Cost of Living in Paris

The average NET salary (take home pay) in Paris can't be €2.300 as stated here - it could, if you carrried out a survey and interview 50 top managers who work in Le Defense and 50 ordinary Parisians .. the former all make around €200.000 whereas the latter make around €30.000 - Paris is a very expensive city, but if you consider the income/prices ratio, it's a lot worse - London is more expensive, but net salaries in London are considerably higher. No wonder there are 500.000 Frenchies in Old Blighty.. Paris is a great city if you have money and don't have to work there.

Suu Kyi is the greatest humanity criminal responsible for the inhumane atrocities currently happening in Myanmar.
The atrocities happens only under the Suu Kyi government, not under the previous government so Suu Kyi should be prosecuted under the international criminal court for crimes against humanity.

While Rohingya are suffering inhumanely, shameless Suu Kyi's ministers are busy attempting to expand citis across the country including Yangon as well as places where Rohingya's land and houses were confiscated illegally to accommodate to more probably but not certain foreign investments, mostly coming from like-minded Communist China.

It is time to undo Obama's greatest history mistake and impose comprehensive sanctions on Myanmar immediately again.
And this time China must be punished to the extent of being imposed comprehensive sanctions if China violated sanctions on Myanmar.

The greatest virtue is to save a human race such as Rohingya from almost being wiped out.
This is exactly where the leadership role of UN must be amplified that fairness and justice prevail internationally under UN.
whereas China questionable, unworthy role of the permanent membership of UN, especially standing behind inhumane Myanmar upon Rohingya genocide is hopeless for the international communities so the permanent membership of China must be reconsidered whether or not sick China is worthy or fitting of the role.

Gang-raped while pregnant, watching their sons be beheaded and burned and beaten by soldiers – brave Rohinga women tell their horrific stories after escaping the Burma purge
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5082256/pregnant-rohingya-woman-gang-raped-by-soldiers-after-they-beheaded-her-son-among-the-brave-survivors-who-escaped-the-burma-purge/

‘We’ll Turn Your Village Into Soil’: Survivors Recount One of Myanmar’s Biggest Massacres
https://www.wsj.com/articles/burn-the-houses-rohingya-survivors-recount-the-day-soldiers-killed-hundreds-1526048545

I would like to move to Paris after I retire and have a budget of 1,300,000 euro to buy an apartment. How much money per month do my Wife and I need to live comfortably in Paris?

Some more detailed comments:
My salary is 25K annual. I am told this is average!!
(US I made 65K)

Note most Parisians cannot afford to live in Paris. Its sad!

I pay 1900 euro for 1 bedroom apartment in Paris (central). It is 55 meters square, small & very old, sad crap kitchen, tiny fridge, no bathtub, no clothes dryer anywhere in building! No real closet space for clothes. We hang laundry to dry everyday!! We are looking to buy in Paris, but everything livable/decent in decent area is 900K (for a 65 meters square). Sure, you can find something around 650K but you are living in a bad area, and looking to commute 45-60 minutes to work. So if you want to buy in central Paris, hope you have a million & change! This is for no terrace or yard either. Something you must remodel because everything is old/outdated.

So much traffic, noise, honking, pollution! Dirtiest city ever been in. Dog poop everywhere middle of sidewalks. Smokers everywhere near restaurants. Bathrooms are like 3rd world & often you must pay to use. Restaurants are expensive compared to US. Little variety. Vegetables are rarely on menus & if you are into health food or vegan forget it. I find the restaurants predictable, all same plates, mundane, bland & not innovative. Many of the good ones dont take reservations, so u must line up at 7pm when they open and wait in the cold, hoping u get a seat. All stores have very inconvenient hours (closed 3 days per week, sometimes during lunch too). Unpredictable.

