1. Finagle your way into a job offer
2. Take deep breath. Its an annoying process. You MUST give yourself at least 2 weeks before your start date. HR will not let you start if the convention isn't done and if your start date is moved, you'll have to restart the whole process.
3. Pick up a "Demande d'agrément pour une Convention de Stage" formulaire from Bureau de Convention de Stage at Nanterre in Bâtiment E, salle E19 OR download it from UFR SJAP homepage.
*** Sidenote: Any stage during your Master 1 will be non-integré (because no stage is required during the M1). This is not necessarily true for the M2.
If you are doing a stage during either semester of your M1, you can get out of doing the TDs (travaux dirigé). TD is a small lecture class you must prepare for with readings beforehand. There are also papers due and sometimes you must give a presentation. They go alongside required lecture courses. You are required to take 2 TD per semester. If you go to the secretary of the M1 with a convention de stage, you will be excused from these smaller classes. ***
4. Fill out the form and give it to HR of your new job for them to sign AND stamp
5. Find the responsable for your M1 (this info is given in the course catalog), and get his/her signature.
6. Go to the M1 secretary and get the form stamped with school seal
7. Make sure you have the right insurance! You need to show proof of "assurance de responsabilité civile vie privée." You should have bought this at registration, its called MAMUT. If you didn't, you can buy some online and print it off same-day. I did this last year. I'll try to fill in the specific website if I can find it.
8. Go to the stages website and fill in basically the same info that is on the form. This step is meaningless to us, but necessary. My theory is that we fill in the info into the e-system so they don't have to.
9. Buy 2 A5 envelopes with the correct postage (currently 0.88 euros on each; you can buy these at La Poste or in the tabac on the other side of the RER station at Nanterre)
10. Go to Convention de Stage office
they have weird hours:
Lundi/mercredi : 9h00 – 12h00 et 13h00 – 16h00
Jeudi : 9h00 – 16h00
Mardi/vendredi : 9h00 – 12h00
TAKE WITH YOU:
-completed form
-2 A5 envelopes with the correct postage
-your student card + photocopies of each side
-proof of your insurance (mentioned above) + 2 photocopies
11. They will print out 3 copies of a convention de stage with the info from the form filled in. You will need to sign it there.
12. Take all 3 copies back to the HR department of your job and have them sign and stamp all 3 copies.
13. Take the signed copies back to the Convention de Stage office with the A5 envelopes. They will mail a copy of the completed convention to you and to HR.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Getting Settled
Here's the order I went about getting settled after fumbling around trying to figure stuff out!
1. Get a Navigo Metro Card
The metro doesn't sell paper Carte Orange anymore. Stop by a RATP agence commerciale, which are listed on their website under "contacts utiles" and get a Navigo. When I have to get to Nanterre, I buy a monthly pass of 3 zones (around 70 euros). If you get here before school starts and don't need to go to Nanterre, just buy for 2 zones. Its a lot cheaper than buying separate tickets everyday and will make the apartment hunting a lot easier. Navigo works on bus, metro, RER, and makes using the Vélib bike system easier.
2. Get an apartment
3. Get Carte de Sejour
If you are a non-EU citizen, go HERE. I'd try and get a Carte de Sejour ASAP. It makes opening a bank account much easier, and after you have your Carte de Sejour and a bank account, you can apply for a monthly CAF stipend (usually around 150-180euros a month) from the French government. You will get the CAF retroactively for all the time you're paying rent except the 1st month. It's fabulous.
4. Open bank account
1. Get a Navigo Metro Card
The metro doesn't sell paper Carte Orange anymore. Stop by a RATP agence commerciale, which are listed on their website under "contacts utiles" and get a Navigo. When I have to get to Nanterre, I buy a monthly pass of 3 zones (around 70 euros). If you get here before school starts and don't need to go to Nanterre, just buy for 2 zones. Its a lot cheaper than buying separate tickets everyday and will make the apartment hunting a lot easier. Navigo works on bus, metro, RER, and makes using the Vélib bike system easier.
