Staying a while at any one place and living at a different pace than purely sightseeing is definitely a different mindset. Staying outside the most popular districts can open up a different experience. The Canal St. Martin is one with great restaurants and boutiques (with easy access to the adjacent upper Marais), but you can even go further afield into places like the 11eme. I would say that yes, Paris is suffering from some of the same issues that are plaguing other cities: homelessness, entrance of chains/commercialization, overtourism. It has gotten worse, but still not like the US. (We have a key to a friend's pied-a-terre in the Central Paris)

I have a recommendation that comes with the caveat that I’ve not booked a Paris apartment through them, but I recently came back from two weeks in one of their London apartments. Take a look at parisperfect.com I believe it’s a family-run operation that manages the rental of the individually-owned apartments. Some of the Paris properties are spectacular (and the prices might reflect that!) but there are apartments of all sizes available.

I had a great experience in London and wish they had been on my radar when I went to Paris five years ago. Good luck with your planning!

Pics from the refinisher’s Instagram. I figured the table could be helped but never dreamed it could look like this.