We’ve been living in Colmar, in the Alsace region of France, for about two months, and this video is about clearing up a few misunderstandings that keep showing up in the comments.
When we talk about “France” on this channel, we’re talking specifically about Colmar, the same way when I talk about the United States, I’m talking about Taunton, Massachusetts. Small city to small city. Real life to real life.
This isn’t a vacation recap, and it isn’t an attempt to claim that all of France is the same, or that France is perfect. It’s simply our honest experience after actually living here day to day as a family.
If your experience has been different, that’s fine. This channel is about sharing what we’ve observed and felt along the way, without a shiny Instagram filter or a sponsored script.
Thanks for watching, and if you want to follow along as we continue figuring this out, there’s a lot more coming.
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We’re an American family of four leaving the United States to start a new life in (or around) Colmar, France — trading the stress, high cost of living, and endless work hours for peace, charm, and small-city life.
On Chaos to Croissants we share the real experience of moving abroad with kids, covering:
🇫🇷 Moving to France as a family
💶 Cost of living in France vs USA
🏠 Finding housing in France
🛒 French markets & local food
🎓 Education & healthcare in France
🚲 Life in a walkable, bike-friendly city
If you’ve searched for “how to move to France,” “expat life in France,” or “cost of living in France” you’re in the right place.
📍 Small city life • 🥐 Real stories • 📹 New videos every other week (I’m trying)
37 Comments
Ignore those people who only dare to live by judging behind a screen, without knowledge or hindsight. And I hope you will find the life that suits you in Colmar.
Well said.
Bonjour. Bienvenu en france. Je suis tres étonné que vos vidéos et commentaires ai pu etre critiqué.
J adore regarder vos vidéos. Quel dommage que certaines personnes soit si méchantes.
Si vous etes heureux avec les enfants quoi de mieux. C est votre vie et on en a qu une vie. Autant choisir ou, quand, comment . C est cela l essentiel. Bonne annee a vous et votre famille
J habite le sud ouest . ARCACHON
Mes grands parents étaient sur Strasbourg
Bonne année
Isabelle
Happy new year and greetings from 🇩🇪
It is mindboggling that you can make a Dr.'s appointment online!
Bienvenue en France et bonne année ! 🎉
My husband is from Marshfield, MA and we live in my hometown just outside Paris (most suburbs are very safe and lovely, BTW, the infamous ones are a terrible reality but still a minority).
We look forward to following you and your lovely family adjusting to your new life in Colmar. It is so refreshing to see a normal, down-to-earth family about to live a normal French life like the rest of us, instead of rich expats living in their own bubble.
French bureaucracy can be a nightmare sometimes and there will probably be times it will drive you crazy but hang in there, it's worth it! 😉
Now it's worth mentioning that Alsace has a slightly different (as even better) health insurance system from the rest of France (an odd remnant of Alsace's history) but from a US perspective, it makes no difference.
Best of luck with everything! 😊
as someone who loves small town France you've definitely picked right
attention il y a aussi des touristes en été à Colmar 😉
I am excited for the next video 🔥
Bonne annee et bonne guérison de la grippe. With the flu you sound a bit like Nick Offerman, which gives a special vibe to the video, it sounds as if Ron from P&R is saying nice things about France ;-)… Looking forward to your next videos.
It's always amazing when people are negative and don't add anything to a discussion. Be helpful or be quiet should be the motto. France is so much more than big cities just like the US. Well said. Keep sharing your experiences most of us appreciate it. Happy New year.
hey i'm from colmar ! happy toi see someone that close doing some video
I loved your stories about Colmar, they reminded me that Elsassian towns are relatively similar to the German towns I've lived in so far – just more french flair 😂.
It's time to make the 2.5h drive again 😊
in colmar, there are tourist all year round, but not to many. just fully packed during the Christmas market.
enjoy your time here. Hope you had a bit of snow this night. I am about 25km away in a valley and it is nicely white with 3cm of snow everywhere. very beautiful.
Bienvenue en Alsace !… et Bonne Année 2026 ! J'habite à 20 km au Nord de Colmar entre les singes, les aigles et les cigognes. Connaissez-vous cet endroit ?
Visiting Colmar next year for the Christmas market and hopefully book the long scenic train ride through the Alps. I'm hoping to do both in a week. Happy New year to you and your family. UK
Enjoying your journey and thank you for sharing your experiences. Good for you for setting the commenters straight. Most of these people who say hateful things about France have never even been there or likely anywhere else outside of their bubble. Wishing you a joyful year full of happy adventures!
