By Boyd Lemon / Guest columnist
I lived in Paris for most of a year — from June 2010 to April 2011 — a dream I shared with many people for a long time. I found living in Paris full of beauty, joy — and challenges. I still think Paris is the most beautiful city in the world, especially if you enjoy art. There are artistic surprises around almost every corner, at least, in every neighborhood. The parks are gorgeous for three seasons. The food is the best in the world. As a native Californian, I hate to say it, but so is the wine, something I wouldn’t have agreed with before I lived there. It is a walker’s paradise. The public transportation is phenomenal. The white Christmas was breathtaking. The French can be charming, and it is a truly international city; you meet people from all over the world. The city is one of the cleanest in the world. A few things are relatively inexpensive: cable TV, WIFI, telephone, bread, cheese and wine.
Living in Paris on a budget is one of the challenges. Everything in Paris, except what I identified above, is expensive, very expensive. Rent, utilities and food, all necessities, are far more expensive than their equivalents in the United States. I estimate that if you live modestly, including living in an exceptionally small studio apartment and eating breakfast, half your lunches and half your dinners at home, dining out at mostly modest cafes and bistros, a couple will spend $80,000 to $100,000 in a year, a single person around $60,000 to $70,000. If you insist on more comfort or luxury, you will spend more. You could get by on less. You could eat all or almost all your meals at home, and save a lot of money, but you would be sacrificing experiencing a lot of Paris, not only because you would spend the majority of your time shopping for, preparing and eating meals at home, but because part of the joy of Paris is the café life. So, unless you plan to spend many years living in Paris, it is not practical to eat all or almost all of your meals at home. You could also live with seven other people in a dormitory at a hostel in a poor neighborhood for 20 euro a day (a euro was about $1.35 when I was there — yes, for you English teachers, in Europe, “euro” is singular and lower case), but most people over 21 are not willing to do that. I wasn’t. You could go to only free events, but you would miss a lot of the beauty.
If I knew before I moved to Paris what I know now, I would have done some things differently, mostly relating to preparation and expectations. Most important, I would have learned French before I left, at least, to the intermediate level, hoping only to polish it in Paris. I didn’t anticipate that the Parisians would be no help in learning their language. They do not have the patience to speak with one who is not fluent. They will either talk to you in whatever English they can, or they simply will not talk to you. They will not help you with their language, and if you do not correctly pronounce their very difficult language to pronounce, they do not understand you. This is a generalization. There are exceptions, but not enough to help much.
I would not take an immersion class at Alliance Francais or similar language schools, as I did. In my experience, refusing to explain anything in English detracts from learning and is terribly frustrating when you don’t understand what the teacher is saying. After gaining reasonable proficiency back home, I would hire a tutor in Paris once or twice a week to practice with and to answer questions.
I would not expect Parisians to help me do anything, though I did meet some very nice and helpful Parisians. I was disappointed that they were the exceptions.
I would try to rent an apartment before I arrived, even though it would be sight unseen. It is difficult for an American to rent an apartment in Paris, unless you have an income or a lot of money in France. Even then, apartments are scarce. It took me two months, and then I was lucky to find a landlord who spoke English and did business in the United States. Many landlords simply will not rent to Americans (or perhaps any foreigner).
Finally, I would expect everything I needed to do to be difficult, especially if it involves dealing with any French governmental agency. They, like the French in general, have their rules that they adhere to rigidly without any consideration for the specific situation, except when they decide for their own reasons not to follow the rules. Assuming you know what the rules are (a problem in itself), you never know if they will follow them. This problem also applies to any French institution, such as utility companies, banks, car rental companies, etc. Think of the bureaucracies in the United States, but ten times worse.
In short, in addition to expecting to experience the beauty of Paris, I would expect to experience the difficulties.
You might question — am I glad I did it? Absolutely! I am blessed beyond words for having lived in Paris, the most beautiful city in the world.
— Boyd Lemon is a retired lawyer, who re-invented himself as a writer, living in Ventura. He recently returned from a year in France and Italy. His memoir, “Digging Deep: A Writer Uncovers His Marriages,” has just been published. It is about his journey to understand his role in the destruction of his three marriages. He believes it will help others to deal with their own relationship issues. Excerpts are on his website, http://www.BoydLemon-Writer.com