Valerie Valcourt has lived all close to the U.S. in Seattle, New York City and Washington, D.C. But she built her most significant move however final yr when she stop her six-determine Huge Tech task to go to pastry faculty in France.
Valcourt, 34, tells CNBC Make It she started out the method in 2020 when, even though earning just more than $100,000 for a key company in Seattle, she was emotion “at a definitely reduced place” and pondering: “What would I want to be undertaking that would bring me pleasure?”
She’d normally desired to stay overseas and go to culinary faculty, so she started studying her solutions. She saved $20,000 by going household with relatives in Connecticut and, by mid-2022, was accepted into a culinary program in the south of France.
Valcourt formally moved to France in January 2023 and commenced her accelerated a few-month method of intense pastry programs and French classes, adopted by a 4-month internship.
All in, she compensated about 10,000 euros ($10,850) for tuition and a further 1,800 euros ($1,953) for housing.
Valerie Valcourt quit her career as an govt assistant and moved to France for culinary college in her 30s.
Courtesy of Valerie Valcourt
High quality living for fewer income
Valcourt now works entire time as a pastry assistant at the cafe Maison Chabran in Pont-de-l’Isere, France.
She earns approximately 20,000 euros ($21,705) a 12 months, significantly less than a quarter of her preceding American salary.
Even so, Valcourt lives comfortably on a large amount less money in France.
I’m not making tons of cash, but I can afford to are living here.
Valerie Valcourt
American who moved to France for pastry college
To commence, her employer covers her seasonal housing, at least until April when a new intern course starts. When she inevitably finds her personal condominium, Valcourt expects to shell out roughly 300 euros ($326) for each month for a studio or 500 euros ($543) per thirty day period for a 1-bedroom apartment. Some units even appear furnished.
In her time residing in some of the greatest and most expensive U.S. towns, Valcourt states she never ever put in significantly less than $800 for every month on rent even when living with roommates.
Most of her meals come from her cafe job, so she rarely spends dollars on groceries. She’ll start off budgeting for her possess foods beginning in April and estimates it will charge 30 euros ($33) per journey just about every two months, or up to 50 euros ($55) “if I’m experience extravagant and want extra treats and items.” She says she’s constantly surprised at how refreshing and high-quality the produce is, even at an affordable selling price.
Valcourt claims obtaining her living and foods expenditures covered by her employer was “a huge issue” in using the position, primarily just starting off out in her culinary job.
“I am not earning tons of revenue, but I can pay for to reside below,” she says. “I can have this pastry task, establish up my resume and create up myself to get to the stage I want to and not have to be concerned about where I am heading to put my head at night time.”
Transportation is “super simple” given that Valcourt life in walking length of operate. She can choose the bus to get to a more substantial metropolis for about 1 euro ($1.09), and traveling Europe is really very affordable by coach or airplane. Valcourt not long ago took a excursion to Switzerland and invested 40 euros ($44) for round-vacation train tickets. She noticed one more deal to travel from Paris to London by educate for just 29 euros ($32).
Thanks to her small charges, Valcourt has been in a position to save between 1,300 to 1,500 euros ($1,421 to $1,640) each and every thirty day period. She claims she has “far more than plenty of” to purchase a car to explore even extra of France, and to commence paying out for an apartment in the coming months.
Cultural dissimilarities at get the job done and in daily life
Valcourt has discovered a major variation in how the French solution their function and own life, when compared to the norms of American perform culture.
She will work at the cafe for all over 42 to 46 hrs for each 7 days, and it may differ if there is a holiday getaway or the restaurant is slammed. Staff get two paid out vacation days for every thirty day period, or approximately 5 weeks off each and every yr — generous by U.S. benchmarks.
Valcourt and her colleagues perform challenging, but they are also protecting of their breaks.
“The French are very adamant about not operating extra time,” she claims. “When it is really time to stop, it is really time to end, go home and relaxation.”
She and her colleagues also support leaving get the job done at the workplace and not allowing worry establish up at residence.
Valcourt has also discovered from co-workers that not all stereotypes are legitimate. The French get a terrible rap for currently being chilly, she states, but she finds they are incredibly helpful and like tiny discuss. It helps that she is conversational in French, much too.
Finally, she enjoys how the French technique celebrating things major and little. “There is constantly a fete going on on a national amount or in the village,” she claims. Lucky for her and her passion for food, they normally revolve close to sharing foods with each other, and “the reverence for foods and pastry listed here is super awesome.”
Valcourt feels privileged her university and businesses have assisted her with the important visas to keep in the place, and she at present has a everlasting work contract with her enterprise, which employs quite a few overseas and seasonal personnel.
She states she isn’t going to have a five-yr approach but normally desires to find out as several cooking and pastry approaches as achievable, and see as substantially of France while she can. She’ll at some point return to the U.S. to be nearer to relatives and has even talked with her dad about opening up a bakery alongside one another.
Conversions from euros to USD were being carried out employing the OANDA conversion level of 1 euro to 1.09 USD on March 12, 2024. All quantities are rounded to the closest greenback.
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