Moving to France and the required preparation felt a little like planning a military operation. My desk looked like some kind of tiled roof made entirely of sticky notes color coordinated by category and organized by timeline: six months before the move, three months before the move, one month before the move. Every detail seemed covered.
Or so I thought.
One of the biggest stressors was making sure my suitcases stayed within the airline weight limits. I cannot even tell you how many times I packed and repacked them. Every round created a new pile on the floor labeled, Maybe this sweater is not as important as I thought. Somehow the suitcases became less about luggage and more about deciding which version of my life was making the trip overseas with me.
Each suitcase was packed with carefully folded clothes bundled tightly together like some sort of fabric engineering project. Looking back now, I laugh a little because one thing became very clear almost immediately after arriving, I brought way too many clothes.
1. Too Many Clothes
In France, closets are generally much smaller than the ones many of us are used to in the United States. And honestly, people here do not seem nearly as concerned about endless outfit variety. At the school where I work, people repeat clothes all the time without apology or embarrassment. The emphasis is less on quantity and more on personal style and quality.
There is also something fun about adapting to a different culture’s fashion. French style tends to feel a bit more effortless and understated than what I was used to. It has been such a treat to slowly buy pieces here, a pair of pants, a sweater, a scarf, things that actually fit the lifestyle I am living now instead of the one I left behind.
2. “Just in Case” Items
I packed several things for highly unlikely emergency scenarios that never once occurred. Apparently, I prepared as though rural France might suddenly run out of basic household goods overnight.
Spoiler alert: France has stores.
3. Too Many Duplicates – Moving to France
I brought duplicates of things I already owned because I convinced myself it would somehow make starting over easier. Extra kitchen items, extra notebooks, extra toiletries. What I discovered instead was that smaller spaces make you think differently about what you truly use on a daily basis.
At one point, I am fairly certain I packed enough creams and lotions to supply a small army.
Part of me worried I would not be able to find the products I liked in France, so I filled an entire section of my suitcase with carefully selected bottles and jars as though skincare products might somehow disappear upon crossing the Atlantic.
What I quickly discovered is that French pharmacies are practically legendary for skincare and beauty products. In fact, many of the products people in the United States spend a fortune ordering online are sitting right there on the shelves of local pharmacies.
Needless to say, I did not need nearly as many bottles as I brought. My back — and my suitcase weight limit — would have appreciated this realization much earlier.
4. Heavy Winter Sweaters
I packed enough heavy sweaters to survive what I imagined would be a dramatic French winter involving candlelit stone cottages and snowstorms in the Alps.
The reality? I mostly wear layers and ask myself why I thought I needed seven bulky sweaters.
5. Things Attached to My Old Life
This one surprised me the most.
There were items I packed not because I needed them, but because I felt emotionally attached to them back home. Somehow I believed they would make the transition easier. But living here has gently changed my perspective on what actually matters and what simply represented familiarity. Sometimes we carry things because we are afraid of who we will be without them.
5 Things I Wish I Had Brought – Moving to France
Moving to France, ironically, the things I miss most are not the expensive or important items.
They are the small comforts.
1. More Photographs
I wish I had brought more printed photographs — the ordinary family pictures, the candid moments, the ones tucked away in drawers that quietly hold pieces of your life.
2. American Cold and Flu Medicine – Moving to France
There is nothing quite like being sick in another country and suddenly realizing you miss the exact cold medicine you have trusted for years.
I now fully understand why Americans moving abroad sometimes guard bottles of NyQuil like family heirlooms. For more information about French Pharmacies check out my post French Parapharmacies Explained: How Homeopathy Works in France
3. Favorite Spices
There are certain spices and familiar flavors that I simply have not been able to find here. It is funny how one familiar smell while cooking can instantly make a place feel like home.
4. My Comfortable Bathrobe and Cozy Socks – Moving to France
This may sound ridiculous until it is a cold winter evening and you are sitting in a new country missing the bathrobe you almost packed but left behind because it “took up too much room.”
Mistake.
A very big mistake.
5. A Few Favorite Books
I wish I had packed a few more well-loved books. Not because I could not buy books here, but because certain books feel like old friends. In the middle of building a new life, familiar words can sometimes bring enormous comfort.
What Moving Really Teaches You
What I am slowly learning is that moving to another country teaches you far more than how to adapt to a new culture. It quietly teaches you the difference between what is useful, what is comforting, and what simply belongs to another chapter of your life.
And maybe that is true not only for moving abroad, but for life itself.
We spend so much time believing we need to carry everything with us, only to discover that the things that matter most were never the heaviest things in the suitcase at all.
Thanks for being here,
-Soraya
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