[ambush]

So it's done, I've bought two flight tickets -- one for me and one for my love. They're "open" tickets so we decide when we come back (within a year)

We're going to Paris w/o a budget, really. I think we'll have around 2500 Can. (Which is really, NOTHING). I don't know if I'll be able to get a work Visa, it's very unprobable.

We plan to maybe stay a day in Paris (because you HAVE to see Paris if you haven't seen it (my love hasn't been there)) and then we're heading South (Marseille) and we'll try to find work.

Any advices.
Just discuss... if you've had past experiences, etc.

[Patty]

Yes there is nothing more romantic than going to Paris and working in a sweatshop run by North Africans because you couldn't find an employer to sponsor you for a job. In the event that you do run out of money, there should be some sort of tourist assistance group to contact.. you might want to find out about that before you leave.

[ambush]

Right on!

[Sir Arthur Dent]

Originally Posted by Patty

Yes there is nothing more romantic than going to Paris and working in a sweatshop run by North Africans because you couldn't find an employer to sponsor you for a job. In the event that you do run out of money, there should be some sort of tourist assistance group to contact.. you might want to find out about that before you leave.

I can tell you "live on the bright side..."

Hehe

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

Do you have to buy an extra seat for your 8 inch penis?

[ambush]

Well DUH.

[The Godfather]

Originally Posted by ambush

I don't know if I'll be able to get a work Visa, it's very unprobable.

How do you say "Minute Men" in French?

[Garage81]

Originally Posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker

Do you have to buy an extra seat for your 8 inch penis?

too bad they dont allow any balls in France

[Mastrap]

Originally Posted by Garage81

too bad they dont allow any balls in France

Tell that the French gendarmerie. They make your average Louisiana sheriff look like a model of civility.

[Mastrap]

Ambush, travelling to the south of France without a work visa and with limited funds is extremely stupid. You'll be finding yourself in competition for the shittiest jobs available with lots of North Africans, also without a work visa. It is almost impossible to get a job in a restaurant or wineyard without paying someone off. The police is extremely clued up to illegal labour and doesn't look kindly on teenage Canadians causing extra paperwork.

Add to this that the cost of living in the south of France is high due to the large number of tourists and you will be out of cash very soon.

Cancel your flight, get yourself a visa of some description and then start again. Seriously.

[paul w]

good luck on that visa, buddy. Your best bet is to ditch your love, find some chick who loves canadians, get married and become legal.

Otherwise you can get a crap job in a shitty hotel or restaurant. But girls have a lot easier time getting those jobs. Stay in Paris and work in a gay bar or something. Open your horizens.

Anyway, vive la France-bashing thread.

[AssassyN]

interesting choice.....

[OreoCookie]

Explore Paris by foot. It's not soooo terribly big, the subway stations are quite close to each other.

[badidea]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Explore Paris by foot. It's not soooo terribly big....

Errrr, yes??

...or did you just mean the interesting parts like Le Marais and a "small" walk from Le Louvre to La Tour d'Eiffel?

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by badidea

Errrr, yes??

...or did you just mean the interesting parts like Le Marais and a "small" walk from Le Louvre to La Tour d'Eiffel?

It was just a very subjective feeling of mine. Last time I went (for New Year), I met a French friend with whom I have seen quite a few big cities (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, I've been to Seoul) and we both `felt' Paris was smaller than even Nagoya. Certainly still chaotic (the guys who designed that subway/RAR network should be shot ), but the feeling of vastness is missing. In some subway stations, you can already see the next one, whereas in Nagoya or so it was a 10-15 minute walk.

I love Paris, and it's certainly not small (like Munich), but after seeing so many great cities, it doesn't feel as big.

[ambush]

Originally Posted by Mastrap

Ambush, travelling to the south of France without a work visa and with limited funds is extremely stupid. You'll be finding yourself in competition for the shittiest jobs available with lots of North Africans, also without a work visa. It is almost impossible to get a job in a restaurant or wineyard without paying someone off. The police is extremely clued up to illegal labour and doesn't look kindly on teenage Canadians causing extra paperwork.

Add to this that the cost of living in the south of France is high due to the large number of tourists and you will be out of cash very soon.

Cancel your flight, get yourself a visa of some description and then start again. Seriously.

I am told I will be able to work legally in a vineyard (when it's time to harvest...) because I have an Italian passport.

[Oranges for Six]

Originally Posted by ambush

I am told I will be able to work legally in a vineyard (when it's time to harvest...) because I have an Italian passport.

Yes, you will. And harvesting wine is really nice. Don't listen to the naysayers - you'll have a blast.

