This article is part of the Paris Guide to FT Globetrotter
Paris is, in many ways, a digital nomadic paradise. It is Europe’s largest urban economy, a beautiful city with endless activities, packed with international people, dotted with coworking spaces and cafes, connected to half of the world by planes and trains. Adam Green, a British copywriter and editor and former digital nomad of Paris, said: However, there are pitfalls in the city. What’s the best thing to avoid them and become a digital nomad in Paris? Below is a simple guide.
Where to live
Paris is too expensive for hatched nomads to pitch without guaranteed revenue flow. Nomadic hubs like Lisbon and Warsaw are inexpensive. However, there are often overlooked areas near central Paris where you can live at a discounted price.
That’s because Paris itself – the city of Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame’s photo postcards – is relatively small. 2.1 million people live in the Paris “Muros” (“inside the wall”) on Periferiqueling Road.
The city is currently home to the rapidly growing suburb Banrieh, with an additional 8.7 million people. I largely ignore the occasional rough reputation of the suburbs. Thanks to the expansion of the metroline and bike lanes, inner suburbs like Montroir and st-ouen have become much cheaper hipster neighborhoods, although only 15 minutes from central Paris. The Seroger website shows that apartment rental prices average 23 euros per month per month, and 25 euros for Montreuil compared to 25 euros for Montreuil in Montreuil. Digital nomads need to include suburban areas in their mental maps.
For those who want to live in Paris itself, it is best to understand the important cultural divisions of the city. Roughly, hipsters dominate the east of the Centre Pompidou (cheapest towards northeast Paris, towards northeast Paris Villette). The 16th arrondisement is Peak Bourgeois.
How to find accommodation
You may not get the apartment you want just because you have enough money. French rental laws provide strong protection for tenants. Landlords cannot always kick out people who stop paying rent, so they are wary of renting to people who are uncertain about financial security. Most people only accept tenants armed with monthly breaking news, Salere and the famous French CDI. One company that acts as a guarantor to motivate foreign tenants is Garantme.
Otherwise, nomads can circumvent the French market and rent Airbnb or serviced apartments (generally premium) or use the local English-classified website fusac.fr, which offers real estate rentals aimed at international arrivals. FUSAC also offers advertisements for childcare, meeting locations, French lessons and more.
Where to work
The flats in Paris are small so working from home may not be an option. The city’s countless cafes can serve as an occasional workspace. Laura Charque, an American who works remotely from Paris, says, “When there’s a horrible, boring meeting where you just have to dial in, it’s better to do it while eating steak fries in a cafe.” But even in Paris cafes, the space is premium, and laptops often frown. Schark’s usual local bistros usually let her do her job, but she cautions: “The people there will hug me and kiss me when I enter.
A cafe near you can pound coffee for a spell at least in the morning or afternoon. One place that is generous with laptops and is suitable for work contacts is the spacious and charming Café Beau Bougue near Pompidou.
Regular work is most commonly done in coworking spaces (Lesco Working in French) that have emerged in Paris in recent years, including textiles and morning chains. Most coworkers organize communal meals, aperitifs and other events that nomads can meet. Dennis Wilke, a Dutch lawyer, a Wework Marais habit, points out that digital nomads look the same. It’s Paris, but maybe Sydney.
One beautiful Parisian coworking is a morning building at 34 rue Lufitte, ninth Allendisment. Most of them are booked for businesses renting their own offices, but there is also a nomadic workforce of around 30 people, and can use the sixth floor with its large roof terrace and a spacious first-floor cafe. Here, nomads pay VAT in addition to 350 euros per month to use the hot desk in a shared space, small gym, etc. Certain Parisian coworking packs too many people into cramped spaces (as in Paris itself), but not Morning Lafitte. Currently, around 25 morning coworking in and around Paris is open to nomadic people.
