World Village » Educational Resources

How To Find An Apartment In Paris

ironfever — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:33:30 +0000

Emailing lanlords in paris advice from www.expatfrance.wordpress.com

Many of you have written to us messages asking for advice on how to contact and improve your chances of getting an apartment in Paris, unfortunately we cannot reply to everyone individually so please use this post as our response and advice.

Firstly you must consider:

Is it better to email a response to the advertisement or telephone directly?

Each obviously has its own advantage. We will cover the first telephone call over the next few days. For now, we will look into ‘the first email’ you send. Just like when you are sending your cover letter to a prospective employer, this could be the ‘make or break’ for you. Please bear in mind, each landlord will be receiving volumes of emails from potential tenants.

It is essential that you address the person correctly, if they have provided their name in the ad, please make sure you spell it exactly as they provided, how many times have you received an email and seen your name miss-pelt? Without reading on, what’s your first thought? Clumsy writer? Indifferent author?

The salutation is equally important; again if the name is different/unusual to your and you are unsure if they are male or female, do a quick Google search! It will only take a few minutes to find out. Also if the poster has written in French, use French salutations (Mme, M.), (if it’s in English as most will be on this blog) (Mrs or Mr **surname***) is the norm. If the poster has omitted his or her name, simply address the email as follows; Dear Sir/Madam.

When it comes to the body of your text, you need to keep it short but precise, this is your opportunity to make an impression and show the landlord you have the desired characteristics. Every landlord is looking for a certain type of person, whether it be a young student or an independent professional, there certain exercises you can do to improve your changes. The first exercise has been covered in a previous post . It is to your advantage to take the advice previously posted.

For example,

If you find your landlord (or poster’s) profile on Facebook, you will have a wealth of information about them, not only their essential details, but also their likes and dislikes. Again, we are not advocating lies here, but simply including information that is relevant to both parties. Consider, you find your landlord’s facebook/twitter or another social networking profile, (we will use face book for this example), look at the groups that person is a members of. If he/she is a member of “I love scrabble” , “I visited USA”, or “ I studied in Vietnam” group (you understand our point), and you have a connecting point. This will be essential in your email.

part of the text body in your email could be:

After studying in Vietnam for 2 years I moved to Paris last month……………. (if true).

We guarantee! The reader’s eyes and memory will register, he/she will be not only by intrigued you but also by their OWN association with that particular subject. This psychological technique is even more powerful on a telephone call and during your apartment visit, as this will trigger a conversation which should be unique to the two of you, we will of cover this scenarios at a later date.

It is essential that the main body of your email covers your strengths; you must tailor this according to your findings. Generally we know what our own strengths are. Landlords are specifically looking for dependable people, keywords and indicators of dependable people include:

Full time employment (CDI), job position (if favorable) Full time student, study course (also what are you working towards in future, a masters, a PhD), duration in Paris, Family person, Spouse, Children, Salary, Profession.

Although you may be studying a bachelor’s degree at the moment, we recommend you include that you are studying towards a Masters degree. If you are studying a Masters degree, say you are working towards a Phd. this expanded detail shows your long term plans, your ambition and sensible attitude. Note. We do not consider this a lie! For many of you students it’s very reasonable to suggest you will continue you’re studies. Furthermore, for those of you studying, if you are at an established and recognizable institution, include the name in your email; again this emphasizes your strengths.

The above points are applicable to employees, the self employed etc, just make sure you expand and emphasize your strengths.

To finish off your email, end it in a clean and professional manner and include all relevant contact details. Note. If you send an email, 99% of the time you will get a email response instead of a telephone call, however, it’s good for presentation to give the recipient various contact methods.

We’ve received many email examples form people to check over, We provide a guideline standard email below, you should tailor this to your own characteristics and strengths. Applying what we mentioned today, a good email would be.

Dear Mr Hoffman.

I have seen you’re rental advertisement on www.expatfrance.wordpress.com and I’m interested to know a little more, but firstly, let me tell you a bit about myself.

I am a Brazilian Student (28 years of age) who has recently returned from Vietnam where I studied my Bachelors degree in Computer Science. I have been in Paris 3 months and am currently looking for accommodation as I’m studying a master’s degree, working towards my PhD at La Sorbonne (5). I am looking for long term accommodation and would be grateful for any photos and details you have regarding this apartment.

