Dreams vs. Reality of Moving to Paris

Moving is never an easy task, whether it’s down the street or all the way across the globe.  Moving to Paris, France is a fantasy of many people around the world who daydream of sitting on café terraces, sipping fine wine, or a good old-fashioned café au lait. The sky partly cloudy, just enough sunlight to illuminate the gorgeous Haussmann façade across the way, filling your whole body with creative urges and inspirations. Yes, it is easy to lose yourself in the Paris that has inspired some of the greats: Hemingway, Stein, Joyce, and Fitzgerald, just to name a few. But not so fast! This part comes later for those planning to actually live in Paris longer than three months. You have to find a place to call your own first.

The first rule in looking for an apartment in Paris is to know where to look and where not to look. There are twenty districts in Paris, circling around one another like the shell of an escargot. The important thing to know about these districts is: avoid the 18^th, 19^th, and 20^th districts like your life depends on it! They are very dangerous both day and night, and are not much cheaper than apartments elsewhere in the city. The 16^th district, home to the beloved Eiffel Tower is the Manhattan of Paris. This area is a little safer, full of tourists and more expensive in every aspect. The 7^th district is home to many Americans and the 4^th  and 5^th districts are home to historical and contemporary scholars. Do your research beforehand, try to decide on an area that best suits your needs and interests. After you have decided on an area, know what you want from your apartment. Do you need an elevator? Are you focused on having a street view? In order to obtain these preferences, you will first need to understand how to decipher French apartment listings.

The French have a different way of listing information concerning their properties. This is very important for Americans if you want to actually get what you think you are paying for. A studio is listed as a one room, a one bedroom is listed as a two room, a two bedroom is listed as three room and so on because the French count the living room as a room. When scanning advertisements also be aware of these abbreviations and descriptions: Salle de bain equipee (equipped bathroom) means that there is a bathroom inside of the apartment, with a door, a toilet, a shower, and a sink. WC sur le palier (bathroom in hallway) means that your apartment does not have a bathroom of any kind inside of it. You will have to walk outside of your apartment every time you have to use the restroom. Sometimes you have a key and therefore do not have to share, but in many cases you must share the bathroom with everyone else living on your floor. Salle de bain ouverte (open bathroom) means that your bathroom is inside of the apartment, but literally in the middle of the room without a door or curtain. This would make dinner parties very difficult.

For those who choose to work tête-à-tête with the owners when searching for an apartment, here are some things to keep in mind in order to keep your sanity. The individual owners of apartments in Paris tend to not follow every renting rule. What does this mean? It means that they may not offer renters insurance, which would hold you responsible for any damage they believe you have caused. The owners may not play fair; they may increase the rent at any point, or simply tell you to leave. I was once given less than a week to vacate my apartment because the owner wanted to take an indefinite vacation to Paris, without paying for a hotel. However, not everyone has a story like this. Many people walk away very satisfied. Also, you need to understand that this is not a quick way to find an apartment. Owners meet anywhere from three to ten applicants a day, so they will take longer to sift through the applications than an agency. The overall time frame is at least 1-2 months, during which you will have to hand out dozens of dossiers containing your personal identification information, and at least three months of bank statements. If this makes you uncomfortable, then this is not for you, because once you hand an owner that file, you will never see it again. If you need something faster, then don’t worry, there are several agencies in every district.

Your other option would be to hire a local agency, or agence immobliere, to show you available apartments. This option will cost a little more; the agency fee is usually equivalent to one month’s rent. The benefits however, are worth the extra money. They are strictly business for the most part, and want to rent you that apartment more than you want to rent it. Once you have found a suitable living quarter, you will head back to the agency, sign paperwork, pay the agency fee, first month’s rent, and a deposit. After that, they hand you a copy of the paperwork, the building code, and the keys. Be warned though: French agencies have a habit of handing out the wrong keys. This has happened to me on three different occasions. Trust me, dragging luggage up five stories at midnight in the dark just to find you have the wrong set of keys is not fun. Especially, if the agent in possession of the only correct set of keys is now on vacation. Always double check the keys and building codes with the agent to avoid this mishap. After you move in, know that you need to have different expectations than usual.

Yes, France is a first world country. They enjoy many luxuries such as designer fashion, the right to protest, and more than enough food to eat. Still, it is a foreign country, a different culture, and therefore has different standards of living. The average Parisian spends as little time in her apartment as possible. Naturally, this means that they do not make as much effort to make their living quarters comfortable as Americans do. Space is a very precious commodity in this beautiful old city, so expect everything to be a little smaller than back home. In order to not be disappointed, know that the following assets are rare to nonexistent in Parisian apartments: a bathtub, a properly functioning water heater, an oven, air conditioner, four plate stove, carpets, closets, shelves, storage space, and smoke detectors. Do not expect the apartment to be clean when you move in, or have a fresh coat of paint on the walls. If there are damaged areas of the apartment, such as peeling paint, broken sockets, mold, plumbing problems, or electrical complications then you have to accept them. You can always contact the owner or the agency to file complaints, but the reality is that nothing will be taken care of quickly, if at all. The apartment owners in Paris are notorious for not wanting to pay for repairs, so they will avoid it until something bad happens or you file a complaint with the police. If you know this before hand, you will avoid the initial throw into negative culture shock. Try instead to focus on the positives.

There are complications associated with living in Paris, like anywhere else in the world. The good news is that there are more positives than negatives. First, always remember that you are the foreigner here and cannot expect the French culture to change for you. You have to adapt by focusing on all the beautiful aspects of Paris and just learn to shake off the negative stuff as funny anecdotes at future dinner parties. Where else can you start your morning off by jogging in a gorgeous 17^th century garden? Or finish off a hard week with a drink at a café where Hemingway once sat writing? Or have a romantic dinner in front of the Eiffel Tower? Or have a coffee where Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin once discussed politics together?  The truth is simple: there is no other city as beautiful as Paris, and you cannot put a price on that.

So, now you have your apartment, take a deep breath because the hardest part is over.  You can spend your time decorating, learning or perfecting your French, and taking in the new culture. The best way to do this according to the French is to find a nearby café, accompanied with a good friend or a book and just take in the sights. Observe the tourists and the natives alike as they merge together forming your new environment.

But if at some point in your life you would like to move back, there are great local moving companies San Francisco, visit heir website, request a quote, or simply call them and they will give you a quote. Doesn’t matter if you’re moving into apartment or a house, or only need labor. They will cover it all

Jacqueline Perrier-Gillette is currently a resident of Paris, France, where she lives with her husband. Together the two of them operate their small translation company, giving Jacqueline the opportunity to observe the French and their culture up close. She is an avid reader, writer, and student of foreign languages.

By Jacqueline Perrier-Gillette