Letters: The cost of living is not always lower in France than in the US

To the Editor,

I have a few things to say regarding your article 'Americans compare cost of living in the US to prices in France’

Firstly, healthcare is absolutely not "free". It is certainly less expensive for us than the "healthcare business" in the US. 

In France, we pay for certain kinds of services, eg. visits to specialists. We also pay monthly premiums (through our employer) for social security, and mutuelle premiums are also paid for by the employer/employee. 

Regarding "free" education, I paid for bus transport when my child attended primary, secondary and middle school. 

When my child started high school, I paid for room and board because there are no high schools anywhere near our home. For university, I pay roughly €11,000 per year for the education and monthly room and board.

Some daily living expenses are more affordable, such as groceries, wine, restaurants, haircuts, public transport. 

However, certain things are equal or more expensive than in the US, for example; gas for vehicles, insurance (house, car, etc.), banking fees, taxes (including contributions for social security). 

Given many economic and social factors (such as wars), water, electricity, fuel and propane are extremely expensive in France.

While groceries are more affordable in France (this has not always been the case), I find that produce is less readily available if you live in a small town. 

Even when I travel to the nearest large city, the availability of produce is less than in the US. Grocery stores like Wegmans, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's all have excellent variety and quality of produce compared to chains in France (Leclerc, Auchan, Lidl, etc).

Nadine Guck, by email

Read more:  Investing in France in an inflationary environment needs much thought

To the Editor

Regarding your article about the cost of living in France versus the US, we are a retired couple living about an hour west of Montpellier in a small village, and generally across the board it is cheaper here than the US. 

The big exception is energy costs. 

We pay quite a bit more for electricity/gas for the house we own here compared to the house we owned in the States. 

And, of course, gasoline for our car is very expensive even though we have a smaller car that is more efficient than the gas guzzlers we had in the States.

As for income taxes, the US/France tax treaty effectively means we pay taxes only to the States but since we don’t pay state income taxes now we come out ahead. 

We do feel somewhat guilty that we aren’t paying any French social charges even though we are getting heavily subsidised medical care. 

The one thing that is generally not known is that you don’t want to die here in France.

The French tax estates globally at exorbitant rates and one’s heirs regardless of where they are located will need to deal with the French tax authorities when settling estates even for financial assets that are based in the US. 

There are exceptions to this (foreign real estate for example) but this was a very big surprise to us which we only discovered after we moved here. 

We are seriously considering moving to another European country once one of us passes to avoid these estate taxes. The other option of course is to repatriate back to the US but that’s the least desirable option for us.

Dennis Dubberley, Hérault

How do you think prices in France compare to those in the US? Is it more expensive to enjoy a high quality of life? Let us know your experience at letters@connexionfrance.com