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The sheep will guide you home if you're lost (they're generally known as followers but this one's obviously the black sheep of the family)
or....
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First impressions
Grenoble is
considered a large student town, with around 50000 students and 400000
inhabitants. A large proportion of the students are on foreign studies
courses. The town is labelled as
being young and active. This is not a misguided opinion. But this is not the only quality Grenoble has to offer to
French and foreign students. In the eyes of students, it is the best equipped,
and has the brightest future out of the 71 university towns in France.
The other quality, which attracted me, was the mountains.
They provide a huge number of possibilities for sports and adventure.
When I first
arrived it was the sheer size of the scenery that stuck in my mind.
After that I think it was the one way system, as I arrived by car, but as
I travelled around the city could also be seen, at least in the city centre
where the old town still remains.
After
the year abroad
Looking back on the year, now
that I’ve got through all the hassles, pieces of paper and lectures I feel
very happy that I did carry through this year abroad.
I have learnt a lot from this year.
Not only have I learnt some physics, but also I have learnt how the
French learn physics, I have learnt a lot of French and now feel able to live in
France without any worries, even if I’m not fluent.
I also feel it has shown me a different culture and way of life that you
cannot experience just by going on holiday to the country for a couple of weeks.
You have to learn to live with the surroundings, with the different style of
food, social life and work life. If
you have a sense of adventure and want to try something different then take a
year abroad, and of course I personally feel Grenoble is the best place for it.
I was only able to enjoy the
year as much as I did because I felt very well prepared by both Bristol and the
host institutions, they provided me with huge amounts of information which meant
I could organise many things well in advance, such as accommodation.
One thing I learnt was to become more organised, due to the large volumes
of paper you have to deal with. I will try and keep this
report as short as possible, only giving you information that I did not receive
when I first arrived, and think would be useful.
Most of this information is subject to change, especially as by the time
you journey abroad it may well be two years after this report.
A lot I have left for you to discover, as sometimes you just want to find
out for yourself, especially on the leisure side.
The
pre-sessional language course
This ran in the month of
September for 4 weeks and was provided for by CUEF, part of the Stendhal
University. I attended the
intensive language course, which is 4 hours a morning from 9am till 12pm.
This doesn’t sound like much, but believe me they work you hard, you
are generally talking for half that time and one hour of the 4 is spent in the
language laboratory. The tuition takes place over
the road from Residènce Condillac. You
will be sent a timetable of the first few days including a presentation of the
course content and excursions. You
will have to sit a test to decide which level of class you should attend but
don’t worry if you feel you are in the wrong class you can change. During these first few days
you will also have to pay for the course. Unfortunately
the Erasmus scheme no longer pays for this but if you talk to François Brut
before this or ask CUEF to talk to him then he will be able to sort out a
reduction of around 20%. I paid
2832 francs for the four week course, though it is not necessary to attend the
intensive course, it is possible to only 2 hours a day or even transfer the last
week to evening classes later on in the year. The last option may be necessary if, like me, Université
Joseph Fourier started its lectures before the language course had finished. When you pay for the course
you will receive a temporary student card which you can use to receive student
discounts at the cinemas or for the cable car. I felt that in general, the
course was a very good idea. Not
only did it help you improve your French but also it really improved your
confidence immensely so I was able to attempt anything, even though I wasn’t
that proficient. The language
course also gave me time to settle in and do all of the administration necessary
when you first arrive as you had the afternoons and weekends free to do what you
like. I also met many of my friends
at the language course, though unfortunately not many were French.
Therefore don’t decide not to attend this course simply because your
French is adequate enough. CUEF
ran many social events to coincide with the course, including soirées,
excursions to nearby towns such as Annecy, Nice, Chamonix and many other places.
These are well worth taking as they are the cheapest and most organised
way of seeing the surroundings and generally the weather is very good at this
time of year too. Chamonix was a
highlight for me as there is one of the largest cable cars in the world here,
taking you up to 3840 metres, alongside Mont Blanc.
A list of the possible excursions and soirées will be given to you when
you arrive, so bring some spare cash to participate.
