Once we officially had our French visas we put all our plans into motion. We made a packing list of

Moving to Paris: Part 2 D.I.Y. compare airline fares Projects Party + Wedding Ideas Free Printables Paris San Francisco compare airline fares Invitations Home Decor Aug 13 Moving to Paris: Part 2
Once we officially had our French visas we put all our plans into motion. We made a packing list of the kinds of things we wanted to bring with us. We researched movers and storage places to keep our things in San Francisco while we were gone. We started to take French compare airline fares lessons from a tutor. We tried to estimate what our monthly costs would be and looked for hidden costs so we wouldn t be surprised. And last but not least we started to look for a Paris apartment. ( Here is my first post .)
Looking for an apartment in Paris is a dream and a nightmare. Since I knew it would probably be the only time we were going to live in Paris, I really didn t want to skimp.  I wanted it all: parquet wood floors, floor to ceiling windows with a view, a great Parisian neighborhood with a market, a nearby Metro stop. I dare you to look at Paris apartment listings compare airline fares without getting starry eyed. It s impossible. There are some really amazing apartments compare airline fares out there. On the other side of the coin, Paris apartments can be old, have very strange layouts, are hard to find, and can be very expensive. In general if you are looking for an apartment in Paris I would look on Seloger ,  Sabbatical Homes , Fusac , or Craigslist compare airline fares . (In order of helpfulness.)
The Paris rental market is very competitive compare airline fares (like a lot of cities) so you really needed to be there in person to be in the running. Second, there are apartment listings sites that market to expats and people looking for short term rentals (meaning less than a year) but they tend to have inflated costs. So if you can be there in person for a lease that lasts more than a year you can find a similar apartment for a much cheaper rate. If we had used an agent or an apartment finding service it would be a lot easier. It was also really hard to know what the neighborhood is like and what the apartment was like. Finally someone recommended that we rent a temporary apartment for the first month while we looked for a permanent place. We liked the idea of being able to see the apartment in person and being able to see the neighborhood so we decided to wait until we arrived to start looking. The scary part of that choice being you might not find a place after a month and you wouldn t have a place to live.
Once we arrived we had four main goals: getting an apartment, getting a bank account, getting cell phones, and getting internet. We had no idea what we were up against. compare airline fares Since we didn t speak French we  hired Anne to help us make appointements and navigate the system. The first week we put in 10-15 calls on different apartments we found on  Seloger.com and only two people called us back! There are a lot of great Paris neighborhoods but I really wanted to live in the Marais. It is beautiful and kind of artsy but I tried to be open minded about which places we looked. The first place we saw was in the 7th Arrondissement. The 7th is very fancy and old school. Kind of like NYC s Upper East Side. Think: lots of old French ladies going to fancy hair salons. It also has a large American population. compare airline fares It was a partially furnished apartment and had a small view of the Eiffel tower but the kitchen was tiny and since it was across the street from the Eiffel Tower I was paranoid it would be too touristy or too American (I wanted to have an authentic experience.) We decided not to take it and then went to the second appointment. This was in a great neighborhood in the 6th Arrondissement but the apartment was terrible. It had a very strange layout (I think the bathroom was off the kitchen) and a small pokey hallway with no view. when I saw what they were charging for that place I started to get nervous. No one was returning our calls and we only had three more weeks to find an apartment before we were homeless. Paul and I talked it over and called the real estate agent to look at the first apartment again. It had pretty much everything we wanted but wasn t near a Metro stop. (It was a 10 minute walk.) We decided not to push our luck and we decided to take it.
1. Unfurnished Parisian Apartments usually come completely empty. compare airline fares That includes appliances: compare airline fares no fridge, no oven, no washing machine, etc. At first this intimidated me and made me want to look for something furnished. But after I got there I realized the appliances are small and it is fairy inexpensive to buy something used and have it installed from people compare airline fares moving out of Paris. Even buying something new is less than you might think.
2. Most Apartments have a Broker Fee Attached. I arrived in Paris with a California mindset where most people don t use brokers. I wish I had realized early on that I would end up paying  the 2000 Euro fee. It would have opened up a whole world of apartments to us. There are real estate agents in every neighborhood that have listings in the window. I didn t even consider those because I would ve had to pay a fee. (It is definitely possible compare airline fares to find an apartment without a broker fee attached but I would only go that route if I had a place to stay indefinitely until the perfect place showed up.)
