If one decides to google my Parisian address, he or she will find out that I live in a house of happiness. And while the little Parisian apartment that I share with my best friend Erin certainly became our home away from home, the House of Happiness is the name of Chinese restaurant that is located on the first floor of our apartment building. Tripadvisor certificate of excellence and a very convenient location… so if you ever want to finish up your long day in Paris with an excellent Chinese meal, hit me up for more information. Before I tell you more about my neighborhood, let’s scroll back to October 2016 when me and Erin began searching for an apartment in Paris.
Well, finding an apartment in Paris is not a piece of cake. To give you an example, I have found my apartment in Vienna, where I did my global co-op, in less than four days and it was an absolutely beautiful apartment in a very central location for a great price. We were searching for our apartment in Paris for more than a month, with several landlords who refused their offer at the very last moment and many other obstacles. As a Russian citizen, I am unable to enter the EU without a visa even as a tourist, that is why the student visa process for me was very lengthy and complicated, moreover, a copy of my lease contract was a crucial part of my visa application package. Therefore, without a housing in Paris, I couldn’t even apply for visa. I was busy with my co-op, me and Erin were separated by a six hour time difference and I was running out of time to receive my student visa… Our last hope was the international student housing platform housinganywhere.com ; there we found our little house of happiness which was the perfect combination of price/location, moreover, turned out that our landlord is the biggest student housing provider in Paris, Comforts of Paris. The biggest advantages of this offer were the flexibility of dates (many landlords in Paris refuse to sign a lease for less than 6 months or less than a year, which is very inconvenient considering that study abroad programs last just a little longer than four months) and the fact that the apartment came fully furnished and equipped with all the needed home supplies, including towels. The apartment is also only a 20-25 minute walk from Sciences Po campus, which, by Parisian standards, is very close to my apartment. As most of my classes scheduled in the afternoons, I often walk to and from campus instead of taking the metro (the metro ride to campus is around 10 minutes plus a 5 minute walk from the station), I hope that as the weather gets warmer and Paris gets dressed in Spring colors that walk becomes a habit and I will be able to avoid taking the metro. I must note here, that Parisian metro is absolutely wonderful, it’s relatively clean (although here, Tokyo and Viennese subway systems win) and very very convenient, it can bring you to any point in the city and all the trains run with 3-5 minute interval.
Only 20 minute walk away from the Tour, our little street is a quiet oasis within the city. Several small boulangeries, pubs, grocery shops and even a cat cafe, pretty much everything that one might possibly need for a comfortable city living within the walking distance.
I strongly believe that the feeling of home starts with people. I am certainly very fortunate to live through this study abroad experience with my best friend and travel buddy Erin. We, however, were able to make a lot of friends through our orientation program, as well as connect with many people in our classes. Fortunately, all of the classes that I take are discussion based and aimed at the international part of the Sciences Po student body, which makes it easier to connect with people who just like me have a wide range of international experiences and connections.
Is Paris my home? Not yet. But it certainly has a great potential of winning over my heart completely.
