Tips and Tricks Archives

How I Saved $7,000 to Travel Europe

Since I started taking French in high school, I dreamed of being in France and traveling all over Europe. In high school, I took a class trip to Europe, and during college, I spent a summer in Toulouse and studied abroad in several countries during winter break. All that to say, I have an insatiable wanderlust, especially for France, and my dreams to return came true when I accepted a position to teach English in France. With the teaching assistant salary being so meager at around 800 euros per month, I knew I’d want to save up big time...

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6 Expat Life Lessons After One Year in France

I cried my entire way through airport security. Last September, I left the States to teach English in France for a year, but from Day 1, it has been a wild adventure. When I arrived to check in for my flight one year ago, Brian from United told me he wouldn’t give me my boarding passes because Americans simply weren’t allowed into France due to Covid. False. I showed him my visa, work contract, emails with the embassy — just about everything but my first grade report card. My mom and I argued with him for about 20 or...

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How to Teach English Abroad in France

My first trip to France was intoxicating. I was 15 and traveled to Paris for a few days on a high school trip. And I couldn’t bear the thought of being away from France for too long. After studying abroad and working for a summer in France, I still wanted more of my beloved France. But how? My French teacher had told me about a teaching assistant program in France, and I was delighted when I was accepted to teach English in France for a year. Oh, and I have zero teaching credentials! Perhaps you’re dreaming of moving to...

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3 Easy Ideas to Decorate with Maps

Sometimes I get overwhelmed but in the most awestruck type of way. Travel never fails to remind me what a big world we live in. And maps show me how much more exploring I need to add to my bucket list. And it can really overwhelm me with how small I am and how vast this world is. Like, wow. I’ve long been fascinated by maps and love buying new ones when I travel to a new destination. For years, they’ve become a home design staple for me, and often I’m getting compliments and long pauses at the wall...

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What to do During Your First Months of TAPIF

Taking a trip abroad is complicated enough, but moving abroad has its own set of challenges. If you’ve been accepted to the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF), you’ve probably already received multiple handbooks and links with all sorts of information. It’s overwhelming, no doubt. The months leading up to TAPIF are stressful when it comes to visas, flights and such. But what should you do once you arrive to teach English in France? In this post, I’ll explain what you need to do during your first months of TAPIF. Stick around to grab my 101 TAPIF + TEFL...

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6 Things Every Expat Needs

There’s a club for everything, I’m convinced. From knitting to Quidditch, pickle ball to coffee, there’s truly a club for everyone. One massive group I’ve discovered by moving to France is the expat community. It takes a lot of grit, patience and strength to be an expat, or someone living outside her native country. To willingly remove yourself from all familiarity can seem odd at first, but after living as an expat for sometime, you develop a type of daring endurance. With several months of life in Marseille, France, under my belt, I want to share some of the...

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Best Black Friday Deals for Travel Lovers

It is that time of year again! If you don’t usually start your holiday shopping early, this is the year to begin. Because the early bird gets the worm called sales and better prices. Although this year hasn’t included travel for most, it’s still on our minds. And if you have a travel lover in your life (or maybe it’s you!), I’m rounding up some of the best travel-themed gifts. And best of all, most are on sale or offer coupons. And if they’re not on sale, they partner with Rakuten, meaning you get a percentage cash back with...

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How To Pack for a Year in France

It’s not like I didn’t know. Over a year ago, I decided to apply to different programs where I could teach English in France. And truth be told, I didn’t look into many options outside of this dream. And despite COVID, I am heading to France to teach English to little kiddos through TAPIF and am psyched. All that to say, I have been mentally preparing for a year abroad. Yet the packing process is daunting no matter what. Today I’m walking you through how to pack for a year in France. This post includes affiliate links, which means...

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How I Applied for My TAPIF Visa to France

When people would ask me about my “trip” to France, I often chuckled. Because a trip suggests short-term for the purpose of sightseeing. And because it’s entirely easier to take a trip than it is to move abroad for work. Most trips don’t include health insurance coverage, salary, rent or visas — the last of which truly distinguishes between vacationing and moving abroad. I want to start off by saying every experience and every country’s process is different. And it even varies by what type of visa you’re applying for — and they are many. Although there are a...

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