Accommodation
The
accommodation is Residènce Condillac, and it is basic, but cheap.
Most of the time I ate at the restaurants on campus (from 14 francs).
Make sure that every time you leave you take anything important with you,
especially documents such your birth certificate, passport etc. Administration
and housing (including
benefits)
Crous Bleu
In
the following pages I will refer often to this organisation.
As far as I understand this service is set up primarily to help the
students in whatever way necessary. They
own most of the accommodation on campus and provide a database of privately let
houses for free. In Grenoble Crous
also helped (they are in fact necessary) with the carte de sejour, partly I
think because there is such a large foreign community. I also used their service
to help with documents that I didn’t understand or wanted checking, such as
the contract for the house and the housing benefit forms. An information pack will be
sent to you from Crous which contains details of the residences they run, the
campus facilities, such as the sports fields and restaurants and also other
useful information about Grenoble itself. The
infamous carte de sejour
When I was reading the reports
before I left, and also when talking to people out there, I got this impression
that the carte de sejour was incredibly complicated to get with lots of form
filling in and appointments. As
long as you have the right documents don’t worry it will go smoothly. The carte de sejour is necessary so you are not deported (?!)
and so you can receive housing benefit. For the actual carte de sejour
you need only four documents. 1
Your passport and several photocopies 2
3 passport photos 3
Your birth certificate IN
FRENCH, or “fiche individuelle d’état civil. 4
An “attestation Université/Crous” The first two can be easily
obtained. Your birth certificate
can be translated into French at the French embassy in London, if you are unable
to do this then it is possible to do so in France and costs around FF 100.
A recommended translation organisation is ADATE, Place Sainte Claire,
Grenoble, Tel. 04 76 44 46 52 (open from 9.00 to 12.00 and from 2.00 to 5.00).
NB You must take your original birth certificate with you to obtain the
translation. The “attestation” is a
piece of paper stamped both by Crous and université Joseph Fourier to say you
are a student at the university. For
this, unfortunately, you need to get a student card. Joseph
Fourier Student Card
An information pack will be
sent to you (by Françios Brut) before you leave that will provide you with
registrations forms for Joseph Fourier. When
you do arrive, you will need to go to the administration building of Joseph
Fourier, this is the building that glows blue at night, no really it does.
Once there you will be able to pick up your registration pack, which will
have on the front your appointment to receive your student card. Most of this
information can be ignored at the moment, including the sheet explaining the
fees for studying at the university as this is all paid for by the Erasmus
scheme. In the letter from François
Brut he will tell you what to take to the appointment so as to receive you
student card. This includes
“preuve de votre adhésion à une assurance maladie”, simply your E111. Don’t worry if at the appointment they don’t accept your
E111, it happens every year, it’s because the English fill out the E111
differently to the French, but they will understand eventually. Once you have your student
card you can then go and get your “attestation Université/Crous” from the
office for the “deuxième cycle” in the same building.
Once you have this, go to the Crous office in town, where they will stamp
it, thus making everybody happy. When you have all the
documents necessary then you can ask for your carte de sejour. Normally
you would have go to the prefecture to do this, but for students it’s possible
to do so at the Crous offices in town between about mid September to the end of
October. If you do go later on in
October it’s worth going along to book a time, as there will be big queues,
and ask Crous to check through your documents to make sure they are all correct.
After they have taken all your documents, you must then go along to the
prefecture at, Place de Verdun, Grenoble (guichet étudiants) which is open
Monday to Friday: 9h-11h45, l4h-l6h. Here, after about a week or two a temporary
Carte will be given to you which is not much use except to stop you being
deported. After this you must check every week to see if your proper
Carte de Sejour has turned up, which it will eventually. Banks You
need a bank account to receive housing benefit. You may find finding a bank account difficult to get,
generally they should only need proof of your studentship and your passport, but
many often deny you on the principle that you are only with them for a year.
If you have problems, such as I did, go to see François Brut.
He was incredibly helpful. He
tried to convince the bank managers we had been to see that we should be allowed
a bank account but with no success. Eventually
he asked his own bank manager at the BNP (Bank Nationale de Paris) to open an
account for me, which she very kindly did without any fuss.
