What's the cost of living in France?

The cost of food and drinks in France is significantly lower compared to other European nations. There are thousands of great restaurants offering the best cuisines made only of the finest ingredients. Dining out will definitely cost more but expatriates can also find a good deal of affordable meat, fish, milk, herbs, fruits and vegetables in markets and nearby ports.

Cost of housing has increased drastically over the past years. This is not uncommon since France has always been among the top three tourist destination countries. The influx of people coming in caused congestion a few years prior but the government is doing several housing measures and regulations that aim to limit the population excess.

Rental in nearby communities can cost around 500 euro every month while downtown apartment and condominium rental costs reach an astounding 1500 to 2000 euro every month. Fully furnished spaces will cost more as well. Rental spaces are priced according to location, condition and quality.

Hi Anne, thank you for this article! Have you ever lived in France? Do you know some nice areas/cities to settle down with a family?

Regards
Camille

I can't really agree that restaurants are cheaper than in other nortern European countries. Compared to Germany, they are outragesly expensive!!!

I have to agree with Janosch, life in France can be quite expensive, especially when going out for dinner or something.

@Camille: If you're looking for a nice litte city I can recommend Antibes...it's very beautiful and you have the sea there :)

Hmm I now think that the living costs in France are quite comparable to those in Belgium...and as we are a little family we're not thinking much about dining in exquisite restaurants :-)

Charlotte, you mentioned Antibes! I already heard of it, isn't it near to Monaco and therefore expensive?

Regards
Camille

Hi Camille!
I don't know the exact prices...But I think this area is probably a bit more expensive than equal cities in inner France. Maybe you just check out the property prices!

Besides there are quite a lot of people who speak English in Antibes, I don't know if that's important for you! And of course you'll have the beach and nice cities like Cannes and Nice nearby...on the other hand, in the summer Antibes may be very crowded!

Good luck with your choice!
Charlotte =)

Charlotte, thanks a lot for your answers! I definitely get some information about Antibes!
Does anyone know some other nice cities in France to settle down with a family?

Regards
Camille

Hello Camille,

We are living in France since more then 4 years now and for familiy reasons we are going to move to Paraguay.
Therefore our house is for sale and we can recomend the area for a familiy.
Check out our website here and if you have any questions, just let me know.
Best regards,
Paul
http://www.cestbon.fr

Hi Paul,
I had a look at your house and it seems really nice! But it seems to be situated a bit isolated...I'd rather prefer a little house in or very nearby a more or less big city, where I have the schools/kindergardens for my children nearby and some companies that might offer work. Despite that, thanks for your offer and good luck for you and your family in Paraguay!

Regards
Camille

Hello Camille,

A very good site to have a look for houses is;
http://www.zorroimmo.nl

Good luck with your search an have a goog time in France
Paul

Hi Paul,
thanks for this site!
Also good luck to you with selling your house in France and find a nice on in Paraguay!

Regards
Camille

i agree with u Anne. For French people its difficult to get his own house. the prices are very high. and to rent a house its difficult to find it. hello Camille, i live in southern of France and i think its cheap than Antibe. i live a small village near to Perpignan. if u want i can send u some photos. its very great, we have the sea, the mountains, only 20 km of Spain. the climate is good. i hope i will help u and ur family.

Hi Philippe, sounds very nice :)
Yes, I already feared that Antibes is quite expensive! I haven't thought about Perpignan yet...I will search some info about that city, too. ;)

hi Camille, with pleasure, visit this page : http://histoireduroussillon.free.fr/index.php

Hi Philippe, thanks for this page :)

Dear Camille
I have lived and worked in France for the last nine years (I have also lived in Belgium). Costs have risen accross the board during this time and apart from lower real estate prices (other than that in major urban cities or international areas, like the Cote d'Azur) most prices/living costs are on a par with Belgium.
I am in Nimes - a city I can thoroughly recommend. I will be renting out my house next year. If you would like some more information about this or generally about moving to France, please feel free to get in touch.

Dear Camille
I realised, that I also had some general rental information that could be useful which is pasted below. Bon chance. Clive

Renting is generally more expensive in the south of France than in the north: the north-east is especially cheap. However, the more important price gap is between rural and urban areas; rents in urban areas are typically much higher than in rural areas.

The following chart shows average rents in twenty regions and forty cities of France. The table is based on prices published in March 2008 by the CLAMEUR group, which analyses the rural and urban property market.

Region
Cities of the Region

Rent in € per m²

Region
Cities of the Region

Rent in € per m²

Alsace
10.2
Languedoc-Roussillon
10.1

Strasbourg

Mulhouse
11.4

9.1
Montpellier

Nîmes
12.3-12.6

9.9

Aquitaine
10.5
Limousin
7.7

Bordeaux

Biarritz
11.7

11.9
Limoges

Brive-la-Gaillarde
8.1

8.1

Auvergne
8.5
Lorraine
7.8

Clermont-Ferrand

Vichy
8.9

7.2
Metz

Nancy
9.7

8.7

Basse-Normandie
11.2
Midi-Pyrénées
9.7

Caen

Cherbourg
12.9

11.2
Toulouse

Montauban
11.4

8.5

Bourgogne
8.9
Nord-pas-de-Calais
10.1

Dijon

Auxerre
10.0

9.1
Lille

Boulogne-sur-Mer
10.6

10.6

Bretagne
9.1
Pays de laLoire
9.3

Rennes

Brest
11.7

8.1
Nantes

Le Mans
11.1

9.8

Centre
9.6
Picardie
8.2

Orléans

Tours
10.0

9.9
Saint-Quentin

Beauvais
6.6

10.9

Champagne-Ardenne
8.3
Poitou-Charentes
10.9

Châlons-en-Champagne

Reims
10.1

10.4
Poitiers

La Rochelle
9.9

14.8

Franche-Comté
6.8
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
12.0

Besançon
Belfort
8.9

7.8
Marseille

Nice
9.2-13.3

13.9

Haute-Normandie
10.7
Rhône-Alpes
10.1

Rouen

Le Havre
10.6

14.6
Lyon

Grenoble
10.1-14.3

12.6

Hi Clive!
Thanks for all that information! Really gives me an impression of the prices.
Still a tough decision...
If I have any more questions, I'll come back to you :)

Regards
Camille