Frustrations from One Year Living in Paris

On March 28, 2015, I boarded a United flight with a couple of bags bound for France. I can hardly believe that I’ve been living in Paris for almost a year. These twelve months have been some of my happiest, but they’ve not been without frustration and a few tears.

As polished, poised, and perfect as things appear on social media, please know that this isn’t my Paris reality. Being an expat in France doesn’t come without its complications and annoyances. And since I’m asked daily–either in person, social media, or by email—about living in Paris, I decided to pour some of my biggest Paris frustrations out on virtual paper.

Housing in Paris

For over a year, I feel like a good bit of my life has been dedicated to securing a place to live. Complicated at best and homicidal at least, the process of finding a flat in the City of Love is anything but lovely. Even if I’d moved to Paris with those suitcases filled with euros, it still wouldn’t be easy.

I need a furnished flat rented months at a time. Since most of these kinds of flats are geared toward vacation renters {Airbnb’s #1 market is Paris}, finding something that is both reasonably priced and livable to my standards isn’t such a simple thing. After all, owners can rent their flats for about a week and cover what they’d get from me in a month. The financial incentive to keep renting to vacationers is monumental, thus, many of the city’s flats are empty and/or have a constant flow of holiday renters.

This has become a serious issue, as many Parisians can’t afford to live in their own city. Recently, there have been crackdowns in illegal vacation rentals in popular areas such as the Marais, and Paris has even passed new rent control laws. Still, many owners continue to ignore these regulations because the likelihood of getting caught and punished is small.

To add insult to injury, because of very strict tenant laws, owners are crazy-selective as to whom they actually allow to live in their flats. For instance, there are laws against evicting a legal lease holder during the months of October to March due to the cold temperatures. It doesn’t matter that the legal tenant is three months behind on rent; there’s nothing the owner can do. Because of laws such as this, owners require a mound of paperwork that includes pay stubs, contracts, bank balances, and tax returns.

If you’re like me and don’t have a regular paycheck or employment contract, many owners require a French guarantor. Now, I have a lot of great friends in France, but I’d never ask one of them to guarantee my rent. As an alternative, I even had one owner tell me that I could pay the year’s rent in advance. Are you freakin’ kidding me?!?

I’ve essentially been relegated to going through agencies that manage apartments, which come with hefty fees. My first apartment in the 8^th was found and rented through an apartment rental company that I’d previously worked with professionally. My second flat, which I just moved in to, was also found through an agency. I’ve been in touch with the owner of the company for over a year and actually live in his personally owned apartment.

I’ve discovered that unless you know someone who owns apartments, take over a lease from a friend, or somehow stumble on to an opportunity, finding a reasonably priced place to live in Paris is beyond challenging. Really, being in the right place at the right time, even with loads of money, is essential.

French Bank Account

I know this probably sounds crazy, but I still do not have a bank account in France. Since I’m obsessed with accruing miles, I use my United credit card for just about everything. About once per month, I use an ATM to withdrawal a chunk of money from my American account. My bank charges $5 for the privilege, but after a few months, I just call and request a refund of those fees. It’s not ideal, but I’ve made it work.

Frankly, I want to keep my money out of France, primarily for tax accounting purposes. In case you didn’t know, the USA is the only {there are two, apparently} country that requires its citizens to report and pay taxes no matter where in the world they live. It doesn’t matter if I don’t step foot in the country for two years. As an American citizen, I’m required to file and possibly pay taxes to the USA. The government has even passed a law that can strip people of their passports if they don’t file US taxes. Living in France, I also am required to file taxes here.

Since I work on a freelance basis with clients around the world, I make sure that I’m always paid in the United States to make things {accounting} easier {UPDATE: I now am also regularly paid in France.} I think I would cry if I had to pay taxes in America and France {UPDATE: You’ve got to make six figures before being double taxed, so that’s not a problem…yet}. Honestly, I’m not even sure that having a French bank account would have any impact on my tax status in France, but I’d rather be safe than sorry until I do figure this out. {UPDATE: It has no effect, but American FACTA laws are a bitch and make it almost impossible to get a bank account in France}. And don’t get me started talking about my confusion over the expat tax laws in France {UPDATE: Thanks to an awesome accountant, I’ve got the tax situation figured out.}

Other than the sake of convenience, is having a French bank account important? YES! The biggest issue I’ve encountered relates to mobile service. In order to enter into a cell phone contract in France, you must have a carte de sejour {which I have} and a French bank account. Setting up a Visa or Master Card payment isn’t good enough. So, for the past year, I’ve visited Orange {my service provider} once or twice per month to top up my phone. I get 1000 texts, 1000 minutes, and 2 GB of data for €30 for use over 30 days. {Update: I finally have a cell phone contract.}

It’s pretty much a huge pain in the ass, as I have to physically walk into an Orange store. I’m usually stuck standing in an obscene line in order to do something that will take literally two minutes and should be available to purchase online. It’s on occasions such as this that I really miss living in the USA. Hey, I know that eventually I’ll have to open a French account, but the idea and its possible ripple effect are just too overwhelming for me to handle right now. {UPDATE: As of June, 2016, I have a bank account!}

Life’s not a piece of cake, but being an expat in Paris is still pretty sweet. And despite my frustrations, I’ve not once thought of packing my bags and moving back to Texas. The good definitely outweighs the bad, and being an expat anywhere comes with its difficulties. I’m navigating a new country with a different set of rules and challenges. Add to this my deficiency in the language, and sometimes those challenges seem insurmountable. My strategy is to complain to friends {I’m already assimilating to the French way} and then ask for help in figuring out a solution. I’m fortunate to have a fantastic support system in France, and I couldn’t imagine trying to traverse this situation alone.

So, the next time you see a pretty picture of the Arc de Triomphe on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, keep in mind that I probably edited that very photo while standing in line at the Champs-Élysées Orange store. Of course, you can also follow me on Snapchat {Leahtravels} for a look behind-the-scenes at my daily life in Paris.