I recommend this particular branch to you (it’s the BNP at the nuclear
centre) as she is a very kind and helpful lady for all things, not just bank
administration. When
you have the bank account set up you may have two accounts, one is for saving (compte
CODEVI) and one is the current account (compte cheques).
You will be given a debit card as well, which has a chip in it like a
phone card; this stores your pin number. The
point of this is that when you pay for things in shops you can simply type in
your pin number instead of signing for the shopping.
When you first set up the account there will be no overdraft as such, you
will be able to go overdrawn, but only for 15 days at a time, and up to about
5000 francs (but check this as it varies depending on the bank).
If you want to transfer savings from England to France it is possible to
do a credit transfer, which takes between 3 and 7 days, depending how much you
wish to pay. I found that it worked
out cheaper to take money out from the wall using my visa card and pay it into
my French account. It’s worth
talking with your bank in England to see if they have any liaisons with banks in
France. You should be able to get a student account offering reduced charges and
special services. A chequebook will
also be given to you, which are slightly different to English ones; both in
layout and also that the place where the cheque is made out is also part of the
details. I
thought the French system of not signing for goods, but using your pin number a
very good idea, because as you often know, not many people check the signature
in England. You can use your visa/mastercard
in the supermarkets but it often takes a while and you will need to take your
passport. Some restaurants do not
accept foreign credit cards. Receiving
housing benefit When
you have the carte de sejour and a bank account you will then be able to fill in
a form from either Crous or from CAF (Centre d’Allocations Familiales)
situated on tram line A, stop Malherbe. If
you go to Crous they will explain what you need and how to fill in the form.
The money will be paid into your account each month, backdating up to 3
months, so get in there quick. The
discount will be between 400 and 900 francs per month. Initial accommodation
The university, either
Stendhal or Joseph Fourier will send details of all their accommodation, if you
apply but wish to move out later, then this is very easy, and even changing to
another residence is usually fairly simple.
Therefore it is a good idea to take one of these residences and then move
out later to the private sector if this is where you would prefer to live.
In fact, if you don’t take the language course offered, then try and
arrive a little early, so you can search for a flat and settle in a bit. Finding
accommodation There
is lots of accommodation in Grenoble. First
you have to decide whether you wish to live in the private sector or in
university (Crous) accommodation. If
it is the latter this is fairly simple, as you will be sent the forms before
arriving. If it is the former, you
can either search the database at Crous (for free) to find apartments or you can
go to a private agency who will charge from about 500 francs upwards. Crous
will help a lot in this area, especially in explaining what all the figures mean
(T4, T3 etc). Studying
physics in French Even though science should be
a common language there are obviously going to be differences. The main difference is the math.
It’s not so much that they have a higher level of math (which they do)
it is more to do with the fact that they are very comfortable working with maths
and manipulating it. We can often
solve the problems given to us in the problems classes, but using a more hands
on approach, we prefer not to have to derive everything and if we can see an
obvious connection we use it and don’t try and prove it.
Of course both methods have
the pros and cons, but for me personally, I found it very difficult to change to
their system and often got stuck or left behind in lectures because I as unable
to work through the mathematics quick enough.
French physics students are able to work through the maths a lot faster
mainly because their first year is spent studying math, no laboratory and not
much physics. Because of this, when you
arrive in their third year (the final year of the licence) you will be ahead in
the practical side, and will have already studied many of the physics subjects,
but will unfortunately be behind in mathematics. The
credit system The universities in Grenoble
work on a credit system, like Bristol, but here you must attain 60 ECTS credits
for the whole year. ECTS stands for European Credit Transfer System.
Therefore if you want a comparison with Bristol just double the ECTS
credit value. Not all of these 60 credits had to be studied in physics though.
The outline Dr Smith gave me was that I must study 40 credits of physics, and of
the last 20, 10 had to be agreed with Dr Smith and the other 10 was up to me. Because
of this I decided to drop some of the harder physics courses in exchange for
free French courses given by the neighbouring university Stendhal.
