- How much does it cost to live in France?
- Here’s a sample Monthly Budget.
- The cost of life will comprise 6 areas: Housing, Communications, Transportation, Services, Groceries, and Entertainment.
- The Cost will be detailed in 2 scenario: Single/Couple & a Family of 4/5.
- The costs in this article will be indicated in Euros, for immediate projection purpose.
- You can consider that 1$ = 1€.
- It will make values more understandable.
- It will even out in most cases.
- If you wish to know more about currency pair velocity you can search about the Eurodollar evolution & Currency Pair: EUR/USD on sites like Investopedia or other financial websites.
Housing
- Good to know : About the minimum wage.
- In France the minimum monthly wage, for a 35-hour week, is €1,219 after deduction of social security taxes & income tax (as of 01/01/2020).
- Rent
- As a Single person/Couple rent could cost you as little as 575 euros Charges Comprises for a 3 rooms 2 bedrooms 70m² apartment on southern Paris.
- The rent itself would be 450 euros + 50-125 euros of Charges (water, waste, & in this case heat).
- This cases are not the norm, but they do exist if you contact the owner directly.
- A realtor may make you pay up to 900-1000 euros for a 2 bedroom appartment.
- A Family of 4/5 could find a 6 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 121 m² apartment for as little as 850 euros Charges Comprises in Provence, Laragne-Monteglin.
- Again, try to contact the owner directly via a website like lefigaro immobilier (immobilier = real estate).
- A realtor may add up to 650 euros fee on a similar product raising the rent to 1500
- Les Charges Comprises (Utilities) are a fraction of the housing included in the rent.
- They include Water, Wastes & Garbage.
- They could include Electricity (general & Heating/Cooling).
- They could include Telephone & Internet.
- La Quotion.
- The owner will often ask you an upfront payment on the 1st month equal to a month of rent.
- It is asked by the owner to secure the rent & to cover the reparation costs.
- On the Single/Couple example it would be 575 * 2 = 1150€ on the 1st month.
- On the Family example it would be 850 * 2 = 1700€ on the 1st month.
- La Quotion is only due on the 1st month, and is returned to you at the end of the rent period if the property hasn’t been degraded.
- The last thing will be ‘l’assurance habitation’ (house insurance), more on this in the Bank section.
Communications
- France as many other countries, offers package deals (Internet + Phone)
- 3 of the most popular package deals are the SOSH(Orange) package 15€/m, the Free package 20€/m & the B&You (Bouygues) package 20€/m.
- Both of these packages include International phone calls.
- They are ‘Sans engagement’ meaning the contract can be interrupted at any moment (you still have to pay the actual month).
- If you are form the US or the UK some of your favorite shows may not be available in France due to region restriction.
- So we recommend you use a VPN.
- VPNs can be found for as little as 5€/m.
Transportation
- Good to know : As you arrive at the Airport, it’s a good idea to have 50 euros in cash to pay for transportation.
- ATMs are available in every airport.
- A One-way Ticket for the Local Transport will cost from 1.7 to 2€.
- The ‘Carte d’abonnement’ (subscription card) are value season ticket.
- They allow you to subscribe to a transportation service for a week, a month or a whole year.
- Les ‘Carte d’abonnement’ will generally cost you around 70€ (Navigo) as an adult, and 35€ as a child/student on Paris.
- On Marseilles the Regular Price of a Monthly Pass is 48€.
- They also serve as transportation titles, be sure to have it with you at all times.
- Know that the transportation expenses can be exonerated from your taxes if you are subscribing via a ‘Carte d’abonnement’.
- ‘Carte d’abonnement’ become particularly advantageous when it comes to Trains.
- La SNCF(main train company), offers la ‘Carte Liberté’ a yearly pass that cut the cost of all your train travels by 45%(1st class) to 60%(2nd class).
- It also allows you to exchange or refund your tickets without additional cost.
- It’s 399/y for an adult.
- Up to 3 accompanying children (age 4-11), get another 50% off based on the fare paid by the cardholder.
- It is valid for all types of travels, in France & in Europe.
