We lucked out with our house. 10k canadian all it needed was paint, flooring and roof. Yes you read that right 10 thousand. Small town living with major city/shopping 45mins away. I feel very fortunate and didn't think we'd ever be able to afford a home in this life time.
Here’s some rural Alberta, Canada numbers for comparison: 1365 sq ft house, 5 years old, apr $ 475,000, Property Tax $2000 per year, electricity $3500, natural gas for heating $1500, home insurance $2100, car insurance $1500, income tax averages about 30 to 40 % of wages, Gst tax on most purchases besides basic food 5%, gas for vehicle currently $1.25 per litre, cellphone service for 1 phone $840 per year, internet $1200 all in Canadian dollars. Hospital stays and doctor visits are covered by provincial health insurance however wait times are long especially if you need to see a specialist ( our experience: 4 months or so for specialists) Dentists, optometrist, etc have to be paid out of pocket unless you have additional private medical coverage at about an average cost of ap $300 per month depending on age and health factors. Cheaper for those with benefits paid by an employer.
@@connieseward8773 our home insurance is 250€! All property tax including rubbish collection, TV licence and actual property tax is 550€ electricity is 1500€ a year tax in purchases is 20% income tax is 14% but even with a joint income we don’t get into the tax threshold here.no out of pocket charges for anything medical and no waiting
Wow! I am astounded at the low cost of housing there! Holy moly! Our heating bill is similar but we keep our place less warm than a lot of people. We wear sweaters and wool socks a lot. Our cooling bill is higher, though. Where we live can be very hot an humid. We're on well water and have no water costs but we're not wasteful with water. In our area we've been told that the aquifer is being stressed. Plus, we're aware that any water used in our area ends up in the Chesapeake Bay and contributes to the contamination of the bay so we are conscious of those things. Like you, we don't take 20 minute showers, for example. Again wow! We only get internet, no tv service, and it costs almost $85 a month. I've read before that we Americans pay way more for tv and internet and it's apparently true. And your cellphone service! What?! I'm paying $45 a month for 2 GBs of data! And we Americans complain about paying $3 a gallon for gas, lol! You pay the equivalent of $270 a year American for car insurance?! I'm an excellent driver with no accidents or tickets or anything and great credit (Your credit rating affects your insurance rates. I don't know if that's true anywhere else.) and I pay more than twice that for the minimum coverage! And that certainly doesn't cover breakdowns! I always knew about your health care costs in France and most of the civilized world. But you can't tell some Americans that they're being ripped off! They refuse to believe it. They honestly think you're getting inferior care. It's crazy. The camping facilities are inexpensive, too?! You have to pay almost as much for a hotel room as you do for camping in the US. That didn't used to be true. Clothing prices are comparable to France here in the US. I hope I didn't go on too long but I thought it was very interesting comparing the cost of living.
@@vickiem.6096 The reason we don’t have health insurance in the US is because that is what keeps Americans employed in crappy jobs. If we had health insurance whether employed or not, it would not factor into leaving an employer. Health insurance is the main reason people stay in their jobs until they can find a new one and leave. Age discrimination may wind up being the catalyst that forces the government to open their eyes. Most employers in the private sector lay off their employees over 50 and call it a “reorganization” to do it legally and it leaves those older Americans in the terrible position of trying to find insurance without any income coming in. Corporations are controlling the healthcare situation and they know if the government takes over healthcare then they need to find other ways to attract employees and they will have to bring back the other benefits they cut like retirement benefits and savings plans. If corporations wanted universal healthcare, we would have it. They are not lobbying for it so they can control the workforce.
If I didn't live so far away (Australia) this video would have convinced me to pack up and move to Brittany! You have made such a smart move to such a beautiful part of the world.
Such a lot of great information presented so clearly and in an interesting way. All costs in Australia are ridiculous. We live about 45 minutes from Melbourne (we moved to a regional town of about 20,000 people) and average house cost here is $560k. Health insurance we pay $4800 a year for a medium level of cover but still pay out of pocket for standard Dr bills. House insurance is around $1600 per year but that is higher than normal as our house is larger than normal. Petrol is currently $1.59 per litre - it was sitting around $1.10 for years but in the past 18 months has increased. Our dream is to retire to Italy - or maybe do six months in Italy, six months back here.
Our monthly insurance for auto and homeowners+ contents @$400. Does not include health insurance. Our cell phones (I phones) 2- @$150 per month. Gas is back up to $4.00 per gallon for my car.
Extraordinary detail and comparisons. I'm a Canadian and right now we're paying $1.47 a litre. I travel to the US a lot pre-covid and I've never paid more than 2.49 to 1.99 a gallon the further south you travel the cheaper it gets. Skechers running shoes at TJ Maxx $18 in Canada it's $50. What has changed for us in Canada (post covid) is the price of beef. What used to be 2.99 to 3.99 a pound is now $8.99 to $12.99. Canada's going to vegetarian LOL. We had a covid outbreak in our meat plant. Hope it goes back down. My body type needs beef. Really enjoy your content. Have a good day💐
Thank you so much for this very informative video on life in Brittany! Here in NY everything is so expensive! I think all of your costs are lower than ours! We also heat our home with wood! Our oil costs are very high if we were to completely heat our home with oil (maybe $3000. yearly) so we supplement with wood. I learned so much from this! Thanks again, Jane and Michael! Francine in NY
Wow, I realize that this video is 2 years old but I'm thinking today in 2024 in the US for my husband and I to have two mobile phones runs is 125.00 a month which according to google would be 117.30 euros.... now gas prices are definitely a different thing, in Southwest Georgia the average gas right now is $3.37 US dollars the national average is running at about $4.85. If you were to go nationwide. I could not imagine having to go to work every day hopefully retiring in the next 2 years but anyways, and paying $8.50 2 years ago which is probably equivalent to $10 now for a gallon..... I would love to be able to go without central air. But again living in the US in the South with such a humongous high humidity rate that leaves you gasping for air one looks for the air conditioner😊😊 Love catching up on some of your older videos. We do enjoy them...take care
Thank you Jane and Michael. Another really interesting video. I'm from Ireland, though living in Scotland now. Ireland is a very expensive country to live in! Thanks again. Kindest regards, Maureen
What a wonderfully informative video! Obviously an incredible amount of work and research went in to the making of this, thank you so much. I absolutely loved the view behind you. I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago from Frugal Jo, and I've been binge watching your videos. I see your channel is growing well, but you should still have way more subscribers! Good luck!
