# Temporary Accomodation - Vélizy-Villacoublay/Meudon/Versailles



## KCBASS

Bonjour tout le monde ici! Newbie warning! 

We are in the process of starting our move from Canada to Paris at the end of this month. (yes, it all happened very quickly!) 

I'm hoping someone can provide some pointers on where best to look for temp accomodation until our belongings arrive (probably Oct/Nov, by all accounts, given the current logistics situation). 

We've been given the links to a few apart hotels in the area but these are very basic - most are barely a studio/ 1 bedroom without proper kitchen facilities, i.e., no proper oven (only microwave) and a small fridge. We'd also prefer at least two bedrooms, so we have room for a makeshift workspace. Is Air B&B a good option or are there better, more trustworthy sites that we could/should be checking out? (I've never used Air B&B before)

Thanks
KC


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## Bevdeforges

Welcome to the forums! Timing is going to be a big factor here, as from now until the end of the month you're smack in the midst of the end-of-summer-vacation season and most short term rentals may already have been arranged for the month of September at least. 

What brings you to Paris? (I.e., work, school, retirement or something else). Will you be on a visa? Or do you have a handy EU nationality on arrival? How many of you? (traveling with family? solo? with friends?). What sort of temporary accommodation are you looking for (or do you require)? You mention that you only need accommodation until your belongings arrive - do you have more permanent accommodation sorted out come Oct/Nov or will you be using the time in temporary digs to find longer term ones? And given that you're apparently looking for temporary quarters in a few specific areas, are you open to considering something a bit further a field (with, perhaps, reliable transport in and out of Paris)? You say you need an extra bedroom to use as a workspace - any particular requirements for that?

You don't need to post all this personal information here on the message boards, but these are some of the factors that will influence what advice people here will give you and what options may be available. (Example, there are some resources available to students that aren't open to the general public.) You might try looking through the want ads in the FUSAC, which is a go-to spot for English speaking expats in or around Paris: Home Page - FUSAC Paris Classifieds But there are other sources depending on just what you need and want.


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## KCBASS

Thanks for the quick response Bev!

Yes, I thought I'd start off with the basics first to see what kind of responses I got, but here's some more meat to our story.

Just the two of us, in our late 40's/50's. No kids or animals, just instruments (mainly stringed). Wifey's work is moving us here from Canada and her offices are located in Vélizy-Villacoublay, hence the areas highlighted. We're a big fan of collective transport, but realize that we'll probably need to have some kind of private transport as well but we'll definitley keep the commuting to a minimum, with WFH, etc. The company is helping us with immigration but as my wife is Norwegian (I'm Scottish), we're hoping this will go smoothly. They will also help out with long-term rental accomodation until we get our selves settled and have a better understanding of the system.

So, our immediate need would be the sort of accomodation highlighted above. I've checked out AirBNB but as you mentioned there's not a lot out there, that's why I was wondering if there were other options for searching.

Thanks for the link to FUSAC, I'll check that out.

PS: We know how important the language is - we've been working on it since this became a possibility back in March - we're both fluent bi-linguals (Norwegian/English) and have lived in Russia, Malaysia, Thailand.


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## Bevdeforges

You definitely should lean on the employer to help you find temporary digs as well as the longer term rental. (You could always buy a few pieces from IKEA to see you through to when your shipment arrives if you can locate a long term rental within the first few weeks of arrival.)

If work is in Velizy, you may want to consider looking a bit further out - to the south - to the Saclay area, including the Bures, Gif and Orsay cluster. Saclay is a big research park sort of thing and they are constantly building new housing out there. You would want to avoid using the N118 to commute to Velizy if you can, but there are plenty of back roads that would make sense. Generally, the towns to the south of Versailles - including Magny les Hameaux, St. Remy les Chevreuses, Montigny le Bretonneux and the aforementioned Bures, Gif-sur-Yvette and Orsay. (Orsay has a direct RER train in and out of Paris - won't help with commuting to Velizy but makes seeing the Big City a bit easier while you're there.)


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## ToutesDirections

KCBASS said:


> So, our immediate need would be the sort of accomodation highlighted above. I've checked out AirBNB but as you mentioned there's not a lot out there, that's why I was wondering if there were other options for searching.


You could try Abritel.fr - I see a few places there, mostly near Versailles. Leboncoin.fr is only an option after you have a French mobile number and are physically in France.


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## KCBASS

Sorry TD. I thought I had responded but I apparently didn't press "post". Thanks for the tips, we've got a good selection to check out now


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