Washington, DC

Rochambeau, in Bethesda, is the only French-accredited school in the area: 1,200 pupils from age 2 to the final year, buses across DC, Maryland and Virginia, but high fees, detailed on /en/cities/washington/school-fees/. Public schools are free and allocated by address; in DC they even take children from age 3 in PK3. So choose housing with school in mind, and vice versa.

In DC, your address entitles you to a seat at the in-boundary school from kindergarten to grade 12, with no application; for another school, a PK3 or a PK4, you go through the My School DC common lottery, open in winter, or its mid-year hotline. In Maryland and Virginia, the county school system (Montgomery, Fairfax, Arlington) enrols you on proof of address. Everywhere, you need the immunisation certificate and a health certificate.

Yes, from day one: there is no social security, and DC even requires every resident to be covered or face a tax penalty. Employer insurance usually covers the whole family; otherwise you buy a plan on your state's marketplace (DC Health Link, Maryland Health Connection, Virginia). It is all explained on our Health page: /en/cities/washington/health/.

In the United States, the paediatrician is your children's family doctor: pick a practice in your insurer's network that is accepting new patients. For French, the consulate publishes a medical list (paediatricians in Bethesda, a GP, dentists, psychiatrists), which we reproduce on /en/cities/washington/health/. The Mamans autour de DC group is the other good source of recommendations.

911 only for a life-threatening emergency. For everything else, first call your paediatrician's on-call line (most practices have one, 24/7), which will point you to an urgent care or the ER. Children's National, in north-west DC, has a 24/7 children's emergency department; for an accidental ingestion, Poison Control answers on 1-800-222-1222.

French families follow Rochambeau and the Metro Red Line: Bethesda and Chevy Chase in Maryland, Friendship Heights, Tenleytown or Woodley Park in north-west DC, McLean and Arlington on the Virginia side. Washington Accueil publishes the list of neighbourhoods French speakers favour, and our Settling in page reviews them, with each state's rental rules: /en/cities/washington/settling-in/.

In order: activate the family's health insurance, apply for the Social Security number of whoever is allowed to work (in person, with passport, visa and I-94), open a bank account, get a SIM card, then register with the French consular register, online, free and valid 5 years. In DC, the local driving licence is required after 30 days of residence. Details on /en/cities/washington/settling-in/.

Up to and including age 4 they travel free, two children per fare-paying adult; from age 5 a child pays full fare with their own SmarTrip card. If you live in DC and your child attends school there (public, charter, private or parochial), the Kids Ride Free programme gives them free Metro and bus within the District, from 5 to 21, with a card issued by the school.

Yes at first, then you need a local licence, and the rule depends on your state. In DC, after 30 days of residence, your French licence waives the road test but not the written knowledge test. In Virginia, France is a reciprocity country: exchange without any test from age 18. Maryland also has an exchange agreement with France for the car licence. Bring passport, visa, proof of residence and Social Security number or ineligibility letter.

Daycares are private, expensive and often waitlisted: register as soon as you know your address. A nanny at home makes you an employer, with contract and contributions; an au pair comes through the federal J-1 programme, run by approved agencies. From the year a child turns 3, DC public schools take over for free with PK3. Washington Accueil keeps a list of French-speaking babysitters for its members.

Very well, and faster than you: the area's public schools welcome children from all over the world and provide English support (ESL or ELL). The real challenge then becomes keeping French: Alliance Française children's classes, Bonjour Books, story times, and friends from Rochambeau or the Mamans autour de DC group. Our addresses are on /en/cities/washington/family-outings/.

Yes for three items: housing, childcare for little ones and healthcare, where every visit leaves something to pay. The rest balances out: free Smithsonian museums and zoo, free PK3 and PK4 in DC public schools, free Metro for under-5s and District schoolchildren, cheap petrol. Our Settling in page details the budget line by line: /en/cities/washington/settling-in/.

Washington Accueil meets newcomers by appointment and runs monthly coffee mornings in DC, Maryland and Virginia, a parents' club and the back-to-school Grand Café at the Maison Française. The Mamans autour de DC group, the Rochambeau school gates, the Alliance Française children's classes and the Comité Tricolore's Bastille Day do the rest; French Morning and French District list the week's events.