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Advice on living in Oise area (or other areas in rail commuting distance of Paris)

Advice on living in Oise area (or other areas in rail commuting distance of Paris)

Old Apr 19th 2012, 11:25 pm
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Default Re: Advice on living in Oise area (or other areas in rail commuting distance of Paris

Originally Posted by Emmis
My husband has a work opportunity in Paris but we don't think we will be able to afford nice housing in the city itself.

We only know Paris from holidays but these were always spent in the city itself, in Montmartre. Unfortunately we do not know the outlying areas at all. Nevertheless, we've done some research and Chantilly, Pont Sainte Maxence and Senlis seem really nice from what we can see online.

Does anyone know these areas and what the daily commute by train might be like?

Also, if they are liveable areas, would anyone be able to advise us on primary schools for our two children (aged 8 and 5) and on integration for foreign children? Our children are used to moving around a lot with us, but to date have attended international schools. My husband would be taking a salary cut so we would not be able to afford an international education in Paris. Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

We're quite a young, alternative-minded family, so anything that you think might be attractive to us would be fabulous! We did see that this was happening near Pont Sainte Maxence, and it's very much our kind of thing!
http://ritabanerjee.wordpress.com/20...iting-retreat/

My husband's also a surfer but I don't think he'll be getting much in on the Seine or Oise!

Thank you in advance and apologies if this has already been covered before!
Hi. I lived in Paris for 2 years and I can tell you the closest you get to the center the more expensive it will be. Many many people from Paris are moving to the suburbs (southern suburbs, the north is dangerous). You're gonna have to spend one hour and half in the subway everyday but you will save a LOT of money. Good luck
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Old Apr 20th 2012, 8:20 am
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Default Re: Advice on living in Oise area (or other areas in rail commuting distance of Paris

Originally Posted by dmu
Hi, you don't have much choice as far as Primary schools are concerned. Once you've decided where to live, you go to your Mairie to enrol. If there are more than one Primaire in the Commune, then it will depend on your address.
Our Maternelle/Primaire Schools in Ville d'Avray were excellent, as was our rural Primaire when we moved down South. There are good and bad Secondary schools, but I've never heard of a "bad" Primaire...
Hope this helps!
That is great to know! Thank you so very, very much!!
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Old Apr 20th 2012, 12:21 pm
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Default Re: Advice on living in Oise area (or other areas in rail commuting distance of Paris

Hi there,

The commute from Chantilly / Senlis down to La Défense would be fairly hellish, it has to be said. In case of problems such as strikes or technical issues, it could take hours every day.

I would suggest that you check some of the less expensive areas around the western end of the RER A (maybe Achères, Neuville, or even Sartrouville and Houilles though as they are closer to Paris may be dearer). Not Maisons-Lafitte which would definitely be out of budget. We live at Conflans Sainte Honorine and the commute from there to La Défense is only about 20-25 mins. The other benefit is that you have the choice of RER and SNCF so if there is a problem with one line you can usually still get to work.

We don't have kids but love the whole region - very friendly, generally welcoming to expats and would be suitable for a young family.

We enjoy the proximity to the lakes and leisure base at Cergy which offers a massive park, kids rides and other entertainment, swimming, water activities etc.

Our budget is pretty limited as my husband didn't have any work for 2 years but we manage to get by on a single income here.

Let me know if you would like to know more about these areas.

All the best,

Danielle
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Old Apr 20th 2012, 10:00 pm
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Default Re: Advice on living in Oise area (or other areas in rail commuting distance of Paris

Originally Posted by danielle1000
Hi there,

The commute from Chantilly / Senlis down to La Défense would be fairly hellish, it has to be said. In case of problems such as strikes or technical issues, it could take hours every day.

I would suggest that you check some of the less expensive areas around the western end of the RER A (maybe Achères, Neuville, or even Sartrouville and Houilles though as they are closer to Paris may be dearer). Not Maisons-Lafitte which would definitely be out of budget. We live at Conflans Sainte Honorine and the commute from there to La Défense is only about 20-25 mins. The other benefit is that you have the choice of RER and SNCF so if there is a problem with one line you can usually still get to work.

