Summary: Adjusting to life abroad can be a challenge. We recently asked members to share their experiences with settling in and culture shock.

Last week we posted a note on all of our country forums, entitled "Adjusting to Expat Life in...". Here are a few replies to date. To share your own experiences adjusting to expat life in your country, go to your country forum and find the topic "Adjusting to Expat Life in..."

"I could go on for DAYS about this topic!" -- Fsutrill in France

When you moved to France, what was the most difficult part of settling in there?
All the paperwork to get an apartment and a bank account and the things concerning the carte de sejour and the lack of information about what is needed document wise.

How much difficulty did you have with culture shock in France?
It came and went. I will say that for our first 6 months or so, at 6pm every evening, my husband and I became EXTREMELY cranky, like that was all the French we had in us and everyone could just bite us! The hardest parts of culture shock were actually on the days when I decided I liked France, because I would start feeling guilty and disloyal and un-patriotic.

What would be the best, single piece of advice you'd give to an expat (or soon to be expat) in France?
"If you have any way at all to hook up with an expat in the area where you will be living, DO IT. It really depends on how long you plan to be in France. If you are short term (~2-3 yrs or less), you probably won't invest as much in language-learning and 'integration', so you'd probably be very grateful to get involved in your city's American Club.

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