Always love it when your video pops up on here. As I always seem to say you are very generous in sharing your knowledge with us Jane. Thank you again I only wish I'd moved over to France years ago when I retired I love France. Take care
Thank you Jane, I love the background and the babbling brook behind you. I live in the US in the Pacific Northwest in Washington state. We have a lot of rain but the same sort of greenery. Lots of trees, ferns and undergrowth. A great place for gardening. I'm a big rose enthusiast and I enjoy riding my Welsh cob. I love it when you show us your days "out" and visit your town or parks and walks. Recently I enjoyed watching a trip you took to a marina and the lovely boats that were moored there. Thanks for letting us all tag along. God bless you .
WOW so informative. Moving to France has often been topic of conversation between my husband and I, but what with teenage children and elderly parents it's never been the right time. I assume you and Mike are both French citizens? Have you made a video of your experience on moving to France - the buying a property process, moving furniture from Britain, Citizenship etc? Thoroughly enjoy your videos...
Jane you are so interesting and know what you are talking about. I have always had to be thrifty and it is great to listen to you and just feel that I have tried to do everything I can to save money but live well. Hi Pam.
Nice video but why live extremely frugal? You could invest and make more money to afford the lifestyle you want. Personally I invest in advance asset trade and its very profitable
@@thomaspugh1435 I am living the lifestyle I want. What more do I need? I have a house, a car, heating, good food, clothes, hobbies? What more could I want?
@@FrugalQueeninFrance a comfortable lifestyle. Being able to afford anything without worrying too much. It's not okay to live a very restrictive lifestyle. Other people want swimming pools, nicer cars , a nicer house, lovely jewelleries and so on. The only way to be better in life is to invest and make more. Living frugal is good but it's not the best solution.
@@thomaspugh1435 I have a nice car, nice house, nice garden, I am not restricted and I have no worries. I live in Brittany so for 4/5ths of the year, it’s cool and a pool would be redundant. I live an hour from the beach and swim there. It seems that you’re talking about your choices which are fine as they suit you. I deleted comments which were promoting your business or the business of others. If you want a sponsored post, you have to pay people who offer that service. I don’t. Watch my other videos and you will see we are very happy.
Hi Jane, still playing catch up with all your vlogs; I focus more especially on this type of content as Colin & I intend to be in France May of this year for our reccie. SO MUCH useful information; thank you. We are technically retired but we're considering being 'micro-entrepreneurs' - probably hospitality as we have enjoyed being Airbnb hosts here in NZ - just so we can be registered for tax & take advantage of the health care system. Our pensions will be paid by the UK & NZ governments & we both have private plans. Is our thinking correct?
What an interesting blog, I am amazed at how really cheap some things in france are.I could just pack up my caravan and move over.,but a house would be more practical!!! Lots of good information .
What a fabulous informative video, I’m glad to see that your subscribers are slowly increasing, I do hope that watchers are allowing the ads to run…… I know they generate a small income for the gorgeous camera man, if it’s a long one then go grab a drink. Take care and keep safe………. Love Wendy 💙♥️💋🌈
@@FrugalQueeninFrance I am a new subscriber. I enjoy your channel's content. Always make sure one ad fully runs, at minimum, each time to say thanks for channel owner(s) content, effort and time, put in.
So much great information. The car fuel prices blow my mind. I just paid $2.89 a gallon yesterday. Early this year we were paying $1.89 a gallon. I am currently insured, (accessing insurance is horrible) and am paying $93 a month with a sizable subsidy. Some years I’ve had to go without.
Wow! I might need to move in next door to you Jane! I live in the Midwest U.S., where the cost of living is much lower than in either of the coasts. But some of your costs are much lower than here. My homeowners insurance is $200/month! Property taxes on homes in my area are thousands per year. It is getting unaffordable town a home. I bought my home in 2008 for $78,500. Houses in my area are now selling for $260,000 and higher. My home was a real fixer upper (not as much as yours) but I have done a lot of work to it. Y biggest expenses since my home is paid off is healthcare and other insurance.
Our internet, TV and land line phone, is $180 a month and that is with basic TV, intermediate internet and unlimited local and long distance phone. And no way to cut it down b/c there is no competition.
that sounds like the UK, where houses, I mean tiny houses, start at £250,000 and borrowers need a deposit of £50,000 to buy one and wages are around £20,000 a year...........so guess what, no one can afford them!
Congratulations on reaching 10k subscribers. This is a great list and I have most of these in my home. Although I have indoor airers, I still haven’t put an outdoor drying line up, so I’m sorting it out now. There are still some useful blowy days left in 2021. Thanks for the reminder.
