Metz Travel Forum

Hello, I am starting a teaching job in the Metz suburbs in October and will be living there until May. I think the custom for finding an apartment in France is to pay a bunch of money to an agence and get a list of appartments, then pay 2 months rent security deposit, etc. Is this what everyone does, including students? I'm American and I'm used to not having to find an agency, just going out and picking up rental guides for free. How do most students in town end up finding apartments and such? Is there any areas or districts of Metz that are better/worse than others for safety/crime? Anyone have any good apartment leads?

Thanks!