We are moving closer to achieving our dream of moving to France, however we are struggling with funding the property of our dreams and may have to consider alternatives.
This would mean a reduction in forecasted income.
Please could you advise us of what a couple realistically needs to generate per month for income to live a good life. A good reasonable car, eating out couple of times a week perhaps?
Average monthly bills etc. What are we realistically looking at for a comfortable life?
It should give you an idea of the things you would need to specify to narrow as far as possible the criteria you have in mind but which are not yet on the screen! Location is going to be a key one.
TBH I take issue with some of these numbers - granted if you are single and trying to live on less than 1073ā¬ a month in France you probably are not enjoying yourself much but donāt lose sight of the fact that amount still is untold riches in much of the world - context matters. Also a T4 appartement in the 1er arrondissement is a different proposition to the same thing in, say, Vannes.
I canāt quite tell if I am well off as our situation isnāt listed (couple with 21 year old still at Uni and who considers his parents an infinite source of readies). Do I think a single person is ācomfortableā on 3119ā¬ a month - 37kā¬ a year (presumably gross) or ārichā on more than 4293ā¬ a month.
Not sure TBH. As far as Iām concerned ārichā rather than ācomfortableā only really starts at the point you have enough assets generating enough revenue without you having to work - and thatās only the entry ticket. A serious illness could easily knock you off track. I honestly donāt think you can call yourself rich if the thought of buying a couple of transatlantic tickets first class gives you more than a millisecondās pause to consider affordability.
The actual rich are a different breed. The rest of us middle classes who are doing OK in decently paid jobs are merely ācomfortableā.
But this is for metropolitan France, and broad brush averages. So merely giving an idea.
We live comfortably within our income so feel rich Ć la Micawber principal. āAnnual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.
But they do - you are much more likely to be rich if your parents were rich, exponentially so if they were rich and titled.
Sure, I realise that. But even within France the amount people need to spend on accommodation varies enormously and it is a significant expenditure for the less well off.
Yes, my dad liked that one though he attributed it to Confucius.
I think the biggest difference between UK and French costs of living is property related, inasmuch as not only is it much cheaper to buy fine historic property here in many idyllic locations, but property taxes are so low compared to the UK. Our quality of life is far better now as retirees in France than when earning much more as academics in the UK.
My parents were not rich, I did not have what my friends had and I was ridiculed. I inherited a house without a roof.
I am not sure if I am rich but my income is higher than my spending.
I think the average in the UK is Ā£280k - harder to pin down the figure for France as the data tends to be presented per square metre or per region. Perhaps reasonably - in the face of considerable variation a single ānational figureā probably does not mean much.
Google came up with Ā£190k
The French market was in the middle of a downturn at the beginning of 2024 as well - though that might be because rural prices were artifically boosted by people wanting to get out of cities during Covid.
But, yes, the appeal of France is often that much more space is on offer for considerably less money.
But if you are free of mortgage as many retirees are then property costs might not be so significant.
Isnāt that part of being retired?
Ayway - to get back to the question - Iād have thought a net income after tax of 3-3.5kā¬ would be OK for a retired couple to live with a comfortable but modest lifestyle in much of France. After that it depends how many niceties you feel are indispensable.
I think that would be fine in many parts of rural central and southern France, particularly if youāve got a property thatās economically well-heated and well- cooled. Weāve had C40Ā° today but the interior has remained cool, just using the heat pump fans, which are silent and very effective - AC mode is available, but we donāt need to use it.
I have a feeling the OP has in mind a lifestyle many of us might see as quite luxurious - I honestly canāt imagine normally eating out a couple of times a week, or even a month - unless I was on holiday - although I have a feeling they may be North American, where eating out is normal.
Agree - also in France āeating out twice a weekā will involve a good bit of travel or living in a city. Unless you are happy to eat out at the same place every time.
I expected to experience a big change when I took early retirement as the drop in monthly income that I was going to experience was significant. The strange thing is my lifestyle hasnāt changed that much at all. Itās hard to work out where all that extra money went. Throughout my life I have managed to live to the earn Ā£20 spend 19/6 rule and I have lived comfortably. I believe that a couple could live very comfortably on the figure that Billy suggested as long as they didnāt have to pay rent and werenāt leasing an expensive car. It does of course depend so much on the location they choose. Today Iāve been on a round trip to the coast and in the two hours it took me to get there house prices will have dropped a bit from where I live for a chunk of the journey before reaching the destination where properties might have 4X or even 10X the value of my area. The island I sailed over to this afternoon would be in the upper levels. One thing that I did while I was still working was to trial a couple of things that I wanted to do in retirement to check the real costs while I knew that I could afford to lose some money if I found it wasnāt going to work out. Luckily my trial to see if I could keep a small boat in a marina not too far away worked out really well. How we spend and manage seems to be such a personal thing.
So did I, and the reality was the opposite. I never realised how expensive it was to go to work! Not just the commuting, and needing a much smarter wardrobe, but the fact that I was so time poor that I spent money badly (M&S food hall next to office didnāt help). And also the drinks after work, birthday presents, leaving presents, etc all added up as I had a big team. And dry cleaning suits!
Generating a monthly income sounds like a pre retirement phrase. Earning a living in France if not born and bred here is not worth thinking about. If you have private and/or old age pension you should know now what your monthly income will be going forward.
What do you see as a good reasonable car? France is not like the UK when your nieghbour buys a new car and you have to do the same to ākeep upā. Eating out twice a week will not last long unless you frequent the same eatery over and over. Perhaps in Paris but otherwise there isnāt an eatery on every corner and come winter venturing out quickly becomes boring.
Chateau or small cottage, its all relative.
Pick wisely and you can eat healthy by shopping at Lidl.
We have just had a visitor who is āgluten freeā so thought we should buy gluten free bread. Its not easy to find and very expensive so they went without. The likes of BioCoop is a rip off.
Lunchtime dining is the way to eat out without spending a fortune and its good food too.
Indeed we all manage on what we have or what we want to spend and save the rest for who knows what but to pluck at 4k per month is in my mind at least is wasting money.
@Nomad83 wanting a car that you think will determine your status in life and dining out twice a week is not my idea of contentment.
To be happy and contented and live a peaceful life with your partner in the place you have chosen is more tgan enough for anyone. Make your income fit your lifestyle and you will be content.
