A French Lens Podcast

Episode 7: How do you say good-bye before a move?

We’re under two weeks out now, still packing two-thirds of a house, still working through a quarter of the people we need to see. This episode is recorded in the actual scramble of trying to be present with someone while your brain is running a packing list. We talk about who made the cut for early goodbyes, why family goodbyes feel different than friend goodbyes, and moments where we caught ourselves rushing through a hang we knew we’d want back later. Abbie shares the image she keeps returning to: we’re canvases, and everyone who’s passed through our life has left paint on it — some a thick stroke, some barely a mark, all of it staying. Follow along @AbbieinFrance [https://www.instagram.com/abbieinfrance/] and @SuhoinFrance [https://www.instagram.com/suhoinfrance/], read more on Substack, and find Abbie’s photography work at AbbieSmithPhotography.com [https://www.abbiesmithphotography.com/]. Subscribe wherever you listen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afrenchlens.substack.com [https://afrenchlens.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 6: Packing Up a Life to Start Anew in France

Episode 6 of A French Lens tackles the messy reality of packing up ten years of life into four checked bags and two carry-ons, twenty days before departure. Abbie and Jeff walk through their process — the yard sale, the eBay selling, storing things in the basement, what comes and what doesn't — and dig into the categories that have been hardest to let go of (sentimental items, collections, photo albums, clothes). They talk about what's actually helped (the "haven't used it in a year" rule) and what hasn't, the surprising relief of finally getting rid of things, and where they honestly stand right now. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afrenchlens.substack.com [https://afrenchlens.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 5: What It Really Feels Like to Close the Chapter on a Career You've Known for Decade(s)

Abbie has two days left as a psychiatric nurse practitioner and Jeff finished up teaching earlier this month. In this episode, the two of them sit down together — while it's still fresh and while France is weeks away — and talk honestly about what it actually feels like to close the chapter on careers they've known for decades. There is the weight that can build quietly in American healthcare, creating burnout. The changing classroom has different responsibilities and demands. And there is the grief of leaving something you were genuinely good at along with the identity question nobody prepares you for: who are you when the job title goes away? This is a real conversation, in real time, from two people who are still figuring it out. We would love to have you along. In this episode Jeff mentioned the microphones we use and you can find them here: DJI Mic Mini [https://amzn.to/4xVqQ0e] As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afrenchlens.substack.com [https://afrenchlens.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 4: 29 Visas and a Master's Thesis

There are 29 (and maybe more!) different ways to move to France as an American — and we spent months feeling that we were on the right path, until something happened that almost blew the whole plan apart. This episode walks through the visa landscape: things we read, who we hired, and the almost absurd moment we discovered that a Master's thesis Abbie wrote years ago on French formal gardens was the credential that made our application possible. We also get into the three weeks we nearly scrapped everything for a quieter, lower-stakes option — and what it took to come back from that doubt and submit anyway. From a government approval email read in a parking lot to a visa that came back in six days, this is the part of the story where the dream started becoming real. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Books, businesses, and people discussed in episode four: Foolproof French Visas by Allison Grant Lounes [https://amzn.to/4vwedra] Valérie Aston of Start Business in France [https://www.startbusinessinfrance.com/] Jason and Raina of Baguette Bound [https://www.youtube.com/@BaguetteBound] Johnny Benoit of French Lifestyle [https://www.youtube.com/@french_lifestyle_johnny_benoit] Mallory and Ben of France of a Lifetime Tours [https://franceofalifetimetours.com/about-us/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afrenchlens.substack.com [https://afrenchlens.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Episode 3: Why Blois? How We Chose Our French Home

On this podcast, we piggy-back on our last episode, making the decision to move to France. But France isn't one place and we needed to decide where exactly we were going to settle. This episode is about the research that followed: the Loire Valley cities we considered and ruled out, the practical case for Blois, and Jeff and Abbie's thoughts behind moving to this town of 50,000. Woven through it, a story Abbie has been carrying for twenty-five years — a few days in the Loire Valley at age twenty, studying abroad in Paris, that planted something she didn't fully understand until now. Sometimes the place chooses you as much as you choose it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit afrenchlens.substack.com [https://afrenchlens.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]