Where can I find the cheapest studio apartments in Paris, France?

Question

I'm moving to Paris from Montreal, Quebec to study at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. I'm trying to find a very cheap place to look for apartments that's reasonably safe (I have lived on the wrong side of the tracks before) and is within an hour metro commute of Rue Leon Delhomme. I'm also curious for the cost of living as I'm trying to get a budget together before I go. Thanks a million!

Answer 1

Here is a link for apartments/studios etc all over.  Find the area you want and then look at the different configurations.

Hope this helps:

http://studio.provaction.com/paris.html

Answer 2

Stay away from the Gare du Nord.  It is crawling with pickpockets and thieves.  

In general, the suburbs north of the city are seedy.  They were ground zero for the riots that rocked Paris in the fall of 2006.  The suburbs south and west of the city are middle- to upper class and safer.

Answer 3

I lived in Montreal for seven years and am very familiar with Paris.The wrong side of the tracks in Paris is a lot more dangerous than the wrong side of the tracks in Montreal. In Paris you would be well advised to limit yourself to no worse than the unfashionable side of the tracks or, more precisely, the unfashionable side of the Périphérique (the ring road that circles the city proper).

Generally speaking, the further you are from the center the less expensive with the north side border arrondissements being cheaper than the south side border arrondissements.

You might take a look at either the Paris Craigs list (http://paris.craigslist.org/) or the ads on the France-USA contacts website (http://www.fusac.fr/en/).

Paris is really quite compact and the public transport system so dense and efficient that there is no where in Paris proper that is not within less than an hour of any other place in the city.

Answer 4

http://www.seloger.com/recherche.htm?av=...

This links to offers near the metro stops "Convention" and "Vaugirard".

Most offers are through real estate companies that typically ask a fee of 1 month's rent.

Answer 5

Hey,

I came to Paris for a year to study abroad and wanted to live in an affordable apartment and asked a bunch of people and did a lot of research and everyone recommended to me Parisianhome. The company is located in Paris and rents pre-furnished apartments. I contacted them through their website (http://www.parisianhome.com) and they set me up with an apartment for the amount of time I was living here, within my budget, and in my preferred arrondissement. They are very friendly and speak English and the website is in English too. It was a great experience and I am very happy with the apartment they set me up with. I'd recommend them to anyone as they make the transition to Paris very easy.