I left corporate. My cardiologist insisted. Now I live slowly in Paris — and I show others how.

Your sherpa to a slower, healthier life in France — from someone already living it.

The Zen Lens I use to evaluate life in France — and help you find yours.

Restore · Move · Nourish · Sacred · Nature · Eco · Community

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What The Zen Guy offers

The Zen Guy services icon — consultations and on-the-ground France support

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SERVICES — Work With Michael

On-the-ground support for anglophones making France real — consultations, apartment inspections, accommodation search, and Airbnb scouting. Brainstorming is fun.

Book a Call 

Paris street and gardens — on-the-ground France consulting by The Zen Guy
The Zen Guy products icon — Zen Travel Guides and City Scorecards

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PRODUCTS — Guides, Scorecards, Apps, Memoir

Curated Zen Travel Guides and Zen to Live City Scorecards.

Start with the free Zen to Live France Test. Score your current life. Score France. See the gap.

Get the Zen to Live France Test — free

Coffee and travel magazine — Zen Traveler's Guides and City Scorecards by The Zen Guy
The Zen Guy try icon — stay in Michael Huffman's Paris apartment

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TRY — Test the Zen Life

See how I actually live it — the 17m² Paris loft, the neighborhood, the daily rhythm, the specialty coffee. Downsized Zen living.

Airbnb & Home Exchange on Offer.

Stay in my Paris apartment

Michael Huffman's 17m² Paris loft in the 10th arrondissement — available on Airbnb and Home Exchange
The Zen Guy meet up icon — small-group experiences in Bali and Paris

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MEET UP — Experiences with TZG

Small-group experiences designed around the Zen pillars — eco printing in Bali, mindful mornings in Paris, and more coming. In person, intentional, unforgettable.

Join the next experience

Michael Huffman with ARAE eco-printing collective in Bali — The Zen Guy experiences
Michael Huffman watching sunset in Toulon, France — The Zen Guy
Michael Huffman pausing on a bike ride in Angers, France — The Zen Guy
Michael Huffman walking in Jardin des Plantes, Paris — The Zen Guy
ichael Huffman meditating at Musée Guimet in Paris — The Zen Guy
Michael Huffman returning to the US in 1984 after two months in France with Emmanuel — the trip that started everything

“Peace is Portable”

— whether you're crossing an ocean to live in France, exploring a new city with a travel guide, or simply learning that home is something you cultivate, not just a place you land.

Michael Huffman, The Zen Guy — conscious travel and Zen life in France

The Zen Pillars

Seven lenses for living well — whether you're visiting, relocating, or simply learning to land softly wherever you are.

  • Spaces to reset your nervous system and reconnect to your body. Hammams, saunas, float therapy, massage, reflexology, osteopathy, thalassothérapie — because rest is not a reward, it's a practice.

  • Movement restores clarity. Walking paths, bike routes, outdoor yoga, chlorine-free swims, and the quiet rhythm of a city explored on foot — the calmest, most beautiful ways to move through a place.

  • The most grounding way to start any Zen journey is through taste. Third-wave cafés, artisan chocolate, farmers' markets, plant-forward kitchens, and natural wine — food as a daily act of intention.

  • Places that invite reflection, presence, and inner quiet. Temples, meditation spaces, sound baths, pilgrimage routes, and the kind of museum bench you sit on and lose track of time.

  • Nature is the universal Zen teacher. Old-growth parks, botanical gardens, forest bathing, rivers, Miyawaki micro-forests, and sunset points — where to find stillness wherever you land.

  • Zen living leaves a light footprint. The 20-minute city, mass transit, home exchange, green-certified stays, natural building, and the radical simplicity of owning less and moving more freely.

  • Belonging is part of wellness too. Yoga classes, coworking cafés, LGBT-welcoming spaces, Airbnb Experiences, meetups, and the local hubs where strangers become neighbors.

Ready to Land Softly?

Whether you're curious about life in France or already planning your move, the first step is a conversation.

Start with the free Zen to Live France Test — then book a Discovery Consultation when you're ready to go deeper.

Canal Saint-Martin in Paris — The Zen Guy
Bicycle on a cobblestone street in Paris — The Zen Guy
Looking up at the Eiffel Tower from a Paris side street — The Zen Guy
Miyawaki urban forest at Place de Catalogne, Paris — The Zen Guy
Michael Huffman resting against a cedar tree in Jardin des Plantes, Paris — The Zen Guy