As of today, I am celebrating my fourth anniversary of settling in Paris. Unbelievable; It's been exactly four years. Four years ago at this time Defense I remember the mixed emotions, excitement, happiness, longing, everything, everything, like it was yesterday, when we settled into our small studio apartment nearby, that tiny temporary lodging. I remember and look at the past, and with your permission, I would like to evaluate my fourth year in Paris and what I have experienced in the last year, through the filter of the past, in order to make a note in history. In this way The perspective of someone living abroad I think it will be useful to give you an idea about it.
A Year in Heaven, Second Year in Heaven ve Third Year in Heaven When I re-read my articles, I see that I am as happy and at peace today as I was when I started. Not a single thing has changed. I still remember with joy the day I decided to live in another country for a while, and I fully enjoy the fact that this dream has come true.
Living in Paris for four years has not eroded anything in me, on the contrary, it has increased it. Every day I see how right this decision was of mine, and as I see it, I wink at the sky and thank it every morning when I leave the house.
I don't know if Paris is the most beautiful city in the world, It's been a long time since we stopped making cities compete with each other. I love Paris because it is the city where I can create some breathing room for myself, and because this place coincided with my luck; That's why I'm happy to be here. Here I am myself, as I am; I feel the freedom in my bones of being able to live without worrying about "who says what, who thinks what".
I leave the house with joy every morning, I am happy every morning to see the horse chestnut trees in front of my house rising up to my window on the sixth floor; The distant building will be less visible this spring when the trees bloom; The chicks in the bird's nest will flutter their wings and fly, people will continue to work in the skyscrapers behind the trees, life in Paris will flow at full speed and in all its serenity, and I will always be filled with gratitude for being here and witnessing this moment.
Some of those who follow Pariste.Net, this is what I experience too sweet They are disturbed by life, "this Does Paris have any bad sides?"I sat down thinking they were asking themselves - and sometimes me - The Other Paris – The Other Side of Paris I prepared the article. I tried to describe Paris, which is far away from me but is there in all its reality, as best I could. Anyone who wishes can see that Paris, the Paris I see is such a Paris. Unfortunately...
As a person lives, he encounters more negative things and can witness the ugliness as well as the beauty of the city; I'm not saying "everything is smooth" anyway, but Paris where I live really smooth. Does a person not experience something negative once, get bored once, or miss his homeland and nation once in four years? In four years, I have not experienced anything negative even once, I have never been bored, I have never missed my homeland or my nation; I'm fine like this.
In the city where I live, people are respectful, well-mannered and well-mannered; At least the overwhelming majority do. Nobody interferes with anyone else, nobody interferes with anyone's life. Everyone has a certain area of freedom. I feel free here. As I always say: No matter what country you live in, there is a leash around your neck and it has been a long time since you realized that there is no such thing as absolute freedom. The reason I feel free in Paris is because I feel like this leash is a lot longer. So much so that I have never encountered a situation that required me to test the length of that rope.
Maybe this is partly about how you see and perceive life. Everyone of the metro He talks about how dirty it is and how bad it smells. I can't say "it's a lie", it's true, you may encounter dirt and bad smells in many places, but in my daily life, this rate is so, so little; I Paris MetroI'm interested in how functional it is and how much easier it makes my life. As someone who wakes up from Kadıköy at 8 am on Saturday mornings in Istanbul, goes to the Castle in Rumelihisarı for breakfast, and is not too lazy to have his afternoon coffee at Pendik Marina, I admire the magnificence of the magnificent transportation network in Paris and enjoy the mobility and therefore the freedom. I look at life from this side; Maybe the problem is me, I don't know.
Since this article is an evaluation of the general situation, since we are taking stock of what has happened in the past year, then let's remember the important events one by one and highlight the effects they left on me and highlight them like this: Let's never forget what happened and what happened.
One of the most beautiful events of the past year, dear Cüneyt Ayral's book my pariswas published. Paris Cüneyt AyralWhile reading from 's perspective, the fact that a section of the book was reserved for me made me feel "my parisHaving the chance and honor to talk about was one of the unforgettable moments of the past year.
It's a great feeling to be included in a book with your own lines. So is feeling like a writer even though I'm not a writer. Of course, my dream of being a writer remains, but I still sit in front of the keyboard and write. to write a book I couldn't write two lines on his behalf. This blog takes up so much of my time, believe me. There is no time to write from writing... That's why I bow down with respect to everyone who has managed to write, for better or worse, and whose name is on the book. my parisI recommend it to everyone.
