The one change that worked: I volunteered in a Paris bar – and found a whole new life in France

‘Quelque chose à boire?’ Megan Clement working at Bar Commun. Photograph: Courtesy of Megan Clement

I don’t know why I thought I would be like Grace Jones. The singer and model (neither of which I am) reportedly became fluent in French within three months of moving to Paris. For some hubristic reason, I assumed I’d do the same.

But in 2018, two years after arriving in Paris, I was coasting. I could get by, but I was essentially living the life of a digital nomad, speaking English with my partner at home, working remotely for a US company and socialising largely with other English-speaking migrants – something I swore I’d never do.