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I live in Paris.
Before I start what may come off as a rant about how bad it is here, I want to say it is a cracking city and I'm loving living here.
Working as a IT developer. Initially came for love. Was also an easy decision as I wasn't up to much back home.
I slightly envy some of the posts I've read on this thread.
Paris isn't cheaper,
accommadation cost is ridiculous for what you get for your money,
pints can range from e5-e8 unless you know somewhere. Granted best I've seen is e2.80 for Carling from 5pm-12am which isn't bad.
wages are about the same,
Dublin is safer... a lot safer sometimes,
I'm not fluent in French but I know that's my problem/fault,
miss family & friends definitely although I text at least a few friends/family each day.
Miss hot chicken rolls..... proper cuisine de France
Missed RTE sports analysis but that has been aided by an earlier post (thank you sir)
Do get homesick but then I think that some people I know are on the other side of the world so I'm lucky I'm close to home.
I miss English speaker's humour sometimes.
I have a 2 hour lunch break, it's ridiculous. Can't shorten it and go home earlier.
I miss easy administration. Got my social security number after a year and a half. There are other stuff I need to get (health card for example) which to most expats are seen as the unreachable.
Love the rugby culture here (although in Southern France it is even better)
And in case any of you were wondering, most Parisians are lovely, just don't get in their way during rush hour. Rush hour is horrible here.
People from outside of Paris are even nicer.0 -
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pints can range from e5-e8 unless you know somewhere. Granted best I've seen is e2.80 for Carling from 5pm-12am which isn't bad.
wages are about the same,
I miss easy administration. Got my social security number after a year and a half. There are other stuff I need to get (health card for example) which to most expats are seen as the unreachable.
Why drink pints? I eventually followed suit in Spain and drank their volumes (caña etc)...it worked out cheaper. The only time i drank pints was if i was watching a match in the irish pub. Otherwise I was in Spanish bars drinking Spanish volumes.
As for admin...spain was the same, you always needed triplicate of everything, and usually the one paper you needed was the one you didn't have
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It's mostly small theft.I've heard this said about Paris. Can you give some examples?
I've been robbed once but it was slightly my niavity. Got drunk and fell asleep on public transport. I've seen that almost happen to a French guy on a nightbus until he realised a few other people were watching him.
A friend has been robbed 3 times and another twice. 4 out of 5 of those occasions were at night. 1 out of 5 was because drink made them vunerable and 2 involved receiving punches by more than one person.
I've had a hand in my pocket, and only realised it was there when he removed it, luckily there was nothing in the pocket.
Twice I've seen people pull knives, thankfully not used.
Out in Bastille one night, my girlfriend was a few paces ahead of me while I was texting, a creep came up and starting annoying her because she was on her own. When I eventually noticed and he saw me just being there, he walked away.
I'm 6'3, I'm fine but girls can have an awful time depending on where they are or where they live, especially blond girls. My girlfriend's sister had to go home straight away after work because if she went for after work drinks or dinner and went home later with her laptop, she'd feel very unsafe. She didn't live in the nicest area.
In general there is a bad tense atmosphere in some areas and some metro lines. There is a racial issue also which increases that atmosphere. Some people would say it's the cause.
In Dublin, you would be unfortunate to get a dig but that's it. I think it's the atmosphere in the city (not the suburbs) that can seem intimidating to some people here.
Anyway, I'm sure there are worse cities, Paris isn't too bad, but Dublin is safer.
Most places here, the pints are cheaper than 2 halves. If it's the same price, I'll go for 2 halves if it's a hot day or if I couldn't be bothered with a pint of crap beer.iusedtoknow wrote: »Why drink pints? I eventually followed suit in Spain and drank their volumes (caña etc)...it worked out cheaper.
Speaking of beers..... one thing I miss from home.... the concept of rounds 0 -
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It's mostly small theft.
I've been robbed once but it was slightly my niavity. Got drunk and fell asleep on public transport. I've seen that almost happen to a French guy on a nightbus until he realised a few other people were watching him.