Do I have no complaints about my life? Come on, rejoice: There is, there is. Just like the days when I first came to Paris, I would sit on the three-seater sofa at home and relax without doing anything or even listening to music. I miss the days when I walked idly on the street for hours.. This blog takes up so much of my time, I receive so many e-mails and messages every day, that I have to say, "I don't have time to scratch my head."
I try to answer every question as best I can. Since I have written 360 articles so far, I try to answer most of the questions by sending the relevant link, but people are also weird. I will never forget, recently someone said, “3 nights 4 days Paris"We will come to , it is our first time, where should we visit?" After a short introduction, I sent the link to the relevant article and received a reply saying "I thought you would create a special tour program for us." Once upon a time, a reader paused for a moment and self-criticized "I'm sorry, I'm asking you instead of looking at Google, but..." after a series of questions, which brought a smile to my face.
Maybe I'm not expressing myself well, but I would like to underline that I am neither a tour guide nor a travel agent. I'm just trying to explain Paris from my own perspective and share everything I know with people. My greatest desire is to make people's lives easier. This life is hard enough as it is; How can we help each other, how can we make each other's lives easier, I focus on these issues, but it seems a little unfair to me that some people do not read any of the articles I have written and instead look directly to me for answers to their questions... I will still continue to answer questions tirelessly and with great patience, you should not worry. Don't.
Yes, as I said, we have exceeded 360 articles in total, which means I published 100 articles last year. It is not smart to write so much, nor is it wise to read all of these articles. At first, I produced content seven days a week, then I reduced the frequency of publication to five, then three, and finally to two days a week. I supposedly thought that I could create more time for myself by reducing the frequency of posts, but this time the content of the posts started to become richer. As such, I now spend the effort and time I used to spend on seven articles a week on two articles a week. The frequency of publishing articles has decreased, but the content has become richer... So I'm busy again, always busy. There are also times when I need to update the content of my old articles. As the format and content of the latest articles became richer and the old articles seemed simple to me, there was a concern to enrich that content. So, when I finish the article I need to publish and start browsing through old articles, there is no end to my work, I cannot set a limit for myself, I became a workaholic for no reason.
One of the nicest reviews I've ever received There were many links I used in my articles: “Mr. Ahmet, do not put so many links in your articles, when you click on all of them, you will not finish reading them, and when we do not click on them, we feel guilty about what we missed.” wrote one reader. I can't explain what a smile it brought to my face. I created all of those links with great effort over time, I filled in the content of each clicked link in detail, and this is how I enriched Pariste.Net; I will continue to enrich it. It is a great pleasure to be rewarded for my efforts like this.
All aside Facebook7.000 in Twitter15.000 in InstagramWhen you have 19.000 followers in , it's a different job to deal with the rainy questions and comments coming from those channels... No, I'm not writing to complain, if it weren't for this interactivity, my actions wouldn't have any effect or value, I'm just writing so that you can understand my situation and have pity on me.You travel around all day and your life is a kebab."There are people who think like this, maybe I'm reproaching them.
Since January 2014, my articles have been read 1.400.000 times in total. Google Plus My account has been viewed exactly 12.000.000 times; I mean, there is serious interest and, moreover, I do not write a comprehensive travel blog, although I could write a blog that includes all my trips. I produce very comprehensive content about a single European capital by only describing Paris.. No lie, Paris is not empty towards me either. There are tons of topics waiting to be written about, and as I always say, I am not interested in numbers and statistics. Even a single reader is important, even being able to touch a single person's life and making a small contribution to make that life easier and more beautiful is more valuable to me than anything else...
There are times when I get so tired that I almost give up. I don't know if you are watching out for these times or what you are doing, but at just such a moment, an e-mail lands in my inbox; A reader writes a long and detailed thank you letter, explaining his trip step by step and my traces in his trip. Moreover, he speaks as if he has known me for years. At that moment, a strength comes to me, an energy fills me, and I continue writing with the enthusiasm of the first day. There is no lie, I get my strength from you.
for example I ask you to take a good look at the photo above.. This photo belongs to one of my readers. He sent me countless e-mails, asked countless questions, and pushed me a lot. Then one day he sent the photo above; That's when I realized how meticulously he had prepared for his trip to Paris. A smile came to my face when I saw the printouts from Pariste.Net among all the documents on the table. Of course, it makes me very happy to see that I can contribute, even if only in a small way, to help people have a nice trip to Paris. Moreover, I receive such e-mails very frequently and each one of them is very valuable to me. I would like to thank each and every one of you.
