Do you know that feeling when you have lived in a place for a long time, and it becomes part of your lasting memories and you, and you give a little extra attention to that place for, I guess, the rest of your life? And it feels as if you left a part of yourself behind, as well as toke a part of it with you? I feel that way about several places. And one of them is Paris.
My life has been a long series of stops, and several of those were in Paris. For years, I made that iconic city home, for better and for worse, and it was a good life, until it wasn’t a good life anymore.
So here are some posts about Paris, based on my own life and numerous blunders in my former hometown of Paris.
Paris Times Three
They say life happens when you are busy making other plans – well, that may be true, but sometimes life stops when you are busy living. The world keeps spinning along; you are still breathing, but something got in the way of your life.
Nine Weeks in Paris
Life’s hard, and then you die, and troubles and tragedies will find you, no matter where you are, so it is always better to be where you feel at home in your heart. Denmark stopped being my home long ago, so over the years, I created a new one in Paris.
My Inner Parisian
You know that feeling when you have lived in a place for years, and it becomes part of your lasting memories, and you give a little extra attention to that place for, I guess, the rest of your life? I lived and worked in Paris from 2008 to 2014. And it was a good life, and I made that iconic city my home.
5 Great Non-Fiction Books About Paris
There are so many books about Paris in English, and we all have our favorites. These five books are some of my favorites written about Paris. Hemingway may be a bit outdated, but in my world, no list is complete without him.
However nerdish it sounds, and I know it does, apart from uprooting and, in a way, ruining my dog’s life by leaving his Parisian hood in 2014, leaving Paris also meant I left Ernest behind. That is, I left a writing project behind.
Hemingway, Paris, & My Yorkie
Gender-Equal?
Some claim Denmark and France are gender-equal and law-abiding nations. I beg to differ, and I do so based on experiences and what I have learned over the years in several apartment buildings in Paris and Denmark.
The Marais
The Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements in Paris) is the best place I have ever lived (I lived in the 3rd). Read more on the blog for a self-guided tour of the Marais!
Montmartre Faves
Montmartre, also known as La Butte (The Hill), is most often associated with the artists who lived and worked here from the 18th century until the 1920s. But this unique and colorful neighborhood has much more to offer than days gone by.
We Don’t Live in Paradise
Despite what European politicians and their bureaucrats may want to impress upon the world, Europe is not Paradise, and people with regular jobs can live in relative poverty.
Paris is Romance, & That’s It!
On a dare, I made a bet that I could get a teaching job in a Parisian language school more or less just by showing up, having a university degree, and being able to spell my name. I won the bet. I got the job, and I got a story.
What is a court ruling worth in France? Nothing, it seems. In France, a court can order you to pay a fine, but nothing happens if you don’t pay. At least, that’s the reality of the French legal system as I have come to know it.
My Never-Ending Apartment Story, Part 5
My Never-Ending Apartment Story, Part 4
After two years and eight months, I got the rest of my deposit back from my Parisian landlord of 2019. Yes, I got my security deposit back, even though it cost me more to get it back than I was actually paid back.
2 Years, Seven Months, & Counting! I thought renting an apartment through a large and long-established rental agency would be the safest financial choice when I went to Paris in 2019. I was wrong.
My Never-Ending Apartment Story, Part 3
My Never-Ending Apartment Story, Part 2
I was delighted when the French court ruled that my former landlord should pay me the rest of my deposit, along with two years of interest. After two years of paperwork, courts, and significant expenses, it was a happy ending to an awful apartment situation in Paris. Or so I thought.
My Never-Ending Apartment Story Part 1: How it Began
In life, you lose nonstop – youth, looks, money, friends, illusions. But sometimes, you win in court. And so, after two years of paperwork and courtrooms, on January 28, 2022, a French court ordered my former 2019 Paris landlord to return my full security deposit, plus two years’ interest.
Teaching English in Paris
I had taken the job on a dare to prove that these schools would hire anybody. They did. They hired me. I won the bet. But it turned out that it was not just the hiring process that was a bit dodgy. The working conditions were horrible!
