Happy 2009. More or Less.

Today, the first day of 2009, marks my first day as a French employee.

Funny, I don't feel French.

We've said our goodbyes to my expatriate benefits and paycheck, and I'm mentally preparing myself for the inevitable battle with human resources to set up my health benefits and direct deposit. I've changed sides in the dollar vs. euro battle, which makes me the sworn enemy to my brother and all other American tourists who like to visit Europe.

In other employment-status-income-related news, the house hunt wages on. Finding a new place to live has proven more difficult than we expected. Most real estate offices we drop into have only one or two places available, and those can only be seen after a waiting period of contacting the current resident and booking an appointment with the agent. Needless to say, French standards are a bit different than our own, and we have undoubtedly frustrated more than a few agents by turning our noses up at cinder block apartments in the middle of barren fields.

I've surfed the internet and found some interesting prospects, but a phone call to the agency usually leads to "that place is already rented" and an inquiry e-mail elicits the response: "Please call".

The sad thing is that I really like our current apartment (aside from the water problem peeling the paint in the kitchen) and don't particularly want to leave. Plus the hassle of packing and moving, ugh.

The Pros in Leaving Paris:

1. Lower rent for a larger space
2. Closer to work, shorter commute
3. A yard/garden (potentially)
4. The peace and quiet of the countryside

Sum = less stress

The Cons:

1. Goodbye Paris. Sure, everyone who leaves the city says that they'll be back every other weekend or so. But we all know that's not true.
2. No more markets. Ok, there will be markets in the villages, but you can bet they won't be within walking distance from wherever we end up.
3. Neither will the grocery stores.
4. 2+3 = less walking, less exercise
   
5. Goodbye friends. Wally, Alban, Hector, Guillaume - our favorite French (+ 1 Spaniard) friends all live in Paris. They drop by on Tuesday nights for dinner. They meet us last minute for brunch. They feed Oliver when we're not home. What are we going to do without them?
6. No more rolling out of bed and taking the metro to a pick up ultimate frisbee game
7. Same for first-Sunday-of-the-month free museum trips, casual city strolls to "wherever" to take photographs, jaunts to the Indian sector just for roti bread, and calling Guillaume because I happen to be in the neighborhood.
   

I know that staying here is economically possible for us, but without the expatriation assistance, it's really painful to think of all that money being lost every month. No question about it, we have to move. Goodbye Paris.