Notices for this will be displayed in the foyer of the physics building
during the first month. Basically I studied 40 credits of physics and 20 of French.
It was possible to study a sport, which would count for 10 credits, but
unfortunately I didn’t pick up on it quick enough. The physics courses
A course booklet will be sent
to you outlining the possible courses that can be studied. I advise you to follow the Licence de Recherche at is the
simplest option and is the most similar to our second year physics.
It is possible to vary the modules, but as many are not timetabled at the
start of the year, you may find you will have conflicting classes.
The course booklet adequately
details the course content, and what they say will be in the course generally
is. What I will comment on is the
difficulty and clarity of the course, any problems with the lecturer and on any
comparisons with Bristol physics courses. I
will also talk about the exams at the end of this section, and you will find
sample questions from the exams at the end of this report, including any answers
and formula sheets. Unit 1
Electromagnetism This
was worth 6 credits and was quite similar to the second year electromagnetism at
Bristol, and I didn’t understand it too well then either.
The professor was quite enthusiastic but was able to answer most
questions asked. Most people on our
course dreaded electromagnetism, so if you can avoid it by studying something
else (such as French) then do. Mathematics
for physics
Most of this was new to me,
except of course the Fourier series, which I feel like I’ve done a hundred
times. I thought I would have done better than I did in the exam, I even felt
like I made a good attempt at answering the questions on the exam, but I think
the problem was that I often answered them using the “English method” as
opposed to the French approach. It
did help that I was living with a math/physics student who had seen a lot of the
material before. Analytical
mechanics
This
is an interesting course, and extended the knowledge I already had a little bit
further, it helped me understand the Hamilton principal and the Euler Langrange
equations that bit more. This
course, I felt, is a good extension of the analytical mechanics learnt in the
second year of physics. Unit
2 Fluid
mechanics and vibrations This
I began, thinking it would also be quite interesting, but unfortunately the
teacher was quite bad, and not really very helpful and often he didn’t
actually teach any of the subjects outlined in the booklet. This made me lose interest; therefore I exchanged it for a
French course instead. Quantum mechanics
A
lot of this you will recognise, the Bohr atom, Schrodinger etcetera.
This helped me at first, but as we progressed the math became harder, and
often confused me, this was proved when I came to the exam.
If you have a bit more mathematical knowledge you will do fine in this
subject. Optics
and crystallography
This
option I didn’t take as I was advised by people who were retaking their year
that this was the hardest course of them all, it looks interesting, but a lot of
work has to be put in for it, and you must be good at math. Unit
3 Practical
work
You
will be put with a French partner, this does help as you can ask questions about
any of the words you don’t understand, but try to read up about each
experiment beforehand. Most of the
experiments will be easy for you, only the methods of the actual practical will
be strange. For a start they do two
four-hour experiments in a day, and often they are quite complicated
experiments. At first you will find
this difficult, especially after the second year at Bristol where you often
study one experiment for five weeks. A
list of the experiments will be shown in the appendix. The course runs for sixteen weeks split into four separate
subjects. The last week of each
section is taken up by an examination lasting about 2 hours. The
mark is worked out from the exam and also what’s known as a compte-rendu
(report) given on each experiment. The
compte-rendu is a one sheet, double sided report and contains the basic method,
results, errors and a short paragraph about the uses of the experiment.
This is quite hard to fit on two sides of A4, but often just a good set
of error calculations will do, most of the professors don’t really look at the
reports. The exam will be done
alone and will be about one of the experiments.
Usually it will be simply taking some results and explaining them. Unit 4
Computer
course (informatique) Everybody
has to do this. The course starts
off from the very basics of Unix, file transfers and so on, but quickly moves
into C++ and very soon after this you will have to do a project, which can be
quite hard. Most French students
seem very comfortable with C++ so if you can pair up with one of them it would
help a great deal. The teachers are
very helpful, and have lots of material about each project to help you, if you
become really stuck you can speak English, but I doubt that it will be
necessary. Each session lasts for
about 3 hours, but it is possible to go in at any other time to work on your
project. There is also an exam at
the end to help you boost your marks. Unfortunately
this didn’t help very much as the questions are multiple choice but are
incredibly difficult. During the
year that we were there they installed a new set of computers, whilst not quite
up to the numbers at Bristol they are usually not too busy (except around
project deadline time of course) and emails can be sent.
