Things I did one month upon my arrival

One month after my arrival, I look back. There are much more left to write off from the list, on top of what I needed to consider, deciding to travel, fly and push through with our plans from four years ago, during such a sensitive time in this lifetime. Succeeding to get through borders, securing the first pile of documents… and yet more awaits. Time to reevaluate, to take a step back and assess how far we’ve come… or not at all.

Phone line

Fortunately, the first need has already been put into place in advance. I subscribed to the same provider I previously had in 2015, Free. I did make a quick search if there were better offers since 2015. For me, their 12 EUR per month package, including unlimited calls and texts (to all networks) and 100 Gb net was best fit for my usage and lifestyle.

Other providers are: SFR, Bouyges, Orange, La Poste

Repair/replace my wedding ring

I lost one of the stones in my wedding ring just a few weeks after the wedding. Since only a few days have gone by, a new replacement was still covered by the warranty. It took only a week until I got a new, stronger version of my wedding ring.

Where we got our wedding rings: Histoire d’Or

Validate my residence permit

Being a spouse of a French national, my long-stay visa also served as my first residence permit (VLS-TS, visa long séjour valant un titre de séjour). All I had to do was log in to the Ministry of Interior’s website, input my details and in a few minutes, I was able to secure my access and a copy of my residence permit. After a few weeks, I received an appointment letter (via email) for my succeeding visits to the Immigration Office for a medical assessment, further validation, instruction and guidance following my definitive migration to France.

Good to know: After a few clicks, having a residence permit allows you to exercise a professional activity and legally work in France

Attempted to secure a numéro fiscal (tax identification number)

Not having a stable source of income, my now-husband can benefit to reduced tax once he declares that he’s married and that his spouse does not currently have a professional activity/source of income. However, we soon found out that I can only get hold of my tax number once I am able to declare my taxes for 2020. That is only possible by April. For now, there is nothing more we can do about it. So much for saved taxes.

Open a traditional bank account

I searched no further and went to my previous bank, LCL, which happens to have a branch five minutes away from where we live. Opening a bank account permits me to finally apply for social security and health care (Assurance Maladie). We took this opportunity to open a joint account where we can pool our common financial savings to pay for our shared bills like rent, electricity and groceries.

Other traditional banks: La Banque Postale, Société Générale, BNP Parias, Caisse d’Épargne, Banque Populaire

Once I opened a traditional French bank account, I signed up for an online bank, via Boursorama (by Société Générale), and will later transition from traditional bank to a fully online bank. This will save us a whole lot from bank service fees and transactions fees. Other online banks: Hello Bank (by BNP Paribas).

Rent furniture

The apartment we are currently renting at present is a transition apartment, while we wait for the B’s new apartment to be turned over. A lot of our current items were furnished and provided for by our landlord, but we still needed a few more items which B did not previously have or I did not bother bringing with me. Instead of buying furniture/household items, we decided to rent furniture, such as our coat rack, from locandroll.com, buying us more time to decide, and to save enough for the real apartment.

Sign up for the city library

To pass time productively, without spending a cent, we signed up for the city library. More on that story in this post.

Failed attempt to report our marriage in the Philippine consulate

We have finally gathered all the necessary documents to report our marriage after a series of unfortunate events. However, much to our dismay, we have to have our acte de marriage (marriage certificate) revised because the French mayor’s office ignored the fact that the middle name of Filipinos should not be considered in legal French papers.

Click here for updated information on report of marriage, as of 2019.

The list is far from over. But we’re taking it a step at a time. This also goes without saying that I’ve been sending my CV everywhere like confetti. Luck has not come my way yet.

Slow down, refresh, relax, rest… but for how long? This is the first time since 2009 that I have not worked. It’s a different feeling, a different life. I’m trying to find out how to live it out. Let’s find out how it will pan out… sooner, I hope, and not later.