Chat rooms / Expats in France

Chat room: Expats in France

Expat chat for English speakers living in France: paperwork, jobs, housing, learning French and making friends, free and with no registration.

#expats-france is the room for English speakers who live in France or are about to move: Brits in the Dordogne, Americans in Lyon, Irish engineers in Toulouse, Australians on a working holiday in Bordeaux, students in Montpellier and retirees in Brittany. Choose a nickname and start chatting, free and without registration. Andromede itself is a French chat, so you are among people who know the country well.

The questions come up again and again, and they are easier with someone to talk to: residence permits, the carte Vitale, opening a bank account, French taxes, finding a job or a flat, exchanging your driving licence, or simply ordering at the boulangerie without panicking. Share what worked for you, but remember that rules change: for official matters, check service-public.fr or the relevant administration.

Feeling a bit isolated is common in the first months. This room is also a place to make friends, find people nearby and practise French with patient locals in the language exchange room. The community is new, so leave a question and come back if it is quiet. Never post personal documents or identifying details.

Conversation starters

• Where in France do you live, and how long have you been there?
• What was the hardest piece of French paperwork you dealt with?
• What do you miss most from home?

How to join Expats in France

Pick a nickname and open the room #expats-france. Read the topic and the moderators' guidelines, say hello and ask a question. You can read for a while first and join in when you feel like it; there is no need to share your real name, address or phone number.

Join the room

Presence unavailable. The community is just starting and the number of people depends on the time of day.

Other rooms worth a look

• Paris
• Learn French
• Language Exchange

Chat with respect

Ask before sending someone a private message and accept it when they do not want to carry on. In the chat you can filter messages and block people. Read the rules and the help page; to report a problem, go to the contact page.