Really interesting! I live in the U.S. (Florida) and what struck me was how much less you pay for home and car insurance. I pay $1,200 per year for car insurance and because of hurricanes my home insurance is over $3,000. Very interesting to hear about the health care system in France. I’ve heard from others that it is excellent and your comments confirm that. You and Mike were smart to move to France before Brexit. I assume that it is much harder now if it even is possible.
How does one go about moving to France from the US? Do you have to be a citizen to purchase a house, and so forth? Thanks so much for all your sharing of information!!
You don’t have to be a citizen to buy property in France. You can live here on a visitor’s visa that must be renewed annually. You have to prove that you have the funds to live here independently (e.g. retiree, self-employed) or you can come over after being hired by a French company. Once here, if you can speak a basic level of French, you can apply for permanent residency or citizenship.
We love Brittany and in the good old days (!) used to holiday around the Quiberon area. You make it sound a very good option - but I'm assuming, post Brexit, it will be well nigh impossible to follow your example! Great video, BTW. Jackie x
Thank you so much for this fantastically detailed information. Very interesting. I am also from Australia, and agree with the other comments on here, that our outgoings seem really high. My family is in the UK, so a large part of my budget is travel :)
Here in the US my husband pays almost $500 dollars per month for the both of us through his employer, his employer pays about another $900 for us. And that is considered good in the US and we still have to pay $25 to $45 for the office visit! It's so very expensive! And most people don't want a government health care system, crazy!!!!
We pay 22%, Mike’s income is around 2500€ a year and he still gets complete medical coverage by paying 22% of that. There’s no co pay, no payment for medication. Now my insurance and tax paid insurance has linked up, I pay nothing for medication. I do pay for a doctor office visit if 7.50€ I had a pap, mammogram, blood work, gynecologist and nothing extra to pay.
Hi Jane,are house prices in Brittany cheaper than rest of the France too?Also,I am curious why you chose Brittany in France? You could live somewhere milder in south of France...
Great video. How hard is it to sell in France. I have heard it takes ages to get the sale done etc. Here in Australia we get an offer and 30 days later have the money in the bank.😀
The right house in the right area at the right price will sell quickly. If there’s anything wrong with it then it will stay on the market for years. It takes 3 months from the first papers of sale written up to the final papers. The money exchanges immediately.
How are the cost of prescriptions in France? In the US it depends on which insurance program you have and they can range from $2.50 for a bottle to $1200 for a bottle, usually a one month supply. Thanks for the video.
This is 2 years old. Can you update in another video? I would like to see if inflation has changed this in 2024. Inflation has caused prices to be much higher in the US.
Problem with house prices is that if you ever want or need to move back to the uk from france, as my in laws have done, it will be very difficult for you to afford any kind of house here!
Thanks Jane for doing this video. I found it very interesting. Sounds like a great place to live. How do you find the locals, are they welcoming to foreigners?
My jaw dropped when you said the price of gas for cars there. Yikes! That would be a huge motivator to drive an electric car-or at least a hybrid. Although, I guess consumption might be a lot less there since things are closer together. We do a lot of driving in the US bc our public transit is not reliable if you live in the suburbs. Of course healthcare costs more than make up for those gas prices!
Hi Jane: Can you tell me more about the taxes you mentioned about takings vs income. I am thinking about moving to France and thinking about the taxation for residents when self employed.
When self employed here you can’t offset costs. Instead, there’s an abatement of 33% of what we earn isn’t taxed plus no one is taxed on the first 9000 that they make. Cotisations or social charges for health, pensions and social care are 22% flat rate of gross income.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance So do the S/E'd in France pay 55% tax on any come exceeding £9k? House prices in Brittany are low. I think you must eat very well in France; I average around £370 pa for my grocery bills & that includes toiletries, although I do wait for the 'sell by date / end of day' bargains.
@@johnkay4701 hi John. We don’t earn enough to pay tax, our income is 24K a year. We pay 22% on everything we earn of gross income. We are self employed so don’t pay tax on 33% of our income as we’re self employed and we get tax allowances of 9K each.
Thank you for sharing your life with us! It is very. Interesting. Could we come to France and live on our pensions there, or would we not be allowed to stay? I am in the United States, Kansas. Just wondering.
Hi Brenda, the French government immigration site has language choices and you can choose English. As long as you meet the income standards, you can come. The income or pension you have to have each per month is approx, and my research comes up with different figures is €1231 each adult. You obviously have to apply for a long stay visa.
I live in the US and would love to have your health care pricing because ours is definitely expensive even through an employer sponsored plan. But try to buy it on your own and its extremely expensive. That said I wouldn't want to pay the price you pay for gasoline. Wow that is high. We are complaining in my area about gas being up to $3.00 a gallon.
Healthcare is deducted from your income and my deductions are 22% our top up insurance is 50€ each a month. There’s nothing more to pay. It doesn’t increase if you get sick. No one goes bankrupt paying for healthcare.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance Thanks! I work in insurance billing so i find it interesting. Is that for family insurance or does everyone have the 22% deducted ?
Yes we do. That bill is really variable across France. It’s based on the rentable value of the house. Houses round here don’t rent for much so our house taxes are 250€ for the house 180€ for the rubbish, recycling street cleaning, local hedge and verge cutting so street services . Then TV license is collected against each house for 150€ a Year. Big houses in more rentable areas are higher. Dare not think for popular cities.
I am looking to buy a home in France to retire. Do you have any tips on home buying? Did you have a surveyor check your home out before buying? Did you have your own realtor?
Great info Jane - thank you - very interesting. Quick question re water bills. Do you pay separately for waste water or is that included in the charges you mentioned in the film? Also do you pay car tax each year? And what about refuse collection etc - is it in a council tax like in the UK or do you have to pay privately? Sorry for all the questions but you said to ask! Thanks again.