If you have any questions about me, feel free to ask.

Kind Regards

Maria Reyes

We trust this post is of use to you, we do however recommend the email response is done after an initial telephone call in what we call the ‘research call’.

We will explain why in a future post. Good luck!

Landlords In Paris

ironfever — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:36:38 +0000

3 Key Tips others didn’t say

www.expatfrance.wordpress.com

If you are an expatriate moving to Paris the following advice should increase your chances of finding accomodation in a city with a shortage of properties. We have chosen to avoid the normal advice given, as you can find the usual advice anywhere on the web. This page will be continually updated by viewers messages.

1) look at advertisements placed in expatriate categories (landlords who place in these categories are broad minded and are specifically looking for international tennents) – remember, a property could just as easily be rented in a french publication/website! these people have made a concious effort to find your tennent group!

2) Google the telephone number, you’d be supprised what you will find (just remember sometimes people present numbers like 12 34 56 or 12.34.56. You could find other items that person is selling, renting or even social groups they are involved in If the advertisement contains a Full name or Email address use social networking websites such as:

face book
hi 5
twit ter
linked in

If you can find your landlord’s facebook page or twitter account, you are going to have a very good idea of what this person likes/dislikes etc. You must understand a key part of the landlord’s decision on who they accept for the apartment comes down to their “feeling” towards that potential tennent. In general people like people with similar interests. If you find out that your landlord is a member of a swimming club, organised a golfing tournament, skydiving club or simply likes to read Geoffry Archer, be sure to involve this in your conversation on the phone or during you visit. (We are not advocating lies here, but simply saying you should choose the information you have cleverly compiled and use it to your advantage.

3) join online groups of people in a similar situation. Expat groups are very useful as there are always people coming and going, the chances are that at any one time a member in a group is packing up to leave the city and move back home. if you can create a connection and are introduced to the landlord by the existing tennent you’re in a good position. the landlord will always prefer a swift change.

Grandma And Grandad Foster Caring

joedavid — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:08:37 +0000

Grandparents, their grandchildren and fostering

Grandparents have long been victims of family break-up, contact has been stopped with their grandchildren and they are often never considered in the decisions made by parents.

A large number of grandparents have experienced family breakdown in their children’s families.

Paternal grandparents are particularly vulnerable to being cut off from their grandchildren in cases where their sons separated or divorced. However, grandparents have been relied on to act as substitute parents, positive role models and providers of advice to their children and grandchildren. In this apparently fragmented society, grandparents remain the first people families turn to when they are in serious trouble.

Many grandparents have had one or more step-grandchildren, and grandfathers are particularly likely to have played a significant role in caring for grandsons when fathers were no longer living with the grandchildren.

It is important for all of us to know where we come from and this is particularly important for children in foster care, and grandparents are often the best placed people to provide this information.

It is of paramount importance to choose the right fostering agency, there are over seven hundred in the UK. Simply Fostering, the UK national foster carer recruitment website provides help by answering questions and identifying the most suitable local fostering agencies with vacancies.

Simply Fostering help people interested in becoming foster carers to act on the Government’s advice to ‘contact more than one Fostering Agency if you are interested in a fostering career’.

(There are over 80,000 children in care in the UK)

In reality grandparents are more often than not marginalised by social services who have a duty to consider all family members when considering what’s best for children prior to or who enter the care system.

Social services suffer from the bad press and disastrous decisions made by a small minority of social work agencies which has caused a climate of ‘less risk is best’ other than empowering and training social workers to practice the old social work value of risk taking to better children’s lives.

Grandparents tend to want to spend more time with their grandchildren and see their relationship with their grandchildren as one of the major things of importance in their lives.

Isn’t it then about time grandparents were valued and trusted to be a greater part of the decisions both parents and local authorities take about children in trouble and children who enter the care system, as grandparents have been almost invisible when decisions are made when they are often the people in the best position when the going gets tough.

Sadly in today’s society, as people become older they become more and more invisible and ageism gets in the way of grandparents being at the centre of the limited choices people have for children at risk of, or are placed in our struggling care system.

It’s about time we valued the knowledge, capacity to love, commitment and experiences of one of vulnerable children’s best hope of a secure base, our grandparents.

