emiglia

First of all, unless you are planning on working under the table or you're an EU citizen, you have to have a job before moving to France. If you're interested in doing that, there is a program that hires people to work as English teaching assistants, but you don't get to choose where you live.

That said, I agree with the other commenter: your best bet, and possibly the most lucrative, would be to work as a tutor or with a private company rather than in a public school. If you don't have ESL certification, there are a lot of companies that offer the certification and a placement program that finds you a job afterwards.

If you already have your certification, try searching au pair message boards. Some people don't necessarily need the extra childcare and are just looking for an English teacher.

I don't know either hotel, but I know both neighborhoods quite well. The Eiffel Tower is located in the 7th arrondissement, which is the most expensive neighborhood in Paris. However, this neighborhood is quite quiet at night: this doesn't mean it's dangerous, but there is not much to do. You are close to the Eiffel Tower and the Champs Elysées in the 7th (the Champs Elysees is right across the river in the 8th and home to the Arc de Triomphe). The 8th is also where the Bateaux-Mouches leave from, for a tour on the river.

I prefer the area around the Jardin de Luxembourg, personally. You are not as close to some of the tourist sights, although you are right in the middle of a lot of things: you're about the same distance from the Musée d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, and the Louvre isn't very far either. This area is a lot more lively at night as well. Hope this helps!

Unfortunately, places near the Champs-Elysées are amongst the most expensive in Paris. Fortunately, however, most places in Paris are at most a 30-minute metro ride away from one another. This is also the perfect time to be moving in to some of the former "shabby" neighborhoods, because they are becoming a lot more fun and popular.

Paris is broken into arrondissements, which are numbered neighborhoods from 1-20 that start in the center of Paris and spiral out in a clockwise direction. This means that the Champs-Elysées, for example, which is in the 8th, is next to the 7th, the 16th, the 17th, the 18th, the 9th and the 1st. The 7th is home of the Eiffel Tower and is even more expensive than the 8th. The 16th is very residential, so while it's not the cheapest place to live in Paris, you can find a very nice apartment for much less than in the 7th or 8th. The 17th and 18th are outer arrondissements (the 18th is also home to Amélie Poulain from the 2001 movie). All outer arrondissements (i.e. from 17th-20th) are on the less expensive side, but they are also the farthest from the center of the city.

The 12th, home of the Canal St. Martin, is very close to Bastille and Oberkampf, two very fun neighborhoods on the right bank. It is also one of the up-and-coming neighborhoods that hasn't yet had a rent hike. The main problem with the 12th is that it is on the other side of the city from the 8th, however because they are both on the right side of the river Seine, you are likely to be able to ride the métro 1 line straight from home in the 12th to the 8th. This is not necessarily true of the other arrondissements I mentioned: you may have to switch several times to reach your destination, which can be a pain.

If you decide to go to Venice, be sure to spring for a water taxi or gondola at least once. I visited with my friends and regretted not being able to. It's really fun and beautiful, and if you're going to make the trip out to Italy anyway, I can't see any reason in trying to scrimp and save when it comes to this.

However, when it comes to eating, you can definitely try to save a penny by eating outside of the main piazzas. Try small trattorias in little residential areas: the food is better and the prices are much cheaper (though still not cheap by any means... you are in one of the tourism capitals of the world).

I can't help you with the weather, as I went in December, but I can recommend the Punta Cana Club Med resort. It seems to have a bit of what all of you are looking for: it is all-inclusive with great parties and a fun nightlife, but it also has activities on offer like snorkeling, boating etc., and a lot of the people who work there are locals, so you get to drink in some of the local culture.

While your comments on the atmosphere of Monaco/Monte Carlo are spot-on, you've actually confused the politics of the area.

Monaco is independent of France: it is not a part of the country. It is not a country... but rather a principality run by Prince Albert. Monaco's laws are independent of those of France. Like the Vatican, it has its own independent postal service.

Monte Carlo, however, is not independent of Monaco. Monte Carlo, rather, is the capital city of the principality of Monaco.