Where to Live in Paris

Last activity 27 June 2009 by zarathustra

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adrianamdMember19 May 2009 21:42:20

I have a very detailed question to all those out there living in Paris already, I am an American, Although I am Argentinian in Origin, Living in France. At the moment I am Living in St malo, But I will be moving to Paris soon enough. My question is, Where should I live? Now before you answear please consider this... I moved here with my husband who is 35, I my self are 29 so we are still young at heart. We have 3 Children (I have one 11 year old from my first marriage that lives in the states with his father and comes to France on School Vacations) So in essence we have 4 Children:rolleyes:

My Children are 11, Twins who are 2 and starting Maternel in September, and a 1 year old.

So we would need a 2 bed apt min, but a 3 bedroom would be ideal! Being that we have so many kids it would be awesome if we could live in a place where there are other children, and maybe a park, This also means that I would need a relatively new building with an elavator or ground floor. Can you imagine walking up 3 flights of stairs with 3 kids!!!

Ideally I would like a balcony or a small outside since I have the bad habbit of smoking. Now here is the kicker, we moved here to be closer to my husbands family who lives on the 19th, But he would have to be close to some kind of easy transportation to get to and from work.

He would be away alot due to work, so the area would have to be close to schools and shopping for me, since I would be alone with three kids.

Culturally, I would want to be in an artist area, or a place where I can find like minds and be able to read books, and have coofee with good people.
I am a vegetarian, Is there a place that is ecologically friendlier...ok, ok Im pushing it, But in a way Im telling you what I really need. After all now that I have moved here I have left back my friends and my family in the hopes of making new ones, and with so many kids and my husband working is not like I can travel all over the place to meet people, so if I can find an area where I can find friendly people that would be so cool!!!!

Now the thing is, we would be just starring out, so I doubt we can pay a lot for this dream palace of mine, Im talking about 1500, to 1600 Max. and I know I am asking for a lot, I am trying to place all of the points here so that you will be able to give me an educated guess.

I really hope that someone out there on Cyber space reads my posts and understands where I am coming from enough to answear my query.

if not, well, I hope you all have an awsome day and thanks for reading my long post anyway!

Speak soon,
Adriana

Jo AnnViP20 May 2009 00:44:44

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Hey Adriana !
I hope you'll find an answer soon !
I am not Parisian (I'm in Montpellier) but I believe it's going to be a bit difficult to say in Paris intra muros with your request. But I know there are some nice places a few metro stops away from the city. :-)

Helen32ddMember23 May 2009 19:28:15

Hi Adriana

I am moving in July to Paris, so i have done some kind of homework on properties over the past few months. I looked on seloger.com for rental ( or Location, as they word in french) properties. I will be living in the 16th district out of town, Vocresson ( I think i have spelt that correctly ??!!). As i wanted a garden for my dogs and some outdoor space to BBQ etc etc. I am living in a expat area i think, May be a few American families in the neighbourhood. Anyway I hope this website helps. speak soon Helen

zarathustraNew member11 June 2009 11:25:20

The budget might stretch to a small 2 bedder in Boulogne. If you can make it there I think you'd enjoy it - it's very family orientated, feels safe and has easy access directly into Paris. You can take the kids to the local park and feed the terrapins and coypu, wonder the countless hectaires of chateau grounds in Saint Cloud, and get into the centre of Paris by metro in 20-25 minutes.

zarathustraNew member11 June 2009 11:30:16

Helen32dd wrote:
Hi Adriana

I am moving in July to Paris, so i have done some kind of homework on properties over the past few months. I looked on seloger.com for rental ( or Location, as they word in french) properties. I will be living in the 16th district out of town, Vocresson ( I think i have spelt that correctly ??!!). As i wanted a garden for my dogs and some outdoor space to BBQ etc etc. I am living in a expat area i think, May be a few American families in the neighbourhood. Anyway I hope this website helps. speak soon Helen

I'm in the 16th Helen around Auteuil. I don't know Vaucresson by name, by I'm guessing it's the bit by the very edge of Bois de Boulogne - if so you have a nice feeling of space. You're just inside Paris, but it doesn't feel like Paris. I think only multi-millionaires can afford properties with their own gardens in Paris, so if you're not in that category it may be you can find a place with a nice communal courtyard garden. BBQ's are a bit more of an Aussie/Portguese thing, but I guess there's no reason why you couldn't (unless neighbours start complaining).
There seems to be plenty of American expats living round this area.

lornabMember21 June 2009 09:01:50

Hello and thanks for the information about living near Paris I am looking to relocate from near Barcelona with two smallish children. 3 and 6 Would love more info about greener areas which are accessible to La Defense. Does anyone know about schools international, local or bilingual? my kids are tri & quadralingual Eng-Span-Dutch-Catalan- yet to learn French- I think that an Eng French school might make the change a bit easier for them. Im a fluent French speaker. I would love to find somewhere family friendly and not too posh. Budget is around 2-3000 euros renting. look forward to any advice you have.

zarathustraNew member22 June 2009 08:39:59

For 3000 euros you might be able to get a nice 3 (perhaps even 4) bedroom house in Le Vésinet, which is an extremely nice suburb of Paris on the far west side. You'd have to jump on the RER to get into Paris, but you'd still have pretty good access. Otherwise St. Cloud, Boulogne might be a good choice - it's green, and excellent access to the city and La Defense. Only problem is the closer you get into Paris the more the prices go up, and you don't get nearly as much for your money, but you'd still get by fine on your budget.
Although I'm afraid I have no recommendations on schools I know there's plenty of good international schools around, and those on the west side of the city are of excellent quality.

lornabMember22 June 2009 13:44:21

Thanks for that I will have a browse

zarathustraNew member27 June 2009 22:08:43

Popped over to Le Vésinet today. My word, how the other half live! Whilst there is affordable property, there's a lot of CEO's set up here, and road after road of millionaires mansions. Very green part of Paris with trees, grass, ponds and the nearby forest. Beautiful and tranquil if you have the money, but found it took a good 30+ minutes to get back from the RER to Charles de Gaulle.

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