Cost of Living in France in 2020

Bonjour à tous,

After nearly 20 year of owning our flat in France and spending more months each year in Nice, I am happy to report that life on the Côte d'Azur continues to impress and thrill us.  As far as cost of living, there is no question that the following aspects are less expensive:

1. Property about 30% less when comparing square foot alone; up to 75% less when one compares location (beach property).

2. Property insurance  costs us only 8-10% of what we pay in the US.

3. Health insurance; almost free in France compared to up to $1,000/month in the US.

4. Medications costs about 2.5% of what is charged in the US, where the pharmaceutical companies control much of the economy and the political environment.

5. Food/wine (except for the dreaded drink Coca Cola, which is all my husband consumes) is about 60% less once one learns where the non-tourists markets and eateries are located.

6. Transportation; we've never needed a car thus saving about $9,000/year thanks to the superior services of the tram, bus and trains.

What we are unable to put a price-tag on is the quality of life; our mental and emotional health thrives when we're on the Riviera enjoying French friends (many who are like family) and the ever embracing anglophone community. We -- mainly me -- hold our breath when we have to return to the US for family visits.

As others have said, everyone has two countries, the one in which they were born and France.

Bien cordialement,
Madame Dyer

Thank you for your input, but can you give prices in Euros (€)?

Madame Dyer wrote:

Bonjour à tous,

After nearly 20 year of owning our flat in France and spending more months each year in Nice, I am happy to report that life on the Côte d'Azur continues to impress and thrill us.  As far as cost of living, there is no question that the following aspects are less expensive:

Bien cordialement,
Madame Dyer

Hello,

Thank you for your comparison with US market price. But it's absolutely not what was requested... Give us the European amount you pay for each point.

You must understand that an expat coming from Asia / Africa / ... is not necessarily aware of the cost of American life. What interests him to know is how much it will cost him compared to the cost of living in his own country.

Bon jour, Madam,
As an American. I loved seeing your reply.  It encapsulated everything.  What about property taxes and cell service?    We find those to be equally remarkable.  We live near Narbonne and truly love being here.
Karen Wilson

We live in annecy and find France to be quite expensive compared to Australia for almost everything.

That said, we are also in a touristic town close to Switzerland, so that changes things a bit.

Rent is around $1300 per month for a centrally located two bedroom apartment, including utilities.

Public transport, locally, is €1.5 each direction and petrol is €1.5 per litre.

Pasta is around €1.3 per kilo and a baguette €1. Meat and seafood is very expensive as are dried fruits and nuts. The price of vegetables depends on where you buy them, and their country of origin. Alot of fruit and veg are imported from Spain.

Health insurance is really expensive at around €700 per month and a Dr visit around €30.

School and childcare is pretty much the only thing that we have found to be cheap! School is free, but you pay for the lunches at a max of €6.5 per day, the creche we attend (it's an haute garderie, not full daycare) €2.5 per hour.

Merci beaucoup

We had a couple of houses in Biarritz, one was the former workshop of Coco Chanel which was almost on the beach near the Casino off Place Clemenceau and another was a very large house in Anglet that we bought from a heart surgeon.

We had a business in Biarritz with a boutique in the town centre and a 500m2 warehouse out of town and several seasonal boutiques throughout the Pays Basque along the coast including one in Capbreton.

We had a couple of cars and we sent our kids to a private school in Bayonne.

Galeries Layfayette was our neighbour so we bought most of our food here except when we would drive down to Irun and cross the border to Spain to do some shopping which was a lot cheaper and more interesting products.

The cost of living was pretty much alright and also in Biarritz people tend to eat our a lot and the town centre is full of fantastic restaurants.

For entertainment, mostly we would go to the beach to surf, or skiing in the Pyrenees or sometimes cross over to Andorra, or go cycling along the riverside in Bayonne.

Biarritz is considered quite expensive as it is where lots of elderly Parisien people want to settle, but the lifestyle is quite pleasant and if you are a surfer then your entertainment costs are almost zero.