Budgeting help!
 

I am a college student who will be studying in Paris for the fall semester and am looking for advice on money expectations. I found a studio (17 m2) from a friend in the 7th for $650, which seems to be a good deal. Any ideas on how much the rest of life there will cost? I'd appreciate any money-saving tips or advice!

I'm guessing you mean $650 for a week? (sounds too high for an entire semester; or do you mean per month? wow, makes me wonder why my daughter is living in Los Angeles!)

For an additional $300-400 a month, you can prepare three delicious and nutritious meals a day (some might involve leftovers from previous days, depending on your creativity).

Walking is free, and you can buy a really nice sketch book with colored pencils for under $20, which could actually provide you with more than enough to do all day long for a dozen weekends, when you are not studying.

What other expenses make up "the rest of life" in other previous or future semesters?

Best wishes,

Rex

www.ratp.fr
"Titres de Tariffs"
for information on monthly transportation passes

Does the administration office/agent you are coordinating with have a brochure for incoming students?
Something like this one:

http://www.aup.fr/pdf/Stud_Life/AUP_ParisPratique.pdf

..there are good student discounts at museums and some shows...Check with your university. If you have a French student card there can be some great deals on camping and weekend trips. Check the student services and clubs at your school. I think Rex's est re food is high. I think you will learn some of the local budgeting tips from the other students.

Where do you live now? Paris is no different than anywhere else (as far as money savings tips). Get the cheapest rent you can find, cook from scratch at home most meals, keep tabs on any activities that are free to do like museum admission days, music in the park, theater rehersals, rollerblading, etc. If you live in your own apartment currently (not in a dorm eating in a cafeteria) your expenses should be similar for a few months in Paris IMO.

Something simple - but it really adds up!

Buy your water/soda at an épicerie or a supermarché and carry it with you. It amazes me how one bottle of water could cost .5 euro to 4 euros depending on where it was purchased!!

Also, if you won't have internet access in your apartment, check in your area for places that sell a monthly pass as opposed to having to pay an hourly fee. I remember seeing that at the place I used in the Latin Quarter.

I have to snicker a little bit on the "tip" to find "cheaper bottled water". This can compete... how? - - with water from the tap?

rex, bottled water comes in a convenient container. How would you carry around water from the tap when you are touring around all day? From what I have read, you should not reuse water bottles, because of the bacterial overgrowth.

My daughter who has now done about two years in France at University will tell you that the International Student card was the best investment that she could have made-discounts on travel etc I think that the museums we free or very cheap with it. Have a good French phrase book and always use Bonjour and pardon. If you know French make sure you use the vous formal form of French especially with any French professors that you have!

I would assume KGL means $650 for a month, that's what I would expect for a teensy studio sublet from a friend. This isn't the same market as tourists, where that would be more like a weekly rate.

I agree with Suze, it's the same as anywhere else in terms of money-saving tips, and I would budget the same for living as you would wherever you are from. There isn't really that much else one has to have as a student other than room and board, the rest is by choice.

If you are studying in Paris, the school should have an office and tell you about things involving student living. For example, there are some student cafeterias in Paris with pretty cheap food that you should be able to use with a legitimate student ID card. There is one around Mabillon, as I recall. These are cafeterias that are not directly attached to a university. They are called "restos U". Here is a list (although a couple years old) of the ones in the center:

Necker, 155 rue de Vaugirard, 15e M-F 11:30 am-1:45 pm and 6-8 pm

Le Mabillon 4, 12 rue Clement 6e M-F 11:30-2 pm and 6-8 pm

Bichat, 16 rue Henri-Huchad, 18e M-F 11:30-2:15 pm

IUT Descartes 143 av de Versailles, 16e M-F 11 am-1:45 pm

I think you'll discover when you're there that students share lots of great budget tips with each other, but it's great that you're thinking ahead. Check out the guidebooks written especially for budget travel such as Lonely Planet, Let's Go, and to some extent, Rick Steves. I agree with Rex about the tap water--you can always boil it if you're concerned (we boil our filtered water here in Seattle, but that's because our daughter is studying environmental health, so that's a whole other issue), and you can just use that water in plastic bottles.

I bet your university will have various suggestions as well.

Have a great time--it's an experience you'll always cherish!

The $650 is for a month right by Saint Sulpice. Thanks for the tips on restos U, Christina, those should help. I'll be at Sciences Po, so the one in the 6th would be the closest. Thanks for the advice everyone, my university did send me some stuff on cost of living, but it's not too helpful.

Rex, in terms of "the rest of life", I think I meant entertainment (movies, shows, clubs, etc.). I live in Madison, WI, and other than rent nothing is too expensive. If anyone has any ideas on inexpensive , fun things to do that a normal tourist might not know about (I've done the touristy thing there before), that'd be great too! Thanks! :)

Stop by the "city hall" of your arrondissement and ask for a list of events. Sometimes they're offbeat and ofter they're free.

Also, you may want to check out your local-branch Paris public library for recreational reading. Ours, in the 11th arrondissement near Metro Faideherbe-Chaligny, has three stacks of books in English, as well as Time magazine, the New Yorker and the International Herald Tribune, a global English-language daily newspaper. Once you have a library card you can use any of the branches, and there is no cost unless you check out recordings. The American Library, by contrast, has much, much more to offer, but it also has a pretty steep membership fee.

So... (and my point here is that the cleare the question, the more useful the info shared here)...

...there really are two questions here:

How do costs compare between Madison WI and Paris.. for things like movies, everyday out of pocket purchases (magazines, chewing gum, whatever), and unique opportunities that only Paris can offer? (not that Madison doesn't have its own unique possibilities - - can't find a Big Ten football or basketball game in Paris... nor Michael Feldman!)

and secondly...

what are the <i>low-cost</i> unique choices for &quot;enjoying life&quot;, on a student level in Paris?

The questions overlap, but they actually are different at some level.

Worthy of a separate post, perhaps, with greater clarity in the message header...

;)