Living cost in South of France.

[Cobachka]

Would anyone know about minimum monthly living cost in South of France,including medical care and rent.
Thank you.

[Cobachka]

Does anyone familiar with Anglet and Bayonne?
Any experience will appreciate to know about.
Thanks.

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by Cobachka

Would anyone know about minimum monthly living cost in South of France,including medical care and rent.
Thank you.

Well, first of all, the French consulate will require you to show adequate means to do whatever it is you are coming to France to do. And they'll require that you have a private health insurance coverage.

You can find the cost of the health insurance by checking the rate sheet on the AARO website. AARO?s Health Care Program for Expatriate America (This is not necessarily an endorsement of the plan, but it is a good estimate of what such a plan will cost, no matter where you get it from.)

And although the French consulate will not give out a figure, it stands to reason that they'll expect you to have at least the French minimum wage in funding. Currently the SMIC stands at about 1425€ a month, roughly $1800, per person. I wouldn't expect to have a chance at a visa on less than that. And I wouldn't count on the minimum wage offering a particularly lavish lifestyle, so you may want to boost that by a bit (especially since you won't be eligible for some of the benefits that the local are eligible for).
Cheers,
Bev

[hils]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

Currently the SMIC stands at about 1425€ a month, roughly $1800, per person. I wouldn't expect to have a chance at a visa on less than that. And I wouldn't count on the minimum wage offering a particularly lavish lifestyle, so you may want to boost that by a bit (especially since you won't be eligible for some of the benefits that the local are eligible for).
Cheers,
Bev

OY! lol RSA is something just over 400/month, so 1425 is excessively generous!

H

[Claireaufr]

I had lived 4 years in Marseille before coming back to Northern France in September 2011. I had an apartment (1 bedroom, 40m²) in the city center and I paid 475 without bills.

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by hils

OY! lol RSA is something just over 400/month, so 1425 is excessively generous!

H

Yeah, but RSA is just for the rent. You gotta eat, too. <g>

And if you're not in the French healthcare system, then the private insurance they want you to have isn't exactly free, either.
Cheers,
Bev

[hils]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

Yeah, but RSA is just for the rent. You gotta eat, too. <g>

And if you're not in the French healthcare system, then the private insurance they want you to have isn't exactly free, either.
Cheers,
Bev

No sorry this time you're wrong. RSA is job-seeker's living allowance. APL is rent - or one of its guises. & if you get RSA (formerly RMI) you get complementary CMU. But it is true that RSA is just for eating, washing,and travelling, electricity, fuel and water bills.

If you're on minimum wage, you can also get help for rent and CMU, and taxe d'habitation is means-tested.

So, the bottom line is that slightly over 400/month, + rent + healthcare +taxe d'habitation is the minimum (according to the authorities) required for a single person to live on.

H

[Bevdeforges]

However, if the OP is coming from the US, they WILL need a visa. And for visa purposes, the minimum income required is related to the SMIC. (When the consulates used to post a "recommended" minimum figure it was usually pretty close to the current SMIC - though I think they got tired of dealing with the currency fluctuations.) Other than as a student, I wouldn't recommend trying to hack it anywhere in France for less than the SMIC.
Cheers,
Bev

[hils]

Originally Posted by Bevdeforges

However, if the OP is coming from the US, they WILL need a visa. And for visa purposes, the minimum income required is related to the SMIC. (When the consulates used to post a "recommended" minimum figure it was usually pretty close to the current SMIC - though I think they got tired of dealing with the currency fluctuations.) Other than as a student, I wouldn't recommend trying to hack it anywhere in France for less than the SMIC.
Cheers,
Bev

You're right, but it does depend upon your expectations. One of the things that struck us, and other expats here, is that what was important at home is less important here, so your expectations change and your priorities are different. You just can't compare what was with what will be - and your financial needs change accordingly.

But, yes, in general, you're right.

H

[Bevdeforges]

Oh definitely! When you move, your spending habits change tremendously. If nothing else, the price of petrol/diesel alone will shift your budget around (certainly for those coming from the US). When I got to Germany, I had a company car, which left me lots of extra spending money.

There is also the very real issue of what national benefits you are or are not eligible for. Having most of your health care costs taken care of by the national health care plus an employer offered mutuelle makes another huge shift in spending priorities.

For retirees from the US, the required health insurance seems like a huge chunk of change, but compared to all the "co-pays" and "deductibles" over in the US, it may not be as big a burden as it first appears. (Then again, the fact that their Medicare coverage is now worthless can make the insurance seem like a double burden.)

It's one reason I don't like "cost of living" questions. Without knowing the specifics of the situation (and how canny the person is about careful spending) it can be almost impossible to compare living costs from one place to another.
Cheers,
Bev