Apartment Hunting
Searching for an apartment on a budget in Paris is difficult and time-consuming. Relatively speaking, Paris is a small city so there is a limited selection. Apartment shares are not common; renting a studio is much more prevalent. Lodgings are advertised by arrondissement and by m². Rooms may be as small as 9m². Some may include a bathroom and shower; some you will have to share with the floor.
There are stringent laws protecting tenants in France. Alternatively, landlords are taking precautions before renting. Landlords prefer to rent to French citizens who have guarantors in the case that anything goes awry. Generally, landlords will ask for a guarantor, specifically a French citizen earning more than 3,000 euros per month. Because you have just arrived and may not know anyone who will voluntarily be your guarantor, this can be a problem! However, you can get in touch with the organization Aide Loca-Pass. They are a charitable organization that will be your guarantor for any place you decide to rent. Most landlords will find this sufficient.
To find listed accomodation, try the following:
- Craigslist.org
- Kijiji.com
- Facebook.com
- Fusac.fr (this is a free magazine containing classified ads and advertisements for the anglophonic community)
- The American Church in Paris (65, Quai d'Orsay, 75007 Paris); there is a message board at the entrance.
Description of the arrondissements:
You may want to consider the suburbs of Paris; you will be able to find larger apartments for cheaper rents.
Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements
- 1st – centrally located, heavily touristed, extremely expensive and the most difficult area to find something available
- 2nd – comparable to the 1st arrondissement
- 3rd – centrally located, possible to find availability, rents range from affordable to expensive
- 4th, Marais - funky, cool, young, gay area and expensive because of all the of the above
- 5th – centrally located, busy, expensive, popular for nightlife with students
- 6th – fancy, wealthy, chic, expensive
- 7th – residential, wealthy, chic, expensive
- 8th – busy, good nightlife, moderately priced
- 9th - centrally located, residential, moderately priced
- 10th – central train stations are here, very accessible with buses and trains, known to not be safe, cheap
- 11th - lots of bars, moderately priced, near the 4th arrondissement
- 12th – residential, moderately priced
- 13th – residential, modern, up and coming, china town, moderately priced
- 14th – young, residential, moderately priced, lots of shops, bars and restaurants
- 15th – Residential, calm, quiet, safe, moderately expensive
- 16th, Eiffel Tower – wealthy, calm, quiet, residential, spacious apartments, moderately priced
- 17th - young, residential, up and coming, cheap, sketchy around Place de Clichy
- 18th, Montmartre - young, trendy, beautiful, lively on Sundays, amazing views, cheap
- 19th – young, cosmopolitan, student area, nice bars and streets, cheap
- 20th – cosmopolitan, young, residential, cheap shopping, cheap
