Rent and cost of living in Paris

[JoelJ]

Hey guys,

Is there anyone here who has lived or currently lives in Paris? I'm curious to know how much money would one need approximately to take care of the essentials on a monthly basis, and more specifically rental apartment prices.

[damelo]

Hi Joel,

Having grown up in the suburbs of Paris, I may be able to give you a hand about how much it may cost you.

1st, housing cost is usually high in Paris itself, and still quite high in the first circles of the suburbs.(Even in the last ones considering some much smaller cities...) In paris, count 700€ per month + Charges in order to get a 15m² room for yourself. You may be able to find at lower price, but consider lower prices as a bonus. If you stay more than 3 months, you will still be eligible for the APL/ALS, which is a housing help from the French government. Count around 200€ max per month.

After, for transportation, you may find prices there: http://ratp.fr/

For food, etc... Prices may be a bit higher, especially considering there are not so many very big supermarkets in the city. Going out is also expensive, a 25cl beer being in my memories around 5€ usually.

Well, you can PM me if you want to talk more precisely about your plans.

[Phantim3dx]

are u serious 700 euros for a 15 sq meter room?! what the hell dude?!

it sounds like america needs to liberate the oppressed in this country

hehehe

j/k


now i understand why you euros come to beijing and flash cash on apartments like its nothing.

[Nikoo]

In paris, count 700€ per month + Charges in order to get a 15m² room

I would rather find a nice, not-so-smelly dumpster and live in it.
Paris is really expensive, around 1200 euros can be enough to hold the line till the next paycheck

[JoelJ]

I highly appreciate your answers to my thread about Paris, and I would hope you can answer a couple more questions for me.

Which arrondissements do you recommend for somebody who's in their mid to late 20s with a decent balance between safety, price, and "action"?

Do you think ~1250-1300 euros would cover the monthly expenses of Rent + Charges + Food if living somewhere in the arrondissements that are closer to downtown Paris?

I'd ask about groceries + restaurants, but I imagine that would be complicated to explain.

Thanks again.

PS: Can't send private messages yet.

[auris1]

are u serious 700 euros for a 15 sq meter room?! what the hell dude?!

Sounds about right ...
what he did not mentioned perhaps is that the flat/house etc would be shared as well perhaps.Should be more or less the same

[FRANKY 13]

I highly appreciate your answers to my thread about Paris, and I would hope you can answer a couple more questions for me.

Which arrondissements do you recommend for somebody who's in their mid to late 20s with a decent balance between safety, price, and "action"?

Do you think ~1250-1300 euros would cover the monthly expenses of Rent + Charges + Food if living somewhere in the arrondissements that are closer to downtown Paris?

I'd ask about groceries + restaurants, but I imagine that would be complicated to explain.

Thanks again.

PS: Can't send private messages yet.

Hi joel J
I lived in paris for 5 years and actually still have a house there. Now I live in Nice ( southern france) but I left paris arround 3 years ago so things havent changed.
Damelo was quite accurate with his statements about paris . Rent is really expensive but with a bit of luck and if you take into account the states help (if you re eligible , ) then you can find something pretty decent for the money youre willing to spend ( I imagine you can afford arround 600 for the rent).

I personnaly would recommend for you one of the 4 first arrondissements. Its right in the centre of paris , there is a lot of life with bars etc and it s pretty safe and not the most expensive ones.

Some others like the 16th , 15th etc may have a better reputation but I lived in my 20s in the 16th and believe me , you dont wanna live there. Everybody is above 40, there are only families and old people, one 1/2 liter bear costs 10 E, and everything is closed after 21 o clock.

Sure it s safe, it s near the eiffel tower , it s aristocratic and all that stuff but for in my opinion it s not for young people. It s far from the centre, expensive and with little to no action as you say.

So I would say one of the 4 first are great. I had one friend who lived in bastille -4th- he paid 750 E for a 22 m2. It s was just around the big central square of bastille, had great bars arround, you could find to eat even after the regular hours , so after 22.30. In general it s was kind of cool for somebody who s young.
Check also neighbourhoods around Opera -second arrondissement I think or even the sorbonne university ( rue des ecoles 5th arr) , those are great for young people too, and with opportunities to find a good place to rent.

To conclude, 1200-1300 sound quite managable if you find a place to live with around 650 E. Of course an extra couple of hundred -1500- would make things way more confortable I think.