One of the best things I've experienced in the past year, Paris MunicipalityEdited by “Golden Blog Awards – Best Blog CompetitionI was nominated in the Paris category of ”. I knew I couldn't win this competition; Because it was not possible to win a competition in France with a Turkish blog, but I decided to participate in the competition in order to attract the attention of the jury, which has a say in the management of Paris, and to raise awareness. I applied and was among the candidate blogs, and asked my wife-friend, loved ones and followers to vote to support me.
That's when I first realized my power in social media. How the votes are falling like rain... Everyone is sending messages of support one after another. Lots of tweets, retweets, Instagram posts. Everyone voted; My friends emailed among themselves. I don't know how many votes I got, but I must have gotten a significant number of votes so soon Paris MunicipalityI received another e-mail from: It was informing me that I could not win the contest because only French blogs could participate in the contest, but Because I am one of the 50 most voted blogs I was invited to the awards ceremony. So I achieved my goal.
Earlier Cultural Heritage Days – Journées du Patrimoine within the scope of the event an ordinary citizen I wandered like Hôtel de VilleIt was a very special feeling to be a guest this time in the magnificent ceremony hall of . Especially when the tweets I sent were shown on the projection in the hall, I felt really good. The cover photo of her drinking champagne at the beginning of this article was taken during this award ceremony I mentioned. Edith Piaf's song "Pink decor"La Vie En Rose – Pink Life“It fit so well that I chose the title of the article that way. In the photo below Paris City Hall – Hôtel de Villereflected on the projection in the living room of my tweet var:
Over the past year, I have clearly established my line. I neither wanted to be a tour guide nor a travel agent; I just wanted to be known as a blogger. My title in the company I founded is "professional bloggerIt is referred to as " This gives me great happiness.
I often receive invitation messages for meetings and meetings. I have to decline most of them due to lack of time, but I have accepted these invitations a few times; I had the chance to chat with very nice, very special people. I only made a big mistake once; It took a lot of effort to get rid of someone who was obsessed with seeing me. I still haven't been able to get rid of him, he continues to send disturbing messages whenever he wants. That's why I'm now more nervous than before about meeting people who want to get to know me. Still, it's a nice feeling to be gradually recognized. A few times he stopped me somewhere in Paris and said “You are Mr. Ahmet, aren't you? We came here because of youWe had encounters that made me both happy and embarrassed...
Once upon a time, I had a dream of bringing together the Turks in Paris, or at least the tourism professionals, under one roof, but it didn't take me long to realize that things were not like that at all here. I sadly realized that there are people who see everyone as a rival in such a large market and are paranoid that their share will be taken by others instead of expanding the cake. However, I thought we could join hands and do something. Either I couldn't express myself well or there was a misunderstanding, but as a result, I realized once again that I had to stay away from everyone and continue my writings in the virtual environment, just like in the beginning. After all I am I am not a tourism professional, and I have never had any concerns about becoming one. Here we share our beautiful experiences and make each other's lives easier; It would be nice if we didn't make a big deal out of it...
I wish I were the grandson of the pasha and I wish we would never get into money matters. If I just write, people read it and their lives become better. Then they can have an unforgettable Paris experience, but unfortunately we have to make money somehow… I have made various agreements in this regard, and this year I continued to earn regular income by including options on the blog that will make the lives of those who will come to Paris easier. Those who want to support me on this matter are already They wholeheartedly supported always. Thank you everyone for this.
What else happened in the past year? Oh yes... It was August, while I was on holiday in the South of France, and while I was driving through a sunflower field, my phone rang. Caller Consulate General of ParisIt was… Our Consul General Mr. Emre Kadıoğlu He wanted to meet me. As the consulate, they had been following me for a long time, and we made an appointment for my return from holiday.
Our Consul General Emre Bey and our Consul Müslüm Bey met with me twice and gave me detailed information about consular services. I compiled and collected this information and General Information About the Consulate General of the Republic of Turkey in Paris and the Services You Can Receive in Cases of Emergency I prepared the article. With this article, we aimed to explain in an understandable language what people who come to Paris and encounter any problems should do and the services that the consulate general will provide in this regard; I think it was quite useful… I even liked the photos in this article. on the consulate general page I felt honored when it was offered to be used in .
During this year, my circle in Paris began to expand. Not only did I make very good friends, I also started meeting important people at various meetings, speeches, seminars or cocktails. However, I am definitely not a cocktail person, I have always preferred conversations with friends and friends.
french exchange My meetings have been continuing regularly since the very beginning. I still continue to meet with three different French friends three days a week. We also meet with my old friends whenever we get the chance. I was never lonely in terms of friendship in Paris. I was never lonely in Paris...
