In recent weeks, I’ve been asked several times by both readers and new friends to share my Paris tale – why I came and how I was able to stay. With each iteration of the story, I feel two things: tremendously fortunate that the somewhat disparate elements of my journey commingled to create this life in the city I adore and completely overwhelmed by the realization that were it not for certain seminal choices I could be living a very different life, as a very different person. What would I be doing?
For one, I’d likely try to follow Doni Belau’s example and split my time. The founder of the successful travel site Girl’s Guide to Paris fell hard for the capital over twenty years ago and has striven to return full time ever since. Though she hasn’t (yet) become a permanent resident, she’s done the next best thing. Investing in a pied-à-terre in 2000 turned her go-to destination into a second home. Frequent trips with her girlfriends shortly after landing the apartment sparked the idea for Girl’s Guide which features restaurant reviews, recipes, shopping tips, lodging recommendations and cultural round-ups from a bevy of local contributors. I’ve never met anyone…
