Cost of living in France compared to UK?

[Born_to_fish_68<P><IMG src="http:forums.livingfrance.comimagesline.gif"><BR>Born_to_fish_68 (AKA Paul)<P><P>North Yorks House 16 Lakes 24<BR><P>]

Hi all,

We have seen so many posts about how it is more expensive to live in France than it is in the UK but we are having difficulties working why.  Below is a breakdown of our UK out goings;

Council Tax: £1,550 per year Band E

Water Rates: £402 per year

Gas (heating & cooking): £876 per year

Electric: £300 per year

Coal (novelty use): £36 per year 

plus mortgage that we wouldn't have on moving to France

We are buying a 3 (5 on completion of attic) bed semi with oil central heating, calor gas or equivalent cooker and wood burners.

We live in rural Yorkshire at the moment so we are used to having to travel for amenities.  All in all we seem to find it difficult to believe that it is more expensive to live in France are we missing something?

Paul

[Iceni]

I am  not being rude but this has been done to death - my lifestyle may be totally different to your life style.

You need a pot of money to tide you over the disasters that happen in both Yorkshire and France. Health insurance which increases in price at the time when you will be a pensioner and very very little help (if any) if you run out of money.

I enjoy living a frugal life BUT the second year living in one room is starting to take its toll. The patio is covered in decking so suddenly I have a second room I can cook in and sit in when the weather is clement. Life in France is not life in Yorkshire - there are loads of things that you suddenly have to find you have to pay for. Inheritance issues (if you have children), the fact that the legal system is quite unique in the EEC (which those that have fallen out with their neighbours know all about).

You must both want to come and be totally sure that this is what you want to do, you need something to do to stop you getting bored and going off your heads and you need to do loads of research in the area you are moving to. We paid tax fonciere of €15 last year and the year before we got €5 back on that - now we are living here we are waiting for the full amount to be decided - we still don't know just how bad it will be so there are always surprises round the corner. Some areas local taxes make yours look very cheap.

We did a full budget before we came over. We thought we planned for everything - then Equitable ate our pension, BUT our personal retirement pot is still there. We may have had to cut back on certain things but there was a set amount that was put aside for our decrepitude and it is almost all there. Not much chance of the French gov. picking up the pieces if we get it wrong.

Some things are dearer, some things are cheaper, swings and roundabouts, but just remember that there is no safety net, get it wrong and life could be very difficult.

Do a search on the site and you will get loads more info. Hope I was not too harsh

 

[Val_2]

Hardly anything in it now when you take costs into comparison. Here you do not get credit very easily to buy goods with,bank loans are given on your monthly ability to pay it back and if you keep visiting family inthe UK every few months that will eat into your money as a lot of people just can't let go completely.Your health care has to be paid for here and benefits are means tested with the attitude that nothing paid in,nothing paid out basically. Petrol and diesel are expensive now here and you have double the distances to drive to do your shopping, insurances have risen,the water costs are much the same depending on the supplier and region and electricity is very expensive now. You will also receive your electricity and telephone bills here every two months and have about 10 days in which to pay in full. No one should come to France simply on the hearsay that it is so much cheaper, do your homework well on the region you have chosen to live in as rates etc are done on the individual property and circumstances and not bands as in the UK. If you are depending on a pension, take into account the fluctuating exchange rates which can and did sink to an alltime low back in 1996/7 and a lot of people had to sell up and go back to find work.

[Patf]

The figures you quote work out at about 400 euro per month, which is the figure we work on for taxes, utilities, insurances, but not health which could be another 1-200 euro a month.  Food bills are about  the same as in UK. As Di says , there is no safety net in France in the form of welfare benefits or pension supplements if you fall on hard times. Pat.