Looking for a complete guide on how to plan for your year abroad? You’ll learn everything you need to know from choosing where to go, to finding a french garauntor.
I spent my year abroad at Sorbonne Lettres (Paris IV) because they were in partnership with my university (Russell Group UoL). However, I had friends who did one semester studying, and the latter in an internship, or a full year internship.Â
Though I attend university in the UK, I did not need a visa as I have an Irish Passport.
I lived in the 5th arrondissement, the Quartier Latin, which is the student area of Paris. My flat was a 13-minute walk from campus and stones throw away from the Emily in Paris apartment. The 5th is a safe area, and considering I knew no one in France, this was my biggest priority.
Personally, I also valued paying more rent to live closer, than paying less rent and spending the money on transport. I was not familiar with their transport system, and so I played it safe.
Living in a lively student area is your best bet safety wise, and also social life wise.
Planning for my year abroad was a very stressful time because my university was not at all supportive. It was as if they did not have the answers to any of our questions! Very disappointing, and considering the calibre that they claim to hold, they never met it!
So, here I am, experienced and knowledgeable about everything I should have been told.
This post is filled with insightful advice about everything you need to know about your year abroad.
I had difficulty deciding where I wanted to go on my year abroad, especially considering that we had limited university options. Strategically, I applied to all Paris unis so that at least I knew where I would end up. This meant that I could start flat-hunting ASAP.Â
The ab-initio French students, however, did not have as much freedom as the post A-level French students in their choices of where to study in France. They had to go to a specific university and could not talk their way out of it – kinda sucks, really. I think they were sent to Nanterre or Aix.
Check your partner institutions on your university’s website and do some research on all of them. Be weary that unis like Science Po have campuses in Paris, Poitier, Lyon etc.. so double check where the department you are applying to is situated.
 I know someone who chose a department and thought she was going to Paris but ended up in Poitier! It’s an honest and easy mistake so please be vigilant in your research, and don’t make the same mistake.
Your university should provide you with travel insurance, they made us download AIG Travel Insurance on our phones, and also provided letters for us.
I personally also applied for an EHIC (for you it may be GHIC) card, and was considering getting another personal insurance like some of my friends. My mum and I decided that what I had was good enough.
I didn’t need to apply for a Visa as I have an Irish passport. For my friends who did, many complained about how the university provided little to zero support. They had many concerns and questions, few which were actually quenched.Â
Top advice from a former fourth-year who was speaking to my friend: make sure you have all of your documents with you. If not, you get turned away and would have wasted your time.Â
One of my friends never actually got her Visa approved and so instead she applied for a Shengen Visa which gave her only 90 days in Paris. That worked perfect for her as she was headed off to Spain for the second part of her year abroad.
Last year, I applied for my student finance on time, so if you apply late I don’t know if this will be the case for you. BUT I received my loan earlier than usual. They sent it to me in August rather than in September, perhaps because universities abroad tend to start their semesters in August (eg, Sciences Po).
The max student loan for London unis is 12K. However, for the year abroad the max was 11K. Although that sounds like a substantial amount, it does not make a dent when it comes to living in central Paris. All of that will go towards your rent and transport.
So if you can, start saving your pennies or get a job over the summer! There were many unforeseen expenses while I was in search of my apartment in Paris, and without my savings I don’t know what I would have done.
Make sure to check in with your university if they are participating in the turing scheme as it makes a wholeeee difference! My university did not. I only got an additional £3k to aid my study abroad expenses – which was payed a few months after I had already moved.
The Turing Scheme is a bursary so you should be getting 11K (max), on top of your student loan, without having to pay back.
This is a question I asked so many people, (even the 4th years who returned !!!) but no one answered my question properly.Â
I needed to know when to leave and when to come back…the answer is: it all depends on how long you can afford to stay there!
