Partance

So the last time I left you, I was still homeless. As soon as I got back to London, fatigued and a bit confused from the lack of sleep I said a quick hello to the parents and instantly went onto the computer to check the new advertisements on craigslist that I had missed that weekend.

This is basically what I did for the next week. I received quite a few replies from adverts that I had answered months ago but I'm pretty sure a few of them were scams. As usual, I answered the adverts on craigslist that I was interested in. After a few e-mails exchanged with an estate agent/landlord about a studio in the 17th arrondissement (and a bit too many questions from me), I decided to put down a deposit for the place.

I didn't just do this after a few e-mails which is what I advise you not to do. There are quite a few sites which do help you. So using this site on paris rental scams , I managed to check up on the IP address of the estate agent, looked up her estate agency and if she was part if it (yes), if the estate agency was registered (yes), facebooked the estate agent (which said that she worked at the estate agency). Her e-mail address was proved to be French and after some advice from my family, I sent the deposit on the agency fees which was 300 Euros. I had agreed to pay the rest when I arrived and had signed the contract.

This took about a week, the estate agent, being busy doing viewings of her other properties, didn't reply instantly and she would usually reply the morning or afternoon after I had sent my questions. Then I realised that I had to get insurance as all renters do in France. My estate agent said that it would be easy to get with my French bank account. However, this is why French bureaucracy fails epically. In order to get a French bank account, I need proof of a French address, but in order to get the French address, I need home and contents insurance, but to get that, I need a French bank account!

Only recently have I sorted this out, because this started a correspondence with my 'dedicated advisor' on amaguiz.com. It's actually quite easy to apply for home insurance on-line with amaguiz, everything is done on-line you don't need to send in any documents. I basically filled out the form that asked about the accommodation and myself and got a reasonable quote. With this quote comes your 'dedicated advisor' and for me, this was Adeline. When it comes to payment, you can choose to pay annually or monthly, I chose annually. They take the first month's payment by card transaction and then they set up a standing order for the next payment whether you've chosen annually or monthly. After asking if I can pay all in one go with my UK account, Adeline told me that it is an essential part of the contract to only pay from a French account (to show that you do live at that address). However, since I've already paid the first month's payment, I've got insurance cover at my Paris address for a month and there exists a provisional contract for my home insurance 30 days after I move in, in which I must enter my French account details and then sign the contract.

Phew. So I sort of found a loop-hole in getting insurance without a French bank account.

Now all I've been doing is sorting the mountains of paperwork that I need to register at my university, booked a bank appointment with Société Générale to open an account (which apparently will take about 5 minutes), packed, changed a lot of pounds sterling into euros (ordered through the Post Office) and set up a transaction account with the Post Office so I can exchange my money between my UK and French account easily and for free.

Now there are only two days until my leaving and I am at once scared and excited. Apparently there is a meeting/party for international students which is my first organised meet I guess. These last few days, I will be spending in Leamington Spa to meet friends, to say goodbye (and to collect kitchen crockery that I left there over the summer). The next time I post will be when I finally have internet in my studio apartment (in the second week). The only thing I am dreading is pulling my luggage through the métro which has such a lack of escalators ...

Escalators down from Waterloo East to Southwark Station