Emmis

[quote user="NormanH"]I think that the commuting life into Paris is rather different from staying in Montmartre. Rents in the immediate vicinity of Paris are horrendous. I think that price may well be a more important factor than you might imagine A bit further out you can see some examples on here http://www.leboncoin.fr/locations/offres/ile_de_france/bonnes_affaires/?f=a&th=1&mre=850&ros=3&location=60000 I am well past it all, but there are one or two members who do live and work in the Paris area, so over to them [/quote] Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, this is not a life change choice - it's a work necessity and we did already imagine that life would be slightly different than a week's holiday Paris! ;-) We're not expats on a large relocation package, unfortunately, and don't have any help from a company - fools that we are, we move on our own backs. The project has come to an end for my husband where we're currently living so we have to take the next opportunity - and it happens to be in Paris... However, we're under no illusions. Daily life will not be romantic walks along the Seine. I'm actually quite worried as most of the cities we've lived in have been incredibly liveable. We've never lived in London and the prospect of living in Paris scares me in much the same way, to be honest. Price is always the most important factor - we were up until 1am the night before, terrified by the rents we were looking at. Senlis/Chantilly/Pont Sainte-Maxence looked more reasonable so we were wondering if they were doable. At the moment we're looking at this through very grey spectacles but with the current work climate we might not have any other choice. Any advice/suggestions input would be hugely appreciated. Thank you also for the leboncoin website.

My husband has a work opportunity in Paris but we don't think we will be able to afford nice housing in the city itself. We only know Paris from holidays but these were always spent in the city itself, in Montmartre. Unfortunately we do not know the outlying areas at all. Nevertheless, we've done some research and Chantilly, Pont Sainte Maxence and Senlis seem really nice from what we can see online. Does anyone know these areas and what the daily commute by train might be like? Also, if they are liveable areas, would anyone be able to advise us on primary schools for our two children (aged 8 and 5) and on integration for foreign children? Our children are used to moving around a lot with us, but to date have attended international schools. My husband would be taking a salary cut so we would not be able to afford an international education in Paris. Any advice would be hugely appreciated. We're quite a young, alternative-minded family, so anything that you think might be attractive to us would be fabulous! We did see that this was happening near Pont Sainte Maxence, and it's very much our kind of thing! http://ritabanerjee.wordpress.com/2012/03/17/chateau-de-sacy-ecoliving-and-writing-retreat/ My husband's also a surfer but I don't think he'll be getting much in on the Seine or Oise! Thank you in advance and apologies if this has already been covered before!