Make sure to check your host university’s academic calendar as that can help guide you in terms of how long your tenancy should last.Â
Do not ignore exam season. My friend attended Sciences Po and still had to sit their end of year exams (or as the French say: les partiels ) which took place in May.Â
I, however, was lucky and did not have to do that as I chose my modules wisely while I was at Sorbonne – more on this later…
The safest bet is to come at the end of August and leave at the end of June. That’s a solid 10 months that you’re there (not considering holiday home trips) for you to practice your language skills. This also gives you enough time to spend with the new friends you made! I personally believe that the extra month in June fortified my experience in Paris.Â
If you can, stay for the Fête de la Musique, such an incredible experience! It is an annual event on the 21st of June (summer solstice) that takes place in multiple countries. Paris has different genres in different arrondissements.
Be mindful of the transport links, though, as the metro does not run all night to certain stations. I had to get an uber back home.
Typically, when sites like Lodgis say ‘charges comprises’, or ‘bills included’, they usually don’t mean energy (ie. gas and electricity). So it’s always good when enquiring about an apartment to ask which bills specifically are included.Â
I have a friend who rented with Lodgis, so she payed bills separate from her rent. Be mindful of your electricity bill especially in the winter, she had to pay an ungodly amount before she left in December.
I didn’t pay any bills as it was all included in my rent.Â
When I was looking, these were the sites I looked at as they were the most reliable and easy to use. The agents also spoke English, so if your French is not yet good enough to have an important interaction without any miscommunication on your end then these sites are the best options.
Please note: I booked my apartment without viewing, I think most people did. Dangerous, but I had no choice. Using Paris Attitude, though, I trusted them because they seemed to present the properties faithfully.
They allow you to book months even a year in advance, so if you can, do it! Bills are typically included in the rent.
They only allow you to enquire 2 months before the availability date of the flat. No bills inc.
Check if your uni has a partnership with them! I think once your email for your host university is given to you, then it will automatically connect you with reserved apartments (at least it should).Â
Bills included in the rent varies from apartment to apartment, so be diligent when you look at flats on this website.
They only allow you to enquire 2 months before the move in date. No bills inc.
 Garantme *
Below are a few of the websites my friends used on hunt for a flat in Paris:
French version of Rightmove or Zoopla.
Facebook groupchats
Student accommodation is a little different in Paris. Universities don’t have their own accommodation like we do in England. Instead, they do partnerships with lodging companies.Â
Crous is university housing rented at a subsidised rate for students.Â
It’s not the most reliable, my friend didn’t get approved until around November/December and moved into her studio apartment in February. She didn’t have a microwave or an oven, just a stovetop.Â
You can risk it if you have family you can stay with, but seeing as I didn’t have anyone, I didn’t want to bet anything on a Crous accom.
Look at least 8 months in advance to moving out, at least if you’re going to be using the ParisAttitude website. One thing I noticed during my search is that there are gems that are available but they get snatched up quickly!Â
However if you are using other sites like Lodgis or My Apartment in Paris, they don’t allow you to book so far in advance so you should start looking 2 months ahead of your move-in date.
Guarantor affordability checks are difficult in France. The agencies typically request that they earn 4x the amount of your rent, which was ridiculous in my case.Â
They don’t care that you can pay 6 months upfront, making it almost impossible to find somewhere, but thankfully I found a solution…
*Garantme:Â
If your guarantor doesn’t earn 4x the amount of your rent then it’s best to get a certificate with GarantMe. It is a website to help people acquire apartments, they assume the role of a guarantor for you.Â
The cost of the certificate is dependant on the rent of the apartment and the duration of your tenancy .
This website is useful as they also act as another means of finding apartments. They help you with your search and have an exclusive partnership with Lodgis. This means that you can only get certain apartments if you have a Garantme certificate.Â
I highly recommend applying for a certificate as they provide you with a plethora of options for french agencies, it makes your apartment search much easier and fluid.
