Lisa Anselmo is author of My (Part-Time) Paris Life. Whilst she's living the dream, it's not all rosie. Regardless, she's managed to keep the Paris magic alive!
Loulabelle's FrancoFiles episode 92 - click here to listen
Guest: Lisa Anselmo
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Lisa Anselmo is the author of My (Part-Time) Paris Life and has spent most of her professional career in magazine publishing, working on such iconic brands as Allure, Mademoiselle, InStyle, and People. She started to head over to Paris more and more and was following the fashion trends she saw there. She would write to her friends and created an early form of a blog, pre-social media. It was picked up by Bonjour Paris and she became their fashion editor. Lisa traveled to Paris twice a year to cover the fashion trade shows. Lisa fell in love with the European lifestyle and especially Paris. Her transition eventually from New York to Paris felt seamless.
Like me Lisa’s best friend was her mother who passed away a decade or so ago. She said that she would not have come to living this French life if her mother was still with her. After losing her mom, whilst tragic and devastating, she felt a freedom to start living her life in the manner that was right for her. For me, it was my mum who inspired me to follow my dream to pursue my connection to France. Mum and I talked about France often, but never travelled there together. We both went there at separate times and shared a dream of heading over there for birthdays and special occasions, so now whenever I am in France I strangely feel a connection and closeness to my mum when I’m there, that I don’t seem to feel in Australia. Lisa spoke about lots of signs that popped up which helped her feel that her mother was with her and guiding her during her move to Paris. I know just how she feels. The little moments when I recognise my mum shining through in French are very precious.
Lisa talks of ex-pats in Paris running away from something, but now she has headed over there, she encourages her family and friends to come and join her when they can. This is what she means when she says “running away brought me home”. Through heading to Paris after her mother died, even though probably running away, she has found she can keep the connection with family in the US. She has also now found a beautiful place she calls home.
Lisa gave a number of tips for moving to Paris or France, how to navigate challenges and some things to be aware of. Is it a part-time residence, or are you planning to live there? Is going really rural right for you, or is a little bit of café culture your thing? Is the area of Paris you love as a tourist going to be the same when you’re living there full time? Lisa recommends getting assistance from a relocation specialist for the property search but also for day to day things we take for granted in our home country. Working through bureaucratic matters is such a challenge! Opening a bank account, dealing with property purchase papers or rental contracts in French, applying for and knowing all the details for visas. Having a specialist’s help can be invaluable. Lisa actually recommends renting in France where you’re thinking of buying just for 3 months before taking the leap to purchase (3 months doesn’t need a visa in France).
Lisa Anselmo shares so much of herself in my chat with her. I actually learned a lot about myself through listening to her. Lisa shares my passion for history, architecture, French culture and connecting to the past, the present and in some ways the future. As she spoke about the lessons she has learned about herself since moving to Paris, sparks of recognition of my own life flashed in my head. Lisa has a refreshing perspective and sees the world in a way I hadn’t considered. As she stated her thoughts on happiness, that it is a state of mind and a choice and that she has now learnt to love herself flaws and all, I thought of how hard we all can be on ourselves. Perhaps embracing what we have and who we really are deep inside as Lisa does, is a lesson for us all.
Lisa Anselmo’s links
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Buy Lisa’s book – My (Part-Time) Paris Life
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