The point is, are you willing to give up location for space or has location become more desirable outside of the city anyway where prices are lower? Paris is the center of life in the country and for the most part, the price of a property purchase reflects that.
It is well known that property investment in Paris is non-risk. Prices have increased on a steady basis since and are still climbing. During the financial crisis, prices held steady then climbed substantially the year after. Even with renewed interest in moving outside of the city since the Covid pandemic and confinement, my bet is on Paris holding its value—forever.
When you live in Paris, the more centrally you live, the more you will enjoy living in the city. The more accessible you will be to everything the city has to offer, the more you will take advantage of it and the more you will enjoy this proximity. I joke that when you live in central Paris, you can stop home to change your shoes at any time. Even living in the outer districts 9 through 20 will add travel time to your day and limit your ability to change your shoes at any time.
The bottom line is that living inside the city is, in my opinion, the best way to enjoy Paris to its fullest. Living outside the city means giving something up—the urbanity of it—while trading it for space and perhaps what nature has to offer, such as a garden, a pool, proximity to the forest, etc.
Budget may be a big, big factor. So, where can you get more bang out of the buck without going too far outside of center? The key to being happily ensconced in one of the suburbs is transportation—so you have easy access to the city without ever needing to own and operate a car in the interest of trading location for space or budget. There are many beautiful suburbs from which to chose. The farther away from the Paris city centre, the more the banlieues of the south of Paris can be divided into two zones.
