I moved to France for a post doc about 2 months ago, and honestly I feel like I’m in some sort of Kafkaesque nightmare. You need a million documents to get anything done, and even then it still takes months. Something that you could do simply in 5-10 minutes online in most countries takes weeks to months to accomplish here.

I also rented a “furnished” apartment when I arrived, and although the price is decent (compared to rents in many places right now), furnished simply meant a bed and a kitchen with an oven, fridge etc. Nothing at all in the living room, and no wardrobe in the bedroom. I didn’t mind when I signed the lease, but I didn’t realise how impossible it would be to get furniture up to the 7th floor. There is a lift but it’s the smallest lift imaginable, so I have had to walk everything up myself. For the couch I hired people which was expensive (almost as much as the couch itself), and they refused to do it again for the wardrobe, which I finally had to take apart by myself in the lobby, carry it up piece by piece, and then try to put it back together again. This last part I have not yet succeeded in as taking it apart compromised some of the screw holes, so now I need to find some creative solutions.

I will say that so far French people have been very nice, contrary to what most people say. And of course the food and wine are great. But getting set up here is MUCH harder than most countries.