60 channels, accounts, podcasts, blogs and communities run by people who actually live in France, filmed in their kitchens, their villages and their local market. We went through YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and the podcast charts so you don't have to. Every link goes straight to the creator, and the videos play right here.
Curated 16 September 2026Four picks for people planning a serious move rather than a fortnight in Provence. Between them they cover rural life after 20 years, the visa and healthcare paperwork, an American's honest reckoning with retiring here, and the week's news as it affects foreigners.
Latest: Bargain Shops In France · 15 Sep 2026Weekly videos on markets, seasonal food, bargain shops and village life, plus practical expat advice and interviews with other people who have moved. No courses, no property business, just a settled life filmed at a calm pace.
Open channel on YouTube
Latest: The #1 worry people have when moving to France · 16 Sep 2026Visas including the 2026 rule changes for long-stay visitors, getting into CPAM, tax, property, and a series called Life After Starting Over that profiles people who moved at 60 or 70. Twelve uploads in the first two weeks of September. Sells paid visa, healthcare and property-search services; treat the videos as the free front end of that.
Open channel on YouTube
Latest: Normal US grocery items you won't find in French supermarkets · 12 Aug 2026What French supermarkets do not sell, what the French do that Americans do not, and the unglamorous side of bureaucracy and language. Her blog post on why she would not retire in France as an American, on language, healthcare and paperwork at 60 plus, is the most useful reality check on this page. Uploads are now a few a year.
Open channel on YouTubeThe week's news in France and what it means for foreigners: strikes, food prices, heatwaves, the 2027 presidential race, residency and citizenship rules. Produced by a publisher, The Local Europe.
ListenWhere the serious relocation content lives. Long videos, real houses, real supermarket receipts, and more château restorations than any other country on this site. Each card shows the channel's latest upload and plays it here; subscriber counts were read from each channel page on 16 September 2026 (YouTube rounds them).
Latest: Bargain Shops In France · 15 Sep 2026Jane, British, in France for more than 20 years; first Cannes, now a village near Caen in Normandy with her French husband
Weekly videos on markets, seasonal food, bargain shops and village life, plus practical expat advice and interviews with other people who have moved. No courses, no property business, just a settled life filmed at a calm pace.
Latest: The #1 worry people have when moving to France · 16 Sep 2026A relocation firm founded in 2017 by Richard Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis, with an office in London and staff across France, the UK and the US
Visas including the 2026 rule changes for long-stay visitors, getting into CPAM, tax, property, and a series called Life After Starting Over that profiles people who moved at 60 or 70. Twelve uploads in the first two weeks of September. Sells paid visa, healthcare and property-search services; treat the videos as the free front end of that.
Latest: Normal US grocery items you won't find in French supermarkets · 12 Aug 2026Diane, American from New Jersey, in the Loire Valley with her French husband since 2012
What French supermarkets do not sell, what the French do that Americans do not, and the unglamorous side of bureaucracy and language. Her blog post on why she would not retire in France as an American, on language, healthcare and paperwork at 60 plus, is the most useful reality check on this page. Uploads are now a few a year.
Latest: Hotel de Ville: Can I get inside the 'impenetrable' City Hall of Paris · 14 Sep 2026Oliver Gee, an Australian former journalist, in Paris since 2015; runs the business with his Swedish wife Lina
Paris arrondissement by arrondissement, with locals, plus day trips and the history behind the streets. The video side of a 500-episode podcast. Sells paid membership, walking tours and a Paris guide.
Latest: Maybe Don't Listen to Me About France · 15 Sep 2026Jay Swanson, American from Washington State, who moved to Paris for a job and wrote a memoir about it
Paris daily life, history, coffee and food, and reflective videos on what settling in actually costs you. Used to vlog daily, now posts weekly. Funded by Patreon and his books.
Latest: How to do Paris on a Budget in 2026 · 9 Sep 2026Colleen, American from Florida, and her French husband Antoine, in Paris since 2021
Paris neighbourhoods, budgets, hotels, restaurants and day trips, with some videos on retiring in France. The biggest Paris channel on this page. Sells paid guides, food tours and cooking classes.
