Accomodation

Pros	Cons
Better Standard of Living	Lack of Privacy
Meeting Great People	Extra Flatmate Problems
Reduced Costs	Different sleep schedules
Shared Chores	Parties and Noise
Independent Life	Fights over Facilities
Borrowing others’ stuff	Ever-Changing Flatmates
No Need to buy Furniture	No Redecorating

Homestays

A homestay is a type of accommodation where you will be staying with a local family. Generalizing, you will have your room and by spending much time with the new family you will have the treatment of the "special child". However, you can also occupy your private space and live an individual life while you stay there. Because homestays are often all-inclusive - with meals, housing, laundry, and some sort of cleaning service all packaged together - you'll most certainly save a lot of money going this way. Homestay study abroad programs, for example, will certainly be less expensive.
It's sensible and saving: you take your room in an apartment or a house while, being active in your life in France, enjoying the facilities and benefits of having a permanent residence. The parents sometimes do not charge their student children with free or reduced rent in exchange for services such as babysitting, homework assistance, or language training.

Pros	Cons
Enhance your Language Skills	Settlement far from the City Center
Immerse yourself in French Culture	Follow Strict House Rules
Free of House Chores	Dependency Factor
More Economical	Communicate all your Plans
Additional Bills not on you	Overnight Guests not Allowed
Home-Cooked Meals	Culture Inadaptability
Live Like a Local	Restricted Personal Space

Private Rent

It is always an option when you settle down for private housing if only you searched for other alternatives but did not find them convenient. This alternative is often expensive but comfortable. Many students opt to colocate or rent large flats and share with other people. Rent, including the expense for power, gas, and internet/telephone service, is split between the roommates in a shared rental. But you can rent an apartment or a house to yourself for a room.
Private student housing usually has luxurious facilities and desirable conveniences, and therefore significantly costs more than the standard university halls with simpler apparatus. Everything finally depends on personal preference. But if you would prefer to live at the heart of the city, in direct proximity to all its activity and excitement, then private housing is appropriate for you. Preferably, one may choose to live in university halls if the intention is to be near these great buildings and campus.

Pros	Cons
More Privacy	More Responsibility
Independency	Furnishing
Quality and Comfort	Expensive
Near City Center	Electricity and Other Bills
Choose your Flatmates	Travel to Campus
Wide Varieties of Budgets	No Pets policy

Hostels

A hostel is a place where students from a school or college may provide affordable, nutritious, and safe lodging. Presently, a large number of students are accommodated in hostels. The students usually staying in the hostels come from a distant town for their education, but now even the students belonging to the same area prefer hostels. Apart from teamwork, coordination, a feeling of community, and flexibility, hostel life teaches you many more things. In a hostel, the student comes across many of the same age groups and thinking styles. More likely than in a college, a student would take good qualities from the roommates and other hostel-mates while being around bad influences by some others.
Most hostels are run by not-for-profits (often religious organizations) and are meant for young people between the ages of 18 to 25. Some are men's only, and others are women's only. Young employees (on apprenticeships, work-study, or practical training) or students doing internships are often preferred. Hostels offer the most ideal learning environment. Though the students love hostel life in all its varied forms, they work extremely hard when it is time to wind up.

Pros	Cons
Affordable	Lack of privacy
Meet like-minded people	Bunk Beds
Have a Kitchen	Unhygienic Room
Organized Hostel Activities	Noises
Located in beautiful areas	Provide your toiletries
Proximate to campus	Shared bathrooms and showers
Disciplined life	Inconsiderate roommate

Student Accommodation Prices in France

You may care to know how much the rent in France costs. Frankly, that depends on the region you are choosing. It can be quite expensive in Paris, while outside the capital, it tends to be relatively much cheaper. Another factor is whether you stay in the city center or the outskirts and the properties themselves. In the city outskirts, for a one-roomed apartment, the cheapest available rent would be €350. A one-room apartment in the middle of Paris's city could, for instance, cost approximately €800-1,000.

Here’s the average cost of rent according to the housing type in France:

Average Cost of Student Housing Types

Residence Hall	€250/month
Apartment Share	€400/month
Homestays	€60/day
Private Rental	€500/month
Hostels	€300/month

Here’s the average cost of private rental depending on the city:

The Average Cost of Rent in Major French Cities

Paris	€1200
Lyon	€800 - 1000
Bordeaux	€700 - 800
Lille	€570
Marseille	€900
Toulouse	€800
Grenoble	€600

How to Find Student Housing in France?

This is one of the most important questions every international student has to deal with when deciding to study abroad in France. There are quite a few ways in which a student can find the best accommodation. Here are some of them.

  Ask the International Office at Your French Institution

Once you arrive on campus, go to the international office and freely ask for student housing suggestions. To be honest, this can even be done before leaving for France, simply by emailing them. In most cases, every university gives brief instructions on their campus, whether they offer dorms or hostels. So you will probably find options for housing through the international office.

  Surf Online Portals

Now, everything is achievable through the web, and hunting for a place to reside for college students is also not excluded. You do not need to wait until you get to France to begin hunting for an apartment. Browse through and apply for a room in a CROUS building, a hostel, or a private residence from home. While making a booking for student accommodation, you should not send money online if you have not signed a rental agreement and you haven't had a word with the property owner or agent in person.

  Ask Locals

While most people approach finding the right student accommodation with extensive research on the Internet, there is an underrated way of finding your ideal accommodation: word of mouth. Actually, after networking with the local French folks, you would be surprised by the extent of their suggestions and information. Since they are locals of France, there is no doubt that they know some of the best places for students, be it an apartment or just a room. Another option would be contacting somebody whom you know who has lived in France as a student.

Bonus Student Housing Tips

Here are some additional tips you should find helpful before renting in France:

• 1. Read the lease well before signing.
• 2. Never pay in advance.
• 3. Tour the property before paying rent.
• 4. Look for furnished
• 5. Rents appear too low; reassure yourself about the offer.
• 6. Search for housing before arriving in France.
• 7. Talk to other flatmates.
• 8. Know what appliances will and should be brought.
• 9. Know the length of the contract.