Expat Influencers are Lying to You: How to Tell Fact from Fiction
It’s no secret that there’s a thriving expat influencer community online. Foreigners living all over France who create and share content on their blogs, YouTube channels, and social media accounts abound. A large portion of people who follow these expat influencers hope to move to France themselves one day and enjoy consuming content from those who have already done it. Here’s the problem – you can’t believe everything you read on the internet.
While we enjoy being a part of the community of expats online, we can’t help but notice all of the misleading, omissive, and sometimes false information that so often emanates from it. Though there’s no shortage of expat content creators, genuine, reliable information from people with no ulterior motives can be hard to come by. If you’re looking to move abroad and hungry for content about how to go about it, it’s all too easy to get duped.
Let’s get straight to the point: Expat influencers are lying to you, and here’s how.
There are strict rules to follow.
Despite what influencers might show on social media, there are numerous rules conditioning your stay in France that you are legally bound to follow. One of the most important, misrepresented, and restrictive categories is foreigners’ working rights in France. As the online world of influencing and remote work continues to prosper, you must think critically about what you see on social media.
It’s pretty typical of expats in France to have monetized blogs and YouTube channels, offer paid services, display affiliate links, or sell items online. It’s so common, in fact, that it might not occur to you that these activities could be illegal. While it’s true that the regulations can be complicated, ignorance of the law excuses no one!
Keep in mind that not everyone has to follow the same rules – Teaching assistants, university students, self-employed people, and spouses of French people all have different residency statuses, for instance. Furthermore, not everyone discloses their residency status to their followers, further muddying the waters as to what kinds of work they’re allowed to do. To make matters worse, some expats blatantly flout the rules all while telling others they can do it too!
All of this can make it easy to believe that anyone can move to France for any reason and make money without restrictions, but that simply isn’t the case. If you’ve ever seen a teaching assistant supplement their income by giving English lessons online or a student making money by monetizing their blog, then you’ve likely already encountered some common violations.
If you’re planning a move abroad, you should take the time to learn about the conditions of your stay in France from reliable sources, and not expat influencers, to ensure that any work you complete is legal.
You can find all the information you need for free.
Some expat influencers will have you believe that moving to France is just too complicated to accomplish without help. They’ll charge you for hand-holding services, offer consulting sessions, make French-learning courses, put together workshops, hold informational meet ups, and more – and they’re usually not cheap! The bottom line is that they have a vested interest in your self-doubt and ignorance. The less confident you are in your capabilities, the more money they can make off of you.
We’re not saying that some expats don’t provide valuable services, but we are saying that all of the information you really need to move to France is already available for free. The French government hasn’t forgotten to make any step of the immigration process public! Influencers don’t have confidential details about immigration that can only be accessed by paying for their secrets, they just know where to find the information and how to sell it to you.
Instead of shelling out hundreds of dollars and trusting an expat influencer to guide you to France, believe in yourself and get educated! The credible information published by the French government that can be viewed for free online is all that you need. From what sorts of visas exist, to the application process, to what you must do upon arrival in France, no necessity is hidden behind influencers’ paywalls.
If moving abroad is one of your goals, you should arm yourself with the accurate information you need from official sources before you consider paying for auxiliary services.
It’s not as easy as getting to France and never turning back.
How many times have you read the phrase “I made it to France and just never turned back!” or “I took one look at Paris and decided I’d never leave!” on an influencer’s blog? If you’re hoping to find transparent information about how an expat moved abroad, it can be disappointing to find out that their content isn’t as straightforward as they claim.
Many expats insist that they post honest information about their life in France, but, in reality, obscure certain facts about their journey to maintain a glamorous, awe-inspiring, out-of-reach, and exclusive ambiance on their social media. As a result, people hoping to embark on a similar path to France find themselves wondering why their process isn’t as effortless and dreamy as what they see online! The reality is that, for most people, moving to France isn’t as simple as buying a one-way ticket to Paris.
You need to take vague content posted by expats online with a grain of salt, or you risk facing major frustration when you realize that there’s more to moving and staying in France than just deciding to do so. Many influencers tout unbelievable success stories, but their accomplishments aren’t always due to hard work alone. Factors like being married to a French national, entering a French civil union, or possessing a European Union passport facilitate life in France significantly and afford privileges that other foreigners are denied.
Be mindful of the fact that expats may embellish certain details to preserve their effortless aesthetic or omit others to make their journey seem more impressive. If you hope to move to France, realize that influencers don’t always tell the whole story.
Whether a move to France is in your future or you just love following expats online, remember not to take everything that you see at face value. As for us, we love sharing our life with our community and strive to showcase lawful work, to avoid gatekeeping, and to publish clear facts about our journey.
What kind of content do you like to see from expats online? Have you ever felt frustrated by something an influencer posted? Let us know in a comment!
2 Comments
Jem
This is a true public service… Sincerely appreciate this article. I consume content like this and I wholeheartedly agree… Something is generally up with many expat stories. I’m thinking of one right now who is always pretty sketch about how she is even still in France after her formal job ended. The influencer expats who married a French person or are in civil unions are also most demoralizing for me, because they present life as much easier than I know it actually is. I’m a single person and I know I could not make it single in France alone with no income or grasp of the language (like some), but influencer expats rarely discuss how their husband being a French national actually is how it is “so easy” to adjust to life in France.
Jalen & Maria
Thank you so much for reading and for sharing your experience. We know exactly where you’re coming from.