Latest: A Sunday Stroll on Rue Mouffetard · 14 Sep 2026Corey Frye, American and a former New Yorker, living in Paris
Slow street-by-street walks through Paris with the history of what you are looking at, plus livestream hangouts along the Seine. The gentlest way to learn the neighbourhoods before you choose one.
Latest: Bringing Our Battered Antique Bedroom Suite Back to Life! · 16 Sep 2026Stephanie Jarvis, British, who has owned Château de Lalande in the Indre since about 2007
Life in a working château: renovation, antiques, cooking, events and the local market, filmed several times a week. The audience already skews 50 plus. It is a business: guest rooms, Patreon, a shop and paid stays.
Latest: Lighting, ship in a bottle chandelier? · 15 Sep 2026Dan Preston, a British chef from Hampshire, who bought a burnt-out château in Mainsat in the Creuse in 2022
One man restoring a ruin, mostly alone, with the building work shown in full and the bad days left in. The largest channel on this page. Funded by Patreon and viewer donations; nothing for sale.
Latest: The Chateau Kitchen Installation Didn't Go As Scheduled · 13 Sep 2026A British family from North-East England who took on Château de Lalacelle in Normandy in 2020
Restoration, brocante hunting and the move from the UK, uploaded almost daily. Renovation-heavy and family-focused. Sells paid stays at the château.
Latest: Someone Cut Our Château's Fireplace in Half · 31 Aug 2026Amanda and Lincoln, Americans who moved from San Francisco to restore Château de Lingourdy in Brittany
Weekly restoration videos, gardening, rescue animals and trips around Europe. One of the few American couples on this page with a big old property. They take brand deals.
Latest: Last days of summer in Burgundy in the countryside of France · 4 Sep 2026Marloes and Olaf, a Dutch couple in the Burgundy countryside; Marloes narrates in English
Slow living, house renovation, brocantes, pottery and country cooking, filmed in a region many retirees consider and few creators cover. Marloes has published a cookbook.
Latest: 5 Days of Real Life in France | From UK Supermarkets to a Château in the Dordogne · 14 Sep 2026A British family of four in the Charente, filming since 2023
Post-Brexit paperwork, farmhouse renovation, firewood, school runs and trips to the Dordogne, three times a week. Small and family-focused, but the most practical Brit-in-rural-France channel we found. Nothing for sale.
Latest: Moving to France Changed Me: 4 Stories I Had to Stop Telling Myself · 10 Sep 2026Patricia Brooks, American, who quit her job and moved to France at 51; based in Céret in the Pyrénées-Orientales
Starting over abroad in midlife: the driving licence, the stories you tell yourself, whether living abroad is right for you. Speaks directly to this age group. She is a certified coach and sells coaching, courses and books aimed at women relocating.
Latest: Disastrous Lunch In Sanary Sur Mer! · 13 Sep 2026Tim Fountain, a British writer and performer living in Villefranche-sur-Mer on the Riviera, with his partner
Riviera towns and villages visited in a tiny Citroën Ami, with lunches, drone shots and a Q&A about their life in Villefranche. A grown-up introduction to the coast east of Nice. Tim also runs paid group tours.
Latest: One Day in Nice's Port Neighborhood: Cafés, Shopping & a Boat to Monaco · 22 Aug 2026Anja and Aila, who say they have lived on the French Riviera for more than 20 years
Insider guides to Nice's neighbourhoods, the coastal towns and the train lines, useful for a scouting trip. More travel than relocation. Sells PDF guides from EUR 8.90.
Latest: What To Do BEFORE You Move To France (Estate Taxes w Thomas Dubanchet) · 5 Jun 2026Tommy Sikes, a US-based certified financial planner making retire-in-France content
Estate and inheritance tax with French lawyers, why visas get refused, where Americans are quietly retiring. Only 27 videos and a few a year, but each one is aimed squarely at retirees with US assets. He sells retreats and financial planning.
