Our neighbourhood is on the side of the hills surrounding the city : the view is quite nice. You have to go downhill to find the proximity stores and bus. You just need a 5 minutes drive to get to a big mall and 7 minutes to the picturesque harbour of l'Estaque, painted by Cezanne and others, and now animated with popular bars and restaurants.
Among places we like : the local farmers saturday market, and the small arty movie theater, close to the petanque (local iron balls game) players.
When you go up and pass the last surroundings houses, you may start short hiking trails : it's the end of the city !
Although the northern part of the city is not the most touristic part, you'll feel very safe at home. It's also very easy to cath the highway going downtown or outside of the city, to the beaches.