Wednesday, February 20, 2008

How to Find a Flat in Paris

Finding a place to live is anxiety provoking. It’s even more anxiety provoking if, like me, you have a fear of leases and commitments in general. And it’s even more anxiety provoking if you’re signing a lease on an apartment you’ve never seen in a city you hardly know.

Luckily, there are some English speaking agents with foreigner-friendly websites including http://www.lodgis.com/ and http://www.parisattitude.com/.

Here are a few others that I wasn’t as crazy about:
Yes, it's a little early to start apartment hunting... but it never hurts to be prepared!

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Approaching the Leap

My life is fairly simple. I work, I play, and I want to grow. I also suffer from wanderlust, am a passionate Francophile, and unconditionally love my golden retriever, Tequila. These latter qualities come into play more often than you’d think.

For example, to do the work I really want to do, I need a graduate degree. While many (like my remarkably responsible brother) would settle (some call it being wise and mature) and find a job they're content with and pays for graduate school, that approach just won’t work for me. I need international opportunities and exposure, and tons of extracurricular stimulation. By nature I’m too passionate to be part time; I hopelessly devote my boundless enthusiasm to the task at hand. With me it’s all or nothing, babe.

And it's about time to take the leap. I’ve analyzed the value of this jump for what seems like years, and have concluded the best program to meet my many needs is a joint master’s of public administration in strategic public policy and master’s of arts in international affairs, offered in Paris. It will give me the tools to do what I want to do, it will help quench my desire to experience the wonders of the world, and — quite importantly — Rose can come. Plus, it will take me back to France — a magical place where I lived for six brief months over two years ago.

I'm stepping closer to the ledge — I've been accepted as the pilot for the program. To take the leap, many things must come together: finances, apartment, visas, airline tickets... and thus far I've found no resource to help me.

So for now, that's what this will be: a documentation of what it takes to jump, just in case somebody else wants a resource to make their leap a little easier.


Stay tuned for the fall...