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The cost of living in France
A wide variety of different factors prompt people to leave the UK and live in France. For some, living in France is the perfect way of escaping ‘rip-off Britain’ and is a major motivating force
Despite the relatively high levels of VAT (tax sur la valeur ajoutee), a tax which constitutes around 45 per cent of government revenue, most consumer goods are cheaper in France than in Britain. David Hampshire, author of Living and Working in France, notes that "French retailers are among the world's most competitive and have smaller profit margins than those in many other countries." The list of products that expats will notice substantial savings in seems endless, ranging from pottery to perfume and clothes to cars. Food prices are also lower, both in restaurants and the supermarket. When eating out prices depend greatly on the type of restaurant. The cost of dinner is comparatively low, but many places compensate by increasing their profit margins on the cost of wine, beer and other beverages. Nevertheless, the bill you are presented with at the end of the evening will invariably be less than its British equivalent.
Unlike the UK, small specialised shops where quality is given priority over price are thriving and account for some fifty per cent of the food trade. Although the local boulangerie and boucherie will usually offer competitive prices and high standards, supermarkets and hypermarkets are the most inexpensive place to buy groceries, including beers, wines and spirits. The steady stream of day-trippers returning from Calais with their cars filled with bargain booze bears testimony to the lower price of alcohol.
Prices vary greatly, not just between small shops and hypermarkets but also between different hypermarkets in the same town, so it's always worth shopping around. Petrol is also cheaper across the Channel. If it costs £50 to fill up your car in the UK, it will cost you approximately 50 euros in France. Even allowing for the fluctuations in exchange rate this is a huge saving. However, Melanie Griffin, a Brit who is now living in France, points out that this perceived 'saving' is actually quite deceptive. "As France is four times bigger than England with roughly the same population, distance between friends, shops, schools, etcetera can be correspondingly much greater, so fuel costs are considerable."
The cost of utilities is generally on a par with prices in Britain. Electricity bills are lower in French households because of the nation's greater reliance on nuclear power. The size of your water bill depends upon the amount you use as it is measured by a water meter, but prices are comparable with those in the UK.
To watch English-speaking television it is advisable to subscribe to Sky or cable TV, although it is possible to receive some BBC channels free of charge. In order to own a television in France it is necessary to purchase a TV licence, which costs 116.50 euros per annum. The deregulation of the telecommunications market in 2002 has resulted in highly competitive charges. However, drawing on her personal experience, Griffin argues that phone bills are higher for British people living in France because they are likely to make more international phone calls. Jokingly, she observes that "if you're quitting the sceptred isle with no friends or family you care to own up to, then you'll be saving yourself a few thousand euros a year!"
If you are a property owner then taxe fonciere, property tax, and taxe d'habitation, residential tax, are inescapable expenses. These taxes, which pay for local services and are determined at a local level, usually compare favourably with their British equivalent – council tax. As a general rule of thumb, taxes are higher in urban areas than in rural ones although levels vary greatly between different localities. The property taxes that you pay in France are also determined by the size of property and it is worth keeping this in mind when considering a purchase.
If working in France then you will discover that French income tax is lower than in the UK. However, when it is added to Social Security and other indirect taxes the burden becomes much greater. Your Social Security payments entitle you to basic health cover. However, this does not cover one hundred per cent of medical expenses. Under the French system medical treatment is assigned a basic monetary value, of which social security pays a proportion. It is therefore necessary to buy 'top up' cover. The price of medical insurance varies greatly between companies. As always, it is advisable to shop around to ensure you get the best deal
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Although goods and services are indeed cheaper in France, it is important to consider all the less obvious expenses when calculating your cost of living. Melanie suggests that "France has become, more or less, on a par with England as far as the cost of living goes." It is therefore necessary to look beyond the stereotype that living in France is inexpensive in order to realistically anticipate day-to-day expenditures.