Is it expensive in France?

[Miki]

LAST EDITED ON 15-Jul-04 AT 10:14 AM (BST)

In the last few months we have had many Europeans and other nationalities stay with us. The common message that we are getting is that France is more expensive than where they come from.

The guests from countries which have mentioned this are, amongst others;

Spain, Belgium, Holland, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, The USA and Canada. There are others I'm sure but you get what I am talking about.

The guests we have from the UK seem to be mixed in their opinions and it seems to depend on their purchases, we all know about wine, beer pate and baccy etc (Baccy prices rising fast here though) but I guess there is more to France than the "booze cruise buys" isn't there?

I do get the feeling some things have risen in price but I have to be honest and say, when I am given my orders on purchasing, I go out, buy the items on the list and simply pay up and look big and that keeps me in 'er good books, so all stays happy in the household.

We have had to but a few large "white goods" lately and they seem OK on price but they were (luckily) bought recently in the sales.

Miki

[Boghound]

Take Property out of the equation and the answer is, on a the whole, YES.

[SaligoBay]

Yes, guests usually find it's not as cheap as they expect. Cinema, swimming, ice rink, clothes, they're all roughly the same as UK.

A trip to Spain always involves stocking up on cheap Pastis etc for the neighbours, and in my experience clothes there are cheaper and better quality than in France.

Neighbours who go to Germany regularly always come back with bargains that they just can't resist, and that they can't find in France.

Gallic shrug, c'est comme a

[Andyh<P>------------------------------------<BR><STRONG><FONT face=Tahoma>Our French renovation and move story<FONT><STRONG><BR><a target=_blank href="http:www.sompt.com"><FONT face=Tahoma>http:www.sompt.com<FONT><A><BR><FONT]

We tend to find that DIY bits are cheaper than the UK, although they may still be more expensive than other parts of Europe. You have to be selective though, as items such as paint are definitely not cheaper!

----------------------
http://www.sompt.com
Deux-Sevres (region 79)

[Val_2]

My brother made a visit to his old home in France earlier this year after leaving two years earlier for another job in the UK. He could not believe how expensive it has become here for the same ordinary household articles they used to buy weekly in LeClerc and Auchan and he asked if the euro had anything to do with it...well we all have our opinions on that one!! Fifteen years after first coming here,although not to live permanently straight away, I have definately noticed how expensive it has become from basic provisions right upto the prices of new cars. You cannot compare on things like alcohol because no two shops ever have the same price or product,but for everyday living,yes,most definately more expensiv now when I talk with my sister and she says what she has paid in her local supermarket especially with all these 3 for 2 promotions.

[letrangere]

Yes, without doubt, and hellishly expensive compared to many other countries (I'm thinking the US, Aus, even Italy, which is much better value for shopping). It always surprises me that more Brits don't moan about the price of utilities for I still have nightmares about my old EDF bills and am now always very conscious of electricity consumption when in France. And food surely is far more expensive than in Britain (even M&S/Waitrose) though arguably better quality, especially meat. We don't find France a particularly cheap destination at all, though don't love it any less for that. M

[Montsauton]

Ask that question five years ago and the answer was no. Ask it now and it's a definite yes. But of course for those who earn our living in the UK it all depends on the exchange rate. With the pound strong at the moment things are not too bad but if it should slide I dread to think how people will manage. Thinking particularly about those resident in France but living on pensions from the UK. It's the dreadful uncertainty that bothers me - the sooner we join the uro the better as far as I am concerned. Controversial point that, I know, but until we do join (if ever) we are entirely at the mercy of currency speculators.

Patrick

[Patti]

Everything is expensive apart from public transport (& booze & cigs if you use them which we don't). So, we have made the decision to leave and will probably buy in Spain as near the border as possible as we love France and speak the language well. It will be a wrench but on our small income we can't afford to stay.

[Deby]

The economist in me will inform you that the one reason alone that France has become some much more expensive is simply because of the introduction of the Euro.

Those Parisien ministers are not as daft as you may think (gits!) they cunningly kept the staples of French life, bread, wine, tobacco and a few others price transparent (i.e) the FFr to Euro price was the same - but the rest absolutely NOT! I could quote you millions of examples of rounding up, the problem mainly being that the magic 10Ff piece was equated to a Euro x 2 that is a whopping 33% (rate depending) more price wise and no one questions this!!!! What was normally 10Ff should have become at the time 1.52 Euros, but most shopkeepers soon rounded up to 2 Euros and the like and rounding up still continues. Who benefits well certainly not the consumer. So this is the reason why France is so much more expensive, no Watchdog, no consumer affairs body and no ability to question.... its a pity.

So there it is, I will now climb down from my soap box!
Deby

[Cosette]

Puisqu'il s'agit de la France, autant l'crire en franais :
c'est ma premire visite sur ce site et je suis trs surprise de constater le nombre de questions "bizarres" concernant ce pays,
ses "us et coutumes", etc. Il semblerait qu'une certaine civilisation et non pas un art de vivre existe bien !
Il existe des lois et des rgles, des normes, des liberts, des contraintes.... bref tout ce qui fait qu'un pays est civilis.
Quant sa culture, elle existe bien, elle lui est propre et est respectable comme pour n'importe quel pays.
Il existe une politique sociale bien utile dont certains usent et abusent. Il y a un niveau de vie et un cot de la vie diffrents en fonction des rgions qui le compose. Mais n'en est-il pas de mme pour tous les pays que vous avez cits ?
Tout ne serait-il pas plus simple si les immigrants britanniques,
dont je fais partie, oubliaient cet tat d'esprit de conqurants ?
L'immersion au sein de la population, l'esprit de la dcouverte et la curiosit, le respect des rgles de vie... et une forte motivation d'intgration ne sont-ils pas les facteurs indispensables tout immigration russie ?

[Janb]

Silly me - I thought this was a simple question which required a simple answer. That is, for those outside the euro zone France is more expensive give the global exchange rates, especially North America. And yes, it also may have something to do with 'rounding up' the euro so that the perception is that traders are making loads more on the transition (which is probably not true).

Would those of you hurling abuse do so as readily if you were not sitting in front of a computer but rather talking to one another face-to-face like human beings? I found some of the responses shocking, and sad, and unkind.

[Val_2]

I agree with JanB, this whole post has really deviated from the original posting into something really nasty and unecessary. Is everyone on here getting too much sun or wine currently because it is giving a bad atmosphere now to the whole forum in general!!

[Jirac18]

Quite simply here is a little twist on your original post Miki - Is France GOOD VALUE. Oftren I think price and value are mixed up. I think with all there is on offer here that France is good value for money. Somethings are more expensive but overall the main thinh has to be value for money. We are very happy here and it is difficult to compare the value of happiness with cost and expense always.