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Why The Blonde Outsider?
Have you ever walked into a room and instantly realised you don't quite belong?
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Does Your Language Change You?
The other day, I was chatting to a friend when our conversation drifted onto something I’d never really stopped to think about before. Do you become a different person depending on the language you’re speaking? The more we talked, the more examples we came up with. My friend told me about a woman she knew who was an absolute powerhouse in English, despite it not being her native language. Confident, outspoken and full of authority. Yet the moment she switched back to Spanish, her mother tongue, she became noticeably quieter and more reserved. We both agreed that this strange phenomenon seemed to exist. What we couldn’t work out was why. At…
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Cost of Living in Aix-en-Provence: The Real Costs
Food and Eating Out Aix-en-Provence is one of those places people arrive in with a very clear picture already in mind—sunlight, markets, long lunches, and a slower pace of life. And sometimes, it really is like that. But living here ( I mean, properly living here) is a little more nuanced. The reality sits somewhere between expectation and experience, and the cost of living reflects that. Nowhere is this more apparent than with food. Aix is known for its cafés, its atmosphere, and those unhurried meals under the plane trees—and in the centre, much of that comes at a price. It’s not unusual to pay around €4,50 for a coffee…
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The Art of Small Talk, French Edition
If there’s one thing I’ve learned after ten years in France, it’s that small talk — as I once knew it — doesn’t really exist here.
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Eating my Way Through Aix en Provence
When you live here, eating out just sort of becomes part of everyday life. I don’t plan it. I go out for coffee, stay for lunch, meet someone again a few days later and end up back in the same place. After a while, you starts to get a feel for what’s actually good and what isn’t. That said, even after two years, I’m still regularly surprised—either by somewhere new that’s opened, or by a place I’ve somehow never tried. And there are a lot of places to try! There’s also this idea that you can sit anywhere here and eat well, but that’s not really true. Quite a…
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Reasons to Move to Provence (As If You Need Convincing)
If you’re thinking about making the move to Provence, here are some reasons that might just tip the balance. I can’t promise it’ll be perfect — nowhere ever is — but I can promise you that once Provence gets under your skin, it never really leaves. The Weather Let’s start with the obvious. Provence enjoys around 300 days of sunshine a year — and somehow, it never gets old. Winters are crisp and bright, summers are long and lazy, and even when the mistral wind blows, the skies stay that deep, endless blue. You start to plan your life around light — morning coffees on terraces, evening walks in the gold of the setting…
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From Blending In to Standing Out: Finding Your Place Abroad
My First Experience When I first moved abroad, all I wanted was to belong. As a child, I thought that simply meant fitting in. I would eventually learn that the two aren’t always the same thing. I was 11 years old when my family moved from the UK to Germany and it felt like the biggest adventure ever -equal parts exciting and terrifying. Everything was so utterly different from what I had been used to: the language, the food, the school. Looking back, I think part of my excitement came from leaving a few things behind. Never again would I have to endure the plight of my Secondary school gym…
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10 Fun Things to Do Around Aix-en-Provence with Kids
(Because Provence isn’t just for rosé drinkers) Whether you’re visiting Provence with little ones in tow or you live here full-time, there’s no shortage of things to do with kids around Aix-en-Provence. From zoos to beaches, tree-top adventures to old-fashioned train rides, the region has plenty to keep the whole family happy — and maybe even a little tired by bedtime. On a side note, my kids, who are 10 and 13 years old, have really enjoyed exploring the many activities here and loved contributing to this article. 1. Go to one of the many theme parksProvence is surprisingly rich in kid-friendly theme parks — and many of them are…
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10 Cool Things to Do in Aix-en-Provence (By someone who lives there)
Living near Aix-en-Provence feels a bit like living inside a painting — one that smells faintly of lavender and espresso. It’s elegant, sunlit, and endlessly walkable, yet always full of surprises.
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Sunday Mornings in France
One of the first things you notice when you move to France is that, in most places, Sundays are still sacred. Not in a religious sense, necessarily — though you’ll still hear church bells echoing through the villages — but in the sense of slowing down, of pausing.
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A Year in Provence: Expectations vs. Reality
About a year ago, my family decided to move from a quiet rural village in northern France to Provence — specifically, to a village just outside Aix-en-Provence — so that my children could attend a bilingual school. It turns out, it was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.
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What I Miss Most (and Least) About Home
I last lived in my home country, the UK, when I was twenty-one. Things have changed hugely since then — new slang, new politics, new prices — but the things I miss always seem to stay the same.
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French Bureaucracy and the Art of Staying Calm
There’s a moment every foreigner in France faces — the day you realise that your most valuable life skill isn’t language, or charm, or even patience. It’s persistence.
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10 Things I Wish I’d Known Before Moving to France
(Because it’s not all croissants and châteaux — but it’s close)
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Cultural and Linguistic Fails I Can Now Laugh About
From accidental insults to culinary crimes, here are a few of the many ways I’ve managed to confuse, amuse, and horrify people across Europe — and what I learned from laughing at myself.
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What Belonging Means to Me
Belonging isn’t always about fitting in — sometimes it’s about finding comfort in your own little bubble until the world around you starts to make space. Here’s what belonging means to me.
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How to Find your tribe abroad
Moving abroad is exciting — until the loneliness sets in. Finding your people in a new country isn’t always easy, but it can change everything. Here’s how to build your tribe — one awkward coffee at a time.
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The Day I Realised I Wasn’t a Tourist Anymore
It happened a long time ago, when I was still a child growing up in Germany.My family had just moved from the UK — not all of us kids (the older ones stayed behind). It was just my Mum, Dad and me — and suddenly everything around us was new: a new house, a new school, a new language, a new life. Before moving, my parents and I had all taken German lessons, but inevitably, they forgot things I remembered. I was only eleven, and my mind was still fresh — a sponge soaking up every word and phrase. Before long, I’d become the family’s emergency translator — the one…
Life Abroad, Unfiltered / Stories from Life Abroad
