What Salary do I need to Live in The Cote D'Azur?

[steveoracle]

Hi Everyone

I'm Steve and I'm new to the site!

I currently live in the North of England and have been offered a job in Sophia Antipolis. It's a great job and it looks like a great place to live but I have a small concern regarding the cost of living down there and what my salary needs to be to make life comfortable. I've been offered a little under E65,000 which in the UK would be great but I'm not sure how that would stack up after tax and accomodation (E1000 per month) in the South of France.

Anmy advice, comments, experiences welcome.

Steve

[Marianne2010]

Hi Steve,
Some important informations lacking.
Is it gross or net? Will you be coming with your family? What kind of lodging will you be looking for? What do you refer to with "tax and accomodation" 1000 €?
Basically 65 000 € would be certainly good if net. If gross, might be a little short.
Marianne

[steveoracle]

65,000 is gross, and I will be living alone with no family. I am looking to rent a flat, appartment or small house and it appears that the average rent for a nice place is E1000/month (which is way more than I'd pay in the UK). My net salary would be around E3300 per month; is this affordable with a E1000 per month rent?

Steve

[Marianne2010]

From my personal experience (2800 € net salary and 950 € rent including charges), it's perfectly OK. You will even be able to put some aside or spend it in the luxuries affordable there!
Welcome!
Marianne

[PatrickB]

Steve,


A couple of questions. The Euro 65,000 salary....are they providing you with a vehicle (or vehicle allowance) above and beyond that number?

Or are you planning to live on the 65,000 Euro alone?

It's certainly very possible to do, but this is also probably one of the most expensive areas in France to live in. So if you have to purchase, insure and fuel a vehicle, it can get pretty expensive, quickly. Also, we have a few toll roads around which can add up (depending upon how far away from Sophia you may choose to live).

Otherwise though, well worth the cost of living here (though it's a tad rainy this week!)

Some general cost of living ideas:

Rent, as you said, seems to average about 1000 euros per month for an okay apartment. You can probably even find a smaller one for quite a bit less than that (one of my co-workers rents out his place in Juan Les Pins for 1200 / month and it's sea view with roughly 1 block to the beach).

Broadband, about 35 Euros per month.

Groceries for a single person (as long as you stay away from trying to buy imported British or American foods), probably about 200-300 Euros per month. The imported stuff can get very expensive here, quickly.

Current price of diesel in the region is ~1.40 Euro per litre.

All in all, it's a great place to live (especially in the summers).



Patrick

[Nicois]

€65k gross or net is a bloody good salary for the South of France. You can live as cheaply or expensively as you want down here. If I was earning that kind of money, I would be a God!! The average French person earns half that amount. Take the job, move down here and live life to the full!!

[GALLUS]

Thanks members,

Salary offers in France are usually gross.
then if you are single this is 58 500 euros nets: which makes 4875 a month

from there
20 % rent : 975 euros
mobility (car+petrol+insurance) : up to 500 euros (and more)
house charges (electricity, heating, water, internet): 190 euros
telephone: 45 -60
insurances: 120

that is 3045 left

remove clothing and feeding: 750 (depending if you cook or go to restaurants)

plus others cost: social taxes, .pension contribution, house tax, ... 400

that is 1795 left which is outstanding. Obviously if you are in a couple, you income tax will reduce, but all other expenses will increase.

With 1795 euros a month you can still gamble in Monaco, go skiing every week-end and hire a Porsche once in a while. Just be careful

best of luck

[PatrickB]

Originally Posted by GALLUS

Thanks members,

Salary offers in France are usually gross.
then if you are single this is 58 500 euros nets: which makes 4875 a month

from there
20 % rent : 975 euros
mobility (car+petrol+insurance) : up to 500 euros (and more)
house charges (electricity, heating, water, internet): 190 euros
telephone: 45 -60
insurances: 120

that is 3045 left

remove clothing and feeding: 750 (depending if you cook or go to restaurants)

plus others cost: social taxes, .pension contribution, house tax, ... 400

that is 1795 left which is outstanding. Obviously if you are in a couple, you income tax will reduce, but all other expenses will increase.

With 1795 euros a month you can still gamble in Monaco, go skiing every week-end and hire a Porsche once in a while. Just be careful

best of luck

I would be a little careful with one piece of that list....the social charges / pension contributions / house tax of only 400 Euro per month.