Merci pour vos paroles et je vous adresse tous mes voeux pour cette nouvelle année chez nous .
Qu’elle soit douce pour votre famille. A bientot. 😊
I'm glad to see you're enjoying your stay, and to see you taking advantage of the city and its charms outside of peak tourist season! Being from Colmar myself, it's truly heartwarming! And I also think it's a good reminder of how lucky we are in France in certain respects!
Looking forward to watching the rest of your journey in Alsace.
Well said! Most of these trolls or keyboard warriors are just projecting. They just dislike France because … "reasons!". They envy you, are jealous, or have a serious lack of intelligence. These arrogant, mean, ignorant and uneducated people should be ignored. They are not interesting. I liked the idea of the introduction with the AI animation!
Greetings and a happy New Year from Germany!
I think Colmar is a great choice. I am 64 now, and I did spend 16 years of my life in Freiburg i. Brsg., (which is not very far away from Colmar when we talk in USA-ian measureing of distances, LOL), though it is not where I was born. And those 16 years were the best in my life. I have been to Colmar often times and loved it.
I subscribed, because I love your attitude and I am curious to see where the life in Colmar will lead you and yours. It may be hard from time to time regarding the bureaucracy and there may be lots of culture shocks ahead (good ones and bad ones), but you already started to feel like you took the right decision, and as far as I understood your 'philosophical claims', you are not expecting wonders or perfectness, and that's a very realistic and healthy point to stand at. Yes, it will take a lot of effort, especially language-wise, but I am convinced you've got what it needs to create a new life in Colmar. Take my best wishes and welcome to Europe!
Being myself from Marseille, i know our bad rep is all over the place, and so, yes there are crimes and yes in statistics it is one of the most criminal place in France, but still it is an area of 1,2 to 1,6 millions people, not all of them are criminals…. If you are not part of the bad side, you have nothing to fear about
Apparently the internet is still full of haters. Don’t let ‘m get to ya! I bet most of them are just people who’re having a bad day, taking it out on a YouTube comment section.
Have you seen doctors that spoke English? Are people in Colmar bilingual or trilingual?
Quite an interesting point you make about looking for somewhere with a similar size/population, probably making it easier where the "background noise" is a similar level (but still safer).
5:05 😂😂😂
Très bonne et heureuse année et bienvenue en Alsace, je suis de Haguenau dans le Bas Rhin.
You are welcome !😊
Often, when people move to another country, after some months, they have a period where they have the blues. Homesickness, things don’t work the same as back home, a food item you can’t find. If you’re good for the long run, this period doesn’t last long. Documenting your experience might help, if you ever get the blues
Thank you for the honest description of Colmar and the Alsatian way of life in France. I'm from Alsace myself and I studied in Colmar; it's a very beautiful city with a lovely atmosphere. I'm happy for you that you've found a place where you can be happy.
We have been in France now for more than 20 years and we love it. We recognize much of what you observe : it's a very pleasant place to live ! And you were smart to select a place that is not a medical desert , where we live in the Vaucluse it's as we say " compliqué !"
Bonjour, merci pour vos video et j'ai bien aimé votre commentaire c'et juste et humain bonne continuation à vous et votre famille. Ps : les belle mère se ressemblent toute 🙂
I have often seen that happen in comment sections under YouTube videos about Europe – Americans who flat out refuse to believe that things work in Europe as described in the video. Healthcare and college education are usually the two biggest culprits.
Please, do me a favor: Emphasize Col MAR on the second syllable, and not the first. Please.
I enjoy your videos and like how you are documenting your journey. You were clear in the previous videos that you chose Colmar because it was similar in size and/or population to where you lived in the United States. Keep sharing!
We're a family from Rhode Island, old neighbors(Massachusetts) of yours. I have always dreamt of moving overseas🇨🇵…some day🥹Best of luck to you and your channel🎥
Wow you're pretty close to where I live in Germany. I live right by the Nürburgring in the Eifel area of Germany. It's only 335 to Colmar from here. I grew up in the United States from 1984 until 1998. Even back then I knew that I would not live in the USA forever a d the first chance I got after High school, I took and never looked back. You and your family will definitely move to France permanently and I love that for you. In the United States you are brainwashed from an early age to believe that the United States is the best at everything by far and once you step outside of the United States you'll see that all that is very very far from the truth. Life in Europe is better and healthier in absolutely every way than in the United States. I wish you and your family all the best ✌️ you're gonna love living in Europe