France and food seem to always go together! We’ll take a look at some phrases that pop up frequently in restaurants and cooking – and often with completely different meanings than we thought!

Moving abroad on your own can seem very daunting, but you are not alone! Approximately 60% of the inquiries we receive are from people considering a move to France without a partner. And sometimes, people who make the move with a partner wind up on their own, too.

In November 2018, Canadians Leah and Alan were referred to Renestance to find their French dream home, and they signed a Mandat de Recherche to hire Renestance as their exclusive buying agent.

Moving abroad presents some obvious vocabulary challenges. The tourist phrases books aren’t much help when opening a bank account and getting medical insurance. However, some of the hardest situations involve professionals providing more intimate services – dentists, opticians, gynecologists and yes, hairdressers!

Sometimes, even with an example photo and in your native language, describing how you want your hair done isn’t straightforward. Here we share some of the most common terms used when you visit a hairdresser in France.

You would think that ordering a cup of coffee in France is pretty straightforward. But it can be much more confusing than requesting une baguette or un croissant.

Traditionally, un café will be a tiny cup of strong black espresso. If that surprises you, here’s a quick guide to coffee variations and café etiquette to help you through the day …

Today Renestance celebrates its 4th birthday. As with most startups, we’ve had to adapt our market strategy to double in size each year. It’s funny to think that our first plan was to run an English-speaking retirement home in the South of France! Our team is still based in the Occitanie region, but we can help you live out your French lifestyle dream anywhere in the country.