The passion of life 😉
We moved to Étampes at the end of 2019, just before the lockdown. It wasn't related to it at all, the reasons being mainly financial. It was no longer possible to survive in inner Paris, with a lot of money going towards the rent and the countless additional expenses that come from living there for the average Parisian. So I found an apartment one and a half times more spacious for a third less rent. Enough to give me a break, at least at the time, because since then the cost of living has gone up everywhere.
We finished settling in at late 2019 and early 2020. At the end of February, I left to play on the Rock Legends Cruise VIII with Cour Supreme and, as soon as we returned, we found ourselves locked down. The lockdown in Étampes wasn't too bad: we had peace and quiet, no systematic controls, no shortages and a local supermarket just down the road, plus the weekly market which was held irregularly but still took place. The dog also served us well and got plenty of exercise. For him, lockdown must mean being outside more often and spending time with different people.
Etampes, but why?
Why did we choose this city 50 km from Paris? First of all, because of our search criterias: we wanted a bigger place, cheaper, with the possibility to go to Paris without a car since, in addition to being pushed out by money, we were also pushed out by the ban on driving a car that still works and that you have neither the desire nor the means to replace anyway.
The first time I set foot there was in August 2019, the weather was fine and the street parking meters were free. I visited three apartments between 120 and 150m2. I got an all-you-can-eat Chinese meal for 10 euros, the city center was pretty, I was charmed by the slightly medieval feel, the status of a stopover town on the road to Compostela (even though I couldn't care less about all things religious, I like the golden studs in the middle of the cobblestones).All this, along with the direct access to the 5th and 13th districts via the RER C, tipped the scales in the end, not to mention the fact that it feels more like being in the “countryside” than in a suburban town closer to Paris.
During our first two years, as Covid was raging, we didn't have much opportunity to deepen our knowledge of the city and its inhabitants, but we already felt that the town was a bit sleepy. Partly because of people like us, who came to live there while continuing to work in Paris, partly because cultural activities and the development of the city center do not feel like a priority, unlike the creation of commercial areas on the outskirts. Since then, we have realized that many very different people want to revitalize the city a little more and try to organize events, but it's not easy. It's a shame because Étampes could really be more fun...
That being said, I enjoy a much calmer, much more stress-free, more fluid and less restrictive daily environment, and frankly, when I see the evolution of Paris, its population and the kind of life that is made for it, I much prefer living in Étampes. I never thought I would say that one day. What's the point of having hundreds of options for going out if you can't enjoy them because everyday life (parking, traffic jams, blocked streets, council tax, food prices, etc.) takes away what little money you have left once all your mandatory expenses are taken care of?
In short, Étampes is not a party town, but it is quiet, it is not far from Paris but it still takes an hour in either direction, which discourages many people from coming to see you, it is not the countryside, but not the suburbs either and, on a daily basis, it is still easier to live than Paris. The city of “at the same time” so to speak.
