Horatio

Hey,

Brief background may help - 21, marketing chap. Really, really have aspirations to move to Paris and live my years out there.

Treat me completely fresh - as if I know nothing, I wont be offended.

Okay, I'm planning on moving out there within the next few months and am really in need of some genuine advice of what to do, and what to expect.

In my mind, I can save up some money over the next few months and get out there around December, hold up in some shitty apartment and find a job to tie me over - but is that actually realistic? How hard is it an English 21 year old guy (that can't string a sentence of French together, yet) to find sufficient work to sustain a living out there?

How difficult is it to find relatively cheap accommodation out there? I've tried looking but I can only find properties / flats that would more than likely be far too much.

I'm tempted to find the equivalent position to what I'm doing at the moment out there as it would mean I would have a far better income, but if it came to it setting my standards far lower and getting a day in day out job wouldn't phase me.

Help!

Thanks,

Horatio.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
I'm sorry to say that unemployment in France, esp. in your age group, is very high. Bilingual French graduates will give you tough competition for any jobs going in marketing, esp. if your French isn't sufficient.
No doubt you could find some menial job to keep you above water, but no doubt on the black.
And without a regular salaried job, you won't have sufficient payslips to prove to potential landlords that your income is 3-4 times the rent and you'd need a Guarantor. Especially in Paris where there are queues of candidates even for shitty appartments. (One of my daughters has been through flat-hunting in Paris, so I'm quite au fait with the problem!).
You're young, come over and see how things go, but bring over enough savings to last you a year, and more besides for healthcare coverage (unless you've been paying into the NHS, you'd have to take out private insurance.)
And learn French before you arrive!!!
Sorry to be discouraging, but I'm realistic, and fore-warned is fore-armed!

Ka Ora!

Welcome to the Forum, Paris is expensive to rent in and a lack of French is going to cripple your employment hopes, But you might get some unskilled bar work. You need to sort your health care out as well as it's not a simple as in the UK.

Horatio

Hey! Thank you!

And thank you for the realistic heads up - it's what I wanted ha.

I was aware of the health care but not how difficult it is at the moment to find a place to live. I wouldn't mind doing something remedial so that wouldn't be a problem. I have seen a few paid search marketing positions in Paris that were tailored towards English citizens that wanted to move over, but they seemed to get snapped up pretty fast.

Yeah you're right too - would help a lot if I learnt French before I got there, I would have enough time to if I were saving for a year. How much would I need to last a year out there? I guess it's based on the accommodation I was happy to stay in etc right?

Thank you so much for the advice! Really is priceless!

dmu

Hello again! Counting the expensive Paris rent and living costs, you'd do well to have available (1400€ x 12) = 16,800 €.
You may find a flat-share ("colocation") but even then the others will want guarantees that you can pay your share of the rent regularly (not just money already in the bank).
Good luck, whatever you decide!

cmread

Why do you wish to move to Paris in particular? I'm asking because there are cheaper areas to live in France that would allow you to improve your French (once you learn it) and also might provide more employment opportunities.

Even if you have your heart set on Paris, it would be, perhaps, worthwhile to consider first moving somewhere - anywhere - in France where you could find work and establish yourself and then, from there, make contacts that would allow you to move to Paris.

Horatio

That sounds like a much better plan to be honest - and yeah, I get paid quite well but it would still take me a lonnggg time to save up 16,800 euros :L.

Looks like I'm going to have to move elsewhere first and just, go with the flow and see how it goes - I take it you're all out there at the moment or? . . .

Thanks again!

cmread

If, by you mean, you're all out there at the moment, whether the commentators are in France, I can't speak for everyone, but I live in Lille. My husband and I moved here about 3 years ago. It's a beautiful city that is cheaper than Paris and only an hour away by TGV.

There are, of course, plenty of other places in France to go to. I saw a report today, on BFM Business, that Nantes is growing and looking to attract young people. Maybe there will be opportunities there.

Horatio

Ahh, yeah that is what I meant. And you're right, Lille looks immense.

I've spotted quite a few au pair positions, some of which don't desire a strong grasp of French, and some of those don't require any actual nanny work - just to be around to help the children learn French. You can attend French Language classes at the same time (score!).

This sounds like it could be quite promising, just to get out there for a long time and get to know people.

cmread

They want an au pair to help the children learn French? You mean English, I should think.

One thing you should do as soon as possible is to get a French bank account. You don't have to be a resident of France to get a bank account here. Any bank will do, but since you don't speak French, I recommend Britline as you can set everything up in English.

Having a bank account makes it so much easier to travel in France and to move here. We had set up an account for going on holiday and it was very useful indeed when the opportunity presented itself for a permanent move. Without it, finding a flat would have been so much harder. Plus, because we had had the account for some time and had managed it well, the bank readily agreed to raise the withdrawal limit, which also helped when we moved.

Get started on learning French straight away. Work on grammar, especially verbs, and work on listening skills. It's easy to find French-language broadcasts on the web. When you visit France, pick up a few BD (bandes dessinées). These are graphic novels and they are very useful for picking up vocabulary and contemporary usage. They are easier to read when you are first getting started than a wall of text and the pictures can help you to understand the finer points of the language. They are easy to find and there's a wide variety of stories.

If you have a hobby, try to find web forums about it in French. Your interest in the subject will make it easier to pick up the language.

dmu

I lived and worked in Paris and the Paris region last century and have lived in the south for 20 years. I'm well acquainted with all the problems of flat-seeking in Paris and elsewhere, my two daughters went through all that at your age and we are still their Guarantors since their respective incomes aren't sufficient despite the fact they are trilingual Graduates. In fact they both live in Germany at the moment since the job market in France is dire...
I should follow the above advice and drop the idea of Paris. Au-pairing isn't a bad idea (provided you like children!), or you could consider working on a farm with bed and board. Google Wwoof or Helpx for info.
Hope this helps!

MillieF

If you aren't tied down go and work for the vendange.. the grape harvest, or apple picking in West France. You would be able to earn a bit of money, have a good time and see if you think it might be possible for you to pick up the language quickly. Farms needing temporary seasonal labour are likely to be far more forgiving of your limited language skills. That way you might be able to get a realistic idea of what French language requirements in France are. The single thing that scuppers The French Dream is the lack of language skills. You are a fantastic age for scooping up a language like a sponge...go for it, and good luck!

Tweedpipe

Getting seasonal work on the grape harvesting - as already suggested, could be a good start. Except that if you plan to move within the next few months you've probably already missed the boat. It's already started/completed in some areas of France, and in this area kicks off in earnest early in September.
Students from France (and especially many from Italy & Spain this year) usually apply early to ensure they get their names on the reservation list - especially for live-in accommodation provided by many vineyard owners.
Good luck anyway!

ludmila.garcia

Hey,
A compromise solution would be to move to Paris, but look for accomodation in the outskirts (the so-called 'suburbs') unfortunately, over the years they have gained quite a negative reputation abroad but in fact the suburbs are very quaint communities, plus the rent is a lot cheaper and the appartments are much bigger. Hope this helps xD

dmu

Certain suburbs, the "93" in particular, have a negative reputation in France, too! You can usually say that the western and south-western suburbs, particularly the "78" and parts of the "92", are very pleasant, but even there, some towns should be avoided.
The bad side about the suburbs is the lack of work possibilities and social life for the OP.