Leaving America Questionnaire #2

Francesca Hansen, wine director, Paris 13th arrondissement

What drives Americans to leave home and settle elsewhere? That question has been on my mind for many years. This series, Leaving America, seeks to uncover the multitude of reasons and lessons learned—beginning with Americans in Paris. The questionnaire that follows will be the same for each guest.¹

I can’t remember the first time I met Francesca Hansen, a director at Paris Wine Company, but it invariably involved her pouring me a glass of something delicious. I may have even asked her why she feels Burgundy wines go so well with mac and cheese, a combo she has publicly stated would be her ideal last meal. We were both involved in organizing a Hillary Clinton fundraiser in Paris in 2016 (we tried!) where I got to know more about her passion for wine with a side of politics. But her Leaving America story? I learned that from the questionnaire.

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Where was the last place you lived in the U.S.? 
Baltimore, Maryland. I was at Johns Hopkins, before starting my master’s degree as part of a B.A/M.A. with Sciences Po. Little did I know how totally insufficient my French was then.

Did you intend to leave permanently or was the move temporary?
Yes and no. The U.S. always loomed but Paris kept on pulling me back. Before I finished my diploma, I thought I’d be a diplomat, then became disillusioned with that while working as an intern in a U.S. Embassy. At 24, I was a paralegal in a London-based law firm and thought I’d end up marrying my English boyfriend, living in London, and becoming a lawyer there. Instead, he broke up with me simultaneously to the 2008 financial crisis when I had been verbally-promised a training contract in a UK law firm but the recession meant hiring was totally put on hold. So I went back go Paris to finish my Sciences Po degree sort of as a default. Then I accepted my first job here in Paris and after that petered out, I considered moving back to the U.S. But then I met my now-husband. Once I was married and residency papers were secured, I felt safe enough to think about what I really wanted to do for my career, which I quickly concluded was wine. I asked around if people had any connections in wine (I "put it out in the universe", as they say now), and a dear American friend introduced me to the late Josh Adler shortly after he founded Paris Wine Company. I gave up a secure job (un CDI—le contrat de travail à durée indéterminée) to contract for what was then a total start up. But I’m still there today so you might say that sealed the deal.

Was there a pivotal moment when you knew your life would be best pursued elsewhere?
I knew I wanted to live abroad since I was ten, when my family traveled through Europe by train. My parents met in the Peace Corps in Honduras and lived in London at the beginning of their marriage. The idea that a life abroad was normal and achievable was very much a part of my childhood.

What sort of financial consideration did the move require, even as a student initially? Does one need a plump savings account to make this work?
I absolutely can't gloss over the fact that my parents helped me out through my master's and my first year of job-hunting/interning, without which I could have never received my initial work permit! I lived as frugally as possible, and drank a lot of horrific five euro Côtes du Rhône along the Seine. In some ways, those were probably some of my fondest memories here. I still think there are a lot of affordable pleasures in Paris, you just have to know where to find them.

At what age did you leave? Looking back, was that too soon or too late?
I was 25. I think it was the right age, because I had discovered what being an adult was like in both Paris and in London—two places where opening a bank account and renting an apartment are more or less impossible. At that age, my brain was still flexible enough to be wrapped around the dadaesque French administrative process.

When did you know you'd made the right [or wrong] call?
November 8, 2016 and then again on November 5, 2024.

What does Paris offer you that your native home couldn’t and, perhaps, still can’t?
There’s a very high percentage of food and wine-interested people, even among friends who don’t work professionally in either industry. I’ll go further and say that what I particularly appreciate is that there’s not as much flashiness in food and wine circles (although that exists in some corners, of course). I also appreciate the lack of conspicuous consumption. And I can’t think of a city that has a broader availability of incredible products— cheese, wine, chocolate, fruit, vegetables, and more.

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Can you share any anecdotes about your highest and lowest moments in Paris? 
I’m almost embarrassed to say that my highest moments in Paris were some of my first memories of the honeymoon period in the first few months—being in my early twenties, staying out all night, drinking along the Seine. I have done many more technically prestigious things since, but in terms of what gives me Paris-based joy, those moments keep me going.

Lowest moment: I had a full-year low point in 2019 when my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer right after my daughter was born. It was a long low point, but for what it's worth, living in France meant long vacations and childcare stability (in addition to a supportive husband) and that allowed me to travel to the U.S. fairly often in what was the last year of her life. I'm almost certain I saw her more than I would have if I had been living in the U.S.

Are there aspects of American life that you long for?