Our Paris Apartment Didn’t Work Out
In August 2022, we signed our very first French apartment lease in Paris. It was located in a quiet neighborhood in the 15th arrondissement, a district known to be very family friendly. There were two wonderful parks (André Citroën and George Brassens) where we could do our daily/weekly runs and walks. Not to also mention an abundance of local shops, bakeries and three organic food markets, all within a 5 minute walk. The flat appeared to be completely redone with a modern, minimalistic design. There was even a little outdoor space to have a drink when the weather was nice. It seemed like the perfect spot to settle long term in France and possibly call it our home.
As the weeks went by we began to notice some serious flaws in the apartment that we didn’t recognize before. At first we dealt with minor issues like a strong sewer odor coming from the shower drain and an unusual difficulty of unlocking our door (we actually bent the key attempting to lock the door one day). Our flat was located on the first floor, so you hear every resident trotting up and down the stairs at all times of the day and night. To add to the commotion, different neighbors would keep us up at night (particularly in the summer when the windows are opened). To our discovery the first floor was split into two different apartments separated by a very thin wall. The place next to us is currently being rented out as an airbnb and on a few occasions we confronted the guests about their loud behavior. Luckily we had a conversation with the airbnb host which addressed most of the disturbances. Thank god all the noises were kept at a “PG-13 level.”
The worst was setting up utilities. It took nearly a month to install internet after multiple appointment cancellations from “Orange,” as well as questionable barriers the technician had encountered while running the fiber optic wire to our flat. To make matters worse, we were living on a suboptimal level of electricity for four months. For some reason the apartment was initially set at the mininimal level of 3 kVA, just enough energy to power a garage. As a result our circuit breaker was tripping several times a day, even with just the tea kettle boiling. We called the electric company “EDF” a half dozen times and the representatives claimed that a new cable had to be changed in order to accomodate the new higher level of 6 kVA. It really became problematic in the winter when temperatures dipped low to freezing. There were some days we were wearing multiple layers of socks, along with our winter jackets indoors.
What pushed us over the edge was the mold growing along the bottom of the walls in our bedroom. It was consistently humid in our apartment even with our dehumidifier on. Most homes in Europe are not equipped with air conditioning resulting in little airflow and circulation. The musty smell led us to the dark greenish gray spots on the walls, hidden behind our long curtains. We were forced to sleep on the sofa bed and at that point we decided to put in our notice to leave.
In France, if you are renting a furnished apartment you must provide at least one month's notice in writing (three month's notice if it is unfurnished). Many sources recommend obtaining a signature on delivery of your letter as proof you provided adequate notice to your landlord. La Poste, France's national post office offers a convenient service online where it generates general documents like termination letters. All you have to do is enter in the dates, names and addresses. No need to print the “résiliation de bail” as they will send the letter directly to the recipient with a tracking number. Although our landlord received it within a couple of days, they suggest you add a few days to your requested move out date on the document to account for any delays.
Many of the complaints like the stinky drain and the faulty door lock were never addressed by the time we left. There was even an electric roller blind that was broken prior to moving in that was never replaced. No coincidence, the electricity level was magically increased to 6 kVA one week after we placed our termination notice. We were patient far too long and with our basic level of French, we did our best for several weeks to express our frustrations to the landlord. Why spend all this money on a place that doesn’t have the bare necessities? At the same time life is too short to mope around and surround yourself in negativity.
So we are turning something negative into positive. We are taking this opportunity to travel even more. Not be bound to one location but to have the freedom to roam around (at least for now) as nomads. We rented a storage unit to house all the things we have accumulated these past several months. It hasn’t been easy making multiple trips to grab the stuff you need for the week or so you are in Paris, just to put it all back in “box de stockage” before leaving for the next voyage. Sometimes we ask ourselves why sacrifice comfort to live like this? Did we make the right decision? Is it worth doing things your own way? All we can do is trust the process. We hope in the end the experiences will help us grow as a person. We will have memories to look back on and cherish. With each adventure we believe that we will gain a new outlook on life and perspective of what is important to us. It is incredibly hard to live in the present when you dwell on the past or when your mind is always set on the future. We are still learning to stay grounded when times get rough. Equally as important we are still practicing living in the moment, one day at a time. Thank you as always for following us on this journey. We hope to update you soon on our plans.
