bhamham

Hi all,

We're a retired couple looking to move to Paris late April from the US. We've been watching for rentals on Paristay.com, and a few look good to us. But was curious if anyone has used them and would they recommend them. Also, are there any other websites that others have used and could recommend for habitation in Paris. We're looking to stay 6 months to a year, and would like to be in the 11th, or close to there.

Thanks,
Bruce

audio

Welcome, I personally would not recommend any retirees staying in Paris other than for a quick visit.
However I know that many US citizens are drawn to Paris for some reason or another.
The 11th is highly populated, rentals will be expensive.
If you can, rent on the outskirts of Paris.
I am sure more seasoned residents of Paris will advise soon.
If not, the US Consulate in Paris might be your best bet for advice.

petitefrancaise

airbnb?

gites de france would work too, you could probably negotiate a better deal for long term rental.

leboncoin.fr perhaps.

dmu

Have to agree with Audio, no French person would go to Paris to retire. In fact very many Parisians move out of Paris when they retire!
What's the attraction of the 11ème? My daughter lived there for a couple of years - it does have a sort of village atmosphere, but there's nothing particular....
Far less stress, and cheaper, to live in the immediate suburbs, near an RER line so that you can visit Paris when you like!

cyrian

Hello Bruce,
We have USC friends who spend winters in Florida and summers in France.
They are careful not to stay in France longer than 6 months to avoid becoming tax-resident in France and therefore would have to complete a French tax return in addition to the US one.
They are both fluent French speakers.
Initially, they rented an apartment (for the entire year for several years) in Tours which is 1 hour from Paris by TGV.
However, after several years in Tours, they decided to rent somewhere in Paris.
Tours is situated in the Loire valley within easy reach of many of the best known chateaux in France.
It is a vibrant city with lots of restaurants and has good links to the West of France.
It has an English language cinema.
Rents in Tours are much cheaper than in Paris.
Initially, you would be better to plan for a short stay in Paris or wherever to allow you to make an informed decision on where you would ultimately prefer to live.

EuroTrash

I'm tending to agree with Audio as well, you need to be very much a city-animal to retire full time to Paris. I love Paris tremendously, but in small doses.

Most comfortably-off retired / semi-retired people I know who live in Paris, also have homes in the country where they spend time on a regular basis. Not many Parisians stay in Paris all through summer from choice - there tends to be a mass exodus in July/August when the regular residents get out and leave Paris to the tourists who don't mind sweltering for a few days.

Of course it depends how you're aiming to spend your time in France but if you'll be travelling around and visiting other cities and regions, to me it would make more sense to rent outside of Paris as a base.

bhamham

Thanks everyone for your comments. I'm a bit surprised at the anti-retirement sentiment towards Paris. Although we're retired it's not like we're planning 'to retire' there. We only intend to live six months to a year in Paris to experience the culture, learn to speak better French, visit the museums, theatres, historical landmarks, etc.

We're not new to France. Both of us have British citizenships too and lived in the UK for many years. My wife, Marie, grew up there. We've been to most of the big European cities so know a bit what we're in for. We've probably spent over a year in France totaling our holidays there. We get by with our limited French but hope to improve once in Paris.

We like the 11th b/c we have good friends living there. He's a retired 71 y.o. expat american and she's French - a school teacher at an elementary school. They've been in Paris for near 20 yrs. It would be good to be close so we can hang-out, show Americans where Jim Morrison's grave is at pere lachaise . Those sorts of things.

Our friends are looking for for an apartment for us too. We're looking at airbnb - thanks Petitefrancaise - I'll check out gites de france and leboncoin.fr too.

We're open to living elsewhere in Paris but would like to be close to our friends. Again, many thanks for any help.

Bruce

petitefrancaise

Good for you!
I find French country life dull as ditchwater, being surrounded by galleries, museums, restaurants, street artists, concerts and the buzz of a beautiful city is much more enticing.
Retiring to the country is fraught with difficulties as the previous posters would have been quick to tell you and some of those problems are greatly alleviated by being in a city. Personally, I would prefer a medium sized town inSpain just because it is so much livelier, more vibrant after 7pm on any evening than a French town.

dmu

Sorry, missed that bit! I understand your wish to be in the midst of all that culture. During the 6 months before we moved from the Paris suburbs to the South, I took our daughters to everything possible at weekends, for total immersion of Paris Culture. More for myself, really, as they both lived in Paris for a while when they were older and could do their own thing....
Hope you find a nice place near your friends! Can't help on the flat-hunting front, except to say that, for a "normal" unfurnished flat, leases are for 3 years, although you could leave after several months if you give proper notice. No idea how furnished flats, which you're looking at?, work, but they obviously exist for short-term renting as per the above suggestions.

audio

Looking at your reply. It would seem that your friends already living in the area you wish to visit would be well informed and able to advise more than us.

bhamham

Thanks dmu. Yes, looking for a furnished one, good information about the 3 yr leases.

bhamham

Yes, they're looking too. Just thought that a French expat forum might have members who recently moved to Paris using online services like Paristay.com could offer some help. But thanks for your help audio