Groceries are expensive. There is very little variety of products. Very difficult to find good ethnic products, spices. Clothes shopping is expensive. And inconvenient.Most ppl shop at H&M or Zara only. Levis are like $15-200 per pair. Plain Converse shoes $75. All shops are closed on Sundays, so if you cant get groceries or shopping done during the week or on Saturday, youre stuck!

The “free” Public healthcare is very limited. Its very very basic/emergency coverage. You must buy a private “Mutuelle” to cover full medical visits or any specialists. Mine costs 150 EUROS per month... Not free!!! Very difficult to find doctors & specialists that speak fluent English. Dentists are expensive and poor. Paperwork is a mess/disaster. No customer service. Bad attitude.

Gym is 75 euro (small/mediocre), monthly metro pass is 75 Euro (not cheap). Concerts are expensive.

You must leave Paris for any nature. The gardens are structured with mainly dirt paths. Many cafes but always tiny & very crowded. Not comfortable at all. Everywhere is so cramped & crowded. And Im a city person. the weather is always gray, so often not nice to be outside. Winter is dreadful. Its cold from October-April/May usually, lots of rain, little sunshine. Then its unbearably hot in July/August. No aircon anywhere & many people stink and do not wear deoderant. Makes for a lovely cramped Metro ride!!

The worst though is the people: Parisians are outright rude, elitist and awful. Even if u try to speak French. Unfriendly, complaining, lazy. As for employment, all the young people have double Masters degrees. Your US experience does not matter. Few jobs because people never leave, they cannot be fired here. For entry-level jobs, pedigree is most important: you must graduate from a Superieure French school with an MBA & Masters Just to make minimum wage. Makes living here as a non-French a nightmare. Inefficiency: getting any government paperwork done will take over a year. They will lose your file several times. Sitting in prefecture for 5 hours to submit a form. Nightmares!! I could go on even more...

Really dont move here. You’ll thank me!! And yes, I would leave & go back home tomorrow if I could!!

I am double citizen Hungarian and US. I have Hungarien retired health care, based on I worked there 30 years. Hungary belong to the Europien Union. What kind of insurance may I need if I live in France. Please let me know.

Thank you. Klara Bieber

Hello All,

I am 12 yr exp Engineer (Oil and gas field). Like to work in France. I will come with my Family (Total 4 Persons including me). How much salary should I have to survive, with child education, Medical and monthly expenses? So that at least 2000 Euro should save.

The Gotham City of Europe can maybe attract the villager due to the multiculturalism and the vintage clothes of the students, but the reality is that the mid class (those that work as employees, have their vacation trips every year and are able to save a good chunk of the salary) are maybe 20% of the population, the rest are zombies that barely survive and a few rich people. Don't move for less than 3000 eur net a month

Gud day dear presenter am living in Nigeria I like ur info. they are help for me pls tell me what it will cost me to get a job in France as to be paid wages and the cost to get a house for rent in a cheap town pls I can mange life I don't drink and I don't smoke pls send me reply through my email pls I love France also I wnt to learn France for easy communication

Wth did I just read?
Average salary of 2.2k euro per month!!!!
No way!
I live here and I know that almost 3/4th of Parisians earns around 1.2k to 1.5k euros per month.
Life ain't easy in Paris. It is tough and honestly tough to find a job, retain the job, pay the bills and all basic expenses. How would you save? Almost none!

Well I love Paris. That said, only those people can live, have fun and save for future whose incomes are more than 3k euros per month. Else it's difficult.

No way salary in Paris is 2.209€ net, 3 of every 4 parisins earn less than 1.500€ net per month, it's a ENORMOUS economic gap between the poor and the rich, while 5% of the city is millionaire, the city has a poverty rate close to 20% and the middle class just earn about 1.500-1.600€ net per month.

Take note on this, and it's one of the most expensive cities in Europe. Paris is worth to visit, not to live in.

Think by yourself why Paris being so famous and acknowledged has just 2.3 million inhabitants. Exactly, because the quality of life is very low. And close to 1 million of those people live in banlieues, far from the city center, where the crime, corruption, unemployment of +20% and low wages of just 1,000-1,200€ per month is the normal life.

