Getting a Cell Phone

I swear, the first text message that I got from a French friend looked like a garbled mess, but I suppose it's as hooked-on-phonics as our "shorthand".

Some French text messaging shorthand:
Slt! = Salut
G = j'ai
V = vais
J V = j'y vais
2manD = demander(é)
2m1 = demain
ke = que (some of them are pretty obvious)

Expensive calling
Making calls in France was probably the thing I least expected to be the hardest and most expensive. The payphones don't take anything but cards, and landlines (or téléphones fixes) are expensive because you pay per call and you can't take them with you. An internet phone is probably way better in terms of rates (free internet offers a bundle package for about 30€/month that includes high-speed internet, inrternet cable TV, and a phone with free calling to landlines in several countries - Canada (mobiles also!) is on the list - but you also can't take that with you.

What you will notice soon enough is that all your new friends will ask for your cell number, and if you can't provide them with anything, you probably won't ever hear from them again. It will seem like everyone in France has a cell phone and even though it's not true, sometimes it really feels like it. That being said, while receiving calls on cell phones is free, making calls is still expensive and that is why the French prefer text messaging (or envoyer les textos/les SMS) or bipper where someone will call and hang up, either to let you know they've arrived or more annoyingly to say "hi" without actually saying it.

The most popular cell phone providers in France:

SFR, Orange and Bouygues Telecom. Virgin is also a provider and offers similar rates.
The easiest to get are the no contract, pay-as-you-go plans (sans abonnement, avec carte). You just need to show your passport, give them your address and leave right away with a phone. You buy credits at any tabac shop, bank machine or recharge with a carte bleue by phone.
(I've been told that Bouygues offers the best rates for pay-as-you-go. I have Orange and it's not bad, but I've never been a cell phone person).

Switching to a monthly plan
Even if you start out signing up for a no-contract phone, you always have the option to switch to a plan (un forfait), you just need a French bank card (carte bleue.) As for the contract, I was told by a salesperson that as long as you can provide proof that you are leaving the country and do not plan to return (i.e. a one-way plane ticket home), you can break your contract at any time, without a penalty fee.

FYI: According to French legislation, after six months, your service provider is required to provide you with the code to unlock the SIM card upon your request, free of charge. Before six months, the fee is usually about 50€. However, there are many stores in the Guillotière area offering services of déblocages for the average price of 15€.

*See the next blog for "Long Distance Calling"