What It’s Really Like To Move Abroad In Your 20s
An exclusive interview with Anna Seavey.
For most people, your 20s are a time of uncertainty. You’re experiencing adulthood for the first time. You’re expected to know who you are, make major decisions, and live life to the fullest. While it can be a difficult period, it’s also a great opportunity to explore your options, try different things, and travel to new places.
Would you be brave enough to move to a completely different country?
Anna Seavey, born in the USA, is a lifestyle content creator living in Paris. She’s an inspiring example of how you can fulfill your dreams of living abroad and successfully immerse yourself in a new world.
I spoke with Anna to find out more about her move from the US to Paris and learn what it’s truly like to live abroad in your 20s.
Keep reading to discover an honest, first-hand account of choosing your country, finding a job, overcoming challenges, and the perks of calling Paris home.
Anna, what influenced you to move to a different country?
I have always loved traveling and seeing new places, and the thought of living in Europe always intrigued me. I love the slower pace compared to the US. I think they take more time to truly enjoy living in many countries here, which I really admire. Prior to moving to Paris, I was working a 9 to 5 where I was commuting 2 hours round trip with only 5 days off a year (the legal bare minimum), plotting my escape. Also, the cost of living in the US, even in suburban towns (I was living in LA so it was much more expensive) began to skyrocket. One of my closest friends had just moved to Paris and offered me a place to stay until I got myself sorted, so things really just fell into place.
Why did you move to Paris in particular?
When I was younger, I was obsessed with Paris, in every sense of the word. I can’t even pinpoint when the genesis of this obsession was, but every time I had a creative writing assignment at school, I’d find a way to make it about Paris. I was drawing and painting pictures of Paris all the time. I was listening to classic French musicians like Edith Piaf and Charles Trenet. My childhood bedroom was also completely Paris-themed. I once counted the number of Eiffel Towers (statues, pictures, etc.) I had in that room — there were 13, and it wasn’t all that big of a room.
I’ve always been a creative type and an utterly hopeless romantic, and everything you hear about Paris — how it’s this sea of poets, artists, philosophers, writers, painters, “the city of love”, “the fashion capital of the world” — well that’s probably what did it.
I used to watch the opening credits to the movie Midnight In Paris on loop because it’s just this beautiful montage of different parts of the city. After hearing me talk about it enough, when I was 14, my parents worked really hard and took me there. On that trip, I just fell in love and vowed that I’d live there someday, even if only for a short while. The architecture, the history, the parks, the food … no place is perfect, but it was unlike anywhere else I’d been at that time.
Did you move with career plans in mind? If not, how did you approach finding work?
Not exactly. I had vaguely played around with the thought of au pairing or becoming an English teacher because I’d seen lots of people online talking about how those are easy jobs for Americans to come by. But, I basically just booked a one-way ticket a few months out and hoped for the best (there may have been some alcohol that influenced this decision).
My friend, who I was going to be staying with, is an au pair, and I asked if she could give my name out to anyone looking for one themselves. As I was at my gate, about to board my leap of faith flight, she told me she’d found a family. It was actually the brother of her host mom and his wife who were looking for an au pair, so my friend and I would be watching cousins. We would often take the kids to various parks around Paris and hang out together while watching them. It felt like fate for a while. Unfortunately, things didn’t end up working out with the family I was with, which sadly, from what I’ve heard from many other past and present au pairs, seems to be pretty common. I was devastated because I’d grown to really love the two young girls I was watching, but ultimately had to do what was best for me.
A couple of months after I began au pairing, a friend referred me for this part-time content creator role at a start-up skincare company, which was almost the exact position I’d had when living in LA. Initially, they’d wanted me to take on more work, but because I’d made a commitment to the family I was working for, my availability was limited. However, when things started to go sour with the family, I didn’t feel drawn to honor that commitment as much and subsequently transitioned into a larger role at the skincare company, and I am so glad I did!
I work for Verdoie: a French skincare company with products powered by French mushrooms. My boss is lovely, the team is great, the products are great and I’m really enjoying it. I have no regrets about au pairing though. I really loved the girls I watched and valued my time with them, and if I hadn’t “gotten my foot in the door” (so to speak) with au pairing, I’d have never met my friend who referred me for my current job. So anytime someone asks me how to move here, or somewhere else abroad, my advice is always, “Just get here! The rest will work itself out.”
What are some of the struggles you’ve faced?
As glowing of a review that I give Paris, this city, and being a foreigner in it, definitely has its challenges. My friend, who’s also American, and I actually have a running joke that there’s a “hazing phase” when you first get to Paris. Initially, just all the pesky admin stuff you have to do is hell — things like getting a new phone number, setting up a bank account, visa issues, etc. Most of these things are a nightmare even in your native tongue, but throw in trying to do it in very broken French or with French people who find out you’re American and are much less tolerant of you (this is not always the case but has definitely happened to me before). Yeah, really not fun. My suggestion is to find a nice French boy to help you and then make him your boyfriend — that’s what I did at least.
When I first arrived in Paris, I was living in an apartment that was just under 175 sq. ft. and was infested with mice. That was actually one of the major reasons I stopped au pairing. My apartment was being provided by my host family, and when I raised the issue with them, very little care was shown. It took three months of me practically begging for them to finally hire a TaskRabbit to fill some holes in the apartment that the mice were crawling through, and it still didn’t solve the issue. Finding a new apartment, especially as a foreigner, is also a nightmare, but this would be a novel if I breached that subject so I’ll just leave it at that.
Also, the weather. Coming from sunny Los Angeles to a place that has a lot of rain and grey skies is not always easy. But, with some vitamin C capsules to kick the seasonal depression, I managed. And now with the sun finally starting to return to Paris, it just makes the sunny days that much more special.
What’s the best thing about living in Paris in your 20s?
I feel like prior to living here, I was really lacking community. In LA, it takes so long to get anywhere with all the traffic that hanging out with people has to be a very meticulously planned event, that usually takes up most of your day, which when working full-time is very difficult to execute. In Paris, there’s so much to see and do (free museums, beautiful parks, cute cafes, incredible restaurants), and with the metro and the walkability, everything is so accessible. Investing in friendships and seeing your friends often is much easier here.
Also, having so many neighboring countries that are so affordable to travel to has been incredible! I’ve vacationed in Greece, Scotland, and various other cities and regions of France since moving, and I have an upcoming trip to Italy on the books.
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