Well there’s no easy way to stay in France legally for more than 90 days unless you are a EU citizen, but there are plenty of ways to consider coming to France for a chunk of time to put all of these budget tips to use over the course of a year or so.

1. Get a degree

The Sorbonne University, Sciences Po, NYU in Paris, American University in Paris—the list goes on. Whether it’s in French or English, there are many degree programs that offer you the chance to stay at least a year in Paris. While some like the Sorbonne are extremely affordable, others, like NYU in Paris, are less so, but don’t rule out scholarships!

Related: 12 tips for studying abroad in Paris

2. Work

Does your company have an office in France? Poke around and start asking. You’d be surprised at the number of expats who are hear because work forced them to come to Paris, so why not volunteer yourself and help out someone who doesn’t want to make the move?

3. Intern

There are internship opportunities available to young professionals, with a visa specially dedicated to it. All it takes is a company to hire you, and then you can apply for the visa through the French Chamber of Commerce. It’s not going to be easy to find someone to take you on for the year, but it’s worth a shot.

4. Marry

Does that Bruno Mars song come into your head every time you meet a French person? Marriage is one of the easiest ways to move to France. Any EU citizen can be your key to moving abroad, but it’s also a slightly bigger step than taking a yearlong work exchange to France. Moving to Paris should be the fringe benefit of getting married, not the modus operandi, but what do I know anyway?

5. Tourist visa

If you have some pennies saved up, you can take a sabbatical year and move to Paris with a tourist visa. You can’t seek employment, but you can live here for the length of your visa and travel around without any worries. You have to prove that you have enough money to live on and even then, it’s not always a sure thing, but it’s an option to consider.

Related: A guide to beating the crowds at top Paris attractions

6. Launch a business

You want to make some money and move to France, so why not start a business in Paris? Easier said than done, but check out the news about startups and new businesses on the Rude Baguette, France’s startup blog, and maybe you’ll be inspired to start drafting a business plan while signing your visa application.

7. Study for fun

If you don’t care about a degree, the Sorbonne offers a course in French language and civilization that gets you a visa. It’s not cheap, but it’s a lot easier than trying to become a full-fledged Parisian student. And you should be speaking a little French by the end of it…

8. Become Italian or Irish

Have a great grandfather who was from Italy or Ireland? There are ways to apply for citizenship in these EU countries if you can gather all of the paperwork. Once you become an Italian or Irish citizen (read: EU citizen), France is all yours.

9. Research

There is a visa especially designed for researchers, so if you are a chemist or biologist, why not see if collaboration is possible with your French counterparts? It’ll score you a visa and some really cool international contacts.

10. Become French

I mean come on, just do it already.

The post Want to live in Paris? 10 tips for moving to the City of Light appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Expat Aurelia D’Andrea, a California native, literally wrote the book on moving to France, “Living Abroad in France,” published by Moon Guidebooks. It’s a handy resource for those dreaming of living among baguettes and cheese shops more permanently.

Living Abroad in France, by Aurelia d’Andrea

A guide to moving abroad

Travelers dreaming for a more permanent stay will find plenty of details on how to move to France, including practical information for the move and a breakdown of some of the country’s best regions. D’Andrea sat down with us recently over some café allongé to discuss how she met her deadline and what budget tips she picked up along the way for potential cheapo expats.

D’Andrea set out to write “Living Abroad in France” in a stressfully short four months. A whirlwind trip to every corner of the Hexagon landed her back in Paris where she penned the book to help fellow Francophiles looking to move abroad. “I want to help other people who have the same sorts of dreams to bypass a lot of the trials and tribulations,” she explained of her motivations.

Even though she chose to live in Paris, her ideal city, D’Andrea has fallen for the food of Nice and the quaint towns of Dordogne. If forced to move, she’d venture towards the Mediterranean for some Italian inspiration, great cuisine and sunshine. But expatriation can be a pricey affair that needs careful planning and consideration to make sure there are a few euros left over for a decent bottle of wine and a baguette or two.

Cost cutting

Finding a legal way to move to France is a headache and a half, with no secret recipe for success. Once you find the right situation, start-up costs are one of the biggest concerns for anyone moving abroad. Between finding a place to live and filling it with one’s possessions, the bills can start to soar. Shipping a container of personal items and finding temporary housing while finding a permanent solution are concerns that should be priced out in order to minimize costs.

While furnishing a home, heading to Paris’s Bon Marché or even BHV department store is not the best idea for cutting costs. But buying quality products can pay off in the end, especially for highly-used items like kitchen appliances. “I won’t have to replace my espresso maker while here,” she said

D’Andrea also said that taking castaway items from other expats is a great way to save money and to be green-minded. She suggests scouring the internet to find great used items looking for a home. “Using Craigslist, for example, is a great way not to reinvent the wheel,” she said.

More handy information on the process, from A to Z, can be found in the Moon guide, “Living Abroad in France.” Take a look and then let us know any other cheapo-friendly tips for starting up a life in France!

The post The guide to moving to France? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.