Want to buy an apartment in Paris?

I was kindly invited to a dinner party last night and during the course of the evening, one of the guests was making a final offer on the purchase of an apartment. The offer was accepted and we had an unexpected cause for celebration. His new home will be in the opposite part of the city from where I live, and as even the proud future owner admitted to me, it is not in the best part of town. I have seen the building, though not the particular apartment, and while it is an improving neighborhood, it is probably the least fashionable part of the city that I have seen.

Don't misunderstand -- it's completely safe and I have seen far, far sketchier parts of American cities, but it is worth noting when I tell you that the price for his 1,000 square foot apartment was approximately $825,000. The weak dollar has something to do with that, but my poorly informed guess would be that a comparably-sized condo in a comparably old building in a comparable part of Chicago would cost about 30% of that. To which a Parisien would likely (and truthfully) respond: well, that apartment is not in Paris.