Preparing for France: Pack Your Bags!

I've made several packing posts already, mostly for going to South Korea. However, I realize packing for my job in France and for Korea are both different. I also wanted to tell you all that you should pack differently according to your region and your school. So this post will have 2 main parts: packing for your region, and packing for your school. This post is focused on minimalist packing mostly because I had a back-breaking experience with 2 large luggage pieces, my back-pack, and a carry-on when I left Korea. It's hard to move all of that by myself, so I'm sticking to 1 large luggage, a carry-on, and my backpack. If you want to pack more, feel free. More power to you.

Schools are all different and they all have their own culture. Basically, you should always ask your school what is appropriate to wear before you go, and if you don't I'd go with business casual clothes to be on the safe side. Also, one needs to take into account the general weather where they are staying as well. For TAPIF, we will be there for about 7 months: fall, winter, and the beginning of spring. Now that we are prepared, let's get into the meat of how to pack for your stay in France.

Let's start with the basics: bring underwear, whatever that may entail. If you don't wear underwear... ignore that. I'm not judging you. You do you. Anyway, it may seem obvious to pack underwear, but if you pack last-minute things like underwear come last in your mind most of the time. You don't want to spend extra money buying that when you have potentially have an apartment to rent and furnish. Also, pack socks. Same principle as the underwear. Also, it's better for your feet to wear socks with shoes. If you don't I'm not gonna judge. We all live our own lifestyles.

We're gonna break this down for people who wear dresses and skirts and those who don't. Hey, guys can wear them too. And some girls don't wear skirts. It's just their aesthetic.

For non-skirt wearers:

You can bring about 4-6 pairs of bottoms. I'd say 2 pairs of jeans and 4 pairs of slacks or versatile bottoms that aren't jeans. These are things you can wear in an office on Casual Friday. But beware, bottoms tend to take up more room than you think, so be careful about the material thickness and how you fold them. You can also bring 2-3 pairs of shorts if you so choose, but make sure they're long and made from a nice-looking material so you can wear them at work if they say it's okay. Like I said, we're going for versatile looks.

Bring 5 summer shirts and 3 long-sleeved shirts. And bring 3-5 under-shirts as well. You can mix and match these items according to the season and your fashion sense. Great right? I suggest your undershirts be basic colors so you can mix them with any shirt you have.

For skirt-wearers:

You can bring 2 bottoms. That's it. 2. One can be a pair of jeans and another can be slacks or similar. You can bring 2-3 skirts and 2-3 leggings to mix and match as well. Skirts should be decently long. Imagine the school dress code when we were kids. If the skirt matches the dress code (unless you have really long arms) you can bring it. Same for dresses. 

Bring up to 6 dresses because you need 1 or 2 nice dresses in case you wanna look extra nice for a date with a hot French person. Don't take my word for it though , I've never dated a French person. Tee hee. Anyway, the reason you can take so much is that if your dresses aren't made of thick material, you can pack a lot. If you want to bring shorts, substitute them in for other items. Bring 3-5 shirts, 3-5 long sleeved shirts, and 3 under-shirts. Remember, you're bringing a lot already. 

For ladies:

Bring enough feminine products for your first cycle in France. You don't wanna have to worry about buying new products in your first month especially since you won't be paid until the end of the month and you have to spend money on a place to stay and all of that.

For everyone:

Bring a few light cardigans for spring and early fall, and heavier sweaters for the winter. I'd say 2-3 light and 2-3 heavy. You want to be prepared. Northern France definitely sees snow and all of France feels some sort of cold in the winter, so definitely bring a heavy winter jacket or two. I am personally packing 2 jackets, one snowboarding jacket my mumzy got me and another warm jacket that's 50% wool. One is nicer than another for nice occasions in France. Or just to wear. Whatever.

You should bring 2-3 pairs of shoes. Winter shoes, sneakers/nice shoes, and/or sandals. If you so choose, you can bring a pair of dressier shoes, but you can buy that in France if you need it.

I'd also recommend bringing a travel-sized assortment of shower/grooming supplies for your first few days in France while you explore your neighborhood and find places to buy what you need. Also bring 2-3 sticks of deodorant because I don't know if you can get your favorite brands there. If you want, you can also bring one large body towel, but you can also buy towels there.

If you wear make-up go ahead and bring that, but please be aware you can probably get your favorite brands in France as well, so you don't need to bring the whole kit.

Aaaaaannnnd that's it. That's all that you need to bring, the rest you can get while you're in France. It's really not that different from the US or Canada. If you don't have it, you can get it. Don't stress out over packing and over choosing some items over others. You're definitely gonna go shopping in France. How can you not?

Cheers!