3. Look for American Landlords. You can circumvent a whole host of problems like French bank accounts and enormous safety deposits if you look for a landlord that is American or American-friendly. Sites like Sabbatical Homes , FUSAC , and even Craigslist can sometimes compare airline fares have US or US-Friendly landlords. (Note: I would check US Craigslist first, Paris Craigslist is a little more shady since it isn t used as much.)
compare airline fares 4. You Must have a French Bank Account OR 6-12 months rent up front. French credit works differently than the US Credit System. The big thing to get a lease is you need a French Bank Account. No big deal , you might say. Well to get a French compare airline fares Bank Account compare airline fares you must have a permanent address. It s a giant catch-22. (That s why it s useful to have a landlord that can check your US Credit.) In our case we gave the landlord a large safety deposit (just like in the US) and on top of that 4 months rent as a safety that we wouldn t default on rent. This large amount of money surprised us (no one had mentioned anything about it) but after we arrived I heard similar stories, some students I spoke to said they had to pay almost compare airline fares a year up front.
5. Get Your Documents Ready! I had no idea how many times I would use that binder I organized to apply for our visas. To rent an apartment compare airline fares they wanted every document imaginable including birth certificates compare airline fares and financial compare airline fares information. Make sure you have several copies of each!! (Also, this is a silly tip but seems to work. A friend mentioned that color copies are preferable because the sometimes the bureaucrats think they seem more legit like originals.)
6. Have an Advocate. It is important to have an agent or lawyer who knows the system when you sign. At the end of our lease we had issues with our landlord and realized we weren t protected like we thought we were. If you are dealing with large amounts of money it is best to pay extra to make sure it is protected.
1. Including Safety compare airline fares Deposit and A Rent Guarantee we put down 6 months rent up front. (You get it back eventually.) 2.  Broker Fee (about one months rent.) 3. Renter s tax  The renter who lives in the apartment on January 1st is required to pay the entire years rent taxes. Our apartment compare airline fares was about 800 Euros.
In France compare airline fares the Ground Floor starts at level 0 and the next floor is level 1. So the First floor is actually the American 2nd floor and so on. Apartments compare airline fares are advertised as 4 Rooms or 3 Rooms But that means total rooms in the apartment, not just bedrooms. You have to look specifically for how many bedrooms compare airline fares it has. If you rent a furnished compare airline fares or partially furnished apartment you pay more in rent and more of a deposit. The renter who lives in the apartment on January 1st is required to pay the entire years rent taxes. Everone in Europe has a landline. It s even required by certain places like banks. They charge you extra to make calls to cell phones. There is no such thing as an unlimited minutes cell phone plan.
This is a lot of information to fit in, so if you are still reading this I m impressed . Looking back I probably would have either found an apartment before we went over (even made a quick flight to see it in person) or else hired an agent to show us apartments. A lot of expats I knew had the luxury of their companies paying for an agent and that would take a lot of the stress out of the situation. Especially considering we ended up paying an agent fee anyway. Category: Moving to Paris , Paris Posted by jordan on Aug 13, 2012 Tweet 47 Comments Gina @ Oaxacaborn says: August 13, 2012 at 1:09 pm
So many great details, Jordan! Thanks for sharing you ve included aspects here that I haven t seen any any other moving to France posts (and I ve read quite a few). I didn t know about paying taxes up front on Jan 1, for instance. Super informative, and as always, compare airline fares inspiring! jordan says: August 13, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Sorry if I wasn t clear! You don t pay taxes up front. They usually bill you in the fall. But if you moved in on January 5th you wouldn t be responsible for paying them that year. Kelly Golightly says: August 13, 2012 at 1:11 pm
I believe you met my friend Jenny of the Jesus Year Project in Paris who was doing the same thing a year abroad in Paris. I remain infinitely jealous of you both xx! Tina Ramchandani says: August 13, 2012 at 1:13 pm
Thanks for the information. compare airline fares We are thinking of moving abroad. It may not end up being Paris but I ve heard similar stories throughout Europe. This is definitely helpful to keep in mind! Tatiana says: August 13, 2012 at 1:38 pm
I moved to Paris a few years ago and it s all true; Lots of papers, and more papers; And the getting an appartment in the city is a big deal! When you visit one you will be sure to have another 20 people visiting the same place sometimes; But I love