A Livable Income?

[Trekker]

Good Day all. Just joined this forum and first message so hope someone can help. We are just starting out with researching an early retirement move to France, preferably Languedoc/Roussillon region and the real biggy for us is how much or little could we live on in France? I do realise that this almost impossible to answer but would appreciate a good estimate/average. There is just the 2 of us and whilst we have capital to buy the house we would like, our annual income is somewhat limited therefore we are trying to estimate how much we would need to live on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Trekker.

 

[Russethouse]

You may like to start with a look at this thread : http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/613634/ShowPost.aspx and then use the forum search facility for 'cost of living' or similar.

Good Luck

[Trekker]

Thanks very much for the link, it is exactly what we are looking for. Will now carry on with the research.

Trekker

[sugarfree]

Hi, Trekker

I've been asking myself this same question recently, in an effort to work out roughly how much money my husband and I would need per month once we retire.

The figure I've come up with is 4,000 euros net per month.  I reckon that would be enough to cover our utility bills, car insurance, taxe d'habitation, taxe fonciere, etc.and still have plenty left over for a couple of restaurant meals per month and some foreign travel.  We will have no mortgage payments. 

4,000 euros  a month is not a huge sum (by UK standards) but a lot of people in France manage to live very well on considerably less than that.

 

 

  

 

 

[Val_2]

Thats one hell of a lot of money for two people to survive on for a month here. Most folks survive on considerably less than 2000€. In the old days when we had to have a carte de séjour to live here, the minimum income demanded for a couple was the equivalent of £500/month.

[Hoddy]

Recently someone posted a link to a site which gave average incomes in most towns in France. In our commune the average income is between 13 and 14 thousand euros. You would be living a very different life from most of your neighbours if you had that sort of income in these parts.

Hoddy

[LanguedocGal2]

[quote user="sugarfree"]

  We will have no mortgage payments. 

4,000 euros  a month is not a huge sum (by UK standards) but a lot of people in France manage to live very well on considerably less than that. [/quote]

Sorry, but am I the only one who finds this statement a little odd? 

4000 euros/ roughly £2500 a month in the UK without mortgage or rent to pay.  Personally, I think the average Brit would be delighted and live comfortably on that too.

[Teamedup]

4000€ a month is a lot of money. AND yes you would be able to eat out at Michelin restos a couple of times a month on that and in general live very comfortably.

[Bob T]

Some of us live on less than €800 per month and we still eat out!

[Jeanneclaire]

Sugarfree - I would be very interested to see how you arrived at your 4000 euro figure. If this is really what is needed we will be packing up tomorrow and going back to Blighty.

[zeb]

LOL - everyone has different needs. Maybe sugarfree is planning to buy (and maintain) a chateau somewhere?

[allanb]

If 'net' means after income tax, and you will own your house with no debt, I agree with all those who said that €4,000 a month is plenty.  Unless you have a gambling habit or you collect Ferraris or something.

But don't worry - if you find you have too much, plenty of people on this forum will give you ideas for dealing with the problem.

[Teamedup]

€800 a month Bobt. I am not saying I couldn't do it, but my I would not want to. Our bills each month come to around €500 at least and that is just off the top of my head. This week alone I have spent 250€ at the supermarket for the two of us. OK I stock up with some things at the beginning of the month, but I will have at least €60 each week for the rest of the month.

[BJSLIV]

This discussion is confirming my old theory.

BJSLIV's law states that once your house taken care of, to live in France you will need the same amount of money that you would need in the UK.

OK in some places you might save on local taxes, but you will have health care to pay for.

Diesel may be cheaper, but you will have longer distances to travel.

Personal expectations have a far greater influence on how much money you need than any, relatively minor, costs and savings either side of La Manche.

[cooperlola]

BSLIV's idea seems to coincide pretty well with my findings.  Knock off your mortgage and it will cost pretty much the same to live.  Swings and roundabouts but the CAPITAL cost of housing is about the only real reduction you can rely on.

[hastobe]

[quote user="LanguedocGal2"][quote user="sugarfree"]

  We will have no mortgage payments. 

4,000 euros  a month is not a huge sum (by UK standards) but a lot of people in France manage to live very well on considerably less than that. [/quote]

Sorry, but am I the only one who finds this statement a little odd? 

4000 euros/ roughly £2500 a month in the UK without mortgage or rent to pay.  Personally, I think the average Brit would be delighted and live comfortably on that too.

[/quote]

I guess it depends on what you're used to in the UK - for some that would be a pretty big drop in income - it's all relative.  I find these 'how much do I need to live on questions daft'  - what one persons idea of living well is another's idea of pergatory and vice versa.  It's an impossible question.

Kathie

[Bob T]

[quote user="BJSLIV"]

Diesel may be cheaper, but you will have longer distances to travel.

[/quote]

Might be in your case, but I don't have to travel the 60 mile round trip to work everyday anymore. The decent shops in the UK were 8 miles away, the same as here and I don't pay road tax here.

As said before it is down to individual circumstances. Health care may cost more but there is no huge car parking fee at the hospital here. Eating out may be the same in both countries, but here you have the coise of eating a 5 course meal with wine for the same price as a burger and coffee in the UK.

My household taxes are low, £300 per annum rather than £1300 in the UK. I pay €30 for enough wood to heat the whole house for 2 to 3 weeks here so no high heating bills.We find food bills for the 2 of us are lower here than they were in the UK, but we don't buy overpriced goods from the English counter when there is local stuff available.

As said before, it is down to everybodies expectations.

My only vice is the two BMW motorbikes, but with no road tax, no CT (MOT), and insuarance at less than a third of the UK cost, I can afford to run them.

[Teamedup]

And ofcourse we have to pay to park at our hospital, although they do give you some 'free' time if you have an appointment there, an hour I think, the rest one has to pay for, visitors and patients alike.

[LanguedocGal2]

[quote user="hastobe"]

I guess it depends on what you're used to in the UK - for some that would be a pretty big drop in income - it's all relative.  I find these 'how much do I need to live on questions daft'  - what one persons idea of living well is another's idea of pergatory and vice versa.  It's an impossible question.

Kathie
[/quote]

Of course, Hastobe.

The comment that the amount was ''not a huge sum by UK Standards’’ was what I reacted to[;-)]

Not very much for Sugarfree is one thing but in the UK is another. Of course, if you own an enormous house in Holland Park, Belgravia or Neuilly sur Seine with no mortgage, I expect that 4000 euros may just cover your basic charges and be pocket money. 

I can't help thinking that the ''average'' UK resident could make a NET disposal income of £30000 per annum AFTER payment of mortgage/rent go quite far.

But you’re right; the living cost guess work is a little daft.

The original poster is moving to L-R and depending on the dept and location within the depts, costs vary enormously. The most expensive is dept 34 (Herault) and the cheapest probably being Lozere (48) as it’s a bit of a wilderness, even emptier than the Creuse (The Creuse has an unfortunate name hence the jokes[:)])

Once they have found a property they like, if the Estate Agent doesn't provide the Fonciere rate, they should get the Cadastre reference for the property and land and simply contact the relevant impot dept for that year's rates.  Habitation charges will depend on their earnings.

The rest is personal circumstances.