For comprehensive and easy to understand information, help and advice, contact Annette or Joe at www.SimplyFostering.co.uk and www.londonfostering.org.uk

Fostering Teenagers, Mothers And Babies

joedavid — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:05:20 +0000

Young people

Aged between 10 and 18 years, these young people are unable to live with their own families for many different reasons, including parental mental ill-health, drug and alcohol abuse, imprisonment, domestic violence, physical and sexual abuse or inability to provide consistent parenting. As a result, the young people may have difficulty in forming positive relationships, leading to low self-esteem.

This is often reflected in their behaviour through lack of concentration, poor self control, inability to make safe choices, depression, anxiety, problems at school or low level offending.

Teenage mothers

Parent and Child Foster care placements offer a home to a baby or young child together with its parent. This is usually for a period for between 12-24 weeks. It may be that a parent has not had a positive family life and positive input from a foster carer can provide the help a young parent needs with reassurance, guidance and support during a period of considerable changes.

As a foster carer, you would be helping them to develop their own parenting skills whilst ensuring the child was in a safe, secure and nurturing environment.There are foster carers who have developed skills in this area of work. They take part in assessments and encourage young mothers without taking over their parental responsibilities. There is a growing need for more foster carers in the UK who are interested in looking after young, most often teenage mothers and their babies.

Cindy

Cindy left school at 15. After a several periods in children homes she was back living with her mother but they continually argued. There was a lot of alcohol being drunk in the family which hardly helped and Cindy soon became pregnant.

‘I planned it, I wanted to have my own baby but when you’re young, you don’t realise what you’re getting yourself into – like the responsibility, and it is a big responsibility. You just think about having this nice baby and showing it off.’

Cindy was not coping and it was decided that she and her unborn baby were at risk so her local social services agreed it was best to place Cindy in a foster home. With no qualifications and an unstable home-life, Julie would have faced an uphill battle trying to provide a secure and loving home for her baby. The statistics show that babies born to teenage mothers often end up in care.

‘At first they wanted to put me into a hotel-place, the local mother and baby hostel. I went there and it was really rough. I hated the look of it but I had been in a foster home before and I quite liked it, so when they asked me if I would like to be placed with a family I said yes.’

Cindy was five months pregnant when she moved to foster care. She had her baby son, stayed for six months then moved into her own flat and with help, started a hairdresser course at her local college. With the help of a foster carer, mum and baby were given the best start possible.

Person’s Ages of Rights and Responsibilities

Aged ten years a child can be convicted of a criminal offence if they know they were doing wrong.

Aged twelve years buy an animal as a pet.

Aged thirteen years open a bank account.

Aged fourteen years a person is fully responsible for any crime they commit and the police can take fingerprints, work part-time with the teenager’s school’s consent, go into a pub with an adult (but the teenager can’t drink alcohol), be convicted of a crime, be convicted of rape (if a boy) and illegal sex with a girl under sixteen.

Aged sixteen years a teenager can claim social security benefits in their own right , drink some alcohol with a meal in a pub (but not at the bar), get married (with parents’ permission), join a trade union, leave home to live independently (Scottish law allows young people to leave home legally at sixteen years of age. In England and Wales sixteen year olds can leave home only with parental consent.), leave school , take a driving test (if disabled), the age of consent for legal sex (including homosexual consent in England, Scotland and Wales; age of consent for homosexual sex in Northern Ireland is 17.), work full-time.

Aged seventeen years a person can drive a car and pilot an aeroplane, go into a betting shop (but not bet), be tried before an adult court and sent to prison or fined up to £2,000.Aged eighteen years leave home or marry without parental consent, vote, drink alcohol in a pub, own a house or land, sign contracts, apply for loans and credit cards, make a will, do jury service, donate blood or organs.

Aged twenty one years, a person can adopt or foster a child, stand for election for parliament or local government .

Simply Fostering help people interested in becoming foster carers to act on the Government’s advice to ‘contact more than one Fostering Agency if you are interested in a fostering career’.

For comprehensive and easy to understand information, help and advice, contact Annette or Joe at www.SimplyFostering.co.uk and www.fostering.name

Fostering expert

joedavid — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 09:47:26 +0000

FOSTERING PROVIDERS – WORKING TOGETHER

The problem – The chronic shortage of foster carers in the UK.