Latest: Cross-Border Pensions: Managing Your Retirement in France · 7 Sep 2026An international tax and wealth advisory firm serving British expats, on YouTube since 2010
Cross-border pensions, wealth tax, capital gains and UK budget changes as they affect people living in France. Dry, but it covers the questions retirees actually ask. A firm selling advice; the videos are marketing.
Latest: Their Retirement Plan Fell Apart. So They Did This Instead · 1 Sep 2026Déborah Pham van Xua, born in France and raised on four continents, teaching French to learners over 50
Slow French lessons for retirees plus interviews with couples who moved after 60, including one whose retirement plan fell apart before they found France. Small and new (2024) but made for exactly this audience. Sells courses and coaching.
Latest: Les Landes: told by those who live it · 14 Sep 2026Atout France, the national tourism agency; official English-language channel since 2011
Regional films told by residents, off-season mountains, Bordeaux and the Landes. Marketing, but the best free way to see a region you have never visited.
For the car, the dog walk and the long flight over. Fewer than in Spain or Portugal: most France relocation podcasts stopped in 2024 or 2025, so these six are the ones still publishing. Episode counts are from Apple Podcasts, September 2026.
The Local France's weekly show, presented by Ben McPartland with Emma Pearson, Emma Albright and regular guest John Lichfield
The week's news in France and what it means for foreigners: strikes, food prices, heatwaves, the 2027 presidential race, residency and citizenship rules. Produced by a publisher, The Local Europe.
Oliver Gee, Australian, in Paris since 2015
Weekly conversations about Paris life with cooks, guides, comedians and residents; recent episodes cover Paris apartments and Provence. The audio side of the YouTube channel above. Sells membership and tours.
Allison Grant Lounes, who runs the relocation firm Franceformation
Interviews with people who moved to France about why, what was hard and what life is like now. Every two weeks, with a summer break; the last episode was 3 June 2026. Run by a relocation firm that sells consultations, retiree packages and courses.
Krystal Kenney, an American in Paris
Interviews with creative people who built a life or a business in Paris and elsewhere in France, including a How to Move to France episode with an insurance broker. Leans creative and entrepreneurial rather than retirement.
Annie Sargent, who has hosted the show for more than a decade
Long-running travel conversations on regions, history, food and wine, with a Moving to France category and recent episodes following Americans doing language immersion in Avignon.
Slower, deeper and searchable. France has the strongest English-language press of any country on this site, and two of the sites below are proper newspapers with paid subscriptions. Several are run by publishers, property portals or relocation firms; we say so on the card.
English Language Media, based in Monaco; France's English-language newspaper since 2002
News and practical guides on French law, tax, property, residency cards and healthcare, updated daily. A monthly print edition and a paid digital subscription; its own figures claim more than 31,000 paying digital subscribers and 110,000 newsletter readers. A publisher.
The Local Europe AB, a Stockholm-based publisher with a Paris newsroom
Daily French news plus explainers on visas, residency cards, tax, property and citizenship, and the Talking France podcast above. Paid membership. A publisher.
France Media Ltd, the Bath-based group that also publishes France Today and Bonjour Paris
Buying property and living in France: regional property guides, mortgages, law, tax, visas, webinars and an exhibition. Links to its own property listings. A publisher and property portal.
Janine Marsh, born in London, with a home in the Seven Valleys of Pas-de-Calais
Living in France (visas, healthcare, driving), property and renovation, regional guides and food, plus a free quarterly online magazine. Independent, funded by advertising; not a property or advice firm.
Founded by Stephen Heiner, an American who wrote up his own move; now a team of writers
Step-by-step how-tos for Americans: the long-stay visitor visa, profession libérale, CPAM and health insurance, finding a flat, swapping a US licence. Sells paid visa consultations and courses and refers readers to tax and insurance partners.
Deborah Bine, an American in Uzès in the Gard, writing about living in France at 80 after 13 years there
Moving to and retiring in France, road trips, learning French late, and a 2026 best places to retire guide. The oldest voice on this page and the closest to the reader. Promotes holiday rentals, wine tours and fractional-ownership homes.
