Member-only story
I LEFT AMERICA TO GO TO FRANCE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
AND WHY I FEEL SAFER THERE RIGHT NOW
Disclaimer: I am Franco-American, have dual citizenship, and love both countries equally. I feel very fortunate to know the good, the bad, and the ugly in both of my beautiful countries and have grown up exposed to these amazing cultures and people.
On March 27th, I boarded an international flight in Los Angeles and flew back to France with my toddler to ride the Covid-19 pandemic out in my native land.
It was a tough decision where to spend the pandemic lockdown. We have lived in San Diego for 6+ months now and love it. Before that, I was in San Francisco, another beautiful city. Despite being happy in California, I run an online business so I am location-independant. Also, I was living in short-term Airbnbs with our stuff in storage so we have more freedom to explore different places. It feels like a permanent vacation. Then Covid-19 hit. And things changed. Suddenly, I couldn’t do any of the things I enjoyed about California. All my in-person meeting and conferences were cancelled. And my family is thousands of miles away. Being in a rental is not where I want to be during a pandemic. Being far away from family without any local family support neither. Lastly, as you will read, I have a few deeper reflections why I chose France.