Waste water, we have septic tanks in the countryside. No car tax. MOT is every two years. Rubbish is a separate bills for ‘street services’ hedge cutting, flowers and parks and paths in the village, recycling of course bins. Our bins are not collected from our houses but we have big bins that we share with our neighbour’s. Recycling is taken to recycling points around the village. Each village also has a big recycle tree where we take garden waste and big recycling like cardboard and plasterboard.
Imagine the immigrants in your country, trying their best with a new language. Getting by but not being able to say everything or understand everything. That’s an immigrant in a different country coping with the language, well that’s us. You have to live legally in France for five years before anyone can apply for citizenship
You need an intermediate level of French (written, reading and spoken) to apply for citizenship, plus (as Jane said) 5 years minimum living in France and evidence of integration. There used to be an exemption from the language test for older applicants but that was removed w.e.f this year. It's a long process, requiring quite a lot of paperwork. Unless you have a right by marriage etc, expect the process to take 2 years plus.
do you mean the cost of going to university? If so, there's no costs and students are given money by the government to live off and pay their rents whilst at university.
I’m all electric ⚡️ USA Indiana hot summers cold winters new construction house I pay 185 Euros / $200 US dollars a month for all electric. 1750 sq foot home / 162 sq meters
We lucked out with our house. 10k canadian all it needed was paint, flooring and roof. Yes you read that right 10 thousand. Small town living with major city/shopping 45mins away. I feel very fortunate and didn't think we'd ever be able to afford a home in this life time.
That’s amazing
Here’s some rural Alberta, Canada numbers for comparison: 1365 sq ft house, 5 years old, apr $ 475,000, Property Tax $2000 per year, electricity $3500, natural gas for heating $1500, home insurance $2100, car insurance $1500, income tax averages about 30 to 40 % of wages, Gst tax on most purchases besides basic food 5%, gas for vehicle currently $1.25 per litre, cellphone service for 1 phone $840 per year, internet $1200 all in Canadian dollars. Hospital stays and doctor visits are covered by provincial health insurance however wait times are long especially if you need to see a specialist ( our experience: 4 months or so for specialists) Dentists, optometrist, etc have to be paid out of pocket unless you have additional private medical coverage at about an average cost of ap $300 per month depending on age and health factors. Cheaper for those with benefits paid by an employer.
@@connieseward8773 our home insurance is 250€! All property tax including rubbish collection, TV licence and actual property tax is 550€ electricity is 1500€ a year tax in purchases is 20% income tax is 14% but even with a joint income we don’t get into the tax threshold here.no out of pocket charges for anything medical and no waiting
Wow! I am astounded at the low cost of housing there! Holy moly!
Our heating bill is similar but we keep our place less warm than a lot of people. We wear sweaters and wool socks a lot. Our cooling bill is higher, though. Where we live can be very hot an humid.
We're on well water and have no water costs but we're not wasteful with water. In our area we've been told that the aquifer is being stressed. Plus, we're aware that any water used in our area ends up in the Chesapeake Bay and contributes to the contamination of the bay so we are conscious of those things. Like you, we don't take 20 minute showers, for example.
Again wow! We only get internet, no tv service, and it costs almost $85 a month. I've read before that we Americans pay way more for tv and internet and it's apparently true.
And your cellphone service! What?! I'm paying $45 a month for 2 GBs of data!
And we Americans complain about paying $3 a gallon for gas, lol!
You pay the equivalent of $270 a year American for car insurance?! I'm an excellent driver with no accidents or tickets or anything and great credit (Your credit rating affects your insurance rates. I don't know if that's true anywhere else.) and I pay more than twice that for the minimum coverage! And that certainly doesn't cover breakdowns!
I always knew about your health care costs in France and most of the civilized world. But you can't tell some Americans that they're being ripped off! They refuse to believe it. They honestly think you're getting inferior care. It's crazy.
The camping facilities are inexpensive, too?! You have to pay almost as much for a hotel room as you do for camping in the US. That didn't used to be true.
Clothing prices are comparable to France here in the US.
I hope I didn't go on too long but I thought it was very interesting comparing the cost of living.
You didn’t go on too long and I read it all. America does have very high prices.
I really enjoyed this video. I wish we had health care like that here in the US.
Thanks, the Europeans all believe in health before profit.
It's a privilege to "live" as in the act of breathing, here in the U.S..
@@vickiem.6096 The reason we don’t have health insurance in the US is because that is what keeps Americans employed in crappy jobs. If we had health insurance whether employed or not, it would not factor into leaving an employer. Health insurance is the main reason people stay in their jobs until they can find a new one and leave. Age discrimination may wind up being the catalyst that forces the government to open their eyes. Most employers in the private sector lay off their employees over 50 and call it a “reorganization” to do it legally and it leaves those older Americans in the terrible position of trying to find insurance without any income coming in. Corporations are controlling the healthcare situation and they know if the government takes over healthcare then they need to find other ways to attract employees and they will have to bring back the other benefits they cut like retirement benefits and savings plans. If corporations wanted universal healthcare, we would have it. They are not lobbying for it so they can control the workforce.
FYI. You are definitely going to wait for seeing a doctor in the US. As much as several months for some specialist. (Dermatologist)
If I didn't live so far away (Australia) this video would have convinced me to pack up and move to Brittany! You have made such a smart move to such a beautiful part of the world.
We have a good friend in our village who has his holiday home in the village, he uses it as his base for his European travels.