[OreoCookie]

Ambush, are you really aware that with a EU passport, you don't need a visa? And the visa for your love is a matter of filling out forms if she is married to you.

You can stay as long as you want in France -- welcome to the EU

[historylme]

Originally Posted by paul w

good luck on that visa, buddy. Your best bet is to ditch your love, find some chick who loves canadians, get married and become legal.

Otherwise you can get a crap job in a shitty hotel or restaurant. But girls have a lot easier time getting those jobs. Stay in Paris and work in a gay bar or something. Open your horizens.

Anyway, vive la France-bashing thread.

I agree completly. I lived there for 6 months. Tried to find a job but it was impossible, most of my other friends failed too. Only two made it, one got married to a French girl (his girl friend) and the other one made due with a student visa. She now takes care of two kids while still trying to go to music school to keep her visa.

Being worried about money, 24/7 sucked... I even considered marrying for the visa, but alas, the girl that I could have lived with, liked me too much to marry me for the visa, she had hope to marry me for love.

Either way, becareful, good luck and know that the money you have will run out almost over night.

Edit: Ah, dude! With an EU pass port, you're set. HAVE A GREAT TIME. Nuff said.

[Goldfinger]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Ambush, are you really aware that with a EU passport, you don't need a visa? And the visa for your love is a matter of filling out forms if she is married to you.

You can stay as long as you want in France -- welcome to the EU

He's like 18 years old. I hope they aren't married.

Ambush, why are you doing this ? You're going to blow that $2500 before you know it. And you're just coming here to work. It won't be all fun. You won't be able to live in a hotel or something with the pay you'll be getting. How are they even going to pay you ? I doubt that the average french employer is going to pay you to a canadian bank account. Unless it's under the table but I wouldn't do that if I were you.
Bewere for the french, the bureaucracy in France is horrible and the French can be assholes in matters of administration. And they can be assholes otherwise as well (that coming from someone who is half-French).

If you are going to the south, go to areas around Carcassonne and B�ziers, the Corbi�res area (really good wine as well , the wine of the future), Toulouse etc... It isn't as tourist infested yet and the country is really beautiful. Don't go to the C�te d'Azur.

If you're on a budget then be prepared to end up in some real dumps of hotels in Paris.

Oh and please don't take any weed on the plane with you, french airport police are assholes almost as bad as US immigration. Even for us EU citizens.

[Mastrap]

I didn't know you had an Italian passport. That changes pretty much everything. You can legally work, you can open a bank account and you qualify for health and social insurance services.
It will make it much, much easier for you to find a job and a place to live.

[Goldfinger]

Originally Posted by Mastrap

you can open a bank account

Not without an address in France.

[swrate]

Originally Posted by ambush

So it's done, I've bought two flight tickets -- one for me and one for my love. They're "open" tickets so we decide when we come back (within a year)

We're going to Paris w/o a budget, really. I think we'll have around 2500 Can. (Which is really, NOTHING). I don't know if I'll be able to get a work Visa, it's very unprobable.

We plan to maybe stay a day in Paris (because you HAVE to see Paris if you haven't seen it (my love hasn't been there)) and then we're heading South (Marseille) and we'll try to find work.

Any advices.
Just discuss... if you've had past experiences, etc.

That money will not last long, so an underpaid and hard job on the black market is better then starving. I think travelling that way, opened to discovery and experience is the way one learns the most about a country. Get yourself good guide books, with hotels indicated(Auberges de jeunesses) probably mentioned in the "Guide du Routard"
When you start visiting places, Louvres, D'orsay, Tour Eiffel, quai des Invalides, Arc-de-Thriomphe, place de l'Etoile, and so on, you will realize money melts.
Strolls along the Seine are magic: parks, trees, water, numerous book stands along the river, with old rare amazing books, and beautiful monuments in the background, Notre Dame and the neighbourhood . The parks are one of the places were you will meet French people, des Parisiens, as the place is full of tourists. In front of the mus�e Pompidou (Beaubourg)there is often itinerant artists , you have manyvery lively areas, St Germain etc..
Around Marseille, S�te, B�ziers prices are much cheaper and people less stressed

good luck et
bon voyage!

[theolein]

Ambush, yince you an EU passport you can work anywhere in the EU without a visa. However, France has high unemployment and the competition for low pay jobs is pretty intense. If you want my advice, I would say this: You're bilingual in English and French (Italian as well?), you young, pretty fit and fairly good looking, according to some of the women on the board. Use that. Go to Biarritz, which is a surfing mecca on the Southern Atlantic coast. With your English and French, you might be able to get a job doing something for tourists, such as in a restaurant, bar or shop.

