Stijn waved goodbye to the Netherlands to go and live in Paris for six months in both 2014 and 2016. The first time he stayed with a host family, and the second time he rented an apartment through Airbnb. Continue reading to find out what Stijn’s experience was like, what he loves about Paris, and what advice he can give to anyone thinking of renting in Paris.
It was Stijn’s studies that took him to Paris. As part of his Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Management in his home country the Netherlands, Stijn needed to do two internships abroad in a French speaking country. He had chosen French as the language to study, because he knew he wanted to do his internships in France. The choice of country was obvious.
‘I wanted it to be France, because when I was younger we went there almost every summer, and I loved it there,’ Stijn says.
He mentions Normandy, Ardèche, and Dordogne, and says he has so many great memories from there.
‘Breakfast, for example, I remember that very well. I always ate so much baguette, and croissants! I went to the bakery myself, with my sister, or parents, but I was always scared to order in French,’ he says with a smile.
The fond memories took Stijn back to France, and this time to Paris. Paris turned out to be the easiest place in France to get an internship at the time, and Stijn did his first internship there in 2014, and the second one in 2016.
Finding an internship wasn’t easy. Stijn ended up hiring an intermediary that arranges internships and accommodation for foreign students for a fee.
‘Through this, I ended up finding a lovely place to work, and with very kind people,’ Stijn says.
The job was at an international film and television school where he did internal communications and other administrative tasks.
When he moved to Paris for the first time he was only 19 years old and didn’t have much work experience. The second internship he did was in marketing, and this time, with more work experience, he managed to get a job without an intermediary through a job board for expat jobs abroad.
Living with a host family
The intermediary that helped Stijn get an internship in 2014 also got him in touch with a host family. They lived in the 12th arrondissement in Paris, and Stijn describes the house as a really nice home with three floors and a rooftop terrace. He moved in with a mother and her two children, a boy and a girl in their teens.
‘I had my own bedroom, and I was sharing a bathroom with the mother. I did my own laundry and my own cooking. I had my own shelf in the fridge, and got to use their pots and pans.’
The rent was around 500 euros per month. Stijn says renting his own place in Paris would have been a lot more expensive, and living with a host family also gave him insights into the life of an ordinary French family, including the life of two French teenagers. Stijn remembers a night when the mother was out, and the teens saw their chance to throw a big house party in her absence.
‘I felt like the responsible older brother sometimes,’ Stijn says with a laugh.
Together the family and their new guest decided to have dinner together every Sunday. Besides that, Stijn didn’t spend very much time at the house.
‘I was always out and about and saw so many things.’
Stijn used a tourist guide book to navigate in the city. He visited all the common sights, but he really got to know Paris when he went for long walks.
‘I love that there is so much to see in Paris. You can just walk and walk. Then you take a side street and you come across something you haven’t seen before.’
He says that going for a stroll, or balader as they say in French, was one of his favorite things to do in Paris. As a result, he became a great tour guide to visitors from home.
I love that there is so much to see in Paris. You can just walk and walk. Then you take a side street and you come across something you haven’t seen before.
Stijn spent time getting to know new people as well. He signed up for a youth club called Club International de Paris. They organized different gatherings and events, and through those meetups he made new friends. There were also a couple of friends from his studies who did their internships in Paris at the same time.
‘We often went to Châtelet-Les Halles for happy hour to have cheap cocktails – it was so nice,’ Stijn remembers.
Renting through Airbnb
For Stijn’s second internship in 2016 he decided to rent an apartment. This time his girlfriend, who shared his passion for France, was going to join him. The challenging part was finding a place for a good price to rent, especially for the duration of around six months.
‘Most places were either holiday homes that you could rent only for a short time, or then you had to commit to at least a year,’ Stijn explains.
Stijn ended up looking for options on Airbnb, but even there it wasn’t all that easy.
‘I reached out to quite a few people. Even though it seemed possible on Airbnb’s website, they often rejected my request when they saw that we wanted to stay for six months,’ he says.
Finally someone accepted his request, and the couple moved into an apartment in the 18th arrondissement. They had a charming place with a layout neither of them were used to – the shower was in the same room as the bed. But Stijn had seen many similar layouts when browsing for an apartment in Paris, where a lot is crammed into the same space.
‘Places are super small for what you pay, at least back then,’ he comments.
Learning French
Even though Stijn had studied French for a couple of years, he was far from being fluent. When he told his host family he wanted to improve his French, they did their best to help him with that.
