Ever wonder how much it costs to live in France...specifically on the French Riviera?
- Cannes
Well, purchasing real estate is not cheap - think NYC prices. However, rental for a 1 bedroom, unfurnished, could be about 600 Euros a month. That would be for an upscale unit, gated community with pool and several bus lines stopping just down the driveway.
Running the household is NOT expensive; I live in a small 2 bedroom condo and my water bill is about 30 Euros a month (we water our huge garden frequently); my electric bill is about 100 Euros (we cook a lot!). I pay under 40 Euros a month for hi-speed internet that includes free international VOI calls. Public broadcast TV is free (well, actually you pay for it with your real estate taxes) and we have satellite TV service from Great Britain. We paid under 500 Euros for it (250 Euros for the box itself and 250 for the installation). We pay no monthly or annual fee - just buy the satellite box once and you own it with no other fees. We get over 100 free channels. And because we own our condo, we have condo insurance for the contents and the garage: the condo insurance is just about 400 Euros a year!
Having a car...We bought our car brand new from the dealer. It is a Mazda2, leather seats, CD, A/C and gets over 60 miles to the gallon! The price was just under 14,000 Euros, but because we bought a fuel efficient car, the French government rebated 200 Euros directly into our bank account! AND the dealer took car of registering the car and giving our insurance agent all the details! My car insurance is under 400 Euros per year...yes, it's full coverage!
Food? Well consider this: fruits and veggies are sold by the kilo (2.2lbs) and are usually priced at 1Euro 50 for the kilo (less than 75 cents a pound!). More often than not, there is an aisle with an assortment of produce at 99 "centimes" per kilo (less than 50 cents a pound). And the cheeses? Think 2 Euros for a variety of cheeses. Of course there are some priced at double that, but chunk of cheese is huge! I dare not even describe the butter...it is heavenly! Fish abundant, as is chicken. Beef, pork and lamb are all well priced as well. Spices and herbs are everywhere and priced to sell. And baguette? Under 1Euro for a basic and maybe extra 20 centimes (cents) for a larger traditional baguette. Uh huh....it's good....really really good! There is a bakery down the hill (one block) from our condo and they sell 5 croissants for 1 Euro...I am not kidding!
How much is the wine? Well, we rarely pay more than 3 Euros ($4) for an excellent local rose' wine. We do like to visit some of the wineries which are about 45 minutes from us...and from there another several hours in all directions you can sample and buy incredible wines that never make it to the large supermarkets. They are usually sold locally and most often to the restaurants, bistros and cafes in the area. Always an excuse for a "road trip" to the winery!
Travel: Bus fare is 1 Euro. Express bus to Nice 2Euro 50 centimes! With a little advance notice you can fly to many international cities in Europe for about 30 Euros each way - 60 Euros round trip!!! Think Paris, London or Amsterdam for a get-away. Travel is a big part of the European lifestyle. Airlines such as Easy Jet make travel very affordable for everyone. I've not traveled by train locally, however, several years ago we took the hi-speed train from Paris to Amsterdam and it was fantastic. Recently, we've taken both local and hi-speed trains in Germany and it was very very reasonable (Munich to Salzburg was 30Euros total for up to five people!).
Dining Out Want to have lunch out? A very upscale restaurant (LeVauban) serves up a gourmet meal; they add in a pre-appetizer, a special little bread (besides the bread rolls), appetizer, main course and dessert - for 19 Euros 50 centimes ($26) AND IT INCLUDES TAX AND TIP. If you order coffee, a little tray of chocolates will be brought out! (We always leave a little extra "tip" for the service which is always outstanding.) Another "local" favorite is hidden from the main street in Antibes. We go there for couscous on Wednesdays and, if we miss it, we'll go for the pork tenderloin and mash potatoes. Our lunch there usually costs about 12 Euros each and includes an appetizer & main meal or main meal & dessert - tax and tip included! The choices are endless: gourmet, casual, crepes, French, Italian etc.
As a side note: when you buy something in Europe (generally speaking) if the price says 10Euros, it is 10 Euros at checkout. If the stove is 399 Euros, you pay 399 Euros at checkout. We bought our car and paid the price that was on the car sticker - no haggling, no surprise "fees" and "taxes" when it was time to write the check. Remember too, they registered the car for us and took care of contacting our insurance agent too!
We had no idea when we made the move what our living expenses would be. Truth is, it is far less expensive to run a household on the French Riviera than here in Florida. Housing prices and rentals outside of the Riviera are much, much lower. We traveled to SW coast of France to an area called Languedoc where several writers have explained how affordable it is to live there. Add to that the high quality and enjoyment of life and it is a win-win situation all the way around. Health care is rated just about #1 in the world. And health insurance is cheap! If we lived there full time we could have private insurance (top notch level) for less than 1500 euros for the year!
What if you want to work? If you do work full time, you will most likely start out with 6 weeks paid vacation - and no doubt you will enjoy your midday meal with a two hour lunch break. Children go to school all day (8am - 5p) 5 days a week, but they get a 2 hour lunch break also - and they get several (5?) weeks off during the school year plus a a 2 month summer vacation.
So aside from the financial aspect of living there, the quality and enjoyment of life rates very highly. Does it take a bit of determination to try it? Yes. Is it worth it? Heck, yes! So...what's holding you back?
And here is a REAL ESTATE LINK (in English) for rentals! I selected rentals from 250 to 1000Euros per month. http://www.nexthome.fr/location-appartement-maison-villa-06-alpes-maritimes-cote-d-azur-monaco+0#radio=4&min_prix=250&max_prix=1000&nature_id=1&start=1&order=3
Go have some fun! You never know.....!
No comments:
Post a Comment