Not quite Sex and the City: Life in Paris
A year in Paris has its ups and its downs
Ah Paris! The city that invented chic, the home of romance and glamour. I set off on my year abroad filled with excitement and apprehension in equal measure. I had been planning how to spend my year away from university for what felt like an eternity, but I soon realised that even the best-laid plans can turn to dust in the face of hard Parisian reality.
Having secured an internship with a top international recruitment agency, I must admit that I was feeling pretty smug, especially since I was lucky enough to be paid more than the usual rate of a third of the minimum wage. I arrived in Paris a week before I was due to begin work, in order to look for a flat. Surely it wouldn’t be too difficult to find somewhere?
It wasn’t quite the ‘Sex and the City’ cocktail-sipping, Jimmy Choo-wearing lifestyle I had fantasized about
I set about scouring the internet for flat-shares and trying to arrange apartment viewings in my less than perfect French. But despite all my best efforts, the weeks passed and I failed to find anything. It wasn’t for want of trying; I visited several apartments that I would happily have lived in, only to be told by the other tenants that they had already seen twenty or more prospective flatmates and were expecting more. My heart sank. Individual studios were no better.
The Parisian studio is a law unto itself, inconceivable to those who have not experienced this phenomenon first hand. Generally, they are the size of a cardboard box, with a sofa bed, kitchen and shower all crammed into one room. And when I say kitchen, I mean a microwave if you’re lucky, and a little camping stove. I seriously contemplated renting one such delight, and paying 600 Euros per month for the privilege, and was only saved from this depressing fate when a friend of my parents offered me her own empty apartment for half the usual price. It was a lucky escape indeed from an existence that would undoubtedly have had me sprinting back to Britain within weeks.
And so I ended up living in the tenth arrondissement, half way between Gare de L’Est and La Fayette, and within easy walking distance of Montmartre. I could not have found a more perfect location if I had tried. I was (finally) living the dream. Ok, it wasn’t quite the ‘Sex and the City’ cocktail-sipping, Jimmy Choo-wearing lifestyle I had fantasized about, but hey – beggars (and poor students) can’t be choosers.
Life quickly settled into a less than glamorous pattern, involving a mad metro dash to work each morning, a day of mindless data inputting, followed by a mad metro dash home again. The nine-to-five ‘adult’ lifestyle was actually rather dull. I reminisced fondly of messy mid-week student nights out, and days when my lectures didn’t start until 2pm. Working in a foreign country was certainly an unforgettable experience, even if it wasn’t the laugh-a-minute existence I’d hoped for. I went through every emotion possible: excitement, frustration, disappointment, elation and loneliness. This was an aspect of the year abroad that I hadn’t really considered in the pre-departure meetings.
Determined to get the most out of my experience, I made a conscious effort to embrace all things français, watching French television, reading French newspapers and spending my days working with French people. But despite this, I remained in many ways resolutely British, and strangely drawn to all things home-like. A weekend in Paris was not complete without a trip or two to Starbucks (I know it’s expensive and I don’t care. I like it!) And my favourite night out with friends? Burger and chips, followed by a few drinks in our favourite Irish bar. Travelling is all about exploring new places, meeting new people and embracing a different way of life. But some things in life are just unbeatable, so why try?
Related posts:
We are a group of volunteers and starting a brand new scheme in our community. Your web site provided us with useful information to work on. You have done an impressive process and our whole community might be thankful to you.
I just could not depart your web site before suggesting that I really enjoyed the standard information a person provide for your visitors? Is going to be back often in order to check up on new posts
Hello, i think that i saw you visited my blog thus i came to “return the favor”.I am attempting to find things to enhance my website!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!
hello there and thank you for your info – I’ve certainly picked up something new from right here. I did then again expertise a few technical issues using this website, since I skilled to reload the website lots of instances previous to I may just get it to load properly. I had been considering if your web host is OK? Now not that I’m complaining, but sluggish loading cases occasions will very frequently have an effect on your placement in google and could damage your high quality ranking if advertising and ***********|advertising|advertising|advertising and *********** with Adwords. Well I am adding this RSS to my email and can look out for a lot more of your respective intriguing content. Make sure you update this once more soon..
Simply wish to say your article is as astonishing. The clarity on your put up is simply great and i could assume you’re an expert on this subject. Fine together with your permission let me to grasp your RSS feed to stay updated with approaching post. Thank you 1,000,000 and please carry on the gratifying work.
I simply desired to thank you very much yet again. I’m not certain the things that I would have created without the type of smart ideas discussed by you on such a field. It was before a real difficult issue in my view, but observing this specialized strategy you processed that made me to jump with delight. I’m happy for your support as well as believe you are aware of an amazing job your are doing educating other individuals using your web page. Most probably you haven’t met any of us.
Thanks for your post on this website. From my own experience, many times softening right up a photograph may possibly provide the photo shooter with a dose of an imaginative flare. More often than not however, the soft clouds isn’t exactly what you had under consideration and can sometimes spoil a normally good photo, especially if you consider enlarging them.
It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this excellent blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for bookmarking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will share this website with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
Something more important is that when evaluating a good internet electronics store, look for web shops that are frequently updated, preserving up-to-date with the most recent products, the top deals, along with helpful information on products and services. This will ensure that you are getting through a shop which stays ahead of the competition and provide you things to make educated, well-informed electronics expenditures. Thanks for the vital tips I have learned from your blog.
Hilfreiches Forum, danke. Auf bilpo.net finden Sie Informationen rund ums Billard-spielen.
Generally I don’t submit upon sites, but I wish to say that this particular submit really forced myself for this. Great submit!