Yes there are planty of advantages to leave in the wonderful Paris, real estate is correct and even slightly decreasing in some suburban places. One of the most important inconvegnient are the.....Taxes!:)

Example for income: You have a 50000€ "brut" salary in the center. To net it, you roughly have to decrease 22%. So your real net salary will be 39000€. If you rent an appartment, a studio, you will have to take insurances and to pay a TV tax mandatory TV is 150€ yearly and insurance you can add450€ yearly for a 30 squarre metter place. Then at the end of the year, don't forget that there's an income tax but I thing English people working in France will depend on UK income tax and not on the French system in the which you have to decrease again 20% of your net income. So from the 39000€, a french income payer will have at the very end of tax barrières 31200€.
However, for all other life activity, our system may be the best in the world: extremely cheap social security with high quality doctors and hospitals, some RV can be taken in 24 hours and very cheap meeting with dr ( 22€ for a regular), cheap access to dental any other kind of desease with best quality. If you go for example to public hospital of "Pitié Salpetrière" you can even see some stars or foreign public personalities coming and you will pay 22€ you will meet the same doctors.
School is given compared to UK and US. Transportation is around 40% cheaper than in UK, metro, TGV to move in France. Food is much cheaper than in the UK especially if you go to big malls in the suburbs, go to AUCHAN or CARREFOUR in cities like Vélizy for ex. a few min car ride from Paris and for 150€ you will make 2 weeks of nice and planty of food for one person.
For phone, I have an unlimited usage for 9€.

Hi I got a job in paris and i should be vacating to Paris..The job pays 2100 euros per month is that able to sustain me for aliving and have something to take back home?Kindly please..Thank you.

Hi Guys
My daughter is planning to take undergraduate course in Hospitality management in Paris. What should be the monthly rent for a student as paying guest. Can major expenditures be managed in €800 as budget living.

I was offered a job in Paris (from NYC) for a net yearly salary of 70,000 Euro. Can I support my wife on this salary? We want to live in the city center. Will we have a nice lifestyle?

Regarding monthly disposable salary (net after tax) - France is not a PAYE country, meaning that from your Net salary you will have to pay in September the income tax for the full previous year ( usually 1.5 x one Net salary).

Prices / sqm for buying an appartment are higher. I.e. 11th arrondisment 8500 € / sqm. In the 20th arrondisment 7500 € / sqm. Also mortgage interest rates have dropped to 2%.

Hey Seb! Your info was awesome! My boyfriend moved to Paris because of his job and now I'm planning moving too. I'm IT engineer and currently I'm looking for a job...could you please point me to a descent website, HR company, give me some tips in order to ease my search. Soon I'll start learning French too, because I think it will be extremely difficult to find job without knowing a little French...?

Regards

Hi all, Parisian here, I have been living here for 10 years, so I'm going to answer some recent comments :

#Yogesh T, 900 euros for an appartement in Neuilly is a regular price there, it's a very expensive city close to Paris, and I've seen mor expensive appartements in those areas.

You can use this site for calculating what you will actually receive on your salry : http://www.salairebrutnet.fr

Brut = your salary without all the company taxes, fees etc.
Net = what you receive after all of those went through.

For example my salary is 37k brut a year, but I will only get 28488 net.

For taxes : You can count a bout 10% of your salary. Meaning if you earn 2000 euros a month, you'll end up paying roughly 2400 in taxes yearly. The first year you pay taxes in france you have to pay the full amount up front, but after that you can start paying monthly.

Also know for taxes : it's based on the previous year ! Meaning that if you work in 2015, you'll be paying those 2015 taxes only in 2016.

There is also habitation taxe once a year (in november), it all depends on where your appartement is located exactly, you can get a rough estimate if you were to contact the town hall of your city.

