Yeah, Paris aint cheap.

Most big European cities have huge rents as well but no Bay Area salaries to make up for it.

The difference is that usually ( certainly in the case of Paris) there's plenty of very affordable housing available in the suburbs with good transport connections to the city and some other suburbs.

Yeah but you can buy an apartment 25 miles / 30 min from the city center with a minimum wage salary (I know, I have friends who did it). Try doing that in the Bay.

Do you have any more details on that? I'd like to know more.

Either apartments outside of Paris are dirt cheap or minimum wage in France is really high.

A dev from Paris I met in Germany said he left due to how unaffordable housing was so something doesn't add up.

Housing is expensive in the city and some nearby suburbs ( mostly to the west and southwest), but less so the further away you are. Thanks to the RER train system even far away suburbs, with cheap or cheapish housing aren't that far away - e.g. i have colleagues with houses ( with big yards and two stories) in the 200k euros range south of Paris, in fancy-ish suburbs, and are 40-50 minutes from the office ( i live in a suburb right next to the city and i travel entirely by subway, and it takes me 50 minutes, because the subway is much slower).

Depending on what you want though, it can indeed be very expensive - e.g. if you want an apartment in the city to profit from the night life ( after 1am the transport to the suburbs is only with buses and much slower), it is going to be very expensive to buy.

And that's just for "regular" people. Each city in France is required to have a minimum percentage of social housing, to which you can have access ( including to buy) if you're below a certain threshold of income ( so on minimum wage, you're there).

Thanks for the input. Can you please tell me which are those suburbs with 200k homes outside of Paris? I'd definitely move there at that price, sounds like a steal.

Though I'm a bit skeptical as 200k is enough for a house in Eastern Europe on the outskirts of Bucharest, but in Austria where I am now and average house outside of Vienna is way over 600K so the Paris suburbs you describe seem suspiciously cheap to me at only 200k since Paris is more expensive than Vienna.

What's the catch?

Here is a 230k EUR house just 1h20m outside Paris: https://www.green-acres.fr/en/properties/13050a-340936848565...

Auxerre is one such city. I have a coworker who has bought a few apartments there because it’s where he’s from and eventually plans to return to.

But it is 2h30m outside Paris, does it really still count as a suburb?

it is simple. rich suburbs are sometimes even pricier than paris.

suburbs with massive ethnic populations (1st/2nd generation or immigrants) are dirt cheap but for some of them that means getting food at the hallal butcher,eating kebab, going to a hairdresser where the windows are closed so that you can't see women inside, high crime, dirty cities ran by leftist at best, communist at worst that deny high income to move in those cities (because high income votes right) which spiral into more crime and more diversity stomping away what makes france france.

Airbnb + rich tourists wanting a flat in paris also destroyed real estate in paris (which is a small city)

Oh and before the downvotes im a 2nd generation immigrant.

Well, you've got quite a skewed since of reality, because it's well documented within the majority of high income votes left haha.

I assume it's just that some places are quite cheap, if you're fine with living in council flat from the 60s in a poor neighborhood.

From what I can find, minimum wage is around €1500/m, before taxes.