What’s dégroupage?

Dégroupage is the French term for ‘degrouped’, in this sense it means that companies other than France Télécom (Orange) can connect your telephone line. Most cities and towns in France are degrouped, while small villages and rural areas aren’t and must use France Télécom for their phone line. If you live in an area that is not degrouped and you want to go with someone other than Orange, you will need to pay €16 per month for your phone line.

So what are my options?

Orange (France Télécom)

France’s formerly public telecoms company. They offer internet, television and telephone service for €39.90 per month. On top of this you need to add €3 to rent your router and €49 up front as caution.

Internet – 18 mbps
Television – up to 75 channels
Telephone – Free to French metropolitan landlines. Calls to mobiles, DOM/TOM, and abroad will cost extra.

Why? They’re everywhere, and if you’re in an area that isn’t degrouped, you may not have much of a choice.

Why not? Too expensive, and international phone calls aren’t included.

Neufbox (from SFR)

Degrouped areas: Internet + television + telephone = €29.90 per month.
Non-degrouped: Internet + telephone: €34.90 per month

Internet: 20 mbps
Television: 130 channels
Telephone: Free to landlines in France and over 90 countries.

Why? Comfort of a large company, and less expensive than Orange.
Why not? Not as fast as some other companies, fewer channels than others, fewer countries for free landlines.

Alice

Internet + television + telephone = €29.95 per month.

Internet: 28 mbps in degrouped areas, otherwise 22 mbps
Television: 150 channels
Telephone: Free to landlines in France and 87 other areas (including certain DOM)

Why? Offer looks interesting. Also decent customer service when setting up the service.
Why not? Quality of network is poor. CNN isn’t included, and BBC World News isn’t even offered.

Free

Internet + television + telephone = €29.99 per month.

Internet: 28 mbps
Television: 150 channels included, 150 others optional (CNN and BBC World will cost €0.25 per month each)
Telephone: Free to landlines in 100 countries, including France.

Why? Large range of services included, others on option.
Why not? A bit technical to set up.

Numericable

Internet + television + telephone = €31.90 per month.

Internet: between 30-100 mbps
Television: at least 120 channels included, other packages available.
Telephone: Free to landlines in over 50 countries.

Why? You want your internet fast. Numericable is big on fibre optic internet, which is gradually being rolled out in major French cities.
Why not? Limited television choices. Fewer countries included in telephone service.

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Always required:

• A photocopy of your ID (your passport or carte de séjour)
• Your last three payslips (if you’re working) or those of your guarantor
• A proof of address for your guarantor (proof of payment to EDF, Housing Tax bill…)

Sometimes needed:

• Your most recent tax bill or that of your guarantor
• Your student card or certificate of enrolment (or last year’s if you haven’t yet received the new one yet)
• Your carte de séjour or carte de résident
• A photocopy of your guarantor’s ID
• An ‘attestation’ from your employer or that of your guarantor (this will state how stable your employment is)
• A photocopy of your guarantor’s property or local tax bill, if your guarantor is a homeowner
• Your bank details (Relevé d’identité bancaire)
• Your proof of payment from the last place you rented

The landlord or estate agent may not ask to see:

• An ID photo
• Your ‘carte d’assuré social’
• Your bank statements or a statement from your bank stating your account is in good standing

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Moving to a new place where you may not know many people is never easy, even less so when you don’t speak the language and the city is a big as Paris. And the truth is, the city can sometimes feel like an isolating place. 

But there’s no need to sit at home alone feeling lonely! Last week I told you about the Pastas parties, but there are a whole host of things you can do to get out and meet people!

Kunveno Exchange

For the culturally and globally minded amongst you, Kunveno helps expats to feel at home in Europe and loves to share events that its members suggest.

http://www.kunveno.com

Angloinfo

One of the largest directories of information for English-speaking expats around the world, Angloinfo has a host of links to organisations, clubs, and associations in the Paris area. There’s sure to be something for you!

http://paris.angloinfo.com/af/4/paris-&-ile-de-france-community-life-paris-and-ile-de-france.html

Meetups

Meetup.com has loads of groups that meet up on a regular basis around all sorts of themes and interests.

http://www.meetup.com/fr/cities/fr/paris/groups/

Language Exchanges

If you need to practice you’re French, a language exchange is a perfect way to brush up on your language skills while helping others to learn English or another language. Try the two links below!

http://parlerparlor.com/

http://letthemtalk.com/parler-in-the-park.html

Are you looking to meet people in Paris? Are you organising an event? Let us know below!

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As I talked about at some length in my article yesterday, housing in Paris is expensive due to a long-running housing shortage and high demand. Today I’ll give you a rundown on housing in Paris’s neighbourhood, and try to give you an idea of where you might be able to get the most for your money.