Unit 5
Thermodynamics
This also contained plenty of
subjects already covered in the second year at Bristol, and was quite enjoyable,
I was quite disappointed with the mark I received but nevertheless I felt I did
learn a lot more in this area. The
teacher was fairly good and quite helpful in the problem classes. Astrophysics
This course is one of the
option courses; I took astrophysics as I already had studied astronomy in the
first year at Bristol. This is a
course that I did very well on, in fact above average. The previous study at
Bristol certainly helped, but also the lecture notes, including diagrams and
extra footnotes, were sold in a complete book just before the course.
This book was very interesting for subjects beside those taught in the
lectures. Lectures,
problems classes
First
off the lecture theatres are large, the size of the largest in Bristol, so
it’s advisable to sit at the front, otherwise the writing will be truly
unreadable. Most of the French
students also sit at the front and they can be very helpful, especially as often
a lecturers writing will be incomprehensible to us due to the writing style of
the French. Some lecture notes will
be available in the library, but more often only the answers to problem classes
will be available, and sometimes not even that. Lectures
last 1.5 hours, not as hard as it sounds; you get used to it.
Each lecture will be for about 60 to 80 students at a time. The TD’s
(problems classes) only last for 1.5 hours, but for the longer, harder courses
there will two sessions a week. You
will have to choose between three groups at the start of the year, so check on
the timetable, it usually means you can get a Friday or Monday off at some
point. This also means that each class contains about twenty to twenty five
students, making it easier to ask a question. The content of each TD is very
similar to that in Bristol, i.e. past papers, general questions etc. Examinations
In
the appendix you will find samples of the examination questions for each subject
taken and any answers that were given. Do
not get too worried about the exams, a fair number of French students fail, this
is why you will often find students repeating their year.
The main problem with the exams is the style of answers.
A lot of the questions you see here can be answerable with the English
style of physics, giving a correct answer, but often if the answer is not
correct and the method is not understood by the French professors then they will
give you a low mark. You will often
have the chance to buy past papers in a complete folder provided for by the
physics society, so look out for announcements at the beginning of lectures. French Courses
These courses were offered at
no extra charge and were specifically for foreign students. A notice will appear around the start of term for Stendhal
University, around the middle of October. Don’t
worry if you seem out of your depth at first, most of the students in the class
are studying French as their main subject, in fact I think there were only about
four of us studying science. I took
the courses advised to me by the international office in Stendhal.
These were: Grammaire
Français
This is a hard class worth 10
ECTS credits in total and deals with French grammar as suggested.
The syllabus is very flexible and if you take Mr Guichard’s class then
the teaching will also be very good. Sometimes
I felt it concentrated on the subjunctive too much, but it did help my French. Thème
This is the translation of
French into English and is worth 5 ECTS credits.
A Scottish teacher taught my class, and seeing that we were translating
into English the class was taught in English, this I found was a nice break from
the rest of the classes. Definitely
recommended. Version
The opposite of Version and
often the two were taken together, as in total they are worth 10 ECTS credits.
This class was taught in French and apparently was at first more destined
for French students, but only foreign students turned up so Stendhal converted
the class. The
timetable
All
lectures will be in the morning and all problem classes are in the afternoon.
A typical week for me was 4 hours of French classes, 4.5 hours of problem
classes, 4.5 hours of lectures, 8 hours of laboratory and 3 hours of computers.
This is about the same as in Bristol, so the workload shouldn’t be too
high. This was in a full week;
often it was a lot less. Leisure
Time
Probably, if you’re like me,
one of the reasons for coming to Grenoble was for the mountains and all that
they offer. Skiing
There is a ski club at the
university called GUC, they are well worth joining, not just because they
provide insurance on the slopes (a necessity unless you carry around 500 francs
with you when you go skiing) but also because they offer very cheaply priced ski
trips. For the main resorts it’s
possible to go for a day with tuition and transport and ski pass for around 130
francs. To hire ski equipment it will
cost around 700 francs for the season for boots, poles and skis.