‘They were forcing me to speak French, which was really good. They even corrected me when I made mistakes.’
Stijn also remembers being corrected by a staff member in a café when ordering a coffee, and not in the nicest way.
‘In certain touristic areas they don’t always treat you well when they know you’re a foreigner’, he comments.
It was also common for people to switch to English when they heard he wasn’t a native. And if they didn’t speak English, he just had to manage with his level of French, no matter what the topic was. He remembers a particular situation when he had gotten food poisoning and had to explain this in the pharmacy to get some medication.
‘That was not great’, he says without elaborating further.
It was not always easy with French at work either, especially not in the beginning. Stijn had an American colleague, so he got to speak some English as well, but during the lunch breaks everyone spoke French.
‘Especially in bigger groups it was a bit awkward sometimes. As I couldn’t say that much in French yet I couldn’t really include myself in the conversation,’ he recalls.
Besides this, Stijn didn’t have any major struggles. He remembers that not speaking the language could feel overwhelming at times, but it got easier with time and in the end he picked up French quite quickly. During his second internship he worked mostly in Dutch and spoke English with his colleagues, so he felt more included from the start. He still says that having French colleagues is a great way to learn the language, even if it’s challenging in the beginning.
Adapting to the French way of life
When it comes to the French way of life Stijn has many positive things to say, and food is at the top of his list. As someone who loves to eat, he appreciates how the French culture is so centered around food. Taking your time and not rushing through the meal is also something the French are good at.
‘You can easily sit down for an hour with your colleagues for lunch. And they don’t talk so much about work then, which makes it even more relaxed,’ he says.
Stijn goes on to describe the lunch breaks at work as extensive where they either went to the canteen in the office building or to a restaurant in the city.
‘We had big, warm meals, and some drank wine or beer with the food. Afterwards we always went to get an espresso.’
This comprehensive lunch was a lot for Stijn who was, like most Dutch people, used to only having a sandwich for lunch.
Stijn admits that he needed to get used to eating the French way. While lunch was more than he was used to, breakfast was less. He says that many French people only eat something small for breakfast, just like his host family – they survived on chocolate cereal flakes with milk. In the host family Stijn also got used to the late dinners, where they ate around eight o’clock in the evening. He was quite hungry by then, as it’s not common to have anything to eat between lunch and dinner in France, except for perhaps a small snack.
Eating in France is also about sharing and socializing.
‘I like how it’s a very social culture. People often meet outside and sit on a terrace where they get something to eat and drink,’ Stijn says.
About the French people, he says they can seem a bit intimidating when you meet them for the first time, but once you get to know them they are very kind. He also comments on the how they often seem to be disagreeing with each other.
‘They interrupt each other and debate a lot,’ he laughs.
What Stijn hopes that he learned from the French is joie de vivre. He says that they usually have a good work-life balance, even though locals in Paris often seem to be rushing in the midweek. They are walking fast and hurrying to get to where they need to be. But he still feels like he learned to slow down and appreciate things around him there.
‘Things are so beautiful, so you’re always amazed by something around you. Everything is interesting and has history’, he says dreamily.
I love the coziness, the terraces, and the people outside. Even when it rains, Paris is beautiful.
Another thing that Stijn realizes that he slightly adapted to in Paris was the way of dressing.
‘People are dressed very properly, not practically, but nicely and fashionably,’ he says.
Stijn’s best tips for renting in France
For anyone interested in renting a place in Paris or somewhere else in France, Stijn recommends checking both French and English websites, as well as Airbnb. He says that the French websites have the most options, and they also tend to have the best deals. If you’re interested in living with a host family, he suggests looking for an intermediary like he did. And even if you just want to rent your own place, hiring an expert to help you out can, according to him, be worth paying for.
Especially if you have your mind set on Paris, you might wonder where in the city to live. This is what Stijn remembers pondering upon himself.
‘As Paris is incredibly big, it’s hard to know where to get a place, especially when you don’t know Paris that well.’
He recommends looking into the different neighborhoods in Paris to find out which areas would suit you. Some areas are more calm while others are more lively. And you want to know that you can feel safe there.
Other than that, Stijn encourages anyone thinking of living in France for a while to go for it. He still often goes back to Paris, and there are so many things he loves about the city.
‘The coziness, the terraces, and the people outside. Even when it rains, Paris is beautiful. The architecture is great and it almost feels royal. And it’s romantic. You feel like you’re on top of the world there.’
Say no more, Stijn. You’ve got us convinced.