Who Are The People In Your Neighbourhood?

Our Paris neighbourhood of Marais is truly a unique neighbourhood. When Paris underwent radical change in the mid 1800s, thousands of old buildings were torn down to make boulevards so that Paris had flow and its growing population could move around. Everything had to be symmetrical just like in their gardens (from Versailles to the Luxembourg Gardens, everything lines up). The French are crazy about symmetry. This is why you have the Arc d' Triomphe with twelve streets intersecting at what could be the world's largest roundabout (lanes don't matter). On a map Paris is one beautiful grid with focal points where six to eight or more streets meet.
Except for Marais. This old quarter kept its narrow streets and has become the Jewish Quarter as well as the hippest part of Paris to live. Chic shops occupy the bottom floors while apartments are on the next five or so floors. Cafes abound and tables are set up practically onto the street where motorcycles and bicycles and cars and trucks fight for room on narrow one way streets (walking must be done with all your antennae up and working). The doorways and walls often have unique designs on them. On weekends it is wall to wall people (the walls aren't that far apart) as everybody seems to want to check out the cafes, restaurants, bakeries, and shops (there can't be more than a couple of dozen items in each tiny shop but there are usually at least three people serving the customers, this is NOT the Bay). Since this is the Jewish Quarter, we have Kosher shops and synagogues and a parade of Hasidic Jews especially on the Sabbath.
Besides being a fascinating place to stay, we are ten minutes from the Seine River and the Notre Dame. We've walked along the river numerous times to the Louvre, Sorbonne, Arc d' Triomphe (that was a loooong hike), Musee d'Orsay, and lots of other sights. Just walking or sitting and eating in our neighbourhood is enough entertainment (who needs TV). Most of the people here seem to think so too because they are always out from the early morning walk with the dog to get a baguette to the late night cafe visit. Just a few blocks away is the Place de Vosges which is a beautiful square created by Henry IV surrounded by restaurants, shops, and homes. We have spent a couple of Sundays just sitting in the park soaking up the sun while reading and people watching. The grass is always covered with people picnicking and visiting. (I might have said this a few times already but these people seem to live to visit. This seems to be even more important here than in other parts of Europe we've visited.)
Our apartment is about one hundred square feet (yes it is cozy) and six floors up. If we lived here, we would not need any form of exercise other than coming and going. Other apartments in this neighbourhood that are only slightly larger sell for close to a million dollars. How do they afford these places and eat out every night? Maybe the answer is that they don't spend money on the house and yard upkeep like we do and don't collect toys (plasma TVs, snowmobiles, boats, etc.). Anyway, we love our neighbourhood and in a strange kind of way it feels a little like a home away from home.