Seven tips for living in Paris

***Rachel Khoo would like to thank all the inspiring people who helped make the Khoollect studio a hive of creativity. Although the Khoollect studio’s doors have now closed, you can keep up with Rachel’s newest adventures on RachelKhoo.com and on Rachel’s Instagram and Facebook pages – and, continue to enjoy the Khoollect website’s stories and recipes, which will remain available.***

Two women who’ve spent years learning first-hand about Parisian culture and practices share their tongue-in-cheek, but honest tips for moving to Paris and making the transition from out-of-towner to local …

Collectable interiors and design consultant, Paola Bjaringer, has spent most of her life between France and Sweden. Here are Paola’s tips:

1. Dress up when you go out to buy a baguette. Dress down when you go to a party.

2. Cross the street when the light’s red. Watch over yourself when it’s green.

3. Invite people to your house for dinner at the last minute during weekdays, especially if it’s a small space.

4. Say ‘putain’, (a curse word) a lot. Don’t smile too much.

5. Make grocery shopping at your local shopkeeper’s an activity of high importance, at least once a week. Be sure to engage the shopkeeper in conversation, speaking only in French.

New Yorker Sarah Moroz has lived and worked in Paris as a journalist and translator for a number of years. Here are Sarah’s tips:

6. Become a regular somewhere. French people are all about habits and traditions; if you put in face-time somewhere and start getting recognised, you’ll be treated way better.

7. Go to the weekly market. The produce is just wonderful, and the atmosphere is buzzing with different cross-sections of the population (watch out for those old ladies with their pushcarts.). There is no better reminder of why you came to France.

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Read Khoollect’s interview with Paola Bjaringer.

Visit Paola’s website.

Find Paola on Instagram and Facebook.

Read Khoollect’s interview with Sarah Moroz.

Visit Sarah’s website.

Find Sarah on Instagram and Twitter.