Working in various Parisian beauty spots is the privilege of being a digital nomad here. Joseph Moore, a marketing Britishman who often works remotely from Paris, said, “I go somewhere new and try to see somewhere new every day,” he recommends a network of public libraries in Paris. Certain gems are Forney, based in the Biblioteque St. Genevieve next to the Pantheon and the 4th century hotel, Particulare (city mansion).
The city’s most beautiful public workspace may be the 1930s Salle Ovale by Bibliothèque Richelieu. It’s free, but the sound means it’s rarely quiet, and the desks sometimes have cues.
On sunny days, you can work for free on outdoor tables in the idyllic courtyard of the new Academy Ducrymatt on Rivoli Street. The building, the former town hall in the fourth place, is a treasure of Hausman, founded in 1867 by Baron Hausman himself. The snack bar serves a daily vegetarian lunch.
Based in an unused railway depot, Station F is a high-tech hub in Paris. Here, only your favorite startups are winning workplaces, but Station F has a huge Italian restaurant and food market and many public events. “It’s the perfect place to try and find clients and businesses,” says Green.
Language and Networking
Speaking French always enriches your life in Paris, but cities are increasingly functioning in English. There is an industry that is centuries old in French classes for foreigners in Paris, where schools are popping out and dying all the time. Many are advertised on fusac.fr.
The traditional state-approved location for learning French is the Alliance Française Cultural Center at 101 Boulevard Raspail, where classes of “complete beginners” are taught at all levels. It also doubles as a good place to meet other freshly arrived foreigners.
Another popular hub for networking and meeting other arrivals hosts all kinds of events, from business networking to dance, many of which host events in English.
What’s lost in Frenchlation serves as an English-speaking film club. The pitch, in its own words, “shows classic and recent French films with English subtitles, often followed by crews and Q&As of films, hosting drinks before each screening, allowing international crowds to meet each other.” It is also a good way to begin discovering French cinema.
Paris is full of English speakers and there are many things on the streets you might actually have for tourists living here. If you are looking to participate in the lives of local British people, young English-speaking speakers will traditionally gather at certain bars, such as the Rue Trousseau bottle shop on the 11th, and British pubs who played sports on television such as Bombardier (2 Place Du Panthéon), Highlander (8 Rue de Nevers), and The Irish Pub Chain O’Sullivans (various locations). Named after Joy Division Song “Dasion”, Rue de de la Folie-Méricourt’s Désordre is a post-punk music-themed bar on the 11th, with DJs over the weekend, attracting many English-speaking countries. At the other end of the social spectrum is the American Church of 65 Quai D’Orsay.
Unlike other big cities such as London, New York and Hong Kong, English-speaking clubs do not occupy the same social role in Paris. Perhaps because jogging is not socially recognized here or because a pack of 12 joggers is enough to block most of the incredible Paris streets.
Other practicalities
France does not have specific visas for digital nomads. Americans, British and Canadians can spend 90 days in France without a visa, but they cannot work legally without it. Self-employed people “want to create or participate in commercial, industrial, craftsman, or agricultural activities or work in a liberal profession in France” can apply for a one-year long-term stay visa. High-value “international talent” either employed or self-employed can earn a “talent visa” for up to four years. There are also special visas for high-tech employees, founders and investors.
Recommended
Usually, digital nomads pay taxes in France only if they spend at least 183 days here. One simple tax status is “automatic entrepreneurs” for self-employed people in service-based activities that earn up to 77,700 euros per year. Sarah Dalglish, a registered American automotive operator who has been a long-time freelance researcher in Paris, said, “The French administration is really challenging, but this is easy. It declares revenues quarterly. Social safety contributions are automatically calculated and there is no need to keep a book.”
Paris is a serious business city. Charques note: “The myth that the French people don’t work that hard is clearly a myth.” But don’t work so hard that you forget you’re in Paris. “I have a market on my street,” says Schark. “You can get out of the door and be transported within minutes, so you need to make sure you get out of the door.”
Are you working as a digital nomad in Paris? Please ask about your experience in the comments below. Follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @ftglobetrotter
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