Central Paris

The first four arrondissements are smack in the center of Paris on the right bank of the Seine. It covers areas around the Louvre, the Paris Stock Exchange, Les Halles, and the Marais. You probably won’t find too many apartments in the first two arrondissements as buildings are mostly for commercial use and tourism. Rents can be slightly cheaper here than in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, which collectively are known as the Marais. The Marais was considered to be a rather run down area until about ten or fifteen years ago, when the neighbourhood gentrified considerably thanks to places such as the Centre Pompidou and the arrival of artists and a great nightlife. If you’re looking for a decent value here, try looking towards the northern part of the districts, around the Porte Saint-Denis and towards République.

The Left Bank

The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh arrondissements are amongst the most expensive (particularly the Fifth, which is the most expensive Paris district and where rents increased by 10% in 2008). This part of Paris includes the famous Latin Quarter, where the Sorbonne university is location, and the Eiffel Tower, along with several government ministries.

If you’re looking to live here, I’d suggest you try around the Boulevard Saint Germain, in the sixth. But even there, prepare to pay for the privilege.

West Paris

The eighth and sixteenth arrondissements are quite similar in a way, but also very different from one another. The Eighth includes the Champs Elysées and the Parc Monceau. It’s known for expensive hotels and chic chain boutiques. Again, it’s another district where there’s a lot of business, but there are also some apartment s to be had. Try looking along the border with the seventeenth arrondissement.

The sixteenth arrondissement is known as being residential and staid, although there are some people who swear by it. It tends to go for wealthy families, but studios are easier to come by in this area. Nightlife and transport are somewhat lacking, however.

Batignolles and Montmartre

The 17th and 18th districts lie on the northern outskirts of Paris. The 17th is quite divided – there’s a relatively wealthy area towards the south and west, and a gentrifying area to the north and east. The 18th includes the famous Montmartre, but also cheaper areas around Pigalle (think of the Moulin Rouge), Barbès and La Chapelle. In either of these areas you can expect to pay on average 21,7€ per month per square meter, and it’s quite popular with both students and young professionals.

The East

The large swath of land from the 19th down to the 12th via the 20th is probably amongst the cheaper areas of Paris. It’s also quite residential, but an entirely different type of population than the 16th. It’s mostly working-class type of people. In these areas you can find La Villette where the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie is found, and Belleville.

The South

You can also find some great deals on apartments in the 13th, 14th, and 15th districts along the southern fringe of Paris, although for slightly more expensive than in the eastern parts. It’s primarily residential, and commute times can en up being quite long. The 15th is known as being more family oriented, while the 13th is more young professional, artistic, and with a strong Chinese quarter.

Do you have any questions? Are you looking for somewhere to live in Paris, and need some advice? Ask me in the questions!

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Paris is a great city to live in, there’s no doubt about it. However the fact that it draws so many people to it leads to its major drawbacks.

Housing in Paris is expensive

Paris is an expensive place to live. Apartments don’t come cheap, and the few houses that exist (yes there are some!) are even more expensive. Paris, even more so than the rest of France, suffers from a lack of housing. This has two repercussions: a) rents are expensive and b) landlords are picky.

In Paris you can expect to pay at least 20€ per square meter per month in rent, and the smallest studios are 9 square meters large, the minimum space for housing by law. So in your head, you calculate 180€ per month for such a studio. In fact, the rents are much higher than this. The lowest you’ll probably find is around 350€, and don’t expect the studio to be of high quality.

Studios are the most sought-after type of housing in Paris. Counting the number of people that come to study here, plus the number of young professionals just starting their career, and the demand for studios is very high while the offer is pretty low. So if you’re thinking in terms of value for money in your housing, a studio isn’t necessarily the best deal, but it may be all you can afford. Larger studios can go for up to around 700€ depending on the size and neighborhood, but if you can scrap together even 800€, you may be able to find yourself a one bedroom apartment.

Life in Paris is busy

In France we have a saying for a typical Parisian lifestyle: métro-boulot-dodo, which translates as subway-work-sleep. If you’re living in the Paris area, it’s not uncommon to spend an hour getting to work in the morning, and the same to get home. Urban planning in the region has been centred around major pools of housing being to the east and north, while the work is to the west and south of the city. This has led to some long commutes, although it is possible to find work near your flat, or vice-versa.

With this kind of commuter lifestyle, it’s no wonder that people can be frazzled, particularly on days when the metro and/or trains have problems. In addition to this, Paris has a large number of young single professionals who like to go out after work. Depending on your social network, you could find yourself juggling a lot of invitations. Which kind of leads me to my next point.

Paris can be isolating

Parisians are busy. Like New Yorker and Londoners, Parisians have a lot on their plates – staying late at work, movies, theatres, visits to art galleries, seeing friends, etc. If you only see your Parisian friend once a month, it’s not that they don’t like you. They do, it’s just that they have so much going on.

OK this is a huge generalisation, but it can be true of some people. There is so much going on in Paris and that you may have friends in the same city that you only see once every month or two. This can lead to a feeling of social isolation in a way, but if you want to get to know someone, take the initiative, call them up and ask when you can get together. It may not be right away, but if they’re your friend, you will get an appointment.

