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Is it really that cheap


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My experience of France so far has been restricted to holidays and I must say I have'nt found it cheap.  Ive found eating out to be on a par with the UK and drink to be expensive considering how cheap it is in the shops. So the question is " Is it really a third cheaper to live in France"  My brunt question would be if a person had no morgage and no renovation costs could a family of 3 plus dog live off say 2000 Euros a month to include modest socialising such as "get to gethers at home " and the odd treat for the boy and the "old man" if they deserve it .

 

Seperate question please tell me there are golf courses in Limousin or I'll never get him to move over, also where is the nearest ski resort.  Cor we sound right posh now duck.. he can dream

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Personally I don't find it a third cheaper.

What  will your 2000 euros have to pay?

 

Here's a list of every day expenses here in France:-

 all your taxes; fonciere (dustbin emptying may or may not be included in this), habitation and income, then SS contributions, insurances both car and property and school insurance if your home insurance doesn't cover it and the mutualist too, electricity, heating costs most places in France need to be heated in winter, water bill. Phone and internet connection, then there's fuel for the car.  Remember there is no child allowance for one child here........LOL and nowt for the dog. Then the food for the family and the dog.

 

You may have to pay towards school transport, if you are a certain distance from secondary school, but that does depend on where you live, some places it is free. School cantine too, no packed lunches here. Also we have to provide quite a lot of the stuff for school, pens, pencils, writing paper, etc etc the list dictated (as in a dictator) by the profs in the colleges lycees.

 

 

So I don't know will 2000 euros a month do it for you.

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On the other hand, a lot of French get by with one of the family earning the minimum wage.

We are probably the poorest in our hamlet yet everyone grows or has grown for them their veggies. The farmer and his mother make 10 kg+ of bread each week and produce their own milk, butter, cheese etc. They are self sufficient.

I would imagine that many would think 2000 € a month a kings ransom.

It all depends on how you want to live and what you want to do. One thing, I don't think France is any cheaper than the UK, you spend your money on different things. Having a good 'pot' of money for emergencies is also a very good idea.

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Hi there,

Obviously, this is quite a personal thing but speaking as a family of 4 with 2 young children and a small mortgage, €2,000 per month is quite reasonable. I would agree with other replies though, that it is not necessarily cheaper here but you do spend money on different things and in our experience we have found that we spend far less now on materialistic stuff like expensive clothes etc. I'm not saying we go without but we feel less pressure to keep up with the Jones' so spend less on certain things. Not having a mortgage though may well reduce your outgoings by a third if you've got one now.

As for golf courses, hubby needn't panic, there are quite a few in the Limousin.

Hope this helps - happy researching!

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Just quickly off the top of my head Small golf course in Bourganeuf

Kids have just come back from a weeks skiing with the school they went to the resort Besse super besse about 2 hrs drive I think.

Eating out we find incredibly cheap and good value for money.  Drinking out not so.

Supermarket shopping costs on a par with UK

Growing your own veggies etc defiinatley helps keep costs down abit

I would be happy to live on 2000 euros a month (family of 5)

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Hi Bakerino

Yep I'm always on early I try to grab time before the kids get up then again after they leave for school.  On and off all day but not much in the evenings and at weekends as Hubby doesnt like it much if im on here all the time!!

Ps Have you noticed the property price differences comparing Bourganeuf area to Clugnat area??

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Living in France is not as cheap as people make out - electric is expensive, rates are low, food is cheap, taxes are not, school dinners are cheap, eating out can be expensive - etc

And property seems to get cheaper as you go north of Boussac so shop around before you decide where to look or buy

 

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Hello, just about Golf, we have a place at parsac which is about 10 mins from Clugnat, our nearest town is Gouzon and there is a golf course there. We have a school and college in our village, our daughter attended for 15 months but is now back in the UK. Our friends go to the bar in Clugnat quite often and the lady who "Creusois" mentioned that teaches French and lives in Clugnat is Jo and she was a great help to our daughter, gave a lesson every week.
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Hi

Does Clugnat have its own primary school? will i easily be able to get in touch with "jo" once weve settled.  The bar sounds the palce to be for info and drinks so we will definately give it a try when were over in the next couple of weeks. You dont happen to know the name of the couple running the bar do you?

Thanks  

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don;t know about the school set up there or the name of the bar people but will ask for you. When you get sortred I can send Jo's phone number to you no problem, she also works as a translator invaluable when we were at the parent/teacher evenings etc.
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In reply to the second question, there is golf available around Tulle in Correze and friends of ours who live near Argentat regularly pop into Cantal for skiing. There really are most things available, just a little searching needed. Most Bureau de Tourisme are very helpful. Also do check the climatical variations of the region! Good luck!
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[quote]Hi Does Clugnat have its own primary school? will i easily be able to get in touch with "jo" once weve settled. The bar sounds the palce to be for info and drinks so we will definately give it a tr...[/quote]

From Pages Jaunes

Ecole Primaire

16 r Jules Ferry 23270 CLUGNAT  

This is a public school as opposed to private.

 

 05 55 65 02 92

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