A friend has been robbed 3 times and another twice. 4 out of 5 of those occasions were at night. 1 out of 5 was because drink made them vunerable and 2 involved receiving punches by more than one person.
I've had a hand in my pocket, and only realised it was there when he removed it, luckily there was nothing in the pocket.
Twice I've seen people pull knives, thankfully not used.
Out in Bastille one night, my girlfriend was a few paces ahead of me while I was texting, a creep came up and starting annoying her because she was on her own. When I eventually noticed and he saw me just being there, he walked away.
I'm 6'3, I'm fine but girls can have an awful time depending on where they are or where they live, especially blond girls. My girlfriend's sister had to go home straight away after work because if she went for after work drinks or dinner and went home later with her laptop, she'd feel very unsafe. She didn't live in the nicest area.
In general there is a bad tense atmosphere in some areas and some metro lines. There is a racial issue also which increases that atmosphere. Some people would say it's the cause.
In Dublin, you would be unfortunate to get a dig but that's it. I think it's the atmosphere in the city (not the suburbs) that can seem intimidating to some people here.
Anyway, I'm sure there are worse cities, Paris isn't too bad, but Dublin is safer.
Most places here, the pints are cheaper than 2 halves. If it's the same price, I'll go for 2 halves if it's a hot day or if I couldn't be bothered with a pint of crap beer.
Speaking of beers..... one thing I miss from home.... the concept of rounds
Knives and racial tension.... great combination.
Yeah, people in Dublin don't really have too much to argue about - like you said, the most you'd get in Dublin is a dig, but most skangs are built like sticks so they're hardly formidable.0 -
It's mostly small theft.
I've been robbed once but it was slightly my niavity. Got drunk and fell asleep on public transport. I've seen that almost happen to a French guy on a nightbus until he realised a few other people were watching him.
A friend has been robbed 3 times and another twice. 4 out of 5 of those occasions were at night. 1 out of 5 was because drink made them vunerable and 2 involved receiving punches by more than one person.
I've had a hand in my pocket, and only realised it was there when he removed it, luckily there was nothing in the pocket.
Twice I've seen people pull knives, thankfully not used.
Out in Bastille one night, my girlfriend was a few paces ahead of me while I was texting, a creep came up and starting annoying her because she was on her own. When I eventually noticed and he saw me just being there, he walked away.
I'm 6'3, I'm fine but girls can have an awful time depending on where they are or where they live, especially blond girls. My girlfriend's sister had to go home straight away after work because if she went for after work drinks or dinner and went home later with her laptop, she'd feel very unsafe. She didn't live in the nicest area.
In general there is a bad tense atmosphere in some areas and some metro lines. There is a racial issue also which increases that atmosphere. Some people would say it's the cause.
In Dublin, you would be unfortunate to get a dig but that's it. I think it's the atmosphere in the city (not the suburbs) that can seem intimidating to some people here.
Anyway, I'm sure there are worse cities, Paris isn't too bad, but Dublin is safer.
Most places here, the pints are cheaper than 2 halves. If it's the same price, I'll go for 2 halves if it's a hot day or if I couldn't be bothered with a pint of crap beer.
Speaking of beers..... one thing I miss from home.... the concept of rounds
Amen brother!0 -
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Don't know why I never saw this thread! Really interesting to see others opinions and experiences.
Thought I'd add my experiences on living in Switzerland. I do miss things from Ireland (Minstrels, bacon etc), my family and friends but I can't see myself ever leaving without a very good reason (not finding work being the main one).
The Good
Wages. They are high. Working part time in a bar while finishing my studies I currently make about 21chf (17 euro)an hour AFTER tax and other deductions.
A decent entry level (bachelor) wage is about 60k CHF (48k Euro) a year with most on about 80Kchf after a few years with it pretty much topping out at 120k a year unless you're very sought after. Many Swiss do apprenticeships which will earn you 4kchf a month and up once completed.
