What is it like living in Paris's suburbs?

I agree with the general drift here, and: Yes, West is more "bourgeois" than east, always has been; safer? Usually. Metro line is better/ significantly closer to Paris per se. But more expensive. Paris has a comparatively low crime rate, even compared to NYC; Suburbs can be really pleasant: I lived for 10 years in Clichy La Garenne (92) [not Clichy Sous Bois (93)], quiet, pleasant suburb, lots of trees, near the river banks, nice kindergarten, strong Portugese community... you will find the same kind of conditions in Malakoff, Vanves... In certain parts (typically 93) ethnicity will be an issue... The real estate bubble has changed the game radically: most of Paris prices now are above 9000 euro/ m2!!! [when I bought my flat in 1999 I payed under 3000 euros/ m2...quote that price these days and people sob]. So Paris intra muros is bobo/ bourgeois; most of the first couronne ("crown") is nearly as expensive... so now even the second couronne is above most average people's means... So if you come over today, suburb will mean wildly different things depending on you financial means...nice little XIXth century house with garden in Vanves (metro) or a '60s high rise with parking lot in Garges les Gonesses (RER)... Everywhere you may find local communities of people who are interested in developing a local life and mutual help. Do get in touch with people, probably at first through the local town hall and internet...

and have good answer. I'll add a few things, esp. from the point of view of a person coming to Paris to work for some time (not a 1-yr exchange student). Most large companies have their headquarters / major offices outside of Paris, often in the Western suburbs (La Défense, of course, but also Nanterre and others) but not always (St-Denis seems rather popular). Be aware that public transports do not work that well for suburbs-to-suburbs journeys (with the exception of the tramway -- see below) So access to Métro and maybe RER A will be critical to you day-to-day commute -- and hence sanity. However, there are specific trips by bus or tramway that can allow you to by-pass the Métro and central Paris. In particular the bus network around La Defense, as well as the T2 tramway, can make living in St-Cloud (which do not have Métro) or Suresnes great. Check the ranking of the best High-Schools here at http://www.lexpress.fr/palmares/lycees/. (You have to select the département -- either 75, or the 92, 93, 94 around). The map here at http://relais-desserts.net/members/ will point at some of the best pastry shops in Europe -- zoom a bit to get to Paris and suburbs.  I would advise you to select where you want to live based on that map -- but that's a highly personal criteria ;o) A shameless plug for my friend http://nicolas-bernarde.com/at La Garenne Colombes -- fantastic pastries in one the nicest suburbs close to Paris (very family oriented).

I lived in St. Denis (The infamous 9-3 (neuf-trois)) for 7 months on my ERASMUS study year, as well as another 5 months in Central Paris. In those 7 months I didn't see one crime being committed, No burning cars, not even petty theft. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but in my experience in St. Denis for 7 months I actually felt safer than I did living in a comparatively wealthier suburb in London (Where I lived for 3 years). I was living along the bank of Canal St.Denis, the closest Metro was Porte de Paris (Line 13). It was actually a really beautiful and cosmopolitan area with some incredible architecture and lots of interesting things were going on nearby. Poverty on the other hand was a lot more obvious, with quite a few beggars, and the state of the buildings and general neglect of the area (by the civil service) was apparent. In the night there were a few streets that weren't well lit and sometimes you'd have to walk past a gang of young people, but the same scenario exists in many other places that I've lived in. I always keep my head down and I've only ever been addressed once, and that was just to ask for the time. I think as a woman, the situation may have been different, but I was living with another woman who told me she never had problems (An Australian red-head). I also lived in Monmartre (Pigalle) for 5 months, which actually is an issue for women living on their own there, reports from my neighbours of sexual harrassment and even stalking were common, and I was actually sexually harrassed once, as someone mistook me for a rentboy!). In my opinion, it's less important where you move to in Paris, and more important to find the right flatmates or neighbours.

I am an Indian student and lived for a major part of previous year's summer in Orly, near the Les Saules RER terminal. My apartment was fairly good and even my flatmate was very helpful. The people nearby were also good and even late night the neighborhood was fairly safe. During my stay, the thing I realized was that being in suburbs you somewhat miss the happening and interesting night life of Paris. The neighborhood seemed quiet even during festivals at the time Central Paris was really in the mood. All in all as David said it's more important to find the right flatmates. The good transport connectivity will cover other fallacies.