[Zimphire]

Originally Posted by Severed Hand of Skywalker

Do you have to buy an extra seat for your 8 inch penis?

You can be funny sometimes.

[kemuri]

Originally Posted by theolein

You're bilingual in English and French (Italian as well?), you young, pretty fit and fairly good looking, according to some of the women on the board.

He could put those talents to good use and earn himself a tidy packet.

[SimpleLife]

Originally Posted by ambush

So it's done, I've bought two flight tickets -- one for me and one for my love. They're "open" tickets so we decide when we come back (within a year)

We're going to Paris w/o a budget, really. I think we'll have around 2500 Can. (Which is really, NOTHING). I don't know if I'll be able to get a work Visa, it's very unprobable.

We plan to maybe stay a day in Paris (because you HAVE to see Paris if you haven't seen it (my love hasn't been there)) and then we're heading South (Marseille) and we'll try to find work.

Any advices.
Just discuss... if you've had past experiences, etc.

Dans mon temps, on allait faire les vendanges. Ca paye les repas et le vin est gratuit!

Maintenent, je sais pas, "je ne sais plus! je suis perdu! C'est comme, l'oiseau! Ca vit d'air pur et d'eau fra�che l'oiseau! Mais jamais rien ne l'emp�che, l'oiseau! D'Aller plus haut..." (Michel Fugain)

Hostie d'ambush � marde! Bon Voyage mon vieux! Pi reviens-nous donc en sant� avec ta poulette!

S: angaq0k

[jnrjr79]

Ever thought about trying to teach English? I don't know how tough the competition is for those jobs, but I have a friend who lived there and did that for a year and seemed to get by all right.

[Moderator]

go for it dude..you have nothing to lose..don't listen to all the little bltches here

[nredman]

have fun and good luck.

[The Godfather]

when are you going to FR?

[brapper]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Explore Paris by foot. It's not soooo terribly big, the subway stations are quite close to each other.

You can easily hoof it across the city (sans subway) also and hit most of the big sites along the way. I spent about 10 hrs doing that last summer.

[kilechki]

Nice decision! But you have to be aware that Paris is not a dreamland and life can be hard there too. Two immediate problems you'll have to face are :
- find a place to live. Prices are high, those days.
- avoid disapointment. Life can really be really hard in Paris. It is a town with lots of contrasts that can be difficult to enjoy. Touristic sites are not places in which you'll meet so many people, nor the prettiest places in Paris. You will feel rather alone if you just take a walk on the Champs-�lys�es and on the Ile Saint-Louis.

So just be curious and you'll meet plenty of people quite easily. Have a walk in the Cit� universitaire, in the south of Paris : there is the "Maison internationale des �tudiants" with a canadian building (among others) in which you'll find many helpful people. See http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...;loc=quartiers for a map.
Otherwise, there are a number of pubs and bars in the central districts where you'll find information. See especially the (free) newspapers "Fusac" and "TimeOut" for english-speaking info on what-to-do and where-to-go.
Teaching english is actually a good idea, as is working in a bar. You can go in the surroundings of some universities like Sciences-Po (Near Saint Germain des Pr�s) and the Sorbonne to meet english-speaking people that will give you some tips on how to make your living. Or you can just try to have a walk on the Pont des Arts near the �le de la Cit� : in the evening during the summer, there are lots of students having dinner "sur le pouce" (don't know how to say it in english - pick-nick?) and you can meet most of them quite easily.
In my experience, the gap between french/european and Canadian culture is smaller than with the US culture (except NY and SF). So take your chance, enjoy everything you can and good luck! Hopefully I will do the same with NY next year...

edit : hmm, sorry, re-reading the thread and realizing you did not want to go specifically in Paris.

[PacHead]

Is he gone yet ?

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by ambush

I am told I will be able to work legally in a vineyard (when it's time to harvest...) because I have an Italian passport.

That changes EVERYTHING. There =are no limits to what you can do. With a EU passport, you have the equivalent rights of someone with a Green card in the US. Enjoy France. And if that sucks too bad, Germany is worth a visit, too

-t

[Weyland-Yutani]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie

Ambush, are you really aware that with a EU passport, you don't need a visa? And the visa for your love is a matter of filling out forms if she is married to you.

You can stay as long as you want in France -- welcome to the EU

Seconded

Welcome to the European Union/Bienvenido a la Uni�n Europea

[ASIMO]

Originally Posted by Moderator

go for it dude..you have nothing to lose..don't listen to all the little bltches here

Indeed.

But lose the baggage and swipe some chicks over there.