Profiles in Franceformation

In episode 72 of Profiles in Franceformation my guest is Michael Yuille, a British financial advisor living in the south of France near Toulouse.  After deciding to move to France with his family, Michael became aware of the many challenges people face when trying to do retirement and financial planning while living abroad.  British and American clients, and clients of other nationalities, struggl...

In Episode 71 of Profiles in Franceformation. Allison is joined by Jacqueline Menoret and Maria Laura Ribadeneira. Jacqueline studied abroad in Montpellier and then at the London School of Economics before marrying her French husband and working in higher education in Paris. She founded the Immigrant Book Club in 2020, where she was soon joined as a co-host by Maria Laura, who is originally from Q...

Welcome to Episode 70 of Profiles in Franceformation. I'm your host, Allison Grant Louness, and this week our guest is John Frederick. John worked in government and lived many lives in the U. S. before coming to France as a visitor to follow his dream of living in Paris. Since arriving, he's written multiple books, including Prosperity Now and Paris Histories and Mysteries. After living...

Welcome to episode 69 of Profiles in Franceformation. I'm your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and this week my guest is Lounes, and this week my guest is Joanna of Happy Hugs. Joanna is originally from Romania, and she moved to the UK, where she trained as a doula, and then to France with her French husband. She now helps pregnant women navigate the French healthcare system during pregnancy, hos...

Welcome to episode 68 of Profiles in Franceformation. I'm your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and this week my guest is Fabricio Carminati, a real estate agent and creator of French Riviera House Hunting. His goal is to help English-speaking property hunters find the right property and navigate the process of buying their new home in France with ease. Fabricio talks about: How he started helping...

Welcome to Episode 67 of Profiles in Franceformation. I’m your host Allison Grant Lounes, and this week, I’m back with Lisa Vanden Bos, who has been a pillar of the American community in France, since she arrived three decades ago. Lisa launched FUSAC in the 90's, a print magazine that was the go-to resource for English speakers in Paris to help them find jobs, housing, and much more. Lisa ha...

Welcome to episode 66 of the Profiles in Franceformation podcast. I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and today my guest is author Erin Zhurkin. Erin moved to Paris to follow her husband’s job and has lived in 6 different countries, including France, and she now lives in Seoul, South Korea, with her family. Her novel, Plus-Size in Paris, is out this week, and available on Amazon. Purchase Plus-Si...

Welcome to episode 65 of Profiles in Franceformation. This week’s guest is Robynne Pendariès, a professional organizer and ADHD coach who found her calling after joining Message, the Paris-based group for English-speaking parents in France. Robynne followed love to Paris after school and discovered her knack for organizing during the early years of motherhood. She is involved with many groups and...

Welcome to episode 64 of Profiles in Franceformation. This week’s guests are Mark and Kim Jesperen, an author and artist from Maine who fell in love with their home and village in southern France and purchased their French house in 3 days when their trip was unexpectedly extended. Mark Jespersen - Author www.facebook.com/lapetitefantome www.mark-jespersen.com Jespersen & Associates LLC - www.j...

Welcome to episode 63 of Profiles in Franceformation. This week’s guest is Fiona Warren, a currency transfer specialist with Currencies Direct who moved from the London suburbs to southwest France in 2009. In this episode, we talk about how transferring money has evolved significantly and become much easier and cheaper since the early days, and the different ways you can transfer money internation...

Welcome to Episode 62 of Profiles in Franceformation! This week, my guest is Marta Hobbs, author of Unraveling: A Woman's Search for Freedom and the Journey of Coming Home , a memoir about her spiritual healing journey. Marta has been an immigrant twice, in very different circumstances. The first time, she was a young girl fleeing communist Poland in a cloak-and-dagger operation, and she arri...

Welcome to Episode 60 of Profiles in Franceformation. I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and this week, we’re celebrating International Women’s Day with an episode on a very important topic that can affect any woman moving to France. Sarah McGrath is an Australian woman who volunteered as a advocate for domestic violence survivors at home, before moving to France and becoming the founder of Wome...

