my past
I’m Annie, an expat who’s lived and loved Lille for over 10 years — and now I help others make it home.
Your future,
How I got here
From California to Lille, via the préfecture queue
What started as a semester of study abroad, turned into a life in France.
More than a decade later, three major cities, countless frustrating administrative adventures and one place that finally felt like home: Lille.
Today, I help expats navigate the move I once made myself.
My home sweet Lille
My path to home
Nice is nice, Paris is pretty, Lille is home
The beginning
L.A. -> Paris
My junior semester abroad at La Sorbonne, I came for six months and left wondering how to get back.
Finding my feet
Paris -> Nice
Master's at the IAE (French business school), first admin rendez-vous, several visa battles... Nice was beautiful, but France wasn't always easy.
Back to the City of Lights
Nice -> Paris
Work, internships, paperwork, wrong forms, more paperwork and one very memorable moment : fainting on the metro after a 5-hour stint at the Paris préfecture.
Home Sweet Lille
Paris -> Lille
Papers finally in hand, I landed a job at a Lille startup and told myself it was temporary. Ten years later, I call Lille home and I love helping others make it theirs too.
A client's words
With Annie's help, we ended up in exactly the right place.
- Ami & Patrick M.
Read more testimonials here
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