Kristin Espinasse, American, in Provence, writing with her daughter Jacqueline
A French word per post, a photo and a story about family life in Provence: health appointments, la rentrée, the neighbours. For language and daily life, not paperwork. Personal.
Vanessa Couchman, a British writer in rural south-west France
Village life, local history, customs, festivals, gardening and heatwaves, written since 2010. Personal; the site reports 485 email subscribers.
Martin Jarvis and Nadine, British expats in Brittany and the Loire
Written by British expats for British expats: driving rules, pet travel after the end of EU pet passports, bank holidays, local festivals. Posts every few months. Funded by advertising.
Where you ask the question the guides did not answer. Forum and subreddit sizes were read from the sites in September 2026; Facebook does not publish group sizes to outsiders, so those figures carry a year and a source.
Run by Survive France Network Limited, a private company; calls itself the largest anglophone forum for immigrants in France
Everyday admin (cars, utilities, healthcare, legal) and a busy social side, with hundreds of posts a week. Founded 2016. Free to join; check anything legal with a professional.
The France section of a long-running forum owned by Internet Brands, with one volunteer moderator
Strong on tax, pensions and income questions for Brits. Posts most days.
Run by Expat Blog Limitee, a Mauritius company founded in 2005, with staff moderators
Visa, work, housing and healthcare questions from an international mix of members. The site also sells jobs and services listings.
A volunteer-moderated subreddit for expats of all nationalities in France
Visas, moving, citizenship, jobs and which bank to choose. Grew by about 17,000 members in the past year.
A volunteer-moderated subreddit for Americans planning to leave the US
Choosing a country, visa routes and life after the move. Not France-only, but France comes up constantly and the members have done the paperwork.
Volunteer admins
Pre-move questions on visas, healthcare and French bureaucracy. The largest France group we found.
Volunteer admins
Questions specific to Americans, especially US and French tax and getting into French healthcare.
Volunteer admins
A general group for expats anywhere in France: utilities, healthcare and recommendations.
Nothing matches that combination yet. Try a different region, or reset the filters.
Notaire price data and the honest trade-offs for every region the creators above film in.
Compare regionsCost of livingINSEE data on rents, utilities and groceries, not a vlogger's estimate.
See the budgetVisas and residencyIncome thresholds, documents, timelines and what changed in 2026.
Check the routeThis page is curated, not paid for. If you make honest content about living in France and think you belong here, tell us. We look at every submission and add the ones our readers will thank us for. Listed creators can ask us any time how many readers we have sent them.
We searched YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Apple Podcasts and the main expat directories for English-language creators covering moving to, living in, retiring in and travelling around France, then kept the ones with a real audience and a track record of still posting. We favoured people who live in France over people who visited once, and content aimed at adults planning a permanent move over backpacker and digital-nomad content. Several well-known channels and podcasts were left out because they had not published in the last 12 months.
Audience figures: YouTube subscriber counts were read from each channel page (YouTube rounds them) and Instagram follower counts from each profile; TikTok counts were read from Social Blade and are approximate; podcast episode counts are from Apple Podcasts; all on 16 September 2026. Facebook does not publish group sizes to outsiders, so those figures carry their source and year. We re-check every figure quarterly.
The videos and posts on this page are the creators' own, shown through YouTube's, Instagram's and TikTok's official embed players, which means every play counts for them. Nothing is copied onto our servers.
We have no commercial relationship with any creator on this page. Nobody paid to be listed. Several are attached to a relocation firm, financial or tax adviser, property business, insurance broker or publisher (French Connections HCB, American to France, Blevins Franks, Feel Good French, Adrian Leeds Group, FrenchEntrée, The Connexion, The Local, The American in Paris, Franceformation); we say so on their cards.
Instagram and TikTok
Short, daily and visual. The expat accounts show the market, the renovation and the paperwork queue; the tourism boards show why you started thinking about France in the first place. Instagram follower counts were read from each profile on 16 September 2026; TikTok counts are approximate, from Social Blade on the same day.