Of course, my French is much better now, but I have not reached the point I dreamed of four years ago. I cannot concentrate on studying French as much as I used to, especially since I have to think in Turkish a lot because of the blog, but I still think that the French research I did on the internet for blog posts was very useful in improving my language. Even though I can read philosophy books in French now, unless I have a hundred percent command of the language, believe me, I don't have the courage to say "I know French".
Sometimes, I love to leave the house, hop on a train, and pick up a book in a carriage without even knowing which stop I will get off at, as much as the first day. Of course, my travels are not limited to this. In the past year, I had the chance to travel and see many places. Geneva, Lausanne, Nyon, Annecy, Sorrento, Amalfi, Ravello, Naples, Limoges, Collogne La Rouge, Cordes sur Ciel, Toulouse, Carcassonne, Montpellier, Aix en Provence, Nice, Cannes , Monaco, Antibes, San Remo, Saint Paul de Vence , Grasse, Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, Menton, Lyon, several times AmsterdamI also visited Istanbul a few times. All photos from these holidays from my personal instagram account You can see it.
In fact, the last time I went to Amsterdam, I was so fascinated and impressed that I did everything I could to visit it, even if it was small. Amsterdam Guide I decided to prepare. Even taking into account his dream of living in Amsterdam one day, in a way, he wanted to stay "secret". Amsterdamda.Net I also bought the domain name. Is it obvious that I will spend part of my life there and share my experiences there with you under the name Amsterdamda.Net?
The most special place where I spent one of the most beautiful holidays of my life last year is Martinique happened. As someone who was born in December and has always had to celebrate her birthday on cold winter days, for once in my life I could celebrate my birthday in a swimsuit and shorts. Celebrating on a beach while my birthday cake melts It was my biggest dream. Thank God, I was blessed with that on my birthday. My feelings and MartiniqueTo keep the memory of what I experienced in A Summer Dream in a Winter's Tale: Martinique I tried to share it in my article.
During this year, I tried to do something volunteering. The first of these is an organization that aims to make people's lives easier by publishing educational videos all over the world. sikana It happened when I met. sikanaAfter meeting dear Aycan, who works at , I started voicing Turkish videos here as a volunteer. I hope these videos reach as many people as possible and make many people's lives easier.
Another of my volunteer work developed mostly in the form of social media sponsorship. Young group of theater lovers who perform Turkish theater in Paris PaTuTi After meeting them, I took on their social media sponsorship, in a sense, to make their voices heard to large audiences. On all my social media accounts and blog PaTuTi I wrote and published articles about it, and I continue to publish it.
And then PaTuTiI had the pleasure of watching on stage for the first time on March 19, 2016. I promised to do my best to support these young people. If you live in Paris or happen to be in Paris by accident PaTuTiIf you come across 's plays, I highly recommend you watch them.
Well, hasn't anything bad happened in this year? Isn't it possible... The sad news that comes one after another from Turkey has always affected me deeply. Being away from this pain certainly does not make one feel better. Many sufferings, especially terrorist incidents, disrupt the "paradise" life here. Moreover, nowhere is safe for terrorism anymore...
in paris Charlie Hebdo After the attacks 13 November Terrorist Incidents When this happened, we saw once again that terrorism knows no borders. Although Paris has gone through a great trauma, life returned to normal in a very short time, but it would be a lie if I said that the security measures taken did not spoil the joy of life. Even though I have never felt the fear of terrorism, the annoying details of the ostensible terrorist measures at least give an idea that this place is not as rosy as it used to be.
However, I personally do not feel any discomfort from these measures, I am living my life as beautifully as the first day, but as I always say, life is definitely not fair. Even if I live as trouble-free a life as I want, it is still not possible to experience 100% happiness when there is so much pain in the world.. Moreover, I realized that it is not possible to find 100% happiness in this world. No, for myself, I have nothing to do with life anymore, I have solved all the problems related to my existence, but there is so much evil in the world that it seems impossible for a person to turn a blind eye to these evils and achieve pure happiness.
But life goes on, somehow we all create safe living spaces for ourselves and try to enjoy life at the highest level. Like everyone else, I try to live as carefree as possible in this safe living space that I have created for myself; I can achieve this to a large extent (or even completely, in my opinion), but at the same time, age passes and health problems begin to appear little by little.
I've dealt with a lot of health problems this year. For someone like me, who used to have no problems other than the flu, but overcame every flu case as if it were a fatal disease, I must admit that the problems I experienced in my feet, legs and neck this year slightly disrupted my quality of life. Even if the mosque is demolished, the mihrab is still in place We console ourselves by saying, but as my mother says, no matter how many times you show us, "the identity card gets old".
