The largest common room in Paris sits in the 19th arrondissement; the local flatshare apartment shares its spirit: since 11 October 2008, the glass halls of the Centquatre — the city's former municipal funeral works given back to the public — have opened freely to hip-hop dancers, jugglers, companies and tango couples rehearsing side by side, each their own square, all under one roof. The district made space its common good, and its homes follow: here, space is not a luxury, it is the starting endowment of every home.
The budget confirms the promise: three bedrooms in a flatshare apartment are found around €1,800 a month before charges between Ourcq and Crimée — the bottom of the Paris scale, with nothing shaved off the surfaces. The neighbours hold the comparison: the 20th arrondissement answers with Gambetta and its craftsmen's courtyards, the 10th runs the same canal back up to the stations for the mobile lives among us.
Do you own a three-roomer on the Ourcq quays or an open floor towards Crimée? A listing that says sharing allowed meets the newest demand in Paris here: first groups of friends after graduation, young teams from the Villette schools, public-service families — and every flatmate of those profiles brings a simple, sincere file, often their first. Entire rent, plan, quay or heights: say it plainly, the listing will quietly do the sorting itself.
Frequently asked questions
How come the 19th stays the most affordable for a whole unit?
Heritage and supply, quite simply: the arrondissement long housed the canal and slaughterhouse trades, and its stock — brick buildings, airy ensembles, little houses — outruns the solvent demand of the moment. A flatshare apartment captures the gap: the same square metres as elsewhere, a monthly bill lightened by a good third.
Ourcq, Buttes-Chaumont, Mouzaïa: three sceneries for one budget?
Very nearly: the Ourcq gives the quays, the bikes and the long summer evenings; the Buttes-Chaumont offer the whole park downhill and the quietest streets; the Mouzaïa lines up its flowered villas for those quietly dreaming of a house of their own. Rents hold close — the choice plays on the Sunday scenery, not the spreadsheet.
What is the going share in the arrondissement of space?
Just about the capital's gentlest rate: a room the old way costs €744 a month, charges included, in LocService's readings — each flatmate here slips under it without effort from three signatories, often clearly, true living room and balcony thrown in.
Is the 19th well connected to the rest of Paris?
Better than its reputation: lines 5 and 7 towards the centre, the 7 bis as a neighbourhood loop, the Maréchaux tramway, and the canal as an express cycle path — République fifteen minutes away by bike. At night the quays walk you home: one of the rare arrondissements where the way back from a party is a stroll along the water.
Landlord facing first-time files: how do you choose well?
Do not mistake a thin file for a weak one: the young groups here offset seniority with guarantors and steadiness — read the team's coherence more than each payslip. State your expectations clearly in the listing and meet the four of them together: the flatmate who starts out in the 19th often stays put for the whole decade.
