Hi,
1) I'm going to France for my summer vacation with some friends. I want to work from June 1st to September 1st to help me pay for my trip while I'm there. I have my working papers. I'm young, I'm going with my buddies from college, were looking for a place where there's a lot to do, it doesn't necessarily have to be stuff that young people would enjoy were up for anything. Were looking for a picturesque regions thats not in the middle of nowehere, we still like to be near a commercial area where we can shop, get groceries and I can find a full time job as a cashier or something of that nature (fast-food, stockboy, etc.)
What would be the best area that would satisfy these criteria and my chances of finding work are highest?

2) We were going to rent an apartment between the 3 of us but now we had an idea that maybe we could live on a University campus somewhere. If this easy to do if you are foreign and aren't taking classes there? Are there curfews? Is there room service? Do you have to share the rooms? Will an amployer hire someone who lives on campus? When someone lives on campus, how can a potential employer contact them? Are we given a phone line? If anyone has done this before any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance, boogie

Look for hotel work in resort areas, such as Biarritz or on the Côte d'Azur.

Room service in college dorms? Am I the only one in the dark about this question? Have things changed THAT MUCH since my college days?

Yes, and do not delay. Contact temporary help agancies in beach areas. Let us know how it works out.

In order for an employer to contact you, you should get a cell phone. It's very unlikely you would get phone service in a dorm room. Although you may find something, it seems to me that college dorm accommodations in France are way less common than hostels.

That said - finding employment is very difficult.

If you do rent an apartment on a cheap budget, a phone is far from guaranteed. Again, the answer is to get a cell phone.

Alright Thanks everyone.
What about my 1st question though, any suggestions?

Merci mes amies

Your first question was already answered. Look for areas that are likely to experience a bulge in population during the vacation season. Besides the Riviera coast cities and places around Biarritz, you might consider Chamonix, Annecy, the Paris Disney thing, possibly Paris itself (but probably not), Avignon, and a few other places others might suggest.

By the way, I hope your screen name isn't indicative of your personality or behavior. If it is, you probably won't get a job. (Just joking) Good luck.

lol.. thanks for clearing me up Wayne.
It sounds like I would have a lot to see and do in Avignon. Biarritz and cote d'azur seem like a place you'd go on vacation to lie on the beach and relax, I want to explore and try neat things. Would Avignon be the best from the ones that you named if I prefer to explore and try 'neat' things in my free time?

I always get a headache when I consider Paris. Isn't everything much more expensive there? I know Paris is a busy place but I don't know if thats a disadvantage or an advantage when it comes to looking for work. I know it means there are more businesses but it may also mean more people like myself hogging the emplois non-qualifiés

From the places you've mentioned, are there any of them that I may get tired of after 3 months? I really don't know much about the cote d'azur or the provencal region. Actually, come to think of it, I not really know anything about any of these places..lol

For one thing I want to make sure I'm somewhere where I can explore and do things I wouldn't normally do at home in Québec. I'm definitely not going to lie around and relax. I'm sure you people know what I'm talking about.

What a hard decision to make!
Thanks Fodors chums Boogieeeeeee

Sounds like a reincarnation of this guy:

Author: Sagi2oo5 ([email protected])
Date: 03/16/2005, 10:40 pm
Oh sorry everyone, I should have mentioned this..
I am actually from Montreal (<b>Quebec<b and there actually IS a France-Canada agreement on youth mobility and exhange. So I look at the website of the French Consulate of montreal and I am almost done getting everything done that I need to apply for a work visa.

They make seasonal work visas available to young montrealers 18 to 35 without having an offer waiting for them. you basically just need your Visa de Long Sejour, which i'm applying for this week (I have everything I need).

So yes, I 'll actually be visa'd up and ready to work legally..

As for the unemployment rate of 10%.. I'm sure there's some flaw to this argument but that's the same unemployment rate as in Quebec and there's still alot of &quot;no-qualification&quot; jobs out there if you look.
Also, I'm not totally unqualified, I've been working at a restaurant called Dagwoods (similar to Subways) for 2+ years now. My french is actually quite good and of course I have the advantage of talking English....
Sorry again for leaving out details
Thanks for all the fast replies though, I can hardly keep up.</b></b>

oops forgot to close off the bold...sorry!

This does sound like the other guy, are you going together? I won't even attempt to answer the question about where you should go where there is a lot to do, as they could be so many places in France. YOu could also get tired of any place after three months. Yes, Paris is more expensive generally.


You don't say, but are we to assume you are fluent in French because you are from Quebec? I guess some folks aren't, but I don't think you'd be hired in French places where you'd have customer contact without that.

I have lived in a dorm in Paris in the summer (although over ten years ago), so can answer those questions from my experience there, at least in terms of what I knew of the situation then:

1) &lt;&lt;but now we had an idea that maybe we could live on a University campus somewhere. If this easy to do if you are foreign and aren't taking classes there?&gt;&gt;

NO, it's not easy to do if you aren't taking classes there. You are supposed to be a student (if not at that university, at least some legitimate school). You can apply for a room off the street without being a student (in the summer, anyway), but I don't know that they have many vacancies left after all the students get them, as there are many summer student programs who book them up. I don't know the situation for universities outside Paris.

2) Are there curfews?
Yes, there was at the one I stayed at (it was a bit later on the weekends). It wasn't any kind of supervision issue, they just don't have someone at the desk all night.

3) Is there room service?
Are you kidding? NO!

4) Do you have to share the rooms?
They have both shared and single rooms, but you pay more for a single, of course.

5) Will an amployer hire someone who lives on campus?
I don't know, for the kind of jobs you are talking about, they might not care.

6) When someone lives on campus, how can a potential employer contact them? Are we given a phone line?

No, there were no private phones in the dorm rooms I stayed in. YOu could make calls from pay phones, and receive them through a switchboard system, or get messages. Someone could always call and leave a message for you, however, even if you weren't there to pick up the call (unless the message got lost, of course).

I suppose that might have changed ten years later, but given how cell phones have become more popular, it might not have as a lot of schools don't want to pay to install phone systems. I'd suggest you get a cell phone.

Perfect, thank you for all the help everyone.