First, being within the reach of the "Metro" (subway) network (ie. lines  1 to 14) means you are close to Paris core. As soon as you start relying on "RER" only (mid-distance subway train) then it means you are farther away from what is going on in Paris. It depends what you are looking for, but if it is for Paris that you are coming, then make sure you are in Paris or within the Metro area. Re.  bad/edgy/cool: for edgy seek the central and eastern parts of Paris central (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 18th, 19th, 20th  "arrondissements"), and in the suburbs you are looking at the first row  of suburbs outside Paris, mpre specifixcally in the northern and eastern sides of Paris (again): Clichy, St Ouen, St Denis, Montreuil, ... In Paris core there are very few patches of truely bad (ie. unsafe) neighbourhoods: the north of 18ème arrondissement (around Porte de Clignancourt) comes to mind. In general,  the narrow stretch on the inner side of the border of Paris, specifically in the 18th, 19th and 20th arrondissements, can be bad. "

It's true that it's hard to generalize but if you're looking for an apartment in the suburbs, you should prefer the western part of Paris which is generally safer than the eastern. I feel safe everywhere in Paris and around (maybe I'm a little bit too optimistic). But if somebody asked me what are the safe (but quite boring) cities near Paris, I'd answer : Levallois-Perret, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Boulogne-Billancourt, Courbevoie, La Garenne-Colombes, Bois-Colombes, Suresnes, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud, Sèvres, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Sceaux, Saint-Maur, Saint-Mandé, Vincennes, Montreuil. In many other cities around, you'll find a majority of very nice and quiet neighborhoods and some parts that are a little bit more problematic, especially at night. I hope that  this list will help you and that you'l enjoy your stay in Paris.

it depends on the suburb! i believe you are referring to those where there is violence and poverty, right? even there, there are many differences. at first, there are the original cities, having been there for centuries, such as Saint Denis, Asnières, Ivry sur Seine and countless others; their centers are made of rather old stone buildings with a church in the middle et cetera. these parts of the suburbs are usually correct and enjoyable, at least during daytime. you also have the pre WWII projects: individual houses, rather comfy. then you have THE projects. they surround those cities centers, having been built after WWII, up until the beginning of the eighties. ugly in appearance, away from the centers, they house the less fortunate (often being the migrants), and the less educated. there is violence in many of these territories, and a certain clan spirit is forming. you may not be able to enter some of these places safely if you are not from there. yet, these "zones de non-droit" (lawless zones) are rather rare, and even there, you wouldn't automatically be hassled. i do live in a Paris suburb, but mine is posh: i wouldn't change for a castle.

I live in Paris' suburbs, in fact I've always lived there. I think that everything depends on the location. I live in a small town called Villebon Sur Yvette, it's quite a residential city but a little far away from Paris. I've always liked how peaceful it is, how easy it is to ride a bike in the forest or by the river, much more greener than the city. You have a certain atmosphere that is very different from a big city, you feel closer to the inhabitants. You don't have the same activity as in Paris, but you'll find something (movie theater, shopping, theater, night clubs in slightly bigger cities, good restaurants). It's in my opinion a better option to raise children, but if you're looking for lots of activities, hobbies, cultural aspects, Paris is better. I'm not sure it's safer, for example a murder occurred here in 2011, and it's quite dead past a certain hour, so you can get a little paranoid when you go back home from the train station in the night. Burglaries have also increased a lot this year, it happened to me and to a lot of my friends. Concerning the costs of the living, it's high compared to the rest of France, but it's lower than Paris. Some students who can't afford a place in Paris prefer to rent it in the suburbs where you will find something better for a lower price. For example, if a student wants to find a place for 500€, he'll have to find something around 10m^2, it's called "chambre de bonne", without toilets inside (you'll have access to a common restroom on the last floor of the building). In the suburbs (at least where I live, next to Paris Sud University), for the same price, you'll get a studio, around 17m^2 with a certain comfort. If you want to live in the suburbs, my best advice would be to live close to a train station that goes to Paris. I'm lucky to live on "la ligne B", so it's easy to be in Paris in less that an hour without a car. Also check the neighborhood in order to make sure that it isn't a troubled neighborhood.

I live at Cergy, which is in the dead ends of zone 5. Cergy has some mind blowing eateries, beautiful sidewalks, and friendly people. It is very underrated and it is one of the best suburbs you could think of settlling in.I'll stop here, but let the pictures talk for themselves. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​