Sunday, July 31, 2011

Update #2: Housing

J'ai bonne nouvelles!!!

Ok so ever since I found out I will be teaching in Fontenay-sous-Bois, I've been on a mad scramble to find housing, cheap housing.  Assistants in my program will only receive 750€ per month after taxes, so I knew that my budget will be tight and I knew that would only be able to pay max 400€ per month.  I knew from the beginning that a better and more economical choice for me would be to work as an au pair. So I set up a profile with three different online au pair agencies.  After numerous emails, hopefuls and flat-out rejections, I found a good fit!  I will be the au pair of an adorable little 8-year-old boy who I will call "Little G".  My job will mostly be to watch him after school everyday and help him learn Spanish (porque yo hablo Español tambien!).  Little G comes from a wonderful family and he has a super-mom so I'm really looking forward to working with them.

And the best bit.....I get my own FREE studio apartment!! Oui, madames et monsieurs, my housing crisis has been adverted!!  I will be living in Montmartre aka "Le Bourgeois Bohême" (well, technically I'm still within the border of the 9e arrondissement, but I'm only 2 blocks away from the Sacré Coeur soooo I'll still consider myself a future Montmartroise!).   This is a complete dream come true for me because not only do I get to live in Paris and only have a 30 minute commute to my teaching job, but I get to live in my dream location!


I have been in love with Montmartre ever since I watched the movie "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie".  The movie depicted Montmartre as a whimsical and enchanting village, a bohemian tavern with hints of bourgeois chic.  And although it has a much-to-be-avoided red light district, I am sooo excited to embark on my journey in my new home.....less than 2 months to go!





I can see it all now.....

....drinking un café au lait at Duex Moulins

  
...hopping on a train at the Abbesses metro station.



.....I can hardly wait!

17 comments:

  1. I see you will be doing Paree in style...very nice! Montmartre...jeaaaaalous :D It's going to be great - is the studio free? How many hours do you have to look after little G (catchy name btw)?

    As to your compliment on my layout: THANKS! It's so easy it's ridiculous. First find an image you want to use as a background (just go to google images and search for whatever you want. I think i typed in 'liberty print orange' or something. Save the image to your computer. The randomest words will bring up some alright stuff - a search for 'chinese print' gave me this: http://www.funnyfarmboutique.ca/images/A%20%281%29.JPG 'poppy print' gave me this: http://www.designersguild.com/_assets/images/fabric-esperanza-poppy-print.jpg ). Then go to your Dashboard, do Design > Template Designer > Background and upload your pic.

    Then check out Shabby Blogs for your header: http://shabbyblogs.com/extra.html They allow even the most artistically-challenged such as myself to create something alright looking. And they have step-by-step foolproof videos so you'll manage fine.

    Can't wait to see what you do with it (shallow of me I know!)

    xxx

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  2. I'm so glad you posted about your au pair status! I was so curious about it. And you're going to be right in Montmartre where you wanted - Congratulations!!!! Do you know what days you're going to have to work?? I was hoping that you would want to travel with me! :)

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  3. Thanks ladies!!

    @iflyastarship: I'll be sure to use your tips to re-vamp my blog! I'll be with Little G from 4:30-8pm Monday thru Friday but I'm with him all day wednesday.

    @Yours Truly: I don't know the specific days I'll be working but my host-mom was able to talk to my contact person at the school and I was told that I will be working from 9am-1pm 3 days a weeks!

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  4. I LIKE it!!! :D
    xxx
    P.S. Those hours don't seem too bad at all, especially not for a free studio in Montmartre. Nice work!

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  5. Don't be too worried about avoiding the red light district, or Pigalle. It'll seem sketch at first but you really will get used to it and you'll begin to see it's charms. I favor walking down the portion in the middle of the boulevard than on the sidewalks though. But it's a trip when you look above the sex shops and notice that the buildings are all elaborate, there's a little narrow street that's like a tiny village off the busy boulevard (Cité Véron) and this one building that has a gate that leads to this huge courtyard (never figured out what it was). Oh and my transvestite neighbors greeting everyone in the street. Ah, memories :-)

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  6. Anna, I'm definitely going to have to relive some of you past Montmartre moments!

