irish community in Paris

mike kelly

is there much of an irish community in Paris? I would like to know about life as an emigrant in this city

Ponster

Well, it's only an hour from Ireland so there are thousands of Irish living in the city, 43+ "Irish" bars, Irish communities, Paris GAA and the Irish College.

Paris is big enough that if you want to get away from Ireland you can easily do so, losing yourself in French culture but big enough so that there's never a problem in getting a decent pint and watching the hurling whenever you feel the urge.

mike kelly

Ponster wrote: »

Well, it's only an hour from Ireland so there are thousands of Irish living in the city, 43+ "Irish" bars, Irish communities, Paris GAA and the Irish College.

Paris is big enough that if you want to get away from Ireland you can easily do so, losing yourself in French culture but big enough so that there's never a problem in getting a decent pint and watching the hurling whenever you feel the urge.

I hadn't thought there would be so many irish there. Thanks a lot for your help

ligerdub

Such a great city, love going there.

I don't think we make enough of the association between the two nations. I for one would like to see a few more streets around our cities to be named after French landmarks and historical figures. Actually, to be honest I'd also like to see more named after our own! I really don't understand how so many place names relating to old British symbols and landowners remained.

alexjk

I live in Paris, and I come across Irish people from time to time. I've heard there's a sizeable community but my own experience of the expat community here has been of people from other English speaking countries mostly.

mike kelly

alexjk wrote: »

I live in Paris, and I come across Irish people from time to time. I've heard there's a sizeable community but my own experience of the expat community here has been of people from other English speaking countries mostly.

ok, so you haven't come across any place where irish people tend to meet up? The irish bars I saw there seemed to be all tourist places.

How did you manage to find accommodation in Paris by the way? I guess it must be pretty difficult.

Ponster

mike kelly wrote: »

ok, so you haven't come across any place where irish people tend to meet up? The irish bars I saw there seemed to be all tourist places.

From living here for 13 years, most Irish people I know don't really go into the type of meetings that I think you're talking about. This isn't Boston in the 19th century. It's fine when you bump into one but these days home is an hour on an airplane or just a Skype chat away. Ireland is so close that there is no need to build up a community that you can live in surrounded by "Irishness" as you find in the Chinatown or Indiatown areas.

Places where the majority of people attending will be Irish are the two I linked to i my first post though you find the odd French guy playing GAA

The irish bars I saw there seemed to be all tourist places.

Yes, most are. It often depends on where exactly they are in town and who runs them. Still, there are plenty around if you're looking for Irish bar-staff with the Sunday newspapers available where you can have a chat.
But there are a lot of plastic Orish bars around. In fact the Scottish (about 4 in total) and English bars (around 10) are probably more 'authentic' in the sense that French business owners are less likely to open an English/Scottish bar than an Irish bar.

alexjk

It is very difficult to get housing here for a foreigner, well it's difficult for the French as well but there's extra hurdles for us.

About moving here, it depends on what you are looking for. There are a lot of jobs in Paris although you should take into account that wages are often lower than Ireland and quite a lot of charges are taken monthly from your wage. I got 300 euro a month deducted from my wage from my last job, and bear in mind also that this doesn't count as income tax, which you pay once a year in a lump sum.

Despite all this, the cost of living in Paris is comparable if not higher than most places in Ireland. You'll find yourself reminiscing complaining about 5-6 euro pints back home. Nightlife is nothing spectacular either, there's no real buzz to the place. However, I know that suits some people.

I think I paint a fairly negative picture of the place, I tried to describe the positives but they didn't ring true! Fair to say that I'm aching to get away from the place.

Ponster

alexjk wrote: »

Despite all this, the cost of living in Paris is comparable if not higher than most places in Ireland. You'll find yourself reminiscing complaining about 5-6 euro pints back home.

Last time I checked Dublin is and has been much more expensive than Paris to live in. Maybe the recession is changing that but there isn't much cheaper in Dublin than pints and petrol. In saying that, if you're paying more than €6 in Paris for a Guinness then you're in the wrong bar.

Nightlife is nothing spectacular either, there's no real buzz to the place. However, I know that suits some people.

Bit of a sweeping statement to make about a city of 5 million people I think.
No real buzz to Paris? I think you're not comparing the same things really.

Surly

Ponster wrote: »

Last time I checked Dublin is and has been much more expensive than Paris to live in. Maybe the recession is changing that but there isn't much cheaper in Dublin than pints and petrol.

Surprised to read that; I've only been in Paris a year but have found it more expensive than Dublin in terms of rent, restaurants, bars, supermarkets (admittedly I've only been shopping around where I live in the 20th) and certainly when buying DVDs and video games. Also, It'd be great to buy a place in Paris but the price of property means I might as well forget that notion.

The only thing I can think of at the moment that's cheaper is transport. I've been lucky enough not to have to visit a doctor/hospital at any stage but have been told that healthcare is inexpensive.

Having said that I love the place - loads to do and see, great language and the locals are mostly sound. I know it's a small thing, but they fúcking love their cinema over here and it's a pleasure to be able to go to screenings surrounded by that kind of audience.

