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ParisIsBack – The Paris Tech Guide

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Re: ParisIsBack – The Paris Tech Guide

#21
post #10

There are a bunch of nice things to be said about Paris and the tax rebate system they put in place for startups and companies that spend heavily in R&D. However I think that Paris has a very low quality of life in most of the fields that are ignored in metrics: - Apartment prices are usually measure by the room when doing comparisons. In Paris the room count is misleading: I've seen studios smaller than 15 m^2 and 1…

I've lived in Paris (and Lyon) for years, and here is what I have to say about that:

- "Apartment quality is really really bad": no always true, like in any other major city (try NYC),

- "The weather is awful, it rains 40% of the days": the same,

- "food quality is abysmal": very true (only applies to restaurants, supermarket food is standard),

- "Parisian being grumpy": fair enough,

- "pretending not to speak English": I don't think that's true (but it's hard to objectively assess).

Re: ParisIsBack – The Paris Tech Guide

#22
post #16
post #10

There are a bunch of nice things to be said about Paris and the tax rebate system they put in place for startups and companies that spend heavily in R&D. However I think that Paris has a very low quality of life in most of the fields that are ignored in metrics: - Apartment prices are usually measure by the room when doing comparisons. In Paris the room count is misleading: I've seen studios smaller than 15 m^2 and 1…

> The weather is awful, it rains 40% of the days. According to Wikipedia [1] it’s only 30% (650mm/year, while it’s 980mm/year in Bordeaux or 800mm/year in Nice [2]) > the random brasserie is an expensive tourist trap To be fair, a lot of “random brasseries” are pretty good, you can eat a good meal for €10 everywhere in the city. [1]: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climat_de_Paris [2]: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cli…

> To be fair, a lot of “random brasseries” are pretty good, you can eat a good meal for €10 everywhere in the city.

You'd have better luck with a random $3 slice of pizza in NYC IMHO. Don't get me started on the kind of lunch €5 gets you anywhere in Italy.

Re: ParisIsBack – The Paris Tech Guide

#23
post #10

There are a bunch of nice things to be said about Paris and the tax rebate system they put in place for startups and companies that spend heavily in R&D. However I think that Paris has a very low quality of life in most of the fields that are ignored in metrics: - Apartment prices are usually measure by the room when doing comparisons. In Paris the room count is misleading: I've seen studios smaller than 15 m^2 and 1…

From your description, Paris sounds like a cheaper London, minus the English - I wouldn't recommend moving there to create your company if you don't speak French, administrative tasks will be too much of a pain, and many people in France don't speak English.

Re: ParisIsBack – The Paris Tech Guide

#25
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only if you compare by the room, not by the surface. If you can consider a 3m x 3m a room go for it!

Untrue. I've lived in Paris, London and SF and Paris is definitely the cheapest (even by the surface). I'm paying $1100/month in Paris for a 300sq foot appartment (in a nice neighborhood). I was paying $3000/month in SF for a 400sq foot appartment...

I might be wrong, but I found the kind of room that $1000 pays for in NYC to be way nicer and larger than the one you can get for a similar price in Paris (though the usd/eur has increased 20% since I checked).

Re: ParisIsBack – The Paris Tech Guide

#26
post #17

Do most Parisians speak English? Or will I be considered an outsider and Immediately ignored if I speak only English? The best thing about the Anglophone world is the language. I wouldn't mind learning a new language, but it takes time.

YMMV. Really depends on who you're talking to. Generally speaking younger generations tend to have a better command of the language than the older generation but there's still a long way to go before we reach Netherlands quality. The influx of American TV shows and movies will help on the long run though. Source: I'm French, born and raised here.

Re: ParisIsBack – The Paris Tech Guide

#28
post #17

Do most Parisians speak English? Or will I be considered an outsider and Immediately ignored if I speak only English? The best thing about the Anglophone world is the language. I wouldn't mind learning a new language, but it takes time.

Yes, they do speak english.

Re: ParisIsBack – The Paris Tech Guide

#29
post #17

Do most Parisians speak English? Or will I be considered an outsider and Immediately ignored if I speak only English? The best thing about the Anglophone world is the language. I wouldn't mind learning a new language, but it takes time.

Well, to be honest not all the french can speak English. So you just need to know the basics to order your food etc...

But in a professional environment, there is absolutely no problem. Ok our accent might be a problem but we can speak and understand english. For example, to become an engineer in France you need a minimal level in english.

A lot of educated people have travelled in a foreign country during their studies, so really for me I don't think it will be a problem.

Re: ParisIsBack – The Paris Tech Guide

#30
post #17

Do most Parisians speak English? Or will I be considered an outsider and Immediately ignored if I speak only English? The best thing about the Anglophone world is the language. I wouldn't mind learning a new language, but it takes time.

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