Joyce & Thomas(33)

When Thomas' bank offered him a détachement (secondment) to the Paris office, the decision was quick. He would work for two years in La Défense, Paris' business district. I — a copywriter and freelancer — could work anywhere. The bank arranged a relocation package: moving costs covered, three months' hotel and support finding an apartment. It sounded luxurious, but the Parisian housing market is a jungle.

Renting an apartment in Paris requires a dossier of a scale you don't know in the Netherlands. Three months' payslips, tax return, employer statement, ID copy, previous rental contract with quittances de loyer (rent receipts) and often a garant (guarantor) earning three times the rent net. We were lucky: Thomas' employer stood as guarantor via a caution bancaire. We found a 55m² apartment in the 11th arrondissement for €1,650 per month.

Life in Paris is intense but incomparable. I work during the day from a café in Oberkampf or a coworking space, lunch in a bistro for €14 (formule midi: starter + main or main + dessert), walk through Le Marais and drink a glass of Burgundy on a terrace in the evening. The cultural richness is overwhelming: museums (Musée d'Orsay is my favorite), theater, jazz at Le Caveau de la Huchette. With the carte Navigo (€86/month) you get everywhere.

The tax situation as a seconded employee is complex. Thomas falls under the régime des impatriés — a tax advantage for employees coming to France from abroad. Part of his salary (the prime d'impatriation) is exempt from income tax. This makes a significant difference. My freelance income as an auto-entrepreneur is taxed separately: 21.1% social charges via URSSAF plus impôt sur le revenu.

The préfecture was our biggest frustration. Although as EU citizens we're free to live and work in France, we still had to register. The wait times at the préfecture de Paris are notorious: three months for an appointment, hours in line, dossiers declared "incomplete." Tip: use the online pré-demande via administration-numérique.gouv.fr and bring all originals plus copies. Eventually we received our attestation d'enregistrement after five months.

Our advice to couples moving to Paris: prepare for a higher standard of living at higher costs. Paris is expensive — a restaurant bill of €50-80 per person, €5 for a glass of wine on a terrace — but it also offers free museums (first Sunday of the month), cheap marchés and public transport that makes everything accessible. Learn French, even if everyone at the office speaks English. The difference in how Parisians treat you when you speak French versus English is night and day.