I write this on my second day of classes at Alpine French School, a school I first became aware of because of TAIP reader, Matt Kern. I was telling Matt over coffee that I wasn’t particularly happy with the classes I … Continue reading
Author: Stephen Heiner
Goodbye to Living in the 2nd Arrondissement
So, here’s the thing. I never actually planned to live in the 2nd. After a year on the eighth floor in the 17th, it had come time for me to graduate to a “real” Parisian apartment instead of just living … Continue reading
The Bike Explosion Happening During the Vélib Transition
While it’s true that you often don’t know how good something is until it’s gone, you also don’t realize how much better things can be until you get to try alternatives, and during the last 60 days, as Vélib stations … Continue reading
Profession Liberale, Part 5: I Get a Four Year Card
This is the final article in a series about my transition to a citizenship path. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here. I tried not to get emotional in front of … Continue reading
The Airbnb Wars in Paris: For Now, a Truce
I’ve covered the Airbnb issue here previously, both my perspective as an entrepreneur and what Paris had been becoming more strict about. On December 1st a “truce” will officially be in force as legislation first passed this summer comes into effect. … Continue reading
Profession Liberale, Part 4: VAT (or TVA)
This is the latest in an ongoing series about my transition to a citizenship path. You can find Part 1 here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here. Most people who find out that I’m self-employed in France assume I … Continue reading
Cobblers, Tailors, & Their Side Hustles
If you pay attention and spend a bit of time thinking through the economics, you’ll see that there are dozens of ways that people build incomes for themselves in Paris. I wanted to tell you about two of them. Cobblers … Continue reading
Profession Liberale, Part 3: Delays, No Taxes, But Money Back
This is the latest in an ongoing series about my transition to a citizenship path. You can find Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. It had been 14 months since the glorious granting of my Profession Libérale visa and … Continue reading
No-Frills Train Travel: a New Trend
What if I told you that train companies were using principles pioneered by RyanAir and EasyJet and applying them to the convenience and speed of train travel? If you love train travel as much as I do, you might be … Continue reading
Métro Bureaucracy
I was standing with a number of my fellow passengers that had just disembarked at the Saint-Germain-des-Près métro station. There were a number of ticket inspectors in front of me scanning the Navigo passes or simple tickets of the passengers. … Continue reading