If you do decide to stay outside of Paris, I'd recommend trying Levallois-Perret. The town has 3 metro stops of its own (Pont de Levallois, Anatole France, and Louise Michel) at the end of line 3. You can be at St-Lazare (where the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps stores are) within 10 minutes on the metro, and you can walk from Levallois to the 17th arrondissement in 20 minutes. Levallois and the 17th are very safe, by the way, and despite its 3 metro stops Levallois is relatively small, easy to navigate, and densely packed with supermarkets and local stores for all your needs.

Found a wonderful apartment in the 4th arrondissment. Only 110 euros. Thank you everyone for your help! I'm going to Paris! Wow

great Dinah, well done.

enjoy your trip.

4th is a good area to be.

Getting around in Paris:
http://www.ratp.fr/plan-interactif/