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  7. Awesome! You are so lucky! Ps love the blog. Looks great. :-)

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  8. Montmarte is one of my favorite little towns! However the movie didn't really depict how racially diverse it is. There are alot of africans there as well as moroccans. It's wonderful though! One day i was sitting on the stairs underneath the Sacre Coeur and some guy from Senegal approached me and I thought he was gonna be cool but he ended up practically stalking me. Everywhere I walked he would follow me asking me to take a picture with him. Francesca had to yell at him in French lol. However, It's a safe neighborhood but a tad bit urban. Idk if urban is the right word. Basically I mean it's not all "rich and uppity". It's a great town I'm jealous! I went to Deux Moulin and had the Creme Brulee ;) And I would like to be an au pair as well if you could let me know of some legit websites I would gladly appreciate it!

    -Jessica

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  9. Dear Ugomma,

    First of all let me say congratulations on being accepted to TAPIF and landing an au pair job! I too will be a teaching assistant but in l'Academie de Versailles. I googled "tapif+au pair" because I am in the same situation as you in terms of expensive housing in paris plus small salary = no money to to eat or live! So I was wondering what you did to land your au pair job? I am in contact with a family right now and they want me to sign all this paperwork but I am not sure if I am legally allowed to take this au pair job along with the TAPIF one? Could you please clarify for me? Will you be doing this under the table, etc.? Thanks a lot!
    musechord2011@gmail.com
    -Lionel

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  10. Thanks for stopping by my blog Lionel! Be sure to follow me in my future chronicles. I will send you an email with info ASAP!

    bisous!
    -Ugomma

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  11. Yes, I will definitely follow your future chronicles especially since we will somewhat be in the same area, Paris that is. :) I hope you can send me that e-mail ASAP because this au pair family I'm working with asked me << did you have a chance to have a better understanding of the status of your friend who were assistant + au pair?
    >> There's actually 2 families that are interested in me but I have to decide between living in the city and the other 15 minutes out in the north suburbs in a small city. I really need to get this settled because then I am guaranteed housing and I really need to purchase my ticket ASAP! They are just worried about doing this in a legal manner. My academie is so behind! I've been placed in la region val d'oise and they still haven't mailed out our arretes! They were able to e-mail me scanned documents of my arrete and stamped CERFA but I am hoping that the Los Angeles Consulate will accept these because on their website it says that an original copy plus a copy of the original are required. I booked my appointment over 2 months ago and sent in my forms in April. French administration is so complicated! Enough with the complaing but please get back at me and congrats on not having to worry about this like some of us placed in this region! :)

    -Lionel

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  12. Soooo amazing! Your going to have a great time, if I could choose to live in Pais I think Montmartre would have been my first choice! We definitely have to meet up! I'm so excited for you, and a tad bit jeal I must say because you get to teach a kid Spanish AND build your french skills ;) so cool!

    On se voir à la France, j'espère!
    -Francesca

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  13. Hi Ugomma!! I'm quite lazy to read blogs, but I had bookmarked yours and really wanted to read it, so I finally did today! =)
    I can tell you Montmartre will absolutely fulfill all your expectations about it, it IS a magical place!! And plus, we'll live really close (I'll be living in the 17éme, about 10 min from the Sacre Coeur), so we can hang out around those lovely cobblestone winding streets (btw, Montmartre streets and stairs are a great gym-routine also hehe) and cafés whenever we want!!
    Oh, and I love the meaning of your name! You seem like a lovely girl, can't wait to meet you!
    À très bientôt!! Bises!!
    Emilia

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  14. Emilia mi amiga nueva! Muchas gracías por los comentarios! Estoy alegre que nosotros vamos a vivir cercas!

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  15. Congratulations! I'm also going to be a teaching assistant, but in the tiny town of Bourg-St.-Andeol. I hope Montmartre treats you well!

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  16. Thank you for your post,

    I will working for TAPIF in Creteil this Fall. I was wondering which au pair agencies you used to obtain your au pair job. Also around what time did you start searching?

    All the best,

    Gabby

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  17. This was a great post! I'm going to be doing TAPIF and was hoping I could ask you some questions about the logistics of doing both TAPIF and au pair... Would you be able to email with me?
    Thanks so much!!!

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