What are your gripes about living in Paris? Tell us in the comments!

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One person’s trash is another person’s treasure: your local ‘brocante‘

The closest thing to a yard sale in France is known as a ‘brocante‘ or a ‘vide-grenier‘. These aren’t just individuals who set up shop in their front garden! Instead, the town organises the whole thing, and anyone who wants to participate can do so for a small fee depending on the amount of space they need. In exchange, the town will take care of all of the advertising, and it works: the French love to come around and sniff for a great deal!

These are particularly popular in the months leading up to the great August holiday, so if you arrive during the spring or summer, stop by your local town hall and ask when the next one will be held. On any given weekend it’s also likely that there’s a brocante in a town nearby that you can easily reach by car. Fortunately there are sites that list upcoming brocantes: start with http://vide-greniers.org/, where can search by town, department, and region.

Barter

Before the invention of money, all transactions took place based on exchanging one thing for another. With the economy softer than it has been in decades, more and more people are looking to excahnge their old, unwanted items for something that they really need or want. If you’ve brought something with you that you find you no longer need, have a look at http://www.gchangetout.com/ or http://www.femmeactuelle.fr/multimedia/le-meilleur-du-web/site-de-troc-09495 for an idea of what’s on offer. If you’re in Paris, you can also have a look on craigslist.

Get stuff for free

Desperate people who have no idea what else to do with an old desk or lamp or bike are even giving the things away online. Rather than throwing it away, there’s sure to be someone who can take it off their hands–and that person could be you! You might need to do some repair work to put it in working order, but that makes for a perfect weekend project. Try looking on http://www.recupe.net/index.html for a start.

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Internet Cafes still exist

If you don’t want to lug your laptop around while you’re on vacation, you can still find internet cafes in major cities. In Paris (and maybe even some other cities) there are internet cafes open nearly round the clock. Expect to pay between 0.50 and 1 euro for fifteen minutes with digressive increases if you want to stay online longer. Some providers will even let you buy time in bundles of five or ten hours, but if you’re just on holiday it won’t be worth it. And if you plan on doing more than just surfing the net–printing documents, burning CDs, etc–expect to pay more.

WiFi networks

Paris has particularly caught on to the idea of WiFi, going as far as installing free to use networks in many city parks and gardens, libraries, and town halls. To connect to the network in one of these places, just look for the Paris_WiFi network. You’re limited to two hours at a time though.

There are also a number of cafes and restaurants with free wifi.

Internet at home, how does it work?

If you’re coming to live in France for a year or longer, you can have internet installed at home. In most major cities, you can have your phone line with whatever telecoms company you like (not just France Télécom). Internet often comes bundled with a landline and cable television. Expect to pay around 30€ per month for the lot-more if you want extra option and channels. Some companies are beginning to install fibre optic networks (particularly in Paris) with up to 100 mbps connexions, and this will also cost extra.

Mobile Internet

If you’re often on the go in France, telecoms companies are also offering mobile internet keys that plug into the USB port on your laptop. Coverage can be patchy however. If you want an idea of prices, SFR offer unlimited mobile internet for 30€ per month if you already have a mobile phone plan with them, and Orange bundle two hours of mobile internet with home internet, phone and television for 44€ per month.

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To start your search, there’s no better place than the internet to get an idea of what’s on offer. There are many websites in French and a few in English to get you started.

FUSAC (http://fusac.fr/en/annonces_categories.php)

Paris’s most popular English-language classifieds newspaper also has an online section dedicated to housing offers. The emphasis here is on Paris, and you’re certain to find a landlord who speaks English, and is more likely to be understanding of your situation. But be advised: the places listed go quickly, often even by the time the print edition hits the presses.

De Particulier à Particulier (http://www.pap.fr)

The PAP is one of France’s most popular property classifieds papers, and also has a website in English. With PAP, you deal directly with the landlords and avoid estate agents’ charges (1-2 months’ rent).

Craigslist (http://geo.craigslist.org/iso/fr)

America’s favourite classifieds website is also available in France. It’s not particularly well known here, and you have to look out for scams. It’s a good place to start if you’re looking for something short-term while you get your bearings. You do need to be wary of scams, however, and you should be aware that subletting is technically illegal in France.

SeLoger.co.uk (http://www.seloger.co.uk)

The English-language version of another popular French property website will be able to help you find a place. However, unlike the PAP, most ads are placed by estate agents so you will be charged fees. These are listed along with the apartments.

ColocationFrance.fr (http://www.colocationfrance.fr)

This website is dedicated to helping you find a roommate. It’s only in French, so to use you will need a certain background in the language to navigate the site. Having a roommate is a good way to learn the language, and you can always see if you can’t give your roomy English lessons in exchange for lower rent.

Have you used any of these websites? Do you know of any others? Let us know what you think in the comments!

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