I have an apartment...in Paris!

I was incredibly nervous about this. I needed to find an apartment in Paris. I know Mikaela had quite the time trying to find one...for MONTHS. And only found one a matter of a couple weeks before she got to Paris. I don't know how she kept it together.

I did lots and lots of research. Trying to find apartments on my own at first, which I assumed would lead to some sort of scam in the end. Scratch that. Next I tried finding a reputable agency, which is way harder then you would expect. I did find a website, Paris Notes, that helped with sorting through all of the clutter out there, it gives you links to some of the best agencies. But unfortunately, the majority of the websites host apartments that were WAY out of my budget, were talking 2000 euro a WEEK. Ya, no.

I look around for 3 weeks, and found lots of nice, clean, reasonably priced apartments, but none that were available from May 10th to 21st. Bummer. One agency I sent an email to about an apartment, got back to me the same day, GREAT, I thought. I quickly sent an email back asking the price of the agency fee's, well it's been a month, and I have not heard back. I did send another email, quite the same as the last, just to make sure mine didn't get lost. And still, nothing. I am actually very happy this agency did not email me back, because I later did some research for reviews on the company. Awful customer service was the main complaint. I can see that.

After finding nothing in my budget and my time period, I decided to use the same agency Mikaela used to find her place, Entrée Paris. I know Mikaela had been using another agency for a while with no luck, and within a week, I believe, she had an apartment using Entrée Paris! The reason I did not use this agency right off the bat was because you have to pay upfront for their services, before you even know what they offer. The do have a Facebook page though, which they update with pictures of new apartments.

After I paid for the service and sent an email to the agency with all my details and wish list for the apartment. It basically included that I wanted to be close to Mikaela, in a clean apartment, and gave them my budget. Well, 5 days after paying for the service, I got an apartment! YAY. Rejoice!

The apartment is in a nice building, across the river from the Eiffel Tower! AH. Not as close to Mikaela as I had hoped, but there was nothing closer in my budget, she is about a 30 minute walk away. BUT, I am basically right beside a Metro station, and I believe Mikaela has one not too far away from her. I am a 10 minute walk away from the Eiffel Tower, and I think I may have a slight view of it. Omg. I will die.

Now that that step is done, I can actually get even more excited about this! I can only imagine how Mikaela felt after having spent so long looking.

If you are ever spending 3 or more weeks in Paris, and need an apartment, I would suggest Entrée Paris (the service fee is on the pricey side, so it may not be worth it if you are spending less time there). They are very friendly, very helpful, and get back to you really quickly. I am beyond pleased with the service. Money well spent.

34 days left to go!

Now I should probably buy my plane ticket and eurail pass...right?