If you can message myself together with any kind of tips on what you made this website website appear this particular excellent, I’d personally enjoy it.
If you can message me personally together with virtually any tips regarding how you have made this web site web site appear this great, I would be thankful.
You made some decent factors there. I regarded on the web for the difficulty and found most individuals will associate with together with your website.
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good. I don’t know who you are but definitely you’re going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already
Cheers!
Your blog continues to be mentioned inside my forum like a suggested studying. Im happy I passed by to see it.
Hello there, I found your site by the use of Google while searching for a comparable topic, your website came up, it appears good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Hello : I must say, I’m amazed with the website. I’d little difficulty navigating via all of the tab and information had been very easy gain access to. I found some tips i needed right away in any respect. Fairly amazing. Would be thankful if you include forums something like that, it might be the perfect method for your visitors to activate. Good job!
Usually I don’t publish about sites, but I would choose to declare that this kind of post truly forced myself for this. Really nice publish!
Someone necessarily lend a hand to make seriously articles I would state. That is the very first time I frequented your website page and so far? I amazed with the research you made to make this actual publish amazing. Excellent process!
Great publish ! Thanks for, publishing in my blog page gentleman! I am going to message you a little while. Some understand that.
There is noticeably a bundle to know about this. I assume you created certain good points in capabilities also 741372
I would like to say thanks so much for the job you have made in writing this posting. I am hoping the same top job by you in the future too.
Dog don’t eat dog.
I would really like to say thanks a lot for the work you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same most reliable job by you later on too.
hey very good web site i will definaely come back and see once more.
You really make it seem really easy with your demonstration but I find this topic to be really something
Excellent weblog right here! Additionally your website lots up fast! What host are you using? Can I am getting your associate hyperlink on your host? I want my website loaded up as fast as yours lol
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my web site so i came to “return the favor”.I am trying to find things to improve my site!I suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!
you could have an awesome weblog right here! would you prefer to make some invite posts on my weblog?
I think other web site proprietors should take this site as an model, very clean and fantastic user genial style and design, let alone the content. You are an expert in this topic!
Outstanding publish. I recently came across your personal internet site as well as desired to state that I have truly enjoyed surfing around the website articles. In the end I’ll always be subscribing to your nourish and also I’m hoping you’re writing once again soon!
I was searching at some of your articles on this internet site and I believe this internet web site is really instructive! Keep on posting .
An impressive share, I just now given this onto a colleague who had previously been doing small analysis about this. Anf the husband the fact is bought me breakfast merely because I stumbled upon it for him.. smile. So permit me to reword that: Thnx for your treat! But yeah Thnkx for spending some time to debate this, I discover myself strongly more than it and enjoy reading far more about this subject. If possible, as you become expertise, may well you mind updating your website with more details? It truly is highly of fantastic help for me. Huge thumb up because of this text!
I will immediately grab your rss feed as I can’t discover your e-mail subscription link or newsletter service. Do you’ve got any? Please let me know in order that I could subscribe. Thanks.
Sweet article, refreshing website design and style, keep up the great work
I want to say thank you a whole lot for your job you have made in writing this article. I am hoping the same most reliable job from you down the road as well.
Perfect know-how! I have been seeking for something like this for a time today. Thank you!
Thank you for every other informative site. The place else could I am getting that kind of information written in such an ideal means? I have a undertaking that I am simply now operating on, and I’ve been at the look out for such information.
I have been checking out many of your articles and it’s pretty nice stuff. I will make sure to bookmark your blog.
*This could be the proper blog for anyone who wants to locate out about this topic. You realize so a lot its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really would want…HaHa). You surely put a new spin on a subject thats been written about for years. Fantastic stuff, just fantastic!
Be grateful you for spending time to speak about this, I think strongly about that and delight in reading read more about this topic. Whenever possible, just like you become expertise, do you mind updating your web internet site with a good deal much more details? It can be highly fantastic for me. Two thumb up in this post!
Hi, you might have post here a really useful information for everybody who looking to learn more data on this topic. I read it with most enjoyment and believe that everyone can apply it for their very own use. Thank you for helpful post. Looking to read much more from you.
This can indicate that a watch has spent some or all of its life within the tropics and was not serviced as regularly as it should have been.
Just desired to say that you’ve got some awesome content on swiss t gallery on your blog. If it is OK I wants to use some with the information you supplied on my web site. If I link back again to your website would it be OK to do so?
I¡¦m now not certain exactly where you’re getting your data, even so excellent subject. I must spend some time obtaining out more or understanding much more. Thanks for great information I used to be on the lookout for this info for my mission.
What i don’t understood is in fact how you are no longer really significantly much more well-appreciated than you might be proper now. You might be very intelligent. You realize thus considerably in terms of this matter, produced me in my view consider it from so several numerous angles. Its like women and men aren’t involved until it truly is one thing to do with Woman gaga! Your individual stuffs outstanding. Always take care of it up!
I have recently started a site, the info you provide on this website has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work. “Show me the man who keeps his house in hand, He’s fit for public authority.” by Sophocles.
Normally I do not read post on blogs, however I wish to say that this write-up very compelled me to take a look at and do so! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thank you, quite great article.
Thanks so much for providing individuals with remarkably memorable possiblity to discover important secrets from this web site. It is usually so pleasant and also full of a great time for me and my office fellow workers to visit the blog nearly 3 times in 7 days to study the latest items you have got. Of course, I’m certainly astounded concerning the surprising pointers served by you. Selected two facts on this page are in truth the most effective we have all ever had.