I've been around a lot of doctors lately, especially because of my foot problem, so I can't walk for hours/kilometers around Paris like I used to. I thought I would ride a bike, but this time I had a problem with my leg :) Everything is slowly getting better, but nothing is the same again. That's why this life is one-time, I'm always aware of it: It is necessary to live this life properly, to the fullest...
From my point of view, life in Paris is always nice, but is working in Paris that nice? To find an answer to this question, I asked people around me to write an article on this subject for those in the business world in Paris, and I wrote this article. Business Life in Paris – Working in France I published it under the title: And my dear friend Burak, What is Expatism? – Being an Expat in Paris He wrote an article on how the business world works in Paris, what the differences are between traveling and living here, I wanted you to see it not only through my narration but also from other people's perspectives.
For me, being in Paris is like being in heaven. My views on this subject have never changed. I don't know if it will change one day, but I am happy with where I am now. I think the fact that a person was able to spend four years of his life like this is a blessing in itself. I am aware of this opportunity.
We have now completed our fourth year and started our fifth year. Facebook constantly reminds you of “this day in history” notes. It flashes before my eyes like a movie strip of what I went through while we were evacuating our house in Istanbul. I had a very nice life in Istanbul, but I sensed that it would not be so nice anymore, so I created an action plan for the future. I researched what I could do, took action, was patient, tried my luck and finally succeeded. I don't know if it is possible for everyone to achieve it; Besides, I might not have succeeded either. If I had failed, I would have tried my luck elsewhere; As long as you are healthy, the rest will be taken care of. How to Settle Abroad? In this sense, I evaluated the issue under a separate heading. fifth year After completing the process - if the law does not change - it seems that citizenship procedures will begin; What time will show, we will see together...
In summary, this is the evaluation of the last year, these are the things that come to my mind and what I want to share with you. Believe me, I have a life much beyond this. If I tell you more, this is a happiness that will not be believable. That's why I just want to tell you this much about the happiness of living in Paris. Here I go, living at peace with myself, at peace with the world, peacefully and happily...
I hope you can live the lives you desire. I advise those who want to change their lives to first know what they want, then research the conditions, create long and medium term action plans, and then take action... I always say: Nothing happens without doing anything.
And I say again, it is not where you are in this life, but who you are with.
Right place, right time, right person...
Thank you life.
12 Comments
Your explanations are very enlightening and fluent, one can go everywhere you visit and see what is possible, but what is possible?
Thank you very much for your nice comment. I hope you have the chance to visit and see these beauties at the first opportunity. Thank you very much.
Happy Days…
"Sometimes, there are times when I get so tired, I almost give up. I don't know if you take care of these times or what you do, but at just such a moment, an e-mail lands in my inbox; a long, detailed thank you letter, a reader telling about his trip and my traces in his trip." . In a language as if he had known me for years. At that moment, a strength comes to me, an energy fills me, I continue writing with the enthusiasm of the first day. There is no lie, I get my strength from you."
I took part in my own message from this paragraph. I hope so, and it has been a small return to the indirect guide of our last two Paris trips. Love and thanks again…
Oh, believe me, if it wasn't for your nice feedback, I would have given up already. Otherwise, this tempo, this effort is not wise. That's why your e-mail, your message and each of your shares are very valuable to me. Every time I receive a new message, I feel happy as if I had opened a new blog and the first comment arrived. Thank you, long live.
Mr. Ahmet, I am glad that you settled in Paris, I am glad that you opened this blog, I am glad that I spent a wonderful five days in Paris thanks to your articles that I discovered by chance. Your articles not only made our Paris trip easier, but thanks to you, I was able to go to the skyscraper area, which I would never think of going to, and look at Paris from that side. Each of your articles is a separate guide for us.
I'm glad to have you.
bud
Hello Ms. Gonca,
I didn't know what to say, thank you very much, I'm glad to have you too.
As my writing reaches people, as I learn that it makes their lives easier and more beautiful, and as I receive such feedback, my burden in this very difficult writing process is relieved; I am being so happy.
Thanks again…
It's nice to know that people like you exist, I hope your dreams come true :)
Thank you very much, I hope everyone can live the world they dream of...
So glad to have you! You are doing a great job, you touch people's hearts wonderfully... Long live, always be happy... :)
Thank you very, very much…
My child. As your mother, I read your articles and felt honored. Success is the reward of the effort you have put in for years. May you always continue like this throughout your life with health and peace, may your years and days be successful, may your path be open. A kind-hearted person. Best regards.
My dear mother, thank you very much for your valuable comment and nice wishes. And for allowing me to have a very happy childhood in a very happy family...