That's wonderful that you have wood delivered. I never knew it was so inexpensive to live there. tfs🍃🍂🍁🌞🌛🦃🥰✝️🥧😃🙏🧡🌲
Such a lot of great information presented so clearly and in an interesting way. All costs in Australia are ridiculous. We live about 45 minutes from Melbourne (we moved to a regional town of about 20,000 people) and average house cost here is $560k. Health insurance we pay $4800 a year for a medium level of cover but still pay out of pocket for standard Dr bills. House insurance is around $1600 per year but that is higher than normal as our house is larger than normal. Petrol is currently $1.59 per litre - it was sitting around $1.10 for years but in the past 18 months has increased. Our dream is to retire to Italy - or maybe do six months in Italy, six months back here.
Good luck with Italy, it’s a great choice.
Our monthly insurance for auto and homeowners+ contents @$400. Does not include health insurance. Our cell phones (I phones) 2- @$150 per month. Gas is back up to $4.00 per gallon for my car.
Extraordinary detail and comparisons. I'm a Canadian and right now we're paying $1.47 a litre. I travel to the US a lot pre-covid and I've never paid more than 2.49 to 1.99 a gallon the further south you travel the cheaper it gets. Skechers running shoes at TJ Maxx $18 in Canada it's $50. What has changed for us in Canada (post covid) is the price of beef. What used to be 2.99 to 3.99 a pound is now $8.99 to $12.99. Canada's going to vegetarian LOL. We had a covid outbreak in our meat plant. Hope it goes back down. My body type needs beef. Really enjoy your content. Have a good day💐
Thanks for watching and commenting.
We use a bottle of gas every 3 months for our gas hob. We bought an air fryer in Lidl so have only used our electric oven twice in 6 months
Great information presented well. Thanks. I really enjoyed it. Greetings from South Australia.
I really enjoyed hearing the cost comparisons. Thank you for sharing. Mike does a great job editing.🌻
He works really hard, thanks for appreciating his work.
Thank you so much for this very informative video on life in Brittany! Here in NY everything is so expensive! I think all of your costs are lower than ours! We also heat our home with wood! Our oil costs are very high if we were to completely heat our home with oil (maybe $3000. yearly) so we supplement with wood. I learned so much from this! Thanks again, Jane and Michael! Francine in NY
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching.
Wow, I realize that this video is 2 years old but I'm thinking today in 2024 in the US for my husband and I to have two mobile phones runs is 125.00 a month which according to google would be 117.30 euros.... now gas prices are definitely a different thing, in Southwest Georgia the average gas right now is $3.37 US dollars the national average is running at about $4.85. If you were to go nationwide. I could not imagine having to go to work every day hopefully retiring in the next 2 years but anyways, and paying $8.50 2 years ago which is probably equivalent to $10 now for a gallon..... I would love to be able to go without central air. But again living in the US in the South with such a humongous high humidity rate that leaves you gasping for air one looks for the air conditioner😊😊
Love catching up on some of your older videos. We do enjoy them...take care
Thanks for watching
Interesting video, thanks Jane. Here in Australia the cost of housing is completely out of control. It affects everything else.
It does in so many countries
I found the food to be higher, but it is so GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Dawn.
Thank you Jane and Michael. Another really interesting video. I'm from Ireland, though living in Scotland now. Ireland is a very expensive country to live in! Thanks again.
Kindest regards, Maureen
Both Ireland and Scotland are beautiful countries
What a wonderfully informative video! Obviously an incredible amount of work and research went in to the making of this, thank you so much. I absolutely loved the view behind you. I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago from Frugal Jo, and I've been binge watching your videos. I see your channel is growing well, but you should still have way more subscribers! Good luck!
Thanks for watching and commenting and enjoy our videos
Always love it when your video pops up on here. As I always seem to say you are very generous in sharing your knowledge with us Jane. Thank you again I only wish I'd moved over to France years ago when I retired I love France. Take care
Thanks for watching
Awesome video you 2 ! love your work as usual. More food ideas - specially veg inspired :D
Thank you Jane, I love the background and the babbling brook behind you. I live in the US in the Pacific Northwest in Washington state. We have a lot of rain but the same sort of greenery. Lots of trees, ferns and undergrowth. A great place for gardening. I'm a big rose enthusiast and I enjoy riding my Welsh cob.
I love it when you show us your days "out" and visit your town or parks and walks. Recently I enjoyed watching a trip you took to a marina and the lovely boats that were moored there. Thanks for letting us all tag along. God bless you .
More of those toco e, going to visit some towns decorated for Christmas
Really enjoyed this blog. Thanks for sharing and doing the research. Loved the stream behind you. Looking forward to future videos.
Thanks for watching and the stream is pretty
Really interesting video. I enjoyed hearing what things cost in France. Thank you for breaking it down. 👍🏻
You’re welcome and thanks for watching
WOW so informative. Moving to France has often been topic of conversation between my husband and I, but what with teenage children and elderly parents it's never been the right time. I assume you and Mike are both French citizens? Have you made a video of your experience on moving to France - the buying a property process, moving furniture from Britain, Citizenship etc? Thoroughly enjoy your videos...
Not citizens but have long stay visas that we renew every five years. We didn’t move furniture, just personal items. Thanks for watching
Great video, thanks for all the time you spent researching. Very informative. Xx
Thanks Marion
Jane you are so interesting and know what you are talking about. I have always had to be thrifty and it is great to listen to you and just feel that I have tried to do everything I can to save money but live well. Hi Pam.
Hi Mary, thanks for watching. I agreed you can live well on not much
Nice video but why live extremely frugal? You could invest and make more money to afford the lifestyle you want. Personally I invest in advance asset trade and its very profitable
@@thomaspugh1435 I am living the lifestyle I want. What more do I need? I have a house, a car, heating, good food, clothes, hobbies? What more could I want?