Ps1. I hope youre not too picky with appartments. Having no elevator , problems with the pipes of the toilet or the kitchen is quite common in paris etc as the buildings are all pretty old ( end of the 19th century usually, sure it creates a great , romantic atmosphere but it has also practical problems).

Ps2. I m sure once there you ll fugure out about the grosseries , restaurants ( you can find great restaurants from all over the world, but food in generally quite expensive in paris,thats why all the students go frequently to mcdonalds or kebabs lol)

[JoelJ]

I think there's a small misunderstanding here. I was thinking of allocating ~1200-1300 euros per month max for living expenses. This would include rent + charges + grocery food, and I'm curious if that is good enough to live comfortably.

Still, your posts do help answer my questions.

As you all probably know, paris is a big tourist trap. There's a lot of places where everything is way overpriced. Any recommendations for places where things are more reasonably priced?

Also any recommendations for good gyms more oriented towards athletes? i.e. gyms that have squat racks, power cages, etc...

Thanks.

[damelo]

are u serious 700 euros for a 15 sq meter room?! what the hell dude?!

it sounds like america needs to liberate the oppressed in this country

hehehe

j/k


now i understand why you euros come to beijing and flash cash on apartments like its nothing.

For having some Moscovites classmates who used to spend at least 600€ per month in Nancy for 20m² like it was nothing(I had 120m², 5 ppl, 800€ rent overall. make the counts). Moscow appears to be one of the most expensive cities.

In France, Paris prices are really very high. After, in other cities, it is more or les the same. But, having worked in a location agency in Nancy, you see people coming from the countryside, or smaller cities, telling how expensive Nancy is...

Paris is out of any other referencial... I guess NY prices must be similar, as are Moscow's or London(even worse I guess).

@JoelJ: 1200€-1300€ can be anough, depending on what are your living standards. Actually, Paris is not only a tourist trap, but the main economic center for the country. Amongst my former classmates, most of them work in Paris, even if some wanted to avoid it. Paris is not limited to the Louvres-Rivoli-Concorde-Champs Elysees.
The rent rates I gave were the ones for any place in Paris. The rate for Antony, which is 20mins of Paris in RER, was more or less 500€ per month for the same kind of flats. Which is still much higher than any smaller city in France.
After, under 2000€ per month, you are not rich in Paris.

For good popular areas, you can look towards Gaité-Montparnasse. When I was in Paris, I was in a club around there. There are also some activity, and prices are a bit lower than the main centers.
The popular center in Chatelet-Les Halles, but, the rates may be quite high. Still, lots of students meetings around there, some good happy hours. It's the easiest to access from any side of Paris. There are different centers though.
the 16th... I lived there(had a free flat, so, it was economical choice, by far, I had 1000€ internship salary per month...), and true, at night it's boring. Still, the playground on Champs de Mars is nice. Playing ball so close from Eiffel Tower...
8th arrondissement, around Champs Elysees is very expensive. But you have every thursdays afterwork parties for 15€ with open champagne for 2 h and buffet, young people going, usually trainees or young employees. It starts at 19. This area is full of these kind of places.
Republique is also a nice area, but I don't know it so much. Active, and should not be so expensive.

Basically, in any areas you will find some stuff appart from 16th, and around which is historically the place of the richest people. If you want active life go towards Chatelet. Yet, some bars are expensive, but overall Paris prices are coherent, so... More important is to find something not always so easy. After, you can cross the city by bike anytime of the day or night(velib') in 45 minutes.


For grocery... Well, you should be able to survive with 40€ a week without problem, if you stay on reasonnably priced stuff. After, you can add extras. That was more or less my budget for Nancy +30% considering you will be in Paris. It also depends which kind of supermarket you have close-by, Monoprix, opened till 22h, but is the most expensive(yet, good quality products).

Restaurants: Big Mac index is around 6€ in France. for restaurants, you can find of all kinds, so, can't tell much. A good restaurant is at least 50€ per person, but if you go out of very frequented boulervards, you may find some affordable decent ones. After, it's not a place to go too much in restaurant.

APL: Here, you can make a quick simulation to see how much you could get for housing helps. http://www.caf.fr/wps/portal/particu...lationlogement

[JoelJ]

Thanks a lot for the information. Just to put you more into perspective, the 1200-1300 would be approximately ~35% of my net salary (which would be ~3450-3500 euros per month).

[damelo]

Ok, so it would be fine for you. You may just plan to spend a bit more. After, from paris, you can travel in Europe for relatively cheap price. Just don't forget that Airports transport tickets are around 10€ one way.