rent is expensive if you want to live in the city;
check http://www.pap.fr/ to get an idea of rental costs etc.

i lived in paris for almost five years after graduation, i left a couple of months ago. architects are generally not paid that well, and there are a lot of unemployed architects sitting around on the dole (although a lot of that is by choice).

it can be tough to get a contract longer than 6 months, and finding somewhere to live is a big problem. a lot of letting is done through agencies who aren't comfortable renting to someone who doesn't have a contract longer than 6 months. it's a catch 22.

i don't know what qualifies rent as expensive, it depends what you're used to. i was generally paying €600-700 per month for a one bed (two room) apartment. as a recent graduate, expect that to be in and around 1/3 of your take home pay after government charges. income tax tax is calculated seperately by you on an annual basis each january, and paid either monthly, quaterly, or in one lump that september.

it's a beautiful city, and i loved living there. it can be a bit tight money wise sometimes, but it's worth it.

which area of paris would one recommend living in?

that's a tough question to answer. it's a small city, and i'd recommend walking around it to get a feel. where you live might be dictated by what you can afford. i don't know how well you know paris. there's a short guide to each arrondissement here, and it's pretty accurate.

i lived in the 17th for two years, and then the 19th for another two (near belleville). for the last year or so i was there i moved to saint-mande, which is a suburb near vincennes. it's still on the metro line, and very beautiful. i was a few minutes from the forest, and it was the most silent apartment i ever lived in.

i like the 19/20th a lot, they're vibrant, busy at night, and rent is reasonable there. they're arrondissements with a lot of immigrants, which suited me down to the ground. there's really good street markets for food, nice cafes, and people are friendly. i knew the 19th really well before moving there anyway, and it was somewhere i wanted to live.

the southern/south western districts are quiet, wealthy, and not much happens there. the central areas are expensive and not woth living in, because everything is well connected with the metro. you will usually have a choice of metro lines or bus routes wherever you are. paris probably has the best public transport system in europe.

best qualify that; rent in paris is per sqm is roughly double what you'd expect to pay in other cities in france. compared to what i'd expect to pay in melbourne, australia, its quite extreme. though from what mark says when you balance that out with expected wages, its affordable.

i lived in paris for 2 years studying at one of the schools. i'd agree with mark in terms of areas; i spent time living in the 15th, south west and quiet; time in the 10th right near the grand boulevards at rue st. denis really interesting area; but always exciting. and time in the 11th. liked much the 19th and 20th aswell, and parts of the 11 around parmentier and oberkampf. very distinct character from place to place.

finding digs is always difficult, so you'll probably get a feel for different parts of the city when you move around meeting landlords etc, transport system is excellent and makes this process alot easier than in most other cities around the world.

I lived there quite a while ago (92-96), and I'm sure things are changing as always, but I also like the 20th for the reasons stated above. I actually moved 7 times while I was there. Started out near the Bastille (11th) off the Fbg. Saint Antoine (between Ledru-Rollin & Faidherbe Chaligny), which was the most expensive place and a great location. That area was starting to get interesting back then and has sort of exploded since and is maybe crazy full of tourists now. Moved after that to a couple of places in the 20th - one which I don't remember exactly where it was (bad experience), then at the Porte de Bagnolet. That was great for proximity to nightlife, cheap food, and crossing into the "suburb" of Bagnolet to take photos and explore. After that I moved to Gentilly, which was (maybe still?) a communist suburb to the southeast. That was further away, cold and slightly depressing, but very interesting to explore as well with some cool old abandoned buildings, a cemetary right next to a hightech stadium, etc. After Gentilly, moved to the 19th for a while, near the Parc de la Villette. Interesting for the Park(though no one is around at night) and I was in the building right in front of an architecture school where there were a lot of american exchange students. I wasn't studying architecture then but could spy on students in the courtyard from my window and would occasionally go down there and sit on the grass and pretend to be one of them, listening to conversations. The things you do when you're alone in a foreign country. Next stop was Simplon, in the 18th, near the Porte de Clignancourt flea market, which is also a great place to go on the week-ends. Then finally stayed near Guy Moquet on the border of the 17th/18th. Not bad, close to pigalle and the 18th, some stuff open late but not super lively. I lived in so many places because the first year I was there I had made some good (and very nice and generous) friends who let me stay with them in their studio apts. A couple of the places were rented rooms from friends of friends or strangers, which tended not to work out so well. The one really bad experience I had was from an ad at the American church - they do have a lot of listings though which can be helpful in a pinch. If you know anyone at all in Paris I would really try to have them help you first find a place, and then once you've been there a while and see how things are move around if you can. Living in so many different neighborhoods was great for me and allowed me to see a lot of the city. I also took the bus everywhere, tried to take it more than the metro - that way you're aboveground and can see the streets, neighborhoods etc. The bus system works extremely well. All in all, my favorite arrondisements are probably the Marais (4th), 18th & 20th. Montmartre isn't bad as well. I had some friends who lived off the Quai de Valmy in the 10th, which is along a canal that runs from the Jaures metro to near Republique. One of the coolest places in Paris, I thought. Also had friends who lived in the 13th & 15th, which were much quieter and a little more empty. One friend lived right in the 1st above one of those glass enclosed old shopping arcades. It was an amazing location. His wife is French and her step-dad owned it. You'll find a lot of the better places to rent are sub-lets from family members, distant cousins, etc. The suburbs can range from very nice & expensive to cheap and hip/seedy. I think the former tend to be on the west and south (?), the latter to the east and north. Depends what you like...