Poverty (for a single male) is generally considered to be earning below 2100chf (1,700 euro) a month!
Plenty to do. Just an unbelievably beautiful country. Hiking, mountain biking, motorbiking, lakes, rivers etc during the summer and skiing during the winter.
Centre of Europe. 2 hours ish by car for me to get to Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Lichtenstein.
Public transport. While being very expensive it runs pretty much like clockwork (they will hold a departing bus if a train is a few minutes late allowing you to catch your connection). Trains rarely more than a minute behind schedule though it's getting ever so slightly worse. City buses generally arrive on the dot.
Road network. Top notch. Motorways everywhere but even the smaller national or regional roads are in perfect condition.
General goods are only slightly more expensive than in Ireland (groceries, petrol etc) however luxury goods generally are more expensive. Electronics being the exception being relatively cheap.
Alcohol. Alcohol is only slightly more expensive than Ireland. In my city its between 5 and 8chf a pint (4-6 euro) however in Geneva or Zurich you'll be paying closer to 10chf. Great selection of European bottled beer though you'll pay for the privilege. (8chf+)
Cities are very clean, the whole country is for the most part. You'd be surprised to see things blowing about in the wind and cans or any rubbish lying around is quickly cleaned up by the authorities. Though cigarette buts are the exception. People will pick up litter and put it in a bin then throw their fag ends on the ground. I still can't get my head around it!
Crime. The bigger cities have the EU average I think but in my small city it's alright. You still have to be careful with your stuff, don't leave it lying around in a bar (amazing how many people do anyway!) but that's it for the most part. It's on the rise though and mostly blamed on those pesky foreigners (eastern European mainly). Whether this is accurate or not I don't know.
School system is extremely cheap. University fees are about 800chf (650 euro) per year I think. Foreigners pay only about 50chf per year more than locals.
Festivals. There are large festivals like in any country but there are a tonne of smaller ones which are very cheap to attend. In Fribourg there is a Jazz festival every year in the central square with entry being about a fiver or a tenner (or free before 6pm). There are also highland games, smaller music festivals and food festivals etc. Every village seems to have their own!
The Bad
Meat. All meat is incredibly expensive, especially beef! :mad: I guess they used the majority of their cows for milk
Bureaucracy. So much bloody paperwork but it's all very efficient when you have all your papers in order
Health insurance costs. They are astronomical, probably why wages are so high as well. As a thirty year old on the absolute most basic package I pay over 2100chf a year. This is mandatory, though for low income people there are government subsidies.
Opening hours. Most bars will close at 3am with late licences (number restricted) closing at about 6am. However all shops close early. 7pm mon-fri (with in my canton late night shopping till 9 on thursdays) and 4pm on saturdays. Shops closed sundays. Shops in the train stations generally outside the law () and close at 10pm and open sundays.
Most restaurants must close 2 days per week with many closing on the same bloody days (sun+mon).
The people. The people (Swiss Germans) are quite reserved and may seem a little cold (to start with) but once you are "accepted" they can be incredibly generous and warm. The French and Italian Swiss are often much quicker to accept you but almost two thirds of the country are Swiss German (I think).
The languages. There are three (well 4 but the 4th is like Irish) so if you switch city you may suddenly find yourself unable to communicate. Many Swiss learn English as a second/third language to enable them to communicate with their fellow countrymen from a different area. :cool:
Foreigners. (!
). 25% of the population are foreigners so it's a real melting pot of cultures and the all the associated problems this brings. (Though children born to foreigners in Switzerland are still considered foreign, ignoring this I think the "true" foreign population is about 12%.)
The Ugly
The Swiss can be incredibly racist and small minded at times, especially towards Arabs, Africans and Eastern Europeans. Probably due to the very different cultures.
I'm sure I've missed out an absolute tonne of stuff but I guess you guys get the idea. If you're interested to learn more I'd highly recommend the book "Swiss Watching" written by an Englishman. Very informative and entertaining.
Any questions then feel free to ask 0 -
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