Great place to stay. We lived at Gabriel's comfortable, well-equipped apartment for a month while in Paris on business. He was a most charming and gracious host and we really enjoyed this lively, non-touristy neighborhood. The apartment is away from the street, opening on a courtyard and a garden, so super-quiet except for the birds, but there are several super-markets close by, one with a traiteur (fresh ready-made dishes for those who don't want to cook much), bakeries, butchers, a cheese shop, cheap bric-a-brac shops for those little things you forgot or used up in your travels, etc. There is a big shopping center one metro stop away (10 minute walk) where you can deal with your phone if you like to buy a local SIM card. Many very good small, reasonably-priced restaurants with every type of cuisine - we loved Beksekju Village, amazingly fresh, non-greasy, refined Korean food. Some appetizing French brasseries, too, but we were out all day and mostly home in the evenings. There a several movie theatres showing American and English (in English), French and foreign films (French or with French sub-titles).
The apartment is near several metro stations on different lines so you can choose the easiest route for your day. It will take you about 1/2 hour to get to central classic tourist areas but the quiet, significantly lower prices for everything, and mostly pleasant shopkeepers of this neighborhood are well worth it.
You can also walk easily to a few places that Parisians like to visit (we live in Paris part of the year but are currently renovating). Stroll around the Butte aux Cailles neighborhood (one of the little pretty villages that still exist within Paris), the famous street market of the rue Mouffetard, or the Institut du Monde Arabe, famous for its architecture (must see from inside) and exhibitions on art/culture of the Arab world. For crafters and antique collectors, the Gobelins Tapestry factory, which has been making tapestries, rugs, and upholstery for the kings and governmental buildings of France since the 18th Century, does excellent exhibitions on textile arts and on Wednesdays afternoons you can tour the weaving workshops which are really interesting. If you are a nature lover, the Jardin des Plantes has lovely gardens and greenhouses, a menagerie, and a famous Natural HIstory Museum with a parade of taxidermied animals from Deyrolles. We saw an amazingly beautiful show on minerals - if you like jewelry or crystals you'll love this. It's a fun treat to have lunch or tea at the beautiful 1930s Grand Mosque near the entrance of the park. Arrive a little early or late for lunch as it gets crowded, especially on Sundays. You can tour the Mosque on some days.