so...we have an apartment in Paris . We bought with our hearts without having the head fully engaged, but luckily it has worked out well. We run it as a business, renting it out for short-term rents. That was surprise number one - Paris cracked down extremely strictly on the practice just after we bought. Faced with the end of the business we spent a lot of money to legalize ourselves, getting the apartment zoned for commercial use. So the lesson: laws change, governments change - you can get surprised if you aren’t on top of things. I learned a lot but also spent a lot on lawyers, fees... and a bit of stress. Lesson two - exchange rates change. Duh. Of course I knew that but hadn‘t really thought through the effects of even minor changes on major investments. That’s wiped out the appreciation in the local market when i translate back to dollars. Lesson three - French isn’t one of the languages I know. Being able to order a meal isn‘t the same as arguing with lawyers, accountants and contractors. Lesson four - banks take on the temperament of the place where they are,not where they are headquartered. Even though we bank with HSBC the world over (we‘ve had a complicated life!), the Paris branch is by far the weirdest to deal with. Nothing horrible, but stressful. Certainly stressful. But, hey, we have an apartment in Paris. We use it, it actually brings in decent money, and I get to say to myself „I have an apartment in Paris“. Bottom line? I‘m happy we did it, but if I‘d really known in advance everything it would have entailed, I might have been a little less eager. I guess what I‘m trying to say is, you need to have passion and a bit of craziness to do it. It isn‘t a completely rational choice.