Paris Ile-de-France Description and Information

Paris Ile-de-France Departments

Description of the Paris Ile-de-France region

A Fancy Region

The Ile-de-France region includes the city of Paris and the surrounding area. It is one of the smallest régions geographically, covering only 2% of the total area of France, but its 11 million inhabitants, represent almost 19% of the French population, making Ile-de-France one of the most populated urban areas in Europe. Paris is a very beautiful city. It has everything a city lover could possibly desire. Chic little boutiques and huge département stores, wonderful art galleries and performance spaces, superb restaurants, and huge flea and antique markets. There are elegant squares and pretty parks and the Seine must be the most romantic waterfront in the world.

A Good Location for British Investors

Paris is certainly an ideal place for those living in central London to have a second, albeit urban, home. It is an easy weekend trip by Eurostar and bought in advance tickets are very cheap. For those used to London, Paris seems a lot smaller and manageable. Even though the Metro map looks like a bowl of spaghetti, it is very fast, efficient, clean and once you get to grips with it, easy to navigate. Even though Eurostar tickets can be cheap, apartments in Paris are not. It is the most expensive region in France and apartments in the most fashionable areas are not much cheaper that London's most desirable areas, although it is still possible to find a studio flat in central locations for around €100,000. If you go looking for a studio flat be warned: some are no more than simply a cupboard in an attic with a dormer window, a one unit kitchenette and a shared bathroom down a dark corridor. Unless you are buying such a studio for investment purposes, perhaps to let to students, then you will probably have a more comfortable time staying in hotels every time you visit the city.

Living in Paris

Ile-de-France is one of Europe's richest regions and accounts for 28.6% of GDP. It is home to many headquarters in France (38% of company headquarters, 70% of insurance company headquarters, and 96% of bank headquarters). Salary levels are also on average 10-15% higher than the rest of France. If you speak English but not a word of French, yet have good transferable professional (as well as inter-personal) skills, it is still likely to find a job at one of the many pan-international companies based in the area. There is also plenty of low-skill or no-skill (but often gruelling and exploitative) work to be found such as cleaning hotel rooms, waiting tables or dish-washing. Keep

George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London

in your back pocket for company though! You could also make a lucrative living teaching English.