First week

The return to France was much smoother than I thought, even if we felt a bit like savages. After 2 nights in an ibis hotel, we received the keys to our temporary Parisian apartment, the one we will call home for a month (I already told you how I found it). The apartment is very small but well arranged, we even have a dishwasher. We were even able to invite friends to come and eat. And it feels so good to find a fast Internet connection !

I’m jet-lagged for 10 days (I fall asleep around 3am and wake up at 11am), while JB had to adapt very quickly to the Parisian rhythm after 3 days

Because JB has to go back to work. That’s right, after an 11-month sabbatical, we’re going back to work… even if it’s to resign ASAP. That’s how we found ourselves one Sunday at the shopping center “Les 4 temps” in La Défense to buy him some clothes that were about right for going to work (the globe-trotter look with the merino wool tee-shirt with a hole in it doesn’t pass). Poor JB isn’t at all used to the rhythm of 35 hours, it’s very hard for him to link metro – work – sleep just 3 days after his return

As for me, I have lunch and dinner with my friends and former colleagues. Almost every day, I go to my sister’s house to visit my cat Rosalie (and use the computer because I don’t have one anymore)

In fact, my sister had to lend me some clothes because mine are completely worn out after 11 months. Between two play sessions with Rosalie (my cat), I take the opportunity to catch up on my level. Many things have changed in SEA (search engine advertising) and I need to keep my knowledge up to date. And my LinkedIn too

Since the return to Paris, my skin is better! It’s crazy! She seems to like the Parisian greyness (no more need for SPF 50+++) and the cold (no more prob of sebum)

Second week

Instead of taking a train, we go back to our old habits and go to JB’s parents by bus (ouibus). 9€ a Paris-Tours with Wifi and electric plug! Other than the pleasure of meeting the family again, we take the opportunity to get my computer, some clothes and especially to sort out the things we left at home

Remember, we’ve already done a huge sorting before the world tour to get to that

But the new sorting is drastic: 90% are put in bags, direction Secours Populaire, because

1. JB lost 15kg during the trip, he can no longer wear his old clothes
2. From now on, we are adepts of minimalism: we were able to live like this for 11 months, why not continue?
3. And then, during the Round the World Tour, I read a book about the KonMari method: keep only the things that give us joy.

That’s all I have left as clothing. Moreover, 1/3 will be given as soon as we leave for our 2nd world tour (more info about this 2nd touras nomad workershere)

A doctor-friend gives us a free prescription for a blood test, looking for strange deficiencies or diseases. The list is so long that several tubes of blood have been taken from us

On the work side, we already have several leads for temporary or wireline freelance assignments. We are very happy and very grateful that our former colleagues are supporting our project, still think about us, send us contacts and talk about it around them… Thus, we have already found two clients. We will start our missions from the 3rd week! We will work between 2 and 3 days/week. And then we will work remotely from the following month

All appointments have been set for the last 2 weeks of May. We need to see our banker, our osteopath, our doctor and our dentist

JB found an Airbnb in Krakow (Poland) for June. He made sure that we would have high speed and unlimited Internet access. The apartment, very well located, will cost us 750€/month for 40m²

Being in Paris, we are confronted, every day, with stressful situations (the Parisian subway, Parisians lol) but curiously the Zen-attitude is still there. I keep my fingers crossed that it will continue like this

Budget

• Parisian apartment rental: 1300€/month (I know I know, we went through an agency)
• Purchase of clothes for JB: 120€
• Transportation: Paris metro: JB opted for metro notebooks, while I opted for a monthly Navigo Découverte card (5€ the card + 80€)
• Transportation Paris – Tour – Paris (by bus and train) : 55€/person
• Restaurants: I blew my budget the first week (15€/meal on average), but it’s better now that I’ve seen all my friends and started cooking again
• Shopping: While cooking, we spend between 10€ and 20€ per day for two
• Purchase of a rice cooker: 45€ – like many nomad workers, we will travel with a small rice cooker, allowing us to eat healthy, cook quickly and cheaply.
• Health budget: since we don’t have social security anymore, we pay full pot. 60€/person for blood analysis, and about 200€ in total/person for doctors, osteopaths, dentists…