We don't have kids but love the whole region - very friendly, generally welcoming to expats and would be suitable for a young family.

We enjoy the proximity to the lakes and leisure base at Cergy which offers a massive park, kids rides and other entertainment, swimming, water activities etc.

Our budget is pretty limited as my husband didn't have any work for 2 years but we manage to get by on a single income here.

Let me know if you would like to know more about these areas.

All the best,

Danielle
Hi Danielle!

Thank you so much for your response!

I'd love to know more about the areas! If you could point out nice towns that are an easy commute to La Défense I can look them up online. It's easy to find the towns, but knowing whether they have a nice feel to would help (I know that's subjective, but I'd still hugely appreciate someone's opinion!!)

In the meantime I'll have a look at the areas you mentionned. We've had a quick look at Poissy and around there - any ideas? I've no idea if that would be near to you!

I'd love to stay in touch, if that's ok with you!

xx
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Old Apr 22nd 2012, 1:50 pm
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Default Re: Advice on living in Oise area (or other areas in rail commuting distance of Paris

It has to be said that Conflans does have a great feel to it - our neighbours and the larger community have been fantastic and there is everything here that you could need in terms of shops, leisure activities and amenities.

We have a few other expats in proximity and everyone helps each other out. In addition, there is a bit of a 'seaside' feel taking into account the riverside living aspect - lots of boats, watersport enthousiasts and in the summer months a weekly cruise ship come out from Paris on a Saturday, disgorging UK and American tourists along the quayside!!

Andresy, Eragny, Herblay are all close enough and nice places. We don't know Poissy very well but have been there a couple of times and it seems fine. A good town centre.

Feel free to keep in touch. Best of luck.
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Old Apr 22nd 2012, 9:33 pm
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Default Re: Advice on living in Oise area (or other areas in rail commuting distance of Paris

Originally Posted by danielle1000
It has to be said that Conflans does have a great feel to it - our neighbours and the larger community have been fantastic and there is everything here that you could need in terms of shops, leisure activities and amenities.

We have a few other expats in proximity and everyone helps each other out. In addition, there is a bit of a 'seaside' feel taking into account the riverside living aspect - lots of boats, watersport enthousiasts and in the summer months a weekly cruise ship come out from Paris on a Saturday, disgorging UK and American tourists along the quayside!!

Andresy, Eragny, Herblay are all close enough and nice places. We don't know Poissy very well but have been there a couple of times and it seems fine. A good town centre.

Feel free to keep in touch. Best of luck.
Thanks Danielle

That's super lovely of you!

We're so close to making a decision - got until this Friday to decide between the Paris job and another in a completely different country... as you do! We move every year at the moment so taking the Paris job would be a big life change for us, taking a permanent salary, staying put, doing the local thing etc, etc. Your kind advice is definitely keeping the Paris option open!

Thanks again - love the sound of the water as we're big outdoor lovers!

Hopefully speak again soon xx
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Old Apr 24th 2012, 3:42 pm
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Default Re: Advice on living in Oise area (or other areas in rail commuting distance of Paris

Hi there,

If you still need thoughts on Poissy (if you are still coming to France), I live close by.

I moved with my husband to Carrières sous Poissy last June. This is a small town just outside Poissy. For us, it's great, we have a few local shops, and it's only a few minutes by bus or 15/20 mins on foot into the town of Poissy. Poissy has a good high street, a couple of good restaurants / cafes etc. It does have excellent train links into Paris, both the SNCF and RER. We use these a lot!

You are in close proximity to the river banks of the Seine, there's a great park in Poissy, there's the forest for cycle rides / walks. It's all really nice.

We haven't got young children here so I don't really know much about the local schools other than there was an American family living in our house before us and they used the local school. They seemed to be fine with it.

We were looking at Saint Germain en Laye and Maisons Laffitte as options as they are lovely towns but could get much more for our money in the Poissy area. We also looked at Conflans where Danielle is, we really liked it there but the timing on a house we were looking at there just wasn't right for us.

Just thought I'd post this and wish you luck if you have chosen to come to France!
Sue
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