Welcome to Episode 59 of Profiles in Franceformation! I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and this week, I’m speaking with Charlotte King, my friend, an art history and wine expert, and the co-owner of two companies in France. Bacchus and Clio offers customized tours of France focusing on wine, gastronomy, and French history and culture, while Kira Consultants offers trainings on food and wine to...

Introduction: Welcome to Episode 58 of Profiles in Franceformation. I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and this week, my very special guest is Amy Gruber. Amy is a former educator turned communications consultant who made the decision to begin her Franceformation in January 2020 - right before covid closed the borders. She finally received her Profession Libérale visa and moved from Michigan to...

Introduction: Welcome to episode 57 of the Profiles in Franceformation podcast! I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and this week, I’m interviewing Daniel Tostado, an American attorney who was a teaching assistant with TAPIF in La Réunion, before attending law school in France and becoming an immigration attorney registered with the Paris bar. Daniel does all kinds of things to serve the American...

Welcome to episode 56 of the Profiles in Franceformation podcast! This week, I’m interviewing Maquita Guild-Schwarz, a retired pediatrician who moved to Montpellier, France, with her husband in 1998 after living in Nairobi, Kenya, and 5 other countries. Throughout her time in France, Maquita has joined several volunteer organizations, such as the American Women’s Group, Restos Bébés du Coeur, and...

Welcome to Episode #55 of Profiles in Franceformation, I'm your host, Allison Grant Lounes and in this episode, I'm speaking with Kylie Lang, a British copywriter, author, and amateur line dancer who lives in the Charente region, and who runs Life in Rural France on Facebook and Instagram.  Kylie talks about… The reasoning behind her decision to move to France after having lived in many...

Welcome to Episode #54 of Profiles in Franceformation, I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes and in this episode, we speak with one of our Franceformation clients, Ashley Sorci, who pursued her dream of moving to France and who runs a student exchange program between France and the US.  Ashley also tells us about… What initially inspired her to move to France and how she chose to settle in her new h...

Today’s very special guest is Kim Mousseron, the very first full-time member of the Franceformation team, as she began her permanent role as an International Mobility Consultant on January 2nd. Kim has a Master’s from Middlebury College, and a rich and varied professional history of teaching, office and administrative work and most recently, as a housing coordinator and administrator in a study ab...

Welcome to Episode #52 of Profiles in Franceformation! I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and this week, I’m speaking with Laura McIntyre, an Arkansas native who left corporate America to follow her dream of moving to Paris. After deciding to stay, Laura changed from a visitor status to a profession libérale visa status and put her passion for helping others discover Paris to work, by starting a...

Welcome to Episode 51 of Profiles in Franceformation. I’m your host Allison Grant Lounes, and this week, I’m speaking with one of our Franceformation VIP clients, Brian Bailey, who moved to Paris for a year after covid to work as a professional swing dance teacher, before deciding to go even further and travel the world. And, just so you know, we're going to be taking a break at the end of th...

This week, I’m interviewing Dennis Roberts, a psychologist with the Paris Psychology Center who moved to France in August 2021 from Chicago with his spouse and two big dogs. He’s certified in the UK and 5 US states, and in the process of working on his Profession Libérale visa application, he used Foolproof French Visas as a guide, and also went through the process of becoming a certified psycholo...

Welcome to Episode 49 of Profiles in Franceformation. I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and today, I’m speaking with Abby Héraud, who moved from Kansas to France in high school, and then came back after college to marry her French husband after their long-distance relationship. Throughout her time in France, she’s navigated working as a teacher, setting up a business during covid, and becoming...

Welcome to Episode #48 of Profiles in Franceformation. I’m your host, Allison Grant Lounes, and this week, I’m speaking with one of our Franceformation clients, Vashti Joseph. Vashti grew up in Puerto Rico, lived in the DC area and the UK, and has had several C-suite positions in startup companies before deciding to launch her own business and fulfill her lifelong dream of moving to France. After...