ilisa

EMC, sounds like sour grapes to me. Were you ever young once? Instead of discouraging people from following their dreams, try encouraging them. You'll be a much happier person. I admire Becky for having a dream and having the courage to pursue it.

ilisa

EMC, sounds like sour grapes to me. Were you ever young once? Instead of discouraging people from following their dreams, try encouraging them. You'll be a much happier person. I admire Becky for having a dream and having the courage to pursue it.

Catherine

Becky, <BR>Don't pay any attention to EMC, be positive and if you want to go to France go for it. I did and there hasn't been one single day that I've regretted it. It was a bit difficult at first but follow Francesca's advice and you will have a ball! and that's living! I actually live in Paris and before settling here had a job where I travelled world-wide non-stop. Paris is for me one of the most beautiful cities in the world and there's loads of great things to do. Go for it, if you don't like it you can always go home, at least you'll know.

lisa

Given a choice between a young person with aspirations of moving to Europe, or a young person with no goals or dreams, I will choose one like Becky any day. It would be great if there were more like her. The desire to return to Europe can be a great motivator to learn a language, get a better education, secure employment, etc. Becky: You've gotten some great advice here. One of my friends from high school felt the same way you did and got a job with an airline, and eventually got to fly routes between the U.S. and Paris. (Another great benefit of working for many airlines is they let you fly free when you're on vacation.) She got to spend a lot of time in Paris for many years, and had a wonderful time. P.S. She ultimately ended up marrying an American and is now a stay-at-home mom here in the U.S. You may find that your dreams change as you grow older, but it's still great to have them -- they can change your life!

Joanna

If one of your grandparents is of European extraction you may be able to obtain a European passport, which will enable you to live and work anywhere in the EEC. I have a British passport as well as an Australian one, as my dad is English. My sister has been living in London for the past four years. If this option is available to you, you should pursue it.

Thomas Nastos

Vincent: You mentioned $900 for the apartment in Paris. Is that per month, long term, a year, furnished, location? We would like to consider a long term apartment rental in Paris. How did you get yours? BTW, i believe my soul is french, at least parisien.

Vincent

Thomas, rents in France are paid for on a monthly basis, so that's per month. Also, contrary to the UK, most apartments are rented unfurnished, although there is a special "market" for foreigners that rents furnished apartments, at a much higher rate. Contracts for unfurnished rentals are for 3 years (but the tenant can leave the apartment any time with a three month notice, whereas for the landlord it is very complicated to reclaim his apartment : he has to prove that himself or one of his close relatives are going to live in it) ; for furnished rentals, it's one year only renewable). As for the location, the difference in rents between ultra-central arrondissements and more peripherical neighborhoods is not that big (20 to 30 %) whereas when you buy you are looking into three or fourfold price discrepancies. Another thing : in Paris you talk less about the type of apartment (2, 3 rooms, etc.) than about the surface (30, 50, 100 m²), which actually gives you clearer ideas, since some "2 pièces" can be larger than some "3 pièces". Usually, count 100 F monthly rent per m², more if it's under 40 m², less if the apartment is over 50 m². With this amount, you should have a more than OK apartment. As for apartment hunting, I bought mine, so this is quite different. Unfortunately, real estate on the Internet is not well developped in France, except for some luxury houses on the Riviera ! There is a very good source, though, it's "De Particulier à Particulier" (do a search on yahoo.fr) that lists thousands of ads directly from owners. Browse on this site, it'll give you a good (even though 10 % over the market, landlords are so greedy ! ) idea of what prices look like. Another good source is FUSAC, the weekly aimed at the Anglo-Saxon community in Paris, but it's even more overpriced, and it's not on the Net. Feel free to e-mail me directly, so that I can get you posted on all the little tricks of apartment hunting in Paris (which is quite fun, IMO ! )

Vincent

Precisely, the last issue of FUSAC was out yesterday, and I did note down a few URLs mentionned in some ads. They are real estate agencies mainly catering to a foreign clientele, but not only. The only site I have experienced first hand is : www.alouer.com, through which I rented my previous apartment, and which is a fairly good collection of rental ads run by real estate agencies. The other ones are totally new to me... <BR> <BR>www.capitalepartners.fr <BR>www.apartments-of-france.com <BR>www.paris-appartements-services.fr <BR>www.inter-logement.com <BR>www.homerental.fr <BR>http://locaflat.com <BR>[email protected] <BR>[email protected] <BR>[email protected] <BR>[email protected] <BR> <BR>The following sites are supposed to be more "upscale" (whatever that means, actually I think it's more for relocation services ) : <BR>www.guestapartment.fr <BR>www.rival-immo.com <BR>www.apalachee.com <BR>www.cattalanjohnson.compuserve.com <BR>[email protected] <BR> <BR>Good luck !