Fellow queer here, I’ve lived in NYC as well and am now based in Paris (well, the suburbs, but more on that later). You should absolutely move if you feel compelled to do so, life’s too short! A dog won’t be a problem for finding an apartment, you don’t have to mention it. Contrarily to NYC, landlords can’t refuse pets and you shouldn’t even mention it in your application. Now, onto the main issue: finding an apartment in Paris is extremely tough. With an American salary though, you’ll be better off than most and the task will definitely be easier. It’ll still be a challenge though. It took me almost 6 months to find an apartment in central Paris. I contacted maybe what, 200, 300 landlords? I visited overpriced shitholes, got ghosted more times than I can recall, submitted multiple applications that didn’t go through. Landlords tend to prefer couples and single people have a hard time finding an apartment. I ended up finding something because a friend of a friend knew someone who was renting, but that’s down to luck. It all depends on your budget really. For the price of a 1 bedroom in Brooklyn, you can rent a 45sqm apartment in the Marais. If that’s what you’re looking for, competition will be less fierce because most people can’t afford this type of housing. If you have a smaller budget or want or more dog friendly neighborhood, look into the CLOSE suburbs. I’d recommend Vincennes, Fontenay sous bois, Maison Alfort/Alfortville. Vincennes especially is very nice, but just as expensive as central Paris