Why Are More Americans Moving to France?

Update August 2026

More Americans are moving to France every year. Current estimates put the American expat population at around 150,000, the largest US expat community outside Canada and the UK, and heavily concentrated around Paris. So what’s actually driving the trend?

Why Americans Are Choosing France

Career opportunities drive a large share of the move, particularly in Paris’s international business and tech sectors. But career isn’t the whole story. A significant number of American expats are retirees drawn to a slower pace of life, walkable cities, and a culture that treats meals and leisure as worth protecting rather than squeezing around work. France’s standard workweek is capped at 35 hours, and the country mandates a minimum of five weeks of paid vacation a year, a real cultural difference for anyone used to the US norm. Others are following family already settled in France, or simply chasing a lifestyle change: better public transit, less car dependency, and cities built for people rather than parking.

Cost of living plays a role too, though it cuts both ways. Paris rivals major US cities on rent, but smaller cities like Lyon, Bordeaux, and Strasbourg offer a noticeably lower cost of living without sacrificing much in the way of culture, food, or connectivity.

France’s healthcare system comes up often in these conversations too. More on that below, since it’s one of the more surprising differences for anyone comparing life in the US to life in France.

Where Americans Are Settling in France

Paris remains the overwhelming favorite, home to roughly half of all American expats in the country, drawn by international schools, English-speaking professional services, and direct flights back to major US cities. That draw comes at a price: a one-bedroom apartment in central Paris typically runs €1,600 to €2,800 a month, and all-in monthly costs for a single person, rent included, generally fall between €2,500 and €4,500 depending on lifestyle and neighborhood. But plenty of Americans are choosing somewhere else entirely, often for exactly that reason:

• Nice and the Riviera: Mediterranean climate, proximity to Italy, and a strong pull for retirees and creatives
• Lyon: France’s culinary capital, with one-bedroom rents running roughly 40 to 50% below Paris, around €650 to €900 in central neighborhoods, and a strong expat community of its own
• Bordeaux: Wine country living with similarly favorable rents to Lyon, increasingly popular with remote workers
• Aix-en-Provence: Smaller, historic, and popular with families
• Strasbourg, Lille, and Marseille: Less obvious choices, but each has a growing international presence and a noticeably lower cost of living than Paris

The pattern holds across nearly every category, not just rent: groceries, transit, and dining out all run cheaper outside Paris, often 25 to 30% less in Lyon or Marseille than in the capital for a comparable lifestyle. For anyone weighing the move primarily on cost, the choice of city matters as much as the decision to move at all.

Healthcare in France for Expats

France’s national healthcare system, Protection Universelle Maladie (PUMA), covers residents who’ve lived in France for at least three months on a stable, ongoing basis. Sécurité Sociale, the best-known fund, covers routine care, prescriptions, medical equipment, and hospitalization. Many residents, French and expat alike, also carry a “mutuelle,” supplemental private insurance covering what the public system doesn’t reimburse in full. Expats with permanent residency generally qualify on the same terms as French citizens once they meet the residency requirement.

For Americans used to navigating private insurance and employer-tied coverage, this is often one of the more pleasant surprises about the move, even before accounting for the cost difference.

Thinking It Over

None of this means the move is simple. Visas, housing, healthcare enrollment, and language all take real planning, and what works for a retiree settling in Provence looks different from what works for a family relocating to Paris for work. But the trend is real, and it’s growing: more Americans are choosing France every year, for reasons that go well beyond the Eiffel Tower.

Do You Need to Speak French?

Not necessarily, at least not at first. Paris and other major cities have sizable English-speaking professional communities, and plenty of expats manage daily life with basic French and patience. That said, most people who move to France long-term end up learning at least conversational French, both because it opens up more of daily life outside expat circles and because certain bureaucratic processes, from healthcare enrollment to lease signing, go more smoothly with some language ability. Language schools and exchange programs are widely available in every major city.

A Quick Note on Visas

Americans need a long-stay visa to live in France beyond the standard 90-day tourist allowance. The most common routes are the long-stay visitor visa (for retirees and those with independent income who won’t work in France), a talent passport or work visa tied to employment, and student visas. Each has different financial and documentation requirements, and processing can take a couple of months, so this is usually one of the first things to sort out once a move starts feeling real rather than hypothetical.

If you’re at the stage of actually planning a move rather than just considering one, SDC International Shipping has been helping American households relocate to France for over 20 years, and our guides on French customs requirements and what to expect from a moving quote are good next stops.