How to make a go of expa life in Paris

If living and working in Paris is your dream, understanding the city and its diverse culture will help it become reality.

Known as the City of Lights, Paris is one of the world’s most loved and most visited cities for its sheer beauty, its magnificent history and heritage and its dynamic present day personality. It’s also home to a cornucopia of French, European and international companies, giving endless opportunities to grab the job of a lifetime.

Paris’s local economy is driven at high speed by companies in the banking, insurance, tech, media, entertainment, energy, transportation, food, luxury and tourism sectors, giving a huge choice for would-be expat professionals. Nowadays, the city is also a start-up hub, especially for IT and tech, adding innovation and energy to its already vibrant business landscape. Expat professionals are in high demand for their skills and experience, with R&D specialists, finance professionals, project managers, executives and consultants all welcome. Other speciality sectors include aerospace and pharmaceuticals.

There are a number of ways to find that dream job, starting with job vacancy websites customisable to the region and websites dedicated to professionals with fluent English, but the best way is to use one of the many headhunting firms as the entire city runs on networking. Attending professional networking events can get results, and are also a good way to initiate a range of contacts, any one of which can be useful in the future.

Living in Paris isn’t the same as visiting this fabulous city, with France’s infamous bureaucracy the main reason. Even the French hate this aspect of their homeland, and for newly-arrived expats it can be a nightmare, especially if your French isn’t yet up to standard. The cost of living can also be problematic, especially if you’re on a start-up salary, and accommodation costs are pricey to say the least and unaffordable at worst if the apartment is in a remotely desirable area. If you’re arriving from the USA, the cost of quality healthcare will come as a pleasant surprise and, if you’ve moved en famille, the French education system is affordable and good.