Living in Lyon

March 8, 2008 7:02 PM

I'm probably going to spend a year living in Lyon. Two concerns: I'm a musician and would like to keep in practice while I'm there; and I need to work to survive. What is there that I'm qualified for?

a) What's the scene like in Lyon? Will there be any opportunity to drum with a group? I'd settle for jazz club open mic nights, but anything else would be fun too. I'm a drummer. I can't afford to take any drums with me because the cost of shipping them back and forth would be prohibitive.

b) I really do enjoy manual labour, especially outdoors. It did lots of garden work last summer. Also, this summer I'm training as a pastry chef. I'm twenty years old and have 1 year of university education. I work for a French ex-pat who says my best bet is teaching English. While I'm comfortable with the language, i can't fathom attempting to teach it to a non-speaker. How do you go about that? And where would I find that kind of work?

Besides that, what are my options for work? My french language skills are poor but I'll be working on them before I go, and I expect them to improve rapidly after the move. I did go to french grade school through till grade 7.

Any help you can offer would be great for me. Thanks.

posted by Evstar to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

I am not a musician, but my partner and I lived in Lyon for a year and loved it. It's like a walkable and less touristy Paris (but with it's own identity, cuisine, and history). Public transport is amazing. Be sure to get hooked up with the Velov bike rental program. Also, the TGV train to Paris (and beyond) is awesome and fast. For classifieds, etc. use: a, b, c, d, e, f, g. FWIW Lyon's soccer team is one of the best in France.

Also:

movie theatres, central and fun hotel, good bank, cool veggie restaurant with people who might know the music "scene," lyon expat website, restaurant guide, hip annual lyon music festival, good travel bookstore/web-cafe, great "bouchon," good tour/ski/bus trip company, an english pub, what's on in Lyon.

Yep, we miss it! I'd say try and live as centrally as possible. We lived near Place Carnot at the southern end of the "island." Cheaper rents and an edgier vibe will be available on the Croix Rousse hill at the north end of the presqu'ile. Be sure to go to the many markets, eat out a lot, walk a lot, busking might be an option, go to the Parc de la Tete d'Or, check out the Roman ruins.

Lyon's a university town so it's full of hipsters. I'm sure you'll find a few tips. Oh, and make sure when you enter stores/establishments to greet the owner (or whoever) with a gleeful, "Bonjour Madame!" or, "Bonjour Monsieur!!!"
posted by rumbles at 3:33 AM on March 9 [2 favorites]

Oh, we had internet with Numericable. Worked well.
posted by rumbles at 3:35 AM on March 9

Rumbles, I am granting you best answer, and not just because it's the only answer. Thanks for the tips. Still, though—if anyone can give me some helpful work or music guidance, please chime in.
posted by Evstar at 1:50 PM on March 9

When you get to Lyon head to Ninkasi for more music scene action....
posted by rumbles at 6:17 PM on March 11