The only downside is how expensive it is. I had to pay an un-budgeted €800 for it. The price you pay depends on the duration of your stay, the size of your apartment and the rent.Â
*Garantie Visale:Â
This guarantor’s website differs from Garantme because it is free. You do not need to pay for a certificate.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of this website when I was searching for apartments. However, even if I was, I would not have been able to use it.Â
They impose a rental cap (click here to read more) of €1500 in Ile de France and €1300 elsewhere.Â
So, if you are living in a crous or a cheaper flat, you don’t need to worry about paying for a guarantor’s certificate.Â
French apartments count the living room as a separate room. So, if you see an apartment that says T3, that usually means that it’s a 2 bed with a living room.
Home insurance is mandatory in France, and how much you pay is dependant on the size of your apartment.
Before you buy home insurance, make sure to check that the website you secured your apartment from doesn’t already provide it free of charge.Â
Since I found my apartment on Paris Attitude, home insurance is included with their service, so I haven’t had to deal with any costs in this regard – just keep an eye out for what the website you secure your apartment from actually provides.Â
If you don’t buy home insurance, your landlord may view that as a breach of contract. Make sure to include this question in your email enquiry about any of the apartments you’re interested in.
Here are a couple links below if you want to do more research on your own:
Your complementary home insurance with Paris Attitude & GroupamaÂ
A few of my friends got a french bank account (american), others, like myself, used MONZO or REVOLT.
Apparently American banks work differently (you can click here for more info). I think the main issue was the IBAN, which UK banks do provide. Just check your app and you can access it.Â
However, I just avoided the issue entirely and used MONZO seeing as its an international bank. Be mindful that with MONZO you will have to pay to withdraw cash – I never did.Â
Cash in France is so useful, so please exchange it in your home country and bring a lot with you. Don’t exchange in the airport or the eurostar because the interest rates are so inflated it’s ridiculous.Â
Always carry minimum 50 euros worth of cash with you as you never know what could happen! It also helps that UBER and BOLT accept cash too, so just consider transport means too.Â
I brought about 5 adapters with me: 1 to carry around when I’m at uni on campus, 4 to stick around my flat.
I left many of my clothes in England because I didn’t know if I would have any space to store them in the first place. BUT, I would recommend you do the same, because shopping in Paris is phenomenal.
Work over the summer and save that money for when you arrive, you will find so many classic essentials that will just elevate your style!
This leads me to packing, I wish I was wise enough to vacuum pack my clothes moving to and from Paris. It would have saved myself and my mum a lot of hassle!
I wouldn’t have had to gradually take things back to England (I’m lying, I definitely would have overpacked regardless). Honestly, I could have gone without a suitcase or two…or four.Â
However, I do suggest that all of your essentials like skincare, haircare, makeup etc should be brought with you. Don’t buy it in Paris as you may not be able to find it, or it may be an extortionate price.Â
I was definitely bummed by not having access to a Boots anymore. The closest french equivalent was Normale! It’s kind of like a Flying Tiger and a Superdrug merged into one.
Arriving at the Eurostar, I had already booked a cab on the Paris Attitude website with one of their partner companies, Welcome Pickups. It was really expensive as it was dependant on the amount of luggages you’re carrying.Â
Ubers and taxis in France take cash, even when you pre-order them and don’t approach them in person.
I always preferred my settings to be cash payment as the price was fixed. If you choose to pay with card on your app and the driver takes the longer route or you are stuck in traffic, you will end up paying more.Â
The only downside was that it took much longer for my requests to be accepted because many of them don’t have the exact change or prefer card payment.
Many of my friends bought the Imagine R Student Ticket Pass that cost almost 400 euros – I never did. Considering I lived a walkable distance from campus it just didn’t seem logical to spend that much on a pass that I may lose.