@@FrugalQueeninFrance a comfortable lifestyle. Being able to afford anything without worrying too much. It's not okay to live a very restrictive lifestyle. Other people want swimming pools, nicer cars , a nicer house, lovely jewelleries and so on. The only way to be better in life is to invest and make more. Living frugal is good but it's not the best solution.
@@thomaspugh1435 I have a nice car, nice house, nice garden, I am not restricted and I have no worries. I live in Brittany so for 4/5ths of the year, it’s cool and a pool would be redundant. I live an hour from the beach and swim there. It seems that you’re talking about your choices which are fine as they suit you. I deleted comments which were promoting your business or the business of others. If you want a sponsored post, you have to pay people who offer that service. I don’t. Watch my other videos and you will see we are very happy.
Hi Jane, still playing catch up with all your vlogs; I focus more especially on this type of content as Colin & I intend to be in France May of this year for our reccie. SO MUCH useful information; thank you. We are technically retired but we're considering being 'micro-entrepreneurs' - probably hospitality as we have enjoyed being Airbnb hosts here in NZ - just so we can be registered for tax & take advantage of the health care system. Our pensions will be paid by the UK & NZ governments & we both have private plans. Is our thinking correct?
Hi Wendy, good luck with your relocation. The French government immigration site will tell you all you need to know.
Loved the video you appear to live in such a wonderful area.
Glad you enjoyed it!
What an interesting blog, I am amazed at how really cheap some things in france are.I could just pack up my caravan and move over.,but a house would be more practical!!! Lots of good information .
As I said, if you are prepared to be adventurous, you can buy something cheaply and fix it up.
Great average home price. In the county where we live in North Carolina, they reported homes selling averaging about $300,000 US dollars.
Brittany is cheaper than some areas
Yup, I live in NC and my home is worth almost 280000. I call bs. Alot of prices for housing is jaced up right now.
What a fabulous informative video, I’m glad to see that your subscribers are slowly increasing, I do hope that watchers are allowing the ads to run…… I know they generate a small income for the gorgeous camera man, if it’s a long one then go grab a drink. Take care and keep safe………. Love Wendy 💙♥️💋🌈
Thanks Wendy, thanks very very much
@@FrugalQueeninFrance I am a new subscriber. I enjoy your channel's content. Always make sure one ad fully runs, at minimum, each time to say thanks for channel owner(s) content, effort and time, put in.
Sounds like you've chosen a great place to live. Did you decide to live in rural central Brittany because of the lifestyle costs you're describing?
It is a cheaper area.
So much great information. The car fuel prices blow my mind. I just paid $2.89 a gallon yesterday. Early this year we were paying $1.89 a gallon. I am currently insured, (accessing insurance is horrible) and am paying $93 a month with a sizable subsidy. Some years I’ve had to go without.
Scary to think how many people might not have healthcare. So sad,
Wow! I might need to move in next door to you Jane! I live in the Midwest U.S., where the cost of living is much lower than in either of the coasts. But some of your costs are much lower than here. My homeowners insurance is $200/month! Property taxes on homes in my area are thousands per year. It is getting unaffordable town a home. I bought my home in 2008 for $78,500. Houses in my area are now selling for $260,000 and higher. My home was a real fixer upper (not as much as yours) but I have done a lot of work to it. Y biggest expenses since my home is paid off is healthcare and other insurance.
This video is comprehensive, thanks a lot for taking the time to put so much information together.
You’re welcome
Our internet, TV and land line phone, is $180 a month and that is with basic TV, intermediate internet and unlimited local and long distance phone. And no way to cut it down b/c there is no competition.
Thanks for sharing, that’s expensive
Thank you for sharing all this wonderful honest information.
Glad it was helpful!
Housing costs in Canada have skyrocketed. I own a condominium town house and they are selling for anywhere from $250,000 to $300,000.
that sounds like the UK, where houses, I mean tiny houses, start at £250,000 and borrowers need a deposit of £50,000 to buy one and wages are around £20,000 a year...........so guess what, no one can afford them!
Health insurance for myself and my husband is $16,000 a year. His employer pays 2/3rds of it as a benefit in lieu of wages and we pay the rest.
It’s a very big money making machine in the US. Thanks for sharing.
Ouch.
Congratulations on reaching 10k subscribers. This is a great list and I have most of these in my home. Although I have indoor airers, I still haven’t put an outdoor drying line up, so I’m sorting it out now. There are still some useful blowy days left in 2021. Thanks for the reminder.
I love wind dried laundry
Great informative video. Thanks for sharing. 👍
Thanks for watching
Really interesting! I live in the U.S. (Florida) and what struck me was how much less you pay for home and car insurance. I pay $1,200 per year for car insurance and because of hurricanes my home insurance is over $3,000.
Very interesting to hear about the health care system in France. I’ve heard from others that it is excellent and your comments confirm that.
You and Mike were smart to move to France before Brexit. I assume that it is much harder now if it even is possible.
We have less crime, less extreme weather. Your cars costs less than ours, they’re just profiteering there.
Wow Jane you did a lot of cool stuff this year. I love the drawer/book shelf idea. I will keep on watching. All the best in 2022!!!!
Thanks Bonnie. We had a great year and more to come
Very informative. Thanks
Thanks very much for watching. Subscribe for more.
How does one go about moving to France from the US? Do you have to be a citizen to purchase a house, and so forth? Thanks so much for all your sharing of information!!
