After not even a whole month of living on the outskirts of Paris in La Plaine- St Denis, I am moving to the Parisian quarter of Belleville (known for it's student night life... I don't know if I should rejoice or be concerned :P). It's been a tough struggle to find a decently priced accommodation at the time when Paris gets flooded with new students. I went through this at the end of August when I first came, and this time around it was even more competitive. Fortunately, I already knew where to look (and where not to look!; there are lots of sketchy housing offers online) so it took me "only" three weeks of intensive research (as opposed to two months in the first case) to find a room in a collocation with a family for a miraculous price of 380 euros. The usual price tag for a tiny Parisian studio of 10m2 is 500eur, climbing up to a 1000 euros a month in the more central locations. Blame the French housing bubble.
In brief, the reason for my moving is the high rent (600 euros/month for an almost non-furnished, cold room), the location (St Denis is one of the least favorite banlieux/suburbs in the whole of France) and my landlord's not-so-compatible behavior. I took the room because I didn't know the realities of Paris at the time and because I couldn't find anything else. This experience cost me in terms of nerves and money but it's one big life lesson I will be taking away with me from Paris.
Let's hope Belleville works out better!
*Here we are sharing a light moment with Patrícia, my faithful new-found Slovak sister who helped me with moving, in front of my empty wardrobe.
No comments:
Post a Comment