Sander & Lotte(32)

Sander is a UX designer, I'm a content strategist. We both worked remotely for Dutch clients from our apartment in Utrecht. It worked, but it no longer inspired us. We wanted a city that challenged us — culturally, culinarily, linguistically. Paris was too expensive, Bordeaux too touristy. Lyon appeared on our radar through a podcast about French cities for expats, and after a scouting weekend we were sold.

The auto-entrepreneur status was the key. It's the simplest way to work as a freelancer in France. You register online with URSSAF, choose your activity code and within ten days you have a SIRET number. The ceilings are €77,700 for services and €188,700 for trade. Social charges are 21.1% for services. The beauty is: you only pay when you generate revenue. No revenue, no charges. Ideal for freelancers.

Lyon is France's third-largest city and feels like Europe's best-kept secret. The old town (Vieux Lyon) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the gastronomy is legendary — Paul Bocuse was born here — and the city buzzes with creativity. We rent a 55m² apartment in the 7th arrondissement, by the Rhône, for €780 per month. In Utrecht we paid €1,350 for fewer square meters.

The French tax return was an adventure. As an auto-entrepreneur you file your revenue monthly or quarterly via autoentrepreneur.urssaf.fr. Additionally, you must complete your annual déclaration de revenus with the impôts (tax office). The first year is confusing — which sections, which codes? — but the impôts have a helpdesk that's surprisingly helpful. Tip: make an appointment at your centre des finances publiques rather than calling.

Learning French was our priority. In Utrecht we started with Duolingo and Alliance Française online. In Lyon we enrolled in an intensive course at ILCF (Institut de Langue et de Culture Françaises). Three months, four mornings a week, €1,200. It was intensive but transformative. We went from A1 to B1 and could suddenly have a conversation at the bakery, understand a rental contract and joke with colleagues. The language doesn't just open doors — it changes how people treat you.

Our life in Lyon is richer than in Utrecht. We work during the day from a coworking space in Confluence (€200/month for two spots), lunch in a bouchon lyonnais for €15 including wine and walk along the Saône in the evening. The Sunday marchés are a ritual: cheese from the Auvergne, sausage from Lyon, vegetables from the Rhône valley. Our costs are 25% lower than Utrecht, and our quality of life immeasurably higher. We're staying.