I don’t know how much I spent on transport during my 10 months but it probably amounted to the same cost of the pass itself, possibly less. I did a lot of walking towards the end as I realised I appreciated Paris more when I didn’t use their means of transport.Â
Whether you buy it or not depends on how far away you live from campus/your place of work, just make sure you have secured a flat or at least an air bnb. I know someone whose pass took longer than the recommended time to arrive at her temporary accommodation. By the time it arrived, she already moved into her crous.Â
Main point: be mindful of the delivery time. You could always try send it to a pickup point (if offered) as that is the safest option.
Why get a French Phone number?
You need it if you order online a lot like me. Sometimes, ordering from Amazon was hell. The delivery drivers like to call you when they arrive, especially considering the fact that the house numbering system in France sucks (more on this later).Â
I had many friends get a French phone number once they moved to Paris. While it is a good idea to get a contracted french number, I didn’t do it.Â
It wasn’t something I was interested in, all the stress of changing my number and the possibility of texts not coming through. I just didn’t want to deal with it. Plus, I hate whatsapp.Â
My friends told me that they got their numbers when they arrived, not beforehand. One used lebara and said the process was very easy as she completed it online. Her flatmate was with SFR which is ‘quite simple and affordable’.
So I actually chose option 2, because it just made the most sense to me. My mum had an old phone that she never used. So, I just bought a cheap lycamobile simcard and inserted it. However, mine stopped working because I didn’t use it often.
 I honestly don’t even know if I activated it properly. It did its job and I was able to order online with it.
So, I mentioned my sim stopped working right? Well, I eventually had to go to option 3 because when I would order instore, I didn’t want to miss the text message that it had been delivered.Â
Thankfully, I also received an email, but I just thought it was much safer to use my friend’s phone number as well.
The academic year was as long as the average British academic year : 10 months. I started two weeks earlier because I did a transition programme before the actual start date in September.Â
My friends at Sciences Po started at the end of August.
 My last class is difficult to pinpoint because many classes were cancelled due to protests, so the campus was only open for students taking exams.
 I would say mid-May was the definitive final month.
One thing both my home university and Sorbonne IV failed to do was to tell us the module choosing process. This is where most of my summer stress derived from. If they had just sent us an email telling us how and when we will choose our modules, a lot of us would have been appeased. No one I met knew what was going on.Â
So, here is what happened:
I was put in the literature department because during my application process to go to the Sorbonne I chose literature/languages. HOWEVER I had the option to choose from any department I wanted such as history, philosophy, art and archeology etc…Â
Being placed under a department just allows you to have a professor you can go to if you have any questions, or to direct you where to go for your questions when admin can’t attend to you.Â
We first had a meeting to attend with certain documents so that we could collect our own Sorbonne identity cards. Then, we presented our passports and uni identity card, pictures were fine. They also introduced Parismus, so that we had a community first thing.Â
In our second induction meeting, we were debriefed on what was expected and what to expect. We also collected a form on the way out on which we put the modules we would like to study for either the language or literature departments. To take a module in a different department, an email was to be sent to the head of the desired department. Â
Once filled in, we must hand our forms to the relevant head of the department for the modules we have chosen. So, when I took linguistics modules I submitted my form, separate from the one for my literature modules, to the head of the languages department, not literature.Â
From there, we attend whichever seminar class we chose (we create our own timetables), approach the professor at the beginning or end of the class to inform them that we are Erasmus students and give them our names and emails.
That’s it.Â
I do know that my friends at Sciences Po chose their modules online before the semester started in comparison to the very antiquated method at Sorbonne. So, it varies from uni to uni.
There was no tutor system like there is in England, at least not available to the Erasmus students – unless I missed out. I definitely felt like I had no one to turn to at the university, but you can still keep in touch with your tutors from your home university!
Before you arrive, try looking for university group chats on facebook to find people who have already gone or who will be going there. This can help so that you don’t feel like you’re completely in the dark.Â
When you arrive, go to Parismus events (French students do come sometimes!). I discovered the association once I joined Sorbonne but it was still very helpful to find other people in the same situation as you.