There are many thousands of unsuccessful enquiries made to the 800 UK Fostering Providers annually. Simply Fostering estimate that 60% of people who express an interest in fostering, are not taken to the next stage because they do not meet the requirements of the Provider they have contacted. On occasions IFA’s will refer some of these enquirers to their Local Authority, however, this is not reciprocal. The vast majority of unsuccessful enquirers are lost, probably forever.

Reasons why a Fostering Provider decides not to proceed with an enquiry includes the applicant does not live in an area the agency covers, the applicants have younger children of their own or the applicants are only interested in looking after a specific age group.

There are a high number of IFA’s who are looking only to recruit foster carers who have the experience and potential to look after challenging teenagers, as those type of placements are the most common referrals for most IFA’s today.

In July 2009 Simply Fostering launched a new initiative called the ‘Fostering Enquiry Clearing House’. The thinking behind the idea was to try and utilise effectively the foster carer enquiries that were not being used or followed up by Fostering agencies and Local Authorities.

Simply Fostering contacted all of the Fostering Providers nationwide, explaining the reasoning behind the service and suggesting that they arrange to forward their unwanted foster carer enquiries which Simply Fostering would then send to Fostering Agencies whose criteria for assessment might match the enquirer’s circumstances.

As an added incentive, the referring Fostering Providers are paid an administration fee, if the enquirers go on to become approved as foster carers.

To date, only four Independent Fostering Agencies and one Local Authority have shown an interest in the service and have referred enquiries.

A big thank you to Capstone Foster Care who have been at the forefront of referrers having referred 80 enquiries to date. Also the same to Kaleidoscope Foster Care, recently one of their referrals successfully proceeded to assessment and approval with another Agency.

The Fostering Network estimates a shortage of at least 8,200 foster families nationwide. Every potential fostering enquiry is precious. If as a society we are to utilise the resources available to us effectively and provide the choice and diversity of placements needed for children in the care system, all Fostering Providers should be enthusiastic participants in the Simply Fostering’s ‘Fostering Enquiry Clearing House’, and if not, why not?

For more information contact:

Annette Webb

Simply Fostering

mailto:info@simplyfostering.co..uk

http://www.simplyfostering.co.uk

High School Journalism

Grace Smith — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Created by the American Society of Newpaper Editors, High School Journalism offers 200+ lesson plans, tips, career information, and additional teaching and learning resources.

Rating: Awesome!

http://www.highschooljournalism.org/

Unveiling the Mysteries of King Tut

Grace Smith — Sun, 16 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0000

This media-rich site from National Geographic offers the opportunity to examine the body of King Tut and explore the markings inside his tomb.

Timed with the traveling exhibit to several U.S. museums in 2005-2006, this virtual musuem uses CT scan technology 360 degree views, and interactive options. Online visitors will find this virtual museum most fascinating.

Rating: Excellent

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/tut/mysteries/index.html

Cosmic Quest

Grace Smith — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0000

This is a three-level, interactive site developed and produced by Educational Web Adventures for the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. “NASA and the Russian space agency have spent over forty years solving the problems of living in space. Can you match wits with their engineers and design a human habitat as good as the new International Space Station?

Here is the start of your space station. It’s really just an aluminum can. You need to make it habitable. First, focus on the basics. Then try to improve your space station so you can really work and live there for a long time! ”

Teacher materials round out the site.

Rating: A fun activity for middle school students!

http://www.childrensmuseum.org/cosmicquest/index.html

The Renaissance Connection

Grace Smith — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 00:00:00 +0000

The Renaissance Connection is the Allentown Art Museum’s interactive educational web site. Users can travel 500 years into the past to investigate Renaissance art and innovations or design their own future innovation. They can also learn about life as an artist during the Renaissance. Teacher lesson plans connected with core curriculum round out the site.

Rating: Excellent!

http://www.renaissanceconnection.org/

Raid on Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704

Grace Smith — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 00:00:00 +0000

On February 29, 1704, the village of Deerfield, Massachusetts was attacked by allied forces of Native Americans, Canadians, and French troops. Raid on Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704 offers stories, artifacts, documents, images, explanations, a timeline, captivity information, multiple points of view, and more.

Rating: A rich and impressive website.

http://www.1704.deerfield.history.museum/