If you do have your own car then I strongly advise you to visit the
smaller, less busy resorts, they are beautiful and cheaper. Walking
The maps produced for walking
here are of good quality, and I enjoyed wandering into the woods for a day
immensely. There is a walking club
at the university, though I didn’t join as I prefer to walk in smaller groups.
It’s also very easy to camp in this area, it’s free in most places
and there are plenty of cheap chalets where you can stay. Mountain
biking
This is where I spent most of
my leisure time. There are no
restrictions on the type of footpath you must use, if you see a path, and there
isn’t a private sign, use it! But
be careful, you can seriously hurt yourself around here, and the emergency
services are often far away, so if you do mountain biking, try and do so with a
friend. Windsurfing/Sailing
GUC also run windsurfing and
sailing trips through the summer months on a local lake. This comes as cheaply as 50 francs for a day of windsurfing
with tuition, windsurf/boat and transport provided.
In town
There are many pubs, clubs and
cinemas, but I won’t spoil your fun in trying to find them, but I will say
that Les Trois Canards is by far the cheapest pub and is a decent size, it’s
not far from the river near Place Grenette (tram stop Felix Poulat).
In terms of restaurants, a good place to go is Pizza Street, which is
below the Bastille, on the Bastille side of the river.
You will be able to spot Pizza street by the huge number of neon signs
(there about 15 restaurants next to each other!).
The clubs are not amazing and are very expensive, often a better choice
is late opening pubs (until about 2am), such as the Couche Tard who don’t
charge entrance. Transport around town
You will receive plenty of
information at the end of this document but basically there are two tramlines
and plenty of bus lines. I advise
you to buy an avantag card as it is by far the cheapest way around town, to find
out about this card go to the tourist office. Where
to go when you need help
Firstly the emergency services
can be reached by phone: Emergency medical services: 15
or (33) 04.76.42.42.42 If
the problem is more bureaucratic try Crous Bleu in the centre of town or François
Brut the professor providing the liaison between Grenoble and Bristol who can be
reached by phone on 0476284030 and will speak English with you if you are in
real difficulties. In fact so will
Crous if you really can’t explain the situation. Other
places where you might look for information are the tourist office on tramline
B, stop Hubert Dubodout. Also the
secretary at Joseph Fourier can pass on messages to François Brut and can help
with timetables etc. A
list of things you will need
In the region of 8 passport
photos Your birth certificate in
French An E111 form A range of clothes from shorts
to snow gear and from swimming trunks to an umbrella Your passport(?!) Some way of accessing your
cash funds back in England, maybe with a credit card at first A camera An ISIC card (International
Student Identity Card) Appendix 1 The Weather
The weather in Grenoble varies enormously. We suggest you pack a broad
selection of clothing from thick woolly pullovers to T-shirts and shorts. The
winters can be icy cold and the height of summer is almost unbearably hot. And,
whatever you do, do not forget your umbrella!
Temp can range from 38 to –10 in Grenoble and on the ski slopes, down
to even –25, so be careful. Public Transport
Trams and buses: Grenoble has an efficient public transport system. You can buy ticket in buses and at any tram stop. It cost 7.50F for a
single ticket or 55F for a booklet of 10 tickets. A ticket is valid for one hour
in any tram or bus in one direction, though you can change lines as often as you
like, even returning by a different route (so you can’t make a return trip
with the same ticket). You must stamp your ticket on the bus or before you take
on the tram. Buses run until 8:30pm and the last tram is around midnight depending
where you are travelling from and to. After 8pm, there is only one tram every
20-30 minutes. the tram/bus schedule can be found in the tram shelters and at
some of the bigger bus stops you
will find TV screens which tell you how long it is until the next 4 departures. Select bus services are now running till midnight from the centre, not
only the trams. Centre of town to
campus costs close to ten pounds by cab The bus to François Brut is the number 34 (Centre Nucleaire)and you
alight at the last stop on the right.
