Tips to Survive As An International Student in Paris

I have a strong urge to write about some tips to survive living in Paris as an international student since last year. I think many prospective international students or students who are now living in Paris should really know the basic to survive in this yes-beautiful-but-oh-so-cruel-city. I mean, yes i know Paris is a beautiful city, but it's not always enjoyable living in this city as it has worst service ever (well, this is my personal opinion, may be very much bias), dirty,expensive, and having complex bureaucratic. However, in this post, i will tell you how i manage to survive (at least) for almost two years living in Paris. So, here are those tips:

1. LEARNING FRENCH!!

It was such a big disaster when i came in this city at the first time without a proper french language ability. Everything in here is very bureaucratic, French people love to speak very fast without even realizing that some people (i mean myself) is still struggling to understand their language. It is a very beautiful language indeed, yet for people who has little interest in french culture whatsoever, learning french was not my priority. I enjoyed myself learning Japanese back then. I guess, to live like normal people, at least you should understand basic french. I may say you should be somewhere in level A2 in DELF otherwise you will be screwed like me at my first three months living here in Paris.

2. Get Used to Long and Tiring Bureaucracy

I know no country in this world living without bureaucracy but in my opinion French's bureaucracy is the worst (again, it is my personal opinion). They love to make a queue and sending dozen letters (hey, you can send everything by email this day!). As a student, just get used to it, at first you are going to have something i called "french-shocked" as you realize that yes that's the way french people live their life.

3. COOK!

As eating in the restaurant in Paris is very expensive (you can spend from 20 euro to 40 euro on average when you eat in the restaurant). Cooking skill is a must! I myself rarely cook when i was in my home country, yet when i start to live in Paris, i mostly cook to save some money.

4. Get Used to French's Habit Called "Complaining"

French people love to complain, i heard people complaining all the time (students, teachers, sellers, random people, etc). Even one of my prof said "complaining is Parisian's new sport". Just be patient if you see many grumpy or tired face or if you suddenly a photocopy man suddenly scolded you without no reason (my personal experience T.T).

5. Don't DO Window Shopping

Never do window shopping if you are not that "strong", i mean, you can always end up with some shopping bags. Some stores have that mantra, LOL. No seriously, just don't.Go to park or museum or library instead.

That's all for now, if i remember some tips, i will add it here (or if you have some, you can add it in comment section). So, see you!

Best

SR