The Best Parts of Being a Mum in France

In my opinion

I’d always assumed I’d have kids in Australia (where I’m originally from), or maybe London (where I lived for 11 years) but in the end I had them in Paris because I fell in love with a Frenchie and turned my life upside down to move here with no French, no job and no plan.

Almost 9 years later the gamble paid off and it’s all gone mostly ok. My French is legally fluent even if I still make lots of mistakes, I have some semblance of a job (multiple jobs that add up to about one job), a small social circle and a beautiful family. Along the way I’ve learnt to lean back from the hustle culture that was stressing me out and leaned into the structural support of a government that is (on the whole) trying its best to help families, and allow us to spend meaningful time with our kids. Of course it’s not perfect but here’s some things I appreciate that make the journey easier.

The dual language. Usually I’d call this a negative but it’s with great luck that my son’s favourite stuffed toy is called doudou phoque (read it aloud) which means if he ever starts copying my Aussie potty mouth I have a get out of jail free card.

Being a mum isn’t your whole identity. When I meet up with friends with kids we, at most, have a cursory discussion about them before moving on to other topics.