined to complete her studies there. Preparation, however, was minimal. “If learning Le Petit Prince by heart counts, then yes, I prepared. It also deserves an award for the worst possible preparation for living in France.”

First Impressions

Her arrival was a shock. “Despite the historical ties between Russia and France, I was staggered by how different our mentalities are. The French are deeply collectivist — there are rhythms and unspoken codes you’re expected to follow. If you want soup for breakfast or lunch at 3 p.m., you’re practically a delinquent.”

The language barrier quickly made itself felt. Eve’s carefully studied Saint-Exupéry French didn’t survive her first encounter with teenage slang. “French isn’t a language you just absorb by being surrounded by it. You need reading, grammar, writing — serious practice.” It took her two to three years to feel comfortable speaking, and about five to start thinking in French. “Even now, when I go to see a Molière play, I realise how far I am from truly mastering it.”

Life in the System

Then there was the administration. Every expat in France has their battle stories, but Eve could fill volumes. “Answering that question properly would require a very thick book — about the Nine Circles of Hell, with the French administration at the bottom of it.”

The same bureaucratic rituals extended to job hunting. “Finding work in Paris is a tedious process: the lettre de motivation, five or six interviews, endless formalities. But if you speak French and bring value, it isn’t impossible — just exhausting.”

Housing proved equally theatrical. “The garant system was a shock, and watching apartments disappear minutes after being listed was even worse. To find a place, you need to be quick, well-organised, and armed with a perfect dossier. It’s practically a sport.”

Finding Her Place

Eventually Eve found her corner of Paris in the 17th arrondissement, which she calls “the best location — low on tourists, but with plenty of life.”

Making friends, however, was another challenge. “If you want to make friends quickly, find expat communities. Period. Integrating into French society is very hard, especially if your French isn’t perfect. The French are selective about their friendships. To avoid being permanently the outsider, it helps to bond with people who are going through the same struggles — learning the language, battling the administration, adjusting to the culture. Those friendships are forged in the trenches, and they last.”

Nine years on, what was supposed to be a temporary stopover has turned into a Parisian chapter that refuses to close. Eve smiles at the irony: “I never really planned to stay. And yet, here I am.”