Social charges and pension contributions are generally 20-25% of gross salary per month, so 20% of roughly 5400 Euros per month is likely to be closer to 1000 Euros per month, not 400.

That should still leave him with about 1200 Euros per month in free spending money, which, as has been pointed out, is pretty reasonable (again, depending upon your lifestyle).

One thing to note about life in France vs the UK; here in France there isn't the same concept of "credit cards" as you have in US / Canada / UK etc. The cards are either immediate debit (identical to a debit card in Canada / US), or deferred debit (paid in full at the end of the month, like an AMEX charge card).

It doesn't matter if they are Carte Bleu, VISA, Mastercard, etc.

So just one thing to keep in mind for financial planning; you can't rack up thousands of Euros in charges and then work to pay them off over the span of several months. A large part of the population in the US and Canada considered that "normal" financial planning.


Patrick

[GALLUS]

Thanks Patrick

Originally Posted by PatrickB

I would be a little careful with one piece of that list....the social charges / pension contributions / house tax of only 400 Euro per month. Social charges and pension contributions are generally 20-25% of gross salary per month, so 20% of roughly 5400 Euros per month is likely to be closer to 1000 Euros per month, not 400.
- 400 is only added for taxes in addition to deductions for pension and income taxes on the gross salary (65K became 58K)


One thing to note about life in France vs the UK; here in France there isn't the same concept of "credit cards" as you have in US / Canada / UK etc. The cards are either immediate debit (identical to a debit card in Canada / US), or deferred debit (paid in full at the end of the month, like an AMEX charge card). It doesn't matter if they are Carte Bleu, VISA, Mastercard, etc.

- credit card is not commonly in use but still exists if you want to (ask your bank), with credits up to 17% per month. It is often avoided. Debit card is the most common tool used by French people. Debit Cards have a chip and amount are debited online.

Cash management is the easiest way of having a budget managed many agree. In France cash payment can attract a discount, even at your local store. Nobody asks but if you dare asking, they might oblige. You would not do that at the petrol station nor at the boulangerie, but probably at a clothing shop, car dealer, furniture, shoes, flower shop and so on....

Consider that 50% of French people live with 1500 euros a month or less. A large majority of French entrepreneurs make 2500 euros a month not more. According to our calculation you would have 1500 euros available after all payments done. Good luck but keep an eye on your lifestyle.

Taking a "designer coffee" everyday would cost you already up to 60euros a month. Dry cleaning is rather costly in France, a fortune if you compare with US. Telephone bills can easily reach 70 euros a month if you browse on your smart phone. And a full tank of petrol is now 150 euros.

A pair of designer jeans is roughly 175 euros and brand shoes would be the same. In Sophia and Nice region, you would be tempted by gastronomy, leisure and tourism....

[Bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by GALLUS

Cash management is the easiest way of having a budget managed many agree. In France cash payment can attract a discount, even at your local store. Nobody asks but if you dare asking, they might oblige. You would not do that at the petrol station nor at the boulangerie, but probably at a clothing shop, car dealer, furniture, shoes, flower shop and so on....

Perhaps in some areas, but I wouldn't count on it. Discounts for payment in cash are most common with local artisans, where they don't declare the sale and thus don't pay the VAT. I wouldn't try it in the shops unless you are buying lots of stuff at once - like a houseful of furniture from the same shop.

Taking a "designer coffee" everyday would cost you already up to 60euros a month. Dry cleaning is rather costly in France, a fortune if you compare with US. Telephone bills can easily reach 70 euros a month if you browse on your smart phone. And a full tank of petrol is now 150 euros.

What are you driving that costs 150€ to fill the tank? My 16 year old car currently costs me about 60 - 70€ to fill, and it's not a small car, though it's not one of those gas guzzling SUVs either.

A pair of designer jeans is roughly 175 euros and brand shoes would be the same. In Sophia and Nice region, you would be tempted by gastronomy, leisure and tourism....

Even a pair of ordinary jeans (Levi or Wrangler) will run you 50 - 80€ depending on where you buy them. (Yeah, I know - "imported") Food is said to be expensive here (at least compared to England), but this isn't a society where you eat at restaurants all the time and rely heavily on "convenience" foods. French "convenience food" is a ready-made dish you buy at the traiteur and warm up to eat at home. Not cheap, but certainly no where near as expensive as dining at a fancy restaurant.
Cheers,
Bev