Hype start by applying for a visa , here’s the link france-visas.gouv.fr/en/web/france-visas/
You don’t have to be a citizen to buy property in France. You can live here on a visitor’s visa that must be renewed annually. You have to prove that you have the funds to live here independently (e.g. retiree, self-employed) or you can come over after being hired by a French company. Once here, if you can speak a basic level of French, you can apply for permanent residency or citizenship.
We love Brittany and in the good old days (!) used to holiday around the Quiberon area.
You make it sound a very good option - but I'm assuming, post Brexit, it will be well nigh impossible to follow your example!
Great video, BTW. Jackie x
You can relocate. You will need to apply for a visa first and meet those visa conditions.
Thanks so much for the informative video. Very interesting. I wouldn't want to move back to UK either.
Thanks Jacqui, I’ve nothing against the UK, it’s a great country but France is my home.
Thank you so much for this fantastically detailed information. Very interesting. I am also from Australia, and agree with the other comments on here, that our outgoings seem really high. My family is in the UK, so a large part of my budget is travel :)
Thanks for taking the time to comment
Sounds reasonable compared to Pennsylvania USA. Our health care costs are crippling
A very informative Video, thanks
Interesting video Jane🏴
Thanks for watching
Here in the US my husband pays almost $500 dollars per month for the both of us through his employer, his employer pays about another $900 for us. And that is considered good in the US and we still have to pay $25 to $45 for the office visit! It's so very expensive! And most people don't want a government health care system, crazy!!!!
We pay 22%, Mike’s income is around 2500€ a year and he still gets complete medical coverage by paying 22% of that. There’s no co pay, no payment for medication. Now my insurance and tax paid insurance has linked up, I pay nothing for medication. I do pay for a doctor office visit if 7.50€ I had a pap, mammogram, blood work, gynecologist and nothing extra to pay.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance and we still pay 18% income tax, it's ridiculous!
@@FrugalQueeninFrance really enjoying your videos, just subscribed a few days ago 😊Thanks
It seems dreadfully unfair
@@FrugalQueeninFrance Oh, so there is no “income tax” to fund other government programs? It’s all included in the 22%?
Excellent video. Very interesting information.
Thanks so much for watching
Right now on the California Central Coast housing is averaging $450K US for a standard home. Waiting for the housing bubble to pop here.
Thanks for sharing.
Great video. Could you be more specific as to the number and variety of television stations? Thank you for sharing.
Sure are you relocating to France?
Hi Jane,are house prices in Brittany cheaper than rest of the France too?Also,I am curious why you chose Brittany in France? You could live somewhere milder in south of France...
The south of France is too hot.
Car insurance is with company I'm with mma dependent on usage and kilometres, more done,more to pay so its not necessarily cheaper.
So interesting, thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching
Great video. How hard is it to sell in France. I have heard it takes ages to get the sale done etc. Here in Australia we get an offer and 30 days later have the money in the bank.😀
The right house in the right area at the right price will sell quickly. If there’s anything wrong with it then it will stay on the market for years. It takes 3 months from the first papers of sale written up to the final papers. The money exchanges immediately.
I was wondering how your pet care costs compare to the US? I am talking about ordinary vet care costs....pet food costs....things like that.
I don’t know pet care prices in the US. Each vet charges what they like. Our vet is very cheap.
How are the cost of prescriptions in France? In the US it depends on which insurance program you have and they can range from $2.50 for a bottle to $1200 for a bottle, usually a one month supply. Thanks for the video.
There’s nothing extra to pay for prescriptions.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance amazing !
Really interesting thank you
You’re welcome, thanks for watching
This is 2 years old. Can you update in another video? I would like to see if inflation has changed this in 2024. Inflation has caused prices to be much higher in the US.
I will do an update
Very interesting information!
Thanks for watching
Wonderful video.
Thanks for watching and commenting
Problem with house prices is that if you ever want or need to move back to the uk from france, as my in laws have done, it will be very difficult for you to afford any kind of house here!
Not worried, we will never return to the UK to live. France is our home. Thanks for watching.
Thanks Jane for doing this video. I found it very interesting. Sounds like a great place to live. How do you find the locals, are they welcoming to foreigners?
Some are and some are not. I think that could be said about anywhere. Thanks for watching.
My jaw dropped when you said the price of gas for cars there. Yikes! That would be a huge motivator to drive an electric car-or at least a hybrid. Although, I guess consumption might be a lot less there since things are closer together. We do a lot of driving in the US bc our public transit is not reliable if you live in the suburbs. Of course healthcare costs more than make up for those gas prices!
A small electric car is 32,000€! We are used to those fuel prices here.
Wonderful video. Those gas prices...wow 😲
We have small economical cars that are very fuel efficient and we all walk a lot.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance I wish I could walk everywhere but I'm a little too far away from the stores.
@@connieholcomb8396 so am I, I only go to the store once a week.
I was talking to Tim about your video and he’s curious about property taxes.
250€ house tax + 150€ TV license for each property + 180€ rubbish collection fee for each property
@@FrugalQueeninFrance That is not bad at all
Bigger houses pay more of course. Our house is small.
Jane did you talk about property taxes?
No I missed that. It’s called taxe foncière on our 3 bed house it costs 250€ a year, rubbish disposal is 180€ a year TV licence is 150€ a year
Great
Thanks for watching
Hi Jane: Can you tell me more about the taxes you mentioned about takings vs income. I am thinking about moving to France and thinking about the taxation for residents when self employed.
When self employed here you can’t offset costs. Instead, there’s an abatement of 33% of what we earn isn’t taxed plus no one is taxed on the first 9000 that they make. Cotisations or social charges for health, pensions and social care are 22% flat rate of gross income.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance So do the S/E'd in France pay 55% tax on any come exceeding £9k?