When you’re in class speak with the people you sit next to.Â
Join a society! I never joined any societies even though I wish I did, I just couldn’t make my mind up on which one because I didn’t like their options.
Piece of advice: don’t get carried away in always hanging out with your english speaking friends otherwise you will never practise your french colloquially.Â
I definitely felt guilty a lot of the time not knowing how to balance my fun and studying. I was conflicted between living my best life and studying to get good grades to appease my need for academic validation (lol). Â
One thing studying with French students showed me – as long as they passed they’re happy. So, I decided to adopt that mindset just for the year so I could let go and really appreciate the city. I would do enough to pass, which is hard to navigate at first but eventually…hopefully… you will balance it better than I ever did.
I mainly did my shopping in the Carrefour City or Monoprix, which are both very expensive but I favoured distance over cost. Monoprix is like the M&S of France, in my opinion (my mum loves their linen clothes).Â
Many of the metro exits have stairs, and I was not about to carry a heavy load of groceries.
If you’re not lazy like me and you don’t procrastinate, Lidl is definitely your best bet.
Normale was where I went to get my cheap everything. It was a lifesaver, especially when I was buying all my makeup and skincare from Monoprix and Sepohora – it’s ridiculously expensive!Â
You could always try going a bit further out to the typical beauty supply stores, although I wouldn’t say that it’s actually less expensive.Â
The ones near Châtelet definitely were not inexpensive at all, perhaps in the 10th, 18th, 20th – all the dodgy areas, basically. In my opinion, it’s not worth it as there are a LOT of weirdos to watch out for in those arrondissements, just order online if you can.Â
My mum said that the market in Porte de Clignancourt reminded her of back home – the streets of Lagos,Nigeria. Take from that what you will.
As I touched on earlier, the numbering system in Paris is not like in the UK where every single apartment has it’s own unique door number.Â
How it works is you take the building number and the street name, and that’s what you will use as your address.
When it comes to deliveries, usually by the door inside the apartment building, there should be something to indicate the names of all the tenants. It should also show which floors they are on, however, nothing to direct the postmen straight to your door.Â
The issue with apartments being identified by name means that your post can easily get lost. Luckily, I had a concierge who would place it outside my door, but if your concierge doesn’t know who you are then it’s a free for all.Â
I would always end up ordering my really important parcels to pick-up points or the post office because I did not want to risk losing it.Â
In these situations, having a french phone number is useful and I would lowkey regret my decisions. On multiple occasions for my home deliveries (especially amazon) the delivery drivers would call me. Whenever I would try to call them back, it rarely went through.Â
If you choose to pick up in-store, you will definitely need a French phone number.
One of the biggest disappointments to my discovery: Amazon prime is location dependent. I had to pay for my own Prime account while in Paris, but luckily it was dirt cheap, so it didn’t matter much.
Another thing to be mindful of : your British TV subscriptions such as Sky Sports etc will not work either, because they are also location dependent. Obviously. This isn’t something I realised until I moved, though.Â
If you ever end up paying for UBEROne, that also will only work in the country you bought it in. Also, cancel it before you leave. I didn’t stop paying till a month after I returned to England because they have a policy of cancelling a minimum of 2 days before next payment.
Netflix didn’t have more french TV show/movie options though. If I knew about TF1+ I would have paid for it.
Despite the hiccups before, during, and even after my time at the Sorbonne (got my results 2 months after everyone else), I really enjoyed Paris.Â
The longer I was there, the more I appreciated it, because I knew what to do and where to go. At first, it was overwhelming, but that subsides once you start exploring the quirky pockets of Paris. Â
Hopefully, this guide has helped prepare or at least appease you regarding your own study abroad. From your apartment hunt to module choices, I want you to have a smoother experience than I did.Â
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A passionate and creative female blogger who is navigating living in the city in her 20s.
So informative!! Love it and thank you for sharing. Can’t wait for more!
Thank you <3