Salut, I got back from Paris yesterday & I'm totally in love with this city! So much that I really think about moving there one day. Our French bus driver and tourist guide mentioned that you have to earn at least 5000€ net - not necesssarily bc the rent is that high but just to get considered for a flat. So is this true? How much do I have to earn to live in Paris? He also mentioned "grande Paris" & I think that's totally crazy, making the city 25x bigger. What do the Parisians think about it?
Well, as a foreigner, you do need to have a big salary because nobody can vouch for you. French people need a salary that is at least three times bigger than the rent + one or (better) two people vouching (usually your parents). The fact is that many people want to live here so the flats owners only choose the best candidates. However, there are other options, like roommates, students residences… You can contact your embassy in France, they’ll give you tips.
That’s why I often say that coming to Paris isn’t necessarily the best option for a foreigner cause life here is pretty hard. There’s a lot of competition, whether it’s for a job, a flat, a degree… France is not Paris only, there are very great cities and you can take a train and go to Paris for the week-end and still live the Parisian dream anyway! Some of other cities are very Parisian-like, such as Bordeaux or La Rochelle. It’s worth checking them out!
Regarding “le grand Paris”, technically Paris is very small city. It’s something like 10% of New-York… This is nothing you can’t deal with! “Grand Paris” is all about connecting the suburbs to find room for all the people wanting to live here. Those suburbs can be very convenient, especially if you’re looking for quite a big flat (in Paris, you can only find very small ones) or even a house to rent. There are some very chic places, such as Saint-Cloud (Christian-ish bourgeoisie), Boulogne-Billancourt/Neuilly-sur-Seine (rich people), Courbevoie (bohos mostly). I personally think it’s a good thing to create that “Grand Paris” because Paris … is… very… small… xD