House prices in Brittany are low. I think you must eat very well in France; I average around £370 pa for my grocery bills & that includes toiletries, although I do wait for the 'sell by date / end of day' bargains.
@@johnkay4701 hi John. We don’t earn enough to pay tax, our income is 24K a year. We pay 22% on everything we earn of gross income. We are self employed so don’t pay tax on 33% of our income as we’re self employed and we get tax allowances of 9K each.
Thank you for sharing your life with us! It is very. Interesting. Could we come to France and live on our pensions there, or would we not be allowed to stay? I am in the United States, Kansas. Just wondering.
Hi Brenda, the French government immigration site has language choices and you can choose English. As long as you meet the income standards, you can come. The income or pension you have to have each per month is approx, and my research comes up with different figures is €1231 each adult. You obviously have to apply for a long stay visa.
I live in the US and would love to have your health care pricing because ours is definitely expensive even through an employer sponsored plan. But try to buy it on your own and its extremely expensive. That said I wouldn't want to pay the price you pay for gasoline. Wow that is high. We are complaining in my area about gas being up to $3.00 a gallon.
Healthcare is deducted from your income and my deductions are 22% our top up insurance is 50€ each a month. There’s nothing more to pay. It doesn’t increase if you get sick. No one goes bankrupt paying for healthcare.
So everyone pays 22% of their income for health insurance, or does it vary?
@@jackien4959 it depends on which job you do. We are professional liberals, some people pay less. On average it’s 22% of your gross income
@@FrugalQueeninFrance Thanks! I work in insurance billing so i find it interesting. Is that for family insurance or does everyone have the 22% deducted ?
Each person. I pay 22% so does Mike
this video is great
Thanks for watching
Do you pay equivalent of council tax? One of my biggest bills is he council tax of £2300 a year. It’s a huge percentage of my wage.
Yes we do. That bill is really variable across France. It’s based on the rentable value of the house. Houses round here don’t rent for much so our house taxes are 250€ for the house 180€ for the rubbish, recycling street cleaning, local hedge and verge cutting so street services . Then TV license is collected against each house for 150€ a
Year. Big houses in more rentable areas are higher. Dare not think for popular cities.
I am looking to buy a home in France to retire. Do you have any tips on home buying? Did you have a surveyor check your home out before buying? Did you have your own realtor?
wise.com/gb/blog/buy-property-in-france
What Visas are you on. Are you long term residents or permanent residents.
We have carte de sejour 5 years
I ❤️ your life in France Jane , do you want a lodger? 😜x
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment
is the electricity network owned by the government, or privately?
EDF, électricité de France is 84% state owned. It’s the main electricity company. There are other privately owned companies.
Great info Jane - thank you - very interesting. Quick question re water bills. Do you pay separately for waste water or is that included in the charges you mentioned in the film?
Also do you pay car tax each year? And what about refuse collection etc - is it in a council tax like in the UK or do you have to pay privately? Sorry for all the questions but you said to ask! Thanks again.
Waste water, we have septic tanks in the countryside. No car tax. MOT is every two years. Rubbish is a separate bills for ‘street services’ hedge cutting, flowers and parks and paths in the village, recycling of course bins. Our bins are not collected from our houses but we have big bins that we share with our neighbour’s. Recycling is taken to recycling points around the village. Each village also has a big recycle tree where we take garden waste and big recycling like cardboard and plasterboard.
@@FrugalQueeninFrance thanks for that info too. X
Do you pay for waste control/garbage pickup?
Yes 175€ a year for waste and recycling
How do you travel to the UK from Brittany? Cost?
Ferry, look at the ferry websites for travel to Brittany
if i ever travel to france im not visiting paris im visiting where you live
Brittany is well worth the visit
Interesting. How do you become a citizen? Do you speak French?
Imagine the immigrants in your country, trying their best with a new language. Getting by but not being able to say everything or understand everything. That’s an immigrant in a different country coping with the language, well that’s us. You have to live legally in France for five years before anyone can apply for citizenship
You need an intermediate level of French (written, reading and spoken) to apply for citizenship, plus (as Jane said) 5 years minimum living in France and evidence of integration. There used to be an exemption from the language test for older applicants but that was removed w.e.f this year. It's a long process, requiring quite a lot of paperwork. Unless you have a right by marriage etc, expect the process to take 2 years plus.
In uk we have mot for a car each year,what do you have?
Controle Technique, like an MOT but every two years, no road tax in France.
I'm curious about education costs.
do you mean the cost of going to university? If so, there's no costs and students are given money by the government to live off and pay their rents whilst at university.
So interesting. We feel totally robbed here in the UK lol.
That’s terrible. I was in the UK last week. Food is still mostly cheaper than France
@@FrugalQueeninFrance maybe, but literally everything else has risen so much these last two years x
@@tamandaflynn6090 I know house prices and rents have gone crazy as have car prices.
I will not complain about fuel prices...
They are high here in Europe
I am an Aussie, your costs are so low. You can triple or quadruple costs dependent on your state.
Australia is notorious for its high costs. I feel for you all.
Who wants to move to France? 🇫🇷 me 😊
Same comparison in 2023?
Are you both fluent in French? Is that a must?
No and yes it is a must, we are immigrants so keep learning and trying.
I’m all electric ⚡️ USA Indiana hot summers cold winters new construction house I pay 185 Euros / $200 US dollars a month for all electric. 1750 sq foot home / 162 sq meters
I’m wondering if you were on your own, Jane, would you have moved to Brittany and why/why not?
I don’t know that answer because I’m not.
We pay $1.55 per litre in Canada .
Nice, a bit cheaper than here. Thanks for sharing