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Is France Right for You?
The Zen to Live France Scorecard walks you through the eight pillars that actually determine whether a life in France will work for your situation — visa options, healthcare access, cost of living, cycling infrastructure, food culture, and more. Takes about 10 minutes. Gives you a clear, honest picture before you book a consultation or make any decisions.
No fluff. No "France is magical" tourism copy. Just the real questions.
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ZEN TO LIVE CITY SCORECARDS
Each scorecard applies the full Zen to Live framework to a specific French city — evaluated honestly, with trade-offs named directly alongside the strengths. These are not destination guides or promotional documents. They are structured assessments of whether a place can actually hold the life you want.
Eight pillars cover everything that matters for daily living: visa and tax practicalities, healthcare access, walkability and cycling infrastructure, food and organic market culture, contemplative and sacred spaces, nature access, eco credentials, and community fabric. Every question is answered YES or NO. The NO answers are the most valuable part.
Paris and Angers scorecards were evaluated in May 2026 using identical methodology, making them directly comparable. More cities coming soon.
$9 each · Instant digital download · PDF
62 Questions. 8 Pillars. 7 Zen to Live + a Practical Foundation layer built for relocators.
Angers — France (60/62 · 96.77%)
The Zen to Live City Scorecard applies 62 yes/no questions across eight pillars — healthcare, walkability, food culture, nature access, eco credentials, community, and more — to give every city a comparable score. Angers scores 60/62 (96.77%). Two flagged items, both reflecting the gentle geography of western France, not any failing of the city.
Built for people evaluating where in France to retire or relocate — not a travel guide, but a structured decision tool. Each question includes one sentence of factual rationale. Eight pillars. One clear verdict per question. A score you can compare directly against Paris, Rennes, Lyon, and every city in the Wave 1 pipeline.
Evaluated May 2026 by someone who spends months here every year for exactly the reasons this scorecard documents.
Paris — France (57/62 · 91.94%)
The Zen to Live City Scorecard applies 62 yes/no questions across eight pillars — healthcare, walkability, food culture, nature access, eco credentials, community, and more — to give every city a comparable score. Paris scores 57/62 (91.94%).
Built for people evaluating where in France to retire or relocate. Five flagged items documented: rent affordability, property prices, beach access, mountain access, and extreme heat risk. Each answer includes one sentence of factual rationale. A score you can compare directly against Angers, Rennes, Lyon, and every city in the Wave 1 pipeline.
Evaluated May 2026 by someone who lives in the 10th arrondissement.
ZEN TO LIVE GUIDES
For People Asking a Different Question.
Not where to eat and what to see. What does it actually feel like to live here? Zen to Live Guides go deeper than travel — they cover daily life rhythm, healthcare, community, cost of living, and the honest trade-offs of making a French city your actual home. Each guide pairs with the city's Zen to Live Scorecard.
$9.99 each · Instant digital download · PDF
A city of 160,000 that most people drive past on the way to somewhere else. That's the point.
This guide covers what daily life in Angers actually feels like — the markets where local chefs shop on Wednesday mornings, the rooftop greenhouse where you buy a plant and stay longer than planned, the hidden convent labyrinth most visitors never find, the cable ferry to an island with herons and apple orchards twenty-five minutes from the centre. Artisan chocolate at a density that shouldn't exist here. A cycling network that makes Paris look like it's still figuring things out. A social fabric that takes time to open and then doesn't close.
Personal picks from someone who has spent months here every year, across all seven Zen to Live pillars. France's greenest city. The most honest guide I've written.
ZEN TRAVELER'S GUIDES
Curated for How You Actually Travel.
These guides are for people who want to move through a city with presence rather than a schedule — organized around the dimensions of mindful travel: Restore, Move, Nourish, Sacred, Nature, Eco, and Community. Personal picks from someone who lives in France and has spent years moving through these cities slowly and intentionally.
$9.99 each · Instant digital download · PDF
The Zen Traveler's Guide to Paris (11 pages) The full Paris guide: spas and hammams, specialty coffee and chocolate, restorative parks, sacred spaces, yoga studios, farm-to-table dining, organic groceries, and gluten-free bakeries — organized by how a Zen traveler actually moves through a day. Covers all arrondissements with personal picks from someone who lives here.
The Zen Traveler's Guide to Gardens in Paris (8 pages) One curated green space per arrondissement across all 20, written from daily life — not a tourist checklist. Includes heritage trees, urban forests, hidden squares, and practical notes on shade, benches, water fountains, and best hours. Green space as nervous-system regulation, not sightseeing.
The Zen Traveler's Guide to Paris for Seniors (8 pages) Built around Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the 6th arrondissement — flat terrain, wide sidewalks, benches everywhere, and a dense cluster of calm cultural and wellness experiences within short walking distance. Two flat morning routes, museum pacing, seated meditation prompts, spa options, and dining that doesn't require a reservation three weeks out.
Coffee, Croissants & Chocolate: The 9th Arrondissement (4 pages) A focused guide to the 9th's best specialty coffee shops, boulangeries, and chocolatiers — written by someone who has lived in the neighborhood and offered guided chocolate tastings here since 2017. Includes what to order, insider notes on each spot, and a brief education in reading a chocolate shop like a local.
A Mindful Wellness Escape: 3 Days in the 9th (6 pages) A day-by-day itinerary for the arrondissement locals love and visitors overlook — yoga studios, spas, specialty coffee, artisanal chocolate, wine bars, and farm-to-table dining, none of it on the tourist circuit. Anchored around three boutique hotels (La Fantaisie, HOY, Pulitzer) with the option to use the guide independently of where you're staying.
PARIS BUNDLE — 5 Paris Guides ($19.99)
Five guides to Paris in one: the full city overview, all 20 arrondissements' gardens, a senior-focused itinerary, a 3-day wellness escape in the 9th, and a deep dive into the 9th's coffee, croissants, and chocolate. Covers Paris from every angle — neighborhood-level, arrondissement-wide, themed, and practical — by a guide who lives here and walks these streets daily.
YOGA EBOOKS
Practice Anywhere. No Mat Required.
Office Yoga
Two practical guides for bringing mindful movement into the spaces where you spend the most time — the office chair and the airplane seat. Short sequences, clear instructions, no equipment needed.
Simple yoga sequences designed for desk workers — stretches, breathwork, and tension-release practices you can do without leaving your chair or attracting attention from colleagues. Designed for the 2pm slump, the tense shoulders, and the screen-glazed eyes.
Airplane Yoga
Simple yoga sequences for long-haul travelers — stretches and breathwork you can do in your seat at 35,000 feet. No mat, no space, no problem.
MEMOIR
Searching for Zinnias: An Adoptee's Quest for Home
A memoir about adoption, identity, and the long search for belonging — told across continents, decades, and one garden. For anyone who has ever questioned where home actually is.
Available in Kindle, Paperback, Apple Books, and Barnes & Noble
All purchases support an independent author directly.