The last week and flat hunting

Hi everyone,

Since the 19th September I've been staying in the 5th arrondissement with my girlfriend and I'm currently looking for a place to live with a friend from Bristol University. The 5th arrondissement is what you imagine Paris to be like: wide avenues and boulevards criss-crossed with smaller streets, five or six storey apartment blocks with balconies, plenty of markets selling meat, fish, fruit and vegetables and lots of French people enjoying the café culture. I've heard talk of cafés and restaurants struggling in France during the recession, but they seem to be managing fine in Paris!

It's a lovely place to start, but unfortunately it's only temporary. For the last week and a half I've been scouring the Internet and magazines for somewhere to live permanently this year. A lot of assistants in France are able to stay in a flat in their school, but sadly mine didn't have one. So the flat-hunting began...

At the beginning it was quite nerve-racking just ringing French telephone numbers. The estate agents on the other end of the line speak in a quick, businesslike manner which can be really hard to understand, especially seeing as you're often talking about numbers and timings. After a few times it becomes easier as you work out how to begin the call. After you get used to speaking in French on the phone, you realise how frustrating flat-hunting can be. The number of times I've spotted an ideal-sounding place, rung up and been told it's already gone...

Anyway, you have to keep going and hopefully it'll be sorted soon enough. There's a promising-looking flat to be viewed tomorrow. Fingers crossed...