More information here for other users :

If you are planning to find an appartement, 90% of owners will make sure you earn 3x the salary. So if you find a studio for 600 euros per month, you'd need to earn at least 1800, all of this with a CDI contract.

You can have multiple contracts for work : CDI = Contract with no end date, "permanent" job. CDD = A fixed end date, for example 6 months and then it's over. These are the 2 main types. Also know that all contracts have a trial period, generally 2 months, but it can be renewed once (4 months). Higher paying jobs can go up to 8 months in total.

Some good cities on the outskirts of Paris for cheaper rent :

Asnières sur seine (7 minutes away by train).
Bois Colombes (10 minutes).
Colombes (12 minutes).
La Garenne Colombes (10 minutes).
Courbevoie (Next to la defense, 5 minutes from Paris).

In Paris, the cheaper districts are :

18th,
19th,
20th.

These districts are however a bit dodgey sometimes, I'd avoid them if possible.

Some affordable ones :

15th,
12th,
11th,
8th.

Minimum wage in France is about 1300 euros.

To benefit from unemployement, you will have to have worked for 4 months in a job, and not have quit. If you quit your job, you loose all rights to unemployement, you have to either be : end of contract, fired, or an agreement between your employer and you too leave ("Rupture de contrat Conventionelle).

Medical insurance is pricy in the personal domain (around 70 euros a month), however most jobs offer one with a contract (deducted from salary, you end up paying 20 euros).

Public transport is now 70 euros a month for an all zone pass, Paris and all the outskirts.

I hope this information helps.

Reply to Yogesh : You will get around 2600€ net/month. It actually depend on the position you will fill, but if you want to calculate you can remove ~20% or use this website can work too : http://www.salairebrutnet.fr .

You also may have troubles to get an appartment, being a foreigner might scare a little the landlords.

Hi,
I am Asian staying in Malaysia now.
I would like to get a process/mechanical engineer job in Paris due to relationship with a french guy and plan move there for long term moving.
Any recommended to get related job?
Regard

Hi guys! I am a 30 year old single male and I have just received an offer for a job in Paris with a monthly salary of 1300 EUR. I can see the prices on this site are enormous. I've heard the rent for a 1 bedroom flat should cost me about 700 EUR in a decent neighborhood, which leaves me with 600 EUR for everything else. I would really appreciate the advices from people who are actually living there. I am not a big posh spender, but I would like to have a decent life including a cup of coffee / beer from time to time (2-3 times a week) and lets say go out 2-3 times a month. But I always prefer a “coffee / beer to go” and to enjoy the city in long walks. I am also a smoker which I think is important as the prices for cigarettes/tobacco are high. So, my dear friends, is it possible to live in Paris with 1300 EUR and what can I afford with that money? I would appreciate any information and each of your advices will be very helpful to me. Thanks in advance!

Hi,

I'm going to do my PhD in Paris. This position offers 1400 euros net/month. Do you think it's sufficient for student-living expenses?

Kind regards,

Hello guys, i wonder how much a construction worker is paid in Paris?
do they get around 2000-3000 euros?

i want to do bachelors in fashion design from paris (instituto marangoni). what will be the cost of living per month.which includes college fee,rent, transport and all other expenses...

within a month or 2 ill be moving to france to join the F.F.L, i would like to find a nice small place outside of a city, anyone have any reccomendations?

I woul,d like to live in Europe for a few years

buy a condo in Italy,France,Rome,Greece

I received a job offer to work in Paris. The net salary will be around 1800 euros. I am 33. What kind of life can you conduct in Paris with 1000 euros per months, after paying the rent? Thank you

I read there's French minimum salary payment, which is 1500 eur. So for example for a maid or labour their payment is 1500€ ?
And are 3000€ considered expensive or cheap as a payment for doing a design project such as designing logo, products, or poster?

is 3,000 Euros (not counting rent) enough for 1 person to live "easily" in Paris ?