So as a Kiwi French teacher, it isn't surprising that I have lived in France, in the beautiful city of Paris. When I returned to my home town Wellington, it surprised me how my life was to change in comparison to my Parisian lifestyle. Sure, it was great to be back, but I did miss the convenience and ease of living in Paris. So why was it easier living in Paris? Lets compare!
Clichy is a suburb of Paris, and Karori is a suburb of Wellington in New Zealand –the latter is characteristic of low density urban sprawl while Clichy is a compact city with medium to high density housing. I lived in each of these places for approximately 10 months and without a vehicle. Check out the maps below showing key amenities and walking time from where I was living:
Clichy, Paris
From my apartment in Paris, by foot, it would take:
- 12 minutes to the metro station
- metro leaves every 5 to 10 minutes
- 10 minutes to get to the centre of Paris from station
- 2 supermarkets within 2 minutes walk, another three within 10 minutes
- 3 minutes to sports field
- 10 minutes to park
- 15 minutes to pool
- 1 minute to closest school
Karori, Wellington (New Zealand)
From my house in Karori,by foot, it would take
- 5 minutes to closest bus station
- bus leaves every 20 minutes
- 10 - 15 minutes to get to the centre of Wellington
- 25 minutes walk to two supermarkets (both located in the same mall)
- 2 minutes walk to sports field
- 1 minute walk to park/cemetery
- 20 minutes to pool
- 20 minute to closest school
As you can see from these maps (both to the same scale), there is more available in Clichy within a short walking distance. Of even more significance is the frequency of the public transport in Paris: every 5 minutes on peak and 10 minutes off peak was extremely convenient.
And the culture shock...
When I returned to Wellington, I remember my experience of public transport like a culture shock. Buses would arrive every 20 minutes and would seem to take forever. Furthermore, I no longer had supermarkets and other shops my doorstep. My Parisian turn-up-and-go lifestyle had come to and end; getting around was now to be governed by timetables, long distance walking, and infrequent buses. Not only were buses infrequent, they were often late - one morning in particular the bus arrived 30 minutes later than scheduled – and upon arrival, there were three buses following each other truck-and-trailer.
Needless to say, by the end of 10 months of living in Karori, I was aching to own my own vehicle. But it also made me think about effective planning in cities and how this makes live easier for everyone. I began to understand the importance of frequent and reliable transport and I wondered whether New Zealand cities could ever achieve Parisian-like ease of living. Let me know your thoughts! Thanks for reading:)
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