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LIFE OUTSIDE PARIS

APARTMENT

Renting: How far would your money go outside Paris?

How much on average do people in France pay their landlord a month - and how does that compare across the country? New figures show some glaring differences across France that might make you think about moving.

Renting: How far would your money go outside Paris?
Rental prices in Paris are far more expensive than the rest of France. Photo: AFP
The average monthly rental for a French home is €624 ($678), according to online renting portal LocService
 
The stats are based on the 65,500 homes rented out across the country via the website during 2015.
 
But if you're thinking this average means you'll be able to waltz into central Paris and get a nice family-sized apartment for that kind of price, then think again. 
 
In fact, the average price for an apartment in Paris shoots up to €1,014 each month.
 
And if you are going to (somehow) find an apartment in the capital for the national average of €624, then you'll only get around 15 metres squared, according to the site.
 
In other words a pokey studio flat, probably a chambre de bonne on the top floor of an old building, with a shared toilet and a kitchen sink hidden in a cupboard.
 
However things are getting better, if only slightly.
 
The square metre price fell by 2.15 percent to €33.30 in Paris. In the suburbs of Paris, however, the price shot up 2.65 percent last year, meaning you'll now pay an average of €17.37 per sqm in the banlieues.
 
Moving outside of Paris, you can still expect to pay a (much cheaper) monthly average rent of €564 for a home. 
 
Indeed, the website compared statistics for 12 cities around France and found that Paris, unsurprisingly,  was a rare exception when it comes to average apartment size. 
 
In fact, you can get an apartment almost twice as big for €624 if you choose to leave Paris and live in Nice, where you'd be able to score 29 square metres, meaning you'll probably have the luxury of having a separate bedroom.
 
And it only gets bigger from there.
 
Montpellier in the south saw an average size of 40m2 if you have €624 to fork out, while Lille and Marseille both recorded 41m2 as the size one could get for the national average rent price.
 
Lyon at 43m2 and Rennes at 44m2 rounded out the middle of the stats, followed by Toulouse and Strasbourg at 45m2. 
 
On the cheaper end of the scale, a nationally average priced apartment in Bordeaux or Nantes would score you an 47m2 and 48m2 respectively, so perhaps even two bedrooms.
 
But if you're looking for a real bargain, rent in Saint-Etienne, which is not far from Lyon, and where €624 can get you a whopping 75m2 – enough space to have a family of four.
 
Keen to see what else is available? Check out the LocService site here, or visit The Local's Property Section here

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