Two ladies, close friends of mine, stayed in an apartment near the La Fourche Metro for six months and were happy there. Bus lines:

http://www.ratp.info/picts/plans/gif/bus_paris/74.gif

http://www.ratp.info/picts/plans/gif/bus_paris/84.gif

I may never know. I think I am wavering a bit.

Life is a collection of missed opportunities. Best of luck.

I live a ten minute walk from La Fourche for over the past five years. Kerouac's take on the area is the most accurate so far.

Avenue de Clichy is busy at all hours of the day and night. Traffic jams at 4am are not unheard of. It's a mixed area with French and other ethnic groups and is very residential with all the shops and markets that go along with that.

Your street is gated because it is a private street and the gate keeps out people who have no right to be there and more importantly people who have no right to park there. It's a cute little cobblestone street, and the people who live there have an open house each year. I don't think you'd be too bothered by the noise from the avenue.

There is, in addition to the McDonald's (which is a bit of a hang out for youth) a Monoprix and other grocery stores nearby. There are several good bus lines and it's about a five minute walk to the Place de Clichy and its transport options. In fact, instead of changing at Place de Clichy to get to La Fourche, if you're not carrying tons of stuff it'd be just as easy to walk. It's also an easy walk to Batignolles, which is a cute area with some nice shops.

It's not a dangerous area, but it's not quaintly pretty either. As long as you pay attention and you're not wandering home obviously drunk at 3am you won't have problems.

Moxie, I have lived in Paris for fifteen years, and you couldn't pay me to live in the 16th or the 7th. To each his own.

I was not bothered by the gate in a negative sense. Every apartment building I have seen in Munich, where I have friends, has a locked front door. When I get there I have to ring the apartment from the call box by the front door.

One of my friends then comes down and lets me into the building and we then climb the steps to the apartment.

I don't usually frequent McDonalds! So finding the young folks hanging out there is no problem. That situation is not much different where I live, I might add.

I think the main problem now is deciding if I want the apartment. There is unfortunately no guest book of comments.
I will have to assume that VRBO does not serve as the agent for bad apartments.

The pictures and the size of the apartment for a group of 6 make it sound and look acceptable.

Unless someone out there has rented this particular unit, there is really no way to find out any more. The owner has answered all of my questions, but I don't expect the owner to say it has this and that liability.

I wouldn't worry about staying there if you like that apartment. It can be interesting to explore new areas of a city, after all. But if it's really the apt., you'll hve to decide on that.

However, from your last post, you should be aware that VRBO is NOT an agency. It doesn't even call itself that -- it says it is a "vacation rental site" or something. It's just a place for owners to advertise. YOu had better read the disclaimer on that website so you understand that. It clearly says they do not verify, check, or guarantee anything.

Hey, Bob... I stumbled across this apartment in the 5th... check it out.
http://www.ruemonge.net/

I have now read the VRBO legal stuff.
Essentially, rent at your own risk.
I had assumed that I needed to investigate, and this thread is part of my investigation.

I will check out that other site. I was trying to find an apartment for 6 of us because I wanted my son and his family to have the opportunity to visit Paris.

When my son was 16 over 30 years ago, he went with us to London. It was a good trip for all of us, and it let my son know that there was a whole different world out there to explore.

I think he had one of thos "Eureka Moments" when we were standing on the tube platform at Earl's Court when he noticed that there we were surrounded by people who did not look at all like Englishmen. He remarked, "Geez, look at all the foreigners."

To which I replied, "I think I am standing next to two of them."

The crowning moment of that episode came when my son saw some large young man wearing a sweatshirt that read "University of Michigan." There was only one thing wrong with it: The sweatshirt was green, the lettering was white as was the helmeted figure of a head on the chest.