For further information ask TAG (Transport de l'Agglomeration
Grenobloise) at Maison du Tourisme, Gare Europole or Grand Place. By plane From Lyon airport (Satolas): The
easiest way is to take the shuttle bus from the Lyon Satolas Airport to
Grenoble. There are buses every hour between about 8.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m.
(with a reduced service on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays). The journey
to Grenoble takes about one hour. Inquire at the information desk in the airport
as to where to catch it. The cost is approximately FF 130 which is paid directly
to the driver (or approximately FF 100 if you are under 25). You will arrive at
the bus and train station in Grenoble, Tel: (33) 04.72.22.72.21
By
Train
,
and as a request for housing benefit cannot be backdated, you should try to
assemble all these things as quickly as possible (your file will not be accepted
unless it is complete): Telephone
To use a phone booth you have to buy a
phone card. These are available at newsagents and post offices. They cost 50F or
100 francs. In bars and restaurants you’ll find phones you can use with 2F
coins. Minitel
The minitel is a kind of computer
connected with a phone. It is very useful in order to get phone numbers, consult
job ads, accommodation ads, cinema, train and plane time, etc. A guide to housing
Introduction Grenoble is a city designed for students: many of the universities have agreements with universities abroad. September is usually witness to many students arriving in Grenoble and looking for accommodation. In
France, the easiest way to find accommodation is through a real estate agent: Once you have found your apartment, here are a few things to take into consideration: La caution / The depositWhen you sign the contract for an apartment, they often ask for an amount of money as a guarantee (equal to 2 or 3 months of your rent). They should give you back this amount of money at the end of your stay, if there was no change through the year. Go for two months, though remember, it’s got to be two full months Le
bail / The lease
It is a rental contract signed with your landlord: it is written proof of the rules you agreed with him for living in his accommodation. Can have contract checked by Crous, they are very understanding, they will go through with it with you, in english if neccesary Les charges / Extra chargesThese are added to the rent and you will pay them every month at the same time as the rent. It includes the upkeep of the building, the lift, and other facilities. You should ask your landlord to specify its content. L’état des lieux / Report on the condition of the accommodationYou will carry this out with your landlord when you first come in to your apartment and when you leave it at the end of the year. It is very important to do it, because the return of your deposit depends on it: You have to give a report on what is in the apartment when you move in and its condition (new, broken,...). Often owners request you take out insurance on the house/flat, usually through a bank is the best way. This will be around 400f for a year. Le
préavis / Notice of leaving (2/3 months) If you wish to leave your apartment during the year or at the end of your stay, you need to inform your owner some time earlier, according to what you agreed on in the lease: it is usually 2 or 3 months earlier. Quittance
de loyer / The rent receipt This document proves that you have paid your rent: if you wish to have financial aid towards your accommodation, a housing benefit called CAF is available, you will need a quittance de loyer document which you can get it from your landlord. Gas & ElectricityThere are two ways to be connected to the network. You can go to the following address with some form of identification (with your new address would be more useful) or you can call. Just give your full address and your floor number. GEG Allocations
/ Financial aid Depending on the agreement you signed with your landlord, and the kind of apartment you moved in to, you have the right to get financial aid from the government. This aid depends on the size of the house, on your status and your parents/grant/funding income as well as a multitude of other things. You will get more details once you arrive in Grenoble. Address: Caisse
d’Allocations familiales de Grenoble
If you want to find out more, then just search the web, there are huge amounts of up to date information on line. Here are a couple of sites that you may find useful: http://www.ujf-grenoble.fr (Joseph Fourier University) http://www.u-grenoble3.fr/CUEF
(For
information about CUEF, this page is also connected to Stendhal University’s home
page) d out more, then just search the web, there are huge amounts of up to date information on line. Here are a couple of sites that you may find useful: http://www.ujf-grenoble.fr (Joseph Fourier University) http://www.u-grenoble3.fr/CUEF
(For
information about CUEF, this page is also connected to Stendhal University’s home
page) |