Explore France
Atout France, the official French tourist board
Regions, itineraries and events across the country, in English. Pure inspiration, no paperwork. Follow it while you shortlist regions.
Paris je t'aime
The official Paris tourist office
Neighbourhoods, culture and events in the capital, posted several times a week. The biggest account on this page and the easiest way to keep an eye on the city.
David Lebovitz
American former pastry chef and author of ten books, long resident in Paris
Markets, restaurants, recipes and dry observations on daily Paris life. He wrote L'appart, about renovating a Paris flat, and runs a newsletter with a paid tier that has covered moving to and living in Paris.
Lindsey Tramuta
American journalist and author, in Paris since 2006
Contemporary Paris from a reporter who has lived it for 20 years: food, culture and how the city actually works. Author of The New Paris and The New Parisienne. Sells a paid newsletter tier and group tours.
Everyday Parisian
Rebecca Plotnick, a photographer based in Paris
Street, café and seasonal photography of ordinary Paris days rather than landmarks. Sells prints, a book and a paid itinerary.
Adrian Leeds Group
Adrian Leeds, an American long based in Paris, whose licensed property firm markets French property the American way
Buying and renting in Paris and Nice, insurance, finance and inheritance for North Americans, plus free 2026 webinars with a partner financial firm. Aimed squarely at buyers over 50. It is a property and relocation business; the content is its sales funnel.
My French Country Home
Sharon Santoni, British-born, married to a Frenchman and living in an old house in rural Normandy for most of her life
Country house life, interiors, gardens, brocantes and the seasons, since 2010. The audience skews towards mature women who want a French country home. A business: magazine, subscription box, small-group tours and a shop.
Oui In France
Diane, American from New Jersey, in the Loire Valley since 2012; the Instagram side of the YouTube channel above
Everyday life abroad, language, culture and bureaucracy without the gloss. Small account, honest captions.
The Good Life France
Janine Marsh, born in London, who bought a run-down barn in the Seven Valleys of Pas-de-Calais and edits the magazine of the same name
Rural French life, regions, food and culture from someone who took the rural-dream route herself and has written four books about it. Publisher of a subscription magazine.
Château de Gudanes
Karina and Craig Waters, Australians from Perth, who bought the château in the Pyrenees in 2013
The restoration of a listed 94-room château and its gardens, one of the most-followed renovation accounts in France. Markets stays at the château.
Chatelaine Stephanie Jarvis
Stephanie Jarvis, British, of The Chateau Diaries; note the two e's in the handle, @thechateaudiaries on Instagram is a fan page
The Instagram side of the château channel: renovation, cooking, hosting and the local market. A business: guest rooms, Patreon and TV work.
Escape to rural France
Dan Preston, British chef restoring a ruined château in the Creuse; the Instagram side of the YouTube channel above
Progress shots and short clips from the restoration, posted most days. Funded by supporters; nothing for sale.
A Provençal Life
David, an American from Boston who retired to a small Luberon village full-time in 2020
Village life, markets, gardens and lavender, photographed by a retiree who did exactly what this page's readers are planning. More than 7,500 posts. Nothing for sale.
Our French Lifestyle
Susan, British, in a Charente-Maritime village; in France since 2005 and permanently since 2014
Coastal village life on the Atlantic side, gardens, brocante finds and the seasons. The blog stopped in 2021 but the account posts most weeks. Sells brocante.
Explore France
Atout France, the official tourist board
Short destination videos across the country, about 12 a month.
Amanda Rollins (americanfille)
Amanda Rollins, American, in Paris since about 2017
Cultural differences, bureaucracy and what to know before living in Paris, told with humour and posted almost daily. Younger than this page's readers, but the largest English-language living-in-France voice on any platform, and the explainers apply at any age. Does brand work.
My French Country Home
Sharon Santoni's brand, from rural Normandy
Country house, garden and seasonal clips. A business account.