Moving to France is one thing
Moving to France is one thing. Building a life here is another.
By the time my husband, Dan, and I found Aelos, we had already obtained our one-year visitor visas and rented an apartment. We thought we had completed the hardest part. What we soon discovered was that settling in France involves countless administrative steps—many of them unfamiliar, interconnected and difficult to navigate, particularly when you are still learning the language.
Before choosing Aelos, we had contracted with another relocation company and spoken with two others. We ultimately ended our relationship with the first company because its responses were too slow and the assistance simply wasn’t meeting our needs. That experience gave us a meaningful basis for comparison—and made the difference with Aelos immediately apparent.
Aelos has helped us bridge the gap between arriving in France and actually establishing a life here. In just two months, they have guided us through the process of obtaining our Cartes Vitale and arranging our French complementary health insurance, or mutuelle. They helped us open a French bank account and are now assisting us with our visa renewals and estate planning.
Some of their most valuable help, however, has involved the everyday complications that no relocation checklist prepares you for. They have set up accounts for us on French administrative websites, helped resolve problems with online orders and deliveries, and coordinated three-way telephone calls with healthcare agencies when language and bureaucracy made it nearly impossible for us to handle matters alone.
Aelos also has a well-designed, remarkably user-friendly website that makes it easy to submit requests and follow the work being done on our behalf. Communication has been excellent. In our experience, requests are acknowledged within 24 to 48 hours—and often the same day. Action commonly follows that day or within two or three days. When something has been genuinely urgent, their response has been exceptionally quick.
Their specialist concierges speak fluent French and English, but just as importantly, they are kind, resourceful and sincerely willing to help. We have never encountered hesitation, even when a request did not fit neatly within the strict wording of our contract. They look for a way to solve the problem.
That is what makes Aelos especially valuable: they do more than tell us what needs to be done. They help us actually get it done. That distinction matters enormously when you are trying to establish a new life in another country.
France is a wonderful place to live, but even simple tasks can become surprisingly complicated for a newcomer. Having Aelos beside us has saved us time, reduced our frustration and given us confidence that important details are being handled properly.
For anyone considering a move to France—or already living here and feeling overwhelmed by the administrative maze—we would wholeheartedly recommend Aelos. They have become a trusted and invaluable part of our transition from simply arriving in France to truly making a life here.
—Jody and Dan