Would appreciate it if you could let us know where I can get a decent Guinness for under €6, lowest I've found so far outside of happy hour is €7.

baker59

I've only been here for 5 months and only living (in what I can call my place) and working for about 3 months.

Some things are more expensive and some things are cheaper.
Food: I think restaurants are cheaper in Paris. A nice street near the metro stop Cardinal Lemoine has plenty of cool cheap restaurants, there are also a few restaurants in a street beside the St Michel fountain that are cheap, some are ok, not great but will do the job.
Supermarkets, like back home, some are more expensive than others, monoprix seem to be slightly more expensive, Casino, Carrefor(spelling could be wrong) and G20 seem to be cheaper. If you have one near your place, get a loyalty card, every little helps. There are a few Lidls but not as evident as back home.

Drink: Many french people drink at home but if you think all pints are e7, you are in the ex pats bars. Find places that have happy hours and you can pay as little as e3.50 for a pint. I work in a bar and had a customer who works in a bar called Les Deux Singes (the 2 monkeys) and I've yet to check it out but she said it's e4 a pint all day every day. That's just one example. I haven't found out an easy way of finding these bars but only by word of mouth. Stay away from the ex pat bars if you want a cheap beer.... and if you find places, share the info

Accommodation: This is the nightmare. I know a friend here who was hostel hopping for 5 months before finding a place. There are 2 websites I would look at, one I didn't use but it seems to be the only website similar to daft (house sharing is not that common here)
http://www.appartager.com/ But as I say, I didn't end up using this.

I used
www.pap.fr but I advise you not to waste your time using this like a normal search for listings and apply because you are not french and your "guarantors" are not in the country. I was looking for a place with my french girlfriend and still it was a nightmare, she had everything but she is a student and I was an unemployed immigrant with some savings and printed out cvs. When viewing a place, there were about 30 people minimum also viewing it and one person always had a better file (income, previous bank statments, guarantor's wages etc) So in the end what we did was pay the e29 and stick up our own ad saying our budget and our situation and that was quite successful but that could be more difficult on your own. We live in a shoebox but I wouldn't be able to afford it all on my own so maybe the first website would suit you better.

Healthcare: Best in Europe and cheaper (a lot cheaper) than back home and if you are working in the country for 3 months or longer, healthcare is free for the most part. I had to go to a hospital and there is a British hospital where traditionally they spoke English but now not all of them do but there are still English speakers there which was great.

Anyway, that's the advise I can give you after only being here 5 months. Maybe there are better cheaper ways to live than what I've mentioned.

Ponster

Surly wrote: »

Would appreciate it if you could let us know where I can get a decent Guinness for under €6, lowest I've found so far outside of happy hour is €7.

Well....

Try the Cork and Cavan, by the canal St Martin, which has HH pints of Guinness (5pm-8pm) for €5 or The Quiet Man, in the Marais, which has HH pints (5pm-8pm) for 4€30 (5€90 outside of HH)

I'm pretty sure that the C&C sells them for €6 outside of happy-hour but I can't remember as it's a very friendly bar and I usually lose track of pints and prices


The Hideout range of bars often have "all night HH" on mid-week nights @ €3 a pint but the crowd is a little too young for me these days

If you're happy enough not to go to an Irish/English/Scottish bar then try out some of the places by the Rue Oberkampf. There should be no problem in finding €3 Happy Hour pints of larger (often from 5pm to 10pm) in many of the bars in this area. The Rue Jean Pierre Timbaud crosses the Rue Oberkampf and you'll find a lot of places with pretty good offers here too.

A place I found last week is the Syphax Cafe which has €3 pints all day, every day


The thing that a lot of ex-pats don't like is having to remember where is expensive and where isn't. Finding yourself in a part of town you don't know and trying to remember the address of the place that isn't going to fleece you is often frustrating compared to home where you get mostly the same prices everywhere (though often the same drinks everywhere too).

Ponster

baker59 wrote: »

Accommodation: This is the nightmare.

Yep. I had the good fortune to have a girlfriend who's father agreed to back me and along with my job with a public company (FT) I managed to find a place but otherwise it can be difficult without the paperwork which proves that you're not going to leg-it after a couple of months. The law in France is firmly on the side of the renter so people are often very careful about who they let to.

The FUSAC magazine is usually full of ads from people who are looking to flat-share or have a room to sub-let.

Ponster

Surly wrote: »

(admittedly I've only been shopping around where I live in the 20th)

btw, we're neighbours (rue Pelleport)

esperanza1

baker59 wrote: »

Healthcare: Best in Europe and cheaper (a lot cheaper) than back home and if you are working in the country for 3 months or longer, healthcare is free for the most part. I had to go to a hospital and there is a British hospital where traditionally they spoke English but now not all of them do but there are still English speakers there which was great.

Anyway, that's the advise I can give you after only being here 5 months. Maybe there are better cheaper ways to live than what I've mentioned.

French healthcare, the best in Europe? Do you have facts to back that up? I found healthcare quite expensive in France when I was living there and that was about 7 yrs back. Since then, I've been living in another EU country where my contributions are 8 per cent less than in France and the level of care second to none, in my view. My French friends never stop moaning about the hikes in mutuelle fees in France.