2. Get an apartment
3. Get Carte de Sejour
If you are a non-EU citizen, go HERE. I'd try and get a Carte de Sejour ASAP. It makes opening a bank account much easier, and after you have your Carte de Sejour and a bank account, you can apply for a monthly CAF stipend (usually around 150-180euros a month) from the French government. You will get the CAF retroactively for all the time you're paying rent except the 1st month. It's fabulous.
4. Open bank account
Things To Do Before You Arrive:
1. Get your student visa!
2. Get your birth certificate translated
You'll need this for your Carte de Séjour. Note: I didn't have mine translated when I went in but the lady was very friendly and didn't even mention it. But I would not count on it to happen again! I think I was lucky! If you don't have it translated when you get here, you can go to the mayor's office of your arrondissement and pick up a list of approved translators. That option can take time and be expensive.
3. DO NOT buy tons of passport photos from Kinko's
Someone told me to get tons of passport photos before heading over because you need them for EVERYTHING. While the later is true, you can get them for very cheap (4 for 4euros i think) in any train station photo booth instead of giving kinko's $20.
I'll add to this list as I think of other things...
2. Get your birth certificate translated
You'll need this for your Carte de Séjour. Note: I didn't have mine translated when I went in but the lady was very friendly and didn't even mention it. But I would not count on it to happen again! I think I was lucky! If you don't have it translated when you get here, you can go to the mayor's office of your arrondissement and pick up a list of approved translators. That option can take time and be expensive.
3. DO NOT buy tons of passport photos from Kinko's
Someone told me to get tons of passport photos before heading over because you need them for EVERYTHING. While the later is true, you can get them for very cheap (4 for 4euros i think) in any train station photo booth instead of giving kinko's $20.
I'll add to this list as I think of other things...
Housing Search Info - How and Where
There are 5 main options I know of for housing:
1. Going through a rental agency
Agency fees are very pricey (usually run between 500-700 euros). This is NOT a security deposit, but a onetime fee. You need to have a complete dossier to apply for an apartment in order to be competitive. Although preparation is more tedious, this option can get you a really good rental price (usually better than some of the other options) and makes a lot of sense if you are staying in the apartment for 2 years straight. The agency fee, spread over time, often turns out to be a lot cheaper than getting ripped off by an individual renting the apartment to foreigners (like what happened to me my first year here!)
4th - Le Marais - my favorite neighborhood by far. I lived near metro St Paul my third year in Paris (stumbled upon a sublet). It was ideal (Marais more so than the LQ in my opinion) but is normally very expensive (pay lot for small space). I got lucky =)
11th - Where I lived my first year. I was right at Place de la République, which is relatively convenient but very commercial. It a more mixed neighborhood ethnically and economically which adds a really cool, more real feel to the neighborhood. If you can find something near the more southern end of Canal St Martin, you tend to get more space for your money, so there tend to be a lot of students and young people. I subletted my friend's apartment next to metro Goncourt and was really happy though it can get a tiny bit shady late at night. Oberkampf is an area somewhat similar to Adams Morgan with tons of bars and cheap but decent restaurants (not jumbo slice).
15th - have some friends, a married couple, who lived there and LOVED it. they said you could get a huge place for cheap and its very safe with lots of fun things to do.
1. Going through a rental agency
Agency fees are very pricey (usually run between 500-700 euros). This is NOT a security deposit, but a onetime fee. You need to have a complete dossier to apply for an apartment in order to be competitive. Although preparation is more tedious, this option can get you a really good rental price (usually better than some of the other options) and makes a lot of sense if you are staying in the apartment for 2 years straight. The agency fee, spread over time, often turns out to be a lot cheaper than getting ripped off by an individual renting the apartment to foreigners (like what happened to me my first year here!)
For this option, Seloger.com will have listings at great value for the space. However, it is very competitive... your dossier (see above) will be competing with Frenchies who have French guarantors.
The easiest option by far (and incredibly nice apartments) can be found at Lodgis.com but it is pretty expensive. The advantage is that they expect to rent to foreigners staying for a year or less so the dossier is much simpler. Also, you can search by your specific dates, which is a huge timesaver (don't have to spend hours scanning/calling to figure out if your dates would work).