Financial & Health Services
- Health & Social
- The National Social Security (l’Assurance Maladie) covers almost every Health/Social-related expanses.
- Doctor’s visit is around 25€, fully refunded.
- Almost every merchandise bought in Pharmacy is refunded.
- Additionally, you can pay for a ‘Mutuelle santé’ which will cover certain specific treatments & expenses (essentially paramedical expenses).
- Insurance
- Insuring your Car & Home is mandatory.
- Most Home insurances cover an apartment.
- They can highly variate, between 96 & 352€ per year, so we will detail how to choose your insurance depending on where you live in another article.
- 2 of the most cost effective options are the Inter Assurances comfort plan (112€/y) & the Carrefour formule essentielle (157€/y).
- Banks
- For extra convenience, most banks propose an housing insurance plan.
- As for Insurance companies, Banks annual fees can hugely oscillate, between 23€ & 242€ per year.
- 3 of the most cost effective options are the Boursorama banque (23€/y), the Fortuneo banque (28€/y) & the Orange bank (40€/y).
- Note that the bank account opening will cost you 80€ for the 3 aforementioned banks.
Self-Catering & Groceries
- Super-Markets
- As a Single person /couple monthly groceries cost around 200€
- As a Family you could go up to 500€.
- The main supermarket/hypermarkets chains are Carrefour, Auchan & Super/Hyper U.
- Convenient stores are the less cost effective option.
- Markets/Marches Locaux offer a diversity of fresh products, at extremely competitive prices.
- Every City/Town/Village has a weekly market.
- The biggest Cities & Regional Capitals have daily markets.
- More on markets with our Marches Locaux & Regional Specialties tops.
Entertainment
- Cinema
- The ticket costs around 10€.
- Some cinemas like UGC & Pathe/Gaumont offer a monthly pass for unlimited access at 20€/m.
- Restaurants
- The price on the bill includes service, you don’t need to leave a tip.
- A 3-course meal for 1 person: 20-30€.
- A Lunch for 1 person: 10-15€.
- Snack-Bars, Cafes & Boulangeries
- Cafe: 2-4€, it’s more expensive if you drink it on the terrasse.
- Pastries/Viennoiseries: 2-3€
- Sandwiches/Pizza/Tartes: 5-7€ (with Fries? Add another 2€)
- Salads: 7-10€
- Baguette/Bread: 0.9€
- Food Delivery
- Hairdressers & Barbershops
- Around 30€ for women (80€ for a color), 20€ for men, 10€ for children.
- Salon products may cost around 20-40€.
- Gym club
- 30-50€ on Paris, around 40€ on Lyon & Nice, around 30€ for the rest of the country.
- Landmarks, Museums & Art Galleries
- The access to many Museums in France is around 10€.
- Some Museums, like Musee d’Orsay or Centre Georges Pompidou offer 2 types of tickets.
- Le ‘Billet coupe-file’, that will allow you to have preferential access to the art pieces (14 to 16€).
- La ‘Visite guidée’, which entitles you to a tour of the Museum (49€ for Orsay, 94€ for Pompidou).
- The access to Museums & Landmarks is free on holidays & festivals such as Journées du patrimoine or 14 Juillet.
- Certain Museums & Landmarks will also allow you to enter for free on Sundays.
| Expenses | Euros €/m |
|---|---|
| Housing Studio/1 room 2 rooms 3 rooms 4 rooms | 500 600 800 1200 |
| Rent Charges/Utilities | 430 – 1000 80 – 200 |
| Communication | |
| Phone + Internet (wifi/mobile) VPN | 20 5 |
| Transportation (monthly pass) | |
| One-way Ticket Bus + Metro + others Train (Yearly Discount pass) | 1.7 – 2 50-70 399(+ ticket) |
| Financial services | |
| Bank Insurance (Health + Home + Life) | 23-40 112-157 |
| Groceries | |
| For 2 For 4/5 | 200 500 |
| Entertainment (1 seance/1 dinner) | |
| Cinema Dinner Museum/Landmark | up to 10 20-25 up to 10 |