To the OP: unless you have a well-paid job, I would avoid Paris. Accommodation is prohibitively expensive. Living in the suburbs is one option but even then you have to pay for transport - and deal with French strikes.

Have you considered moving to a smaller French city, Lyon, for example?

esperanza1

baker59 wrote: »

I've only been here for 5 months and only living (in what I can call my place) and working for about 3 months.

Some things are more expensive and some things are cheaper.
Food: I think restaurants are cheaper in Paris. A nice street near the metro stop Cardinal Lemoine has plenty of cool cheap restaurants, there are also a few restaurants in a street beside the St Michel fountain that are cheap, some are ok, not great but will do the job.
Supermarkets, like back home, some are more expensive than others, monoprix seem to be slightly more expensive, Casino, Carrefor(spelling could be wrong) and G20 seem to be cheaper. If you have one near your place, get a loyalty card, every little helps. There are a few Lidls but not as evident as back home.

When I lived in Paris, I bought my fruit & veg from the local market on Saturday mornings. The rest of the time, I used to shop at Leader Price, which was the cheapeast option in my area. Monoprix is the most expensive French supermarket, Casino probably second most expensive, along with Intermarché. Carrefour can have good deals at times. I was in Paris again last spring and found that food was quite expensive so went to Leader Price again.

Drinking is just out of the question - remember paying 7 euro for a coke!!!

Surly

Merci for the pub tips, lads.

Also found flat-hunting very difficult even though the girlfriend is French. I found www.seloger.com to be the best site, and we got lucky after 2/3 months.

Ponster wrote: »

btw, we're neighbours (rue Pelleport)

Very cool, I'm just off Place Edith Piaf. Drop me a PM if you fancy a pint over christmas.

Ponster

Surly wrote: »

Very cool, I'm just off Place Edith Piaf. Drop me a PM if you fancy a pint over christmas.

Scary. I'm at Place Edith Piaf (in the Franprix) right now

I live about 60 seconds from the Place.

franc 91

Here are a few websites and organisations you might like to have a look at -
http://www.irisheyes.fr - Courant d'Eire etc
http://www.centreculturelirlandais.com
Association of Irish Women in France 27 rue de Grenelle 75007 Paris
http://www.europeanirish.com/
http://www.thequietman.eu/
http://www.pubsirlandais.com/
http://www.franceirlande.com/
http://www.association-irlandaise.org/
and of course - the FUSAC - www.fusac.fr

mike kelly

Thanks for all your tips. Would 50,000 euro per year before tax be considered a good wage in Paris? Enough to get me a flat?

Ponster

It should be. You'll be coming out with 30K per year (after social charges (like PRSI) which you pay monthly and tax which you self-declare once yearly).

mental07

baker59 wrote: »

I used
www.pap.fr but I advise you not to waste your time using this like a normal search for listings and apply because you are not french and your "guarantors" are not in the country. I was looking for a place with my french girlfriend and still it was a nightmare, she had everything but she is a student and I was an unemployed immigrant with some savings and printed out cvs. When viewing a place, there were about 30 people minimum also viewing it and one person always had a better file (income, previous bank statments, guarantor's wages etc) So in the end what we did was pay the e29 and stick up our own ad saying our budget and our situation and that was quite successful but that could be more difficult on your own. We live in a shoebox but I wouldn't be able to afford it all on my own so maybe the first website would suit you better.

One thing about www.pap.fr - there's also the option to put up your own ad - i.e. state what you're looking for (studio, deux-pièces?), location, budget, length of lease required, etc. Prospective landlords scan these ads and contact you directly. You'd actually be surprised at the amount of responses. It's how I found my current place.

franc 91

This might interest somebody - www.networkirlande.com/ (and in the career section they are asking for people to work for a property company - so if you feel you're up to it....) Network Irlande is in partnership with Enterprise Ireland.

baker59

Just off Place du Châtelet on Ave Victoria, there is a great little Irish bar called the green linnet. A friend was on about it, went searching for it, couldn't find it. very easy to miss as it's slightly hidden behind a bigger terrace of the cafe next to it. only had time for one beer but def want to check it out properly.

Ponster

baker59 wrote: »

Just off Place du Châtelet on Ave Victoria, there is a great little Irish bar called the green linnet. A friend was on about it, went searching for it, couldn't find it. very easy to miss as it's slightly hidden behind a bigger terrace of the cafe next to it. only had time for one beer but def want to check it out properly.

The Linnet opened up about 7 years back and I agree that if you don't know where it is, it can be hard to spot

Owen, the owner from Cork (white beard) is pretty sound and has been around Paris for a while now (used to own The Quiet Man - another impossible to find pub). They have an excellent pub quiz on Wednesday evenings!

franc 91

Here's their website - and if you look at their directions page, I hope it will make finding the place just that little bit easier.
Apart from Kitty O'Shea's, the one's I know are Carr's, Tigh Johnny's and the Quiet Man.
http://www.thegreenlinnet.com/abouteng.html