2. Renting/Sub-letting through an individual
This option allows you to avoid agency fees. Some people, like my friend David, have a really good experience. I, on the other hand, got screwed over by my landlord. My apartment was extremely overpriced and the guy ended up keeping my security deposit. I was overpaying by about 100 euros a month compared to other places in the same area with similar features, and he kept 800 euros deposit, so it would have been the same/cheaper for me to just go through an agency and a lot less anguish. But my experience may be an exception and not the rule.
Both my friend David and I found my first apartment on Craigslist Paris.
2. Renting/Sub-letting through an individual
This option allows you to avoid agency fees. Some people, like my friend David, have a really good experience. I, on the other hand, got screwed over by my landlord. My apartment was extremely overpriced and the guy ended up keeping my security deposit. I was overpaying by about 100 euros a month compared to other places in the same area with similar features, and he kept 800 euros deposit, so it would have been the same/cheaper for me to just go through an agency and a lot less anguish. But my experience may be an exception and not the rule.
Both my friend David and I found my first apartment on Craigslist Paris.
Another great site for this type of housing is PAP.fr (particulier à particulier)
I've also heard many people find a place through Fusac.fr but they tend to be pretty pricey.
3. Finding a roommate who already has a place
This is the option I did my 2nd year to avoid paying an agency fee, to live with a French person, and to avoid getting screwed by evil landlords. =) Overall, I was really happy with the living situation. And I had a huge apartment in a really cool and expensive area that is 200 euros cheaper than my tiny crappy place from my first year.
I used Appartager.com. Its worth paying for a month long membership, otherwise its difficult to get in touch with people on the site.
4. Find university housing
You'd have to pay me a lot of money to live at Nanterre. It's ugly and far and isolated at night because there's no metro (only trains). I know a girl who found housing at Cité Université and was happy there.
5. Staying with a host family
Not sure how to go about doing this...
Neighborhoods I'd Live In:
2nd Arrondissement - I lived in the 2nd near Rue Montorgueil during my second year in Paris. If you see any ads for near metros : Etienne Marcel, Sentier, Réamur Sebastopol, its a GREAT central location.
3. Finding a roommate who already has a place
This is the option I did my 2nd year to avoid paying an agency fee, to live with a French person, and to avoid getting screwed by evil landlords. =) Overall, I was really happy with the living situation. And I had a huge apartment in a really cool and expensive area that is 200 euros cheaper than my tiny crappy place from my first year.
I used Appartager.com. Its worth paying for a month long membership, otherwise its difficult to get in touch with people on the site.
4. Find university housing
You'd have to pay me a lot of money to live at Nanterre. It's ugly and far and isolated at night because there's no metro (only trains). I know a girl who found housing at Cité Université and was happy there.
5. Staying with a host family
Not sure how to go about doing this...
Neighborhoods I'd Live In:
2nd Arrondissement - I lived in the 2nd near Rue Montorgueil during my second year in Paris. If you see any ads for near metros : Etienne Marcel, Sentier, Réamur Sebastopol, its a GREAT central location.
3rd - I would love to find a place near metros Arts&Metier or Temple. It's the Marais but also really close to Republique and Canal St Martin (see below) and at the moment is my idea of the ideal neighborhood.
4th - Le Marais - my favorite neighborhood by far. I lived near metro St Paul my third year in Paris (stumbled upon a sublet). It was ideal (Marais more so than the LQ in my opinion) but is normally very expensive (pay lot for small space). I got lucky =)
11th - Where I lived my first year. I was right at Place de la République, which is relatively convenient but very commercial. It a more mixed neighborhood ethnically and economically which adds a really cool, more real feel to the neighborhood. If you can find something near the more southern end of Canal St Martin, you tend to get more space for your money, so there tend to be a lot of students and young people. I subletted my friend's apartment next to metro Goncourt and was really happy though it can get a tiny bit shady late at night. Oberkampf is an area somewhat similar to Adams Morgan with tons of bars and cheap but decent restaurants (not jumbo slice).
15th - have some friends, a married couple, who lived there and LOVED it. they said you could get a huge place for cheap and its very safe with lots of fun things to do.
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