Steviecops

Hi
Can someone give me an idea of how much it would cost, per month, to live in the bergerac/Bordeaux area? This is just the cost of living assuming no mortgage to pay, eating out a couple of times a week, household bills for a three or four bedroom house, healthcare, taxes, etc.
I know it's a bit of a broad question but I just need a rough idea to start working with.

Thanks
Steve

EuroTrash

Income tax - will depend on level and source of your income.
Property taxes - will depend on the individual property.
Healthcare - will depend on whether you're entitled to join the state healthcare system, which will depend on your personal circumstances.
Eating out - will depend where and what you like to eat and how much you want to spend.

On the info given, can't possibly give any meaningful figures. But on average, cost of living in France is not too different from the UK for an equivalent lifestyle.

Steviecops

Thanks for replying. I should have put more info.
I'll be retiring in around two and a half years time, (hopefully, enough time to get a fair grip of the language!), at the age of 55. I'll retire with a lump sum of enough to buy a house that meets my requirements and have some left in reserve. My annual pension will be modest, less than 20k. I'm looking at southern France, but not the French Riviera! I'm not at all fussed about what I eat, or where, the company and occasion is more important. A three bedroom house with an out building or two and at least two acres of land would be ideal as I plan to bring at least a couple of horses with me.
Any advice/info gratefully received.

InVinoVeritas

Hi Steviecops - the south of France is a helluva big place - can you tie it down it a bit more as property costs vary enormously?

EuroTrash

To be honest, things can change an awful lot in 2+ years - things like the £/EUR exchange rate, property taxes which are currently being reassessed nationally, the criteria for being able to join the French healthcare system which have changed twice already since 2007, additional taxes such as CSG that are levied on overseas income in some cases. So don't set your plans in stone at this stage, and when you do make the move, leave yourself a cushion to allow for any new taxes that are introduced after you've arrived. France's economy is in poor shape and taxation is likely to go up rather than down.

20k should be enough to live on but keeping several horses and eating out twice a week might be pushing it, IMHO. Could you keep horses and eat out twice a week in the UK on that? Maybe you can, I don't know.

Property is relatively cheap to buy in France but that's balanced out by other aspects of living. Put it this way, the average French person doesn't have any more disposable income left after they've paid their bills and their taxes than the average UK person, so the money goes somewhere.

babyposer

Agreed, plus the household bills vary greatly...

But overall costs are more or less the same.

Steviecops

The difference will be, I won't have a mortgage or rent to pay.

EuroTrash

I was assuming this to be the case.
Personally I still think it may be un peu juste as they say, and it will come down to specific figures that you won't know until the time comes. Property taxes at present can vary from a few hundred to several thousand p.a., depending on how long since they were assessed. - over 50 years ago in some cases, apparently. So at present you can save a lot by finding a property with very low property taxes. However there is supposed to be being a reassessment exercise carried out to bring them into line nationally, it's started this year. Health insurance, again if you find you're eligible to join France's national health system, that will probably save you several thousand that you will have to pay out if you're refused access and are obliged to take out private health insurance. Under current rules, as an early retiree on 20k pa income, you should be allowed to join the state system and pay contributions as a percentage of income, but the rules keep changing.
So there's a potential 5k+ difference to start with, from those 2 factors.

You can certainly live here on that. Whether you'll get the lifestyle you want, will depend partly on you choosing the right property and partly on economic factors that are outside of your control. IMHO.

dmu

Well, neither do a lot of us on the Forum!
Insee - Revenus-Salaires - Revenu disponible correspondant au seuil de pauvreté 2012 selon le type de ménage
gives the latest official French Poverty Threshold. A single person would need an average regular income of 900€ per month to SURVIVE. This would cover the basics - food, utilities, various insurances and property and occupation taxes. This would obviously not cover private healthcare insurance. When you're in the French Social Security System, you'd be advised to take out a Mutuelle (top-up insurance) to reimburse what the French SS doesn't reimburse, and the rest of your potential Pension might be enough pay for unexpected repairs or some "treats" (eating out, travel, new clothes, feeding and entertaining guests....).
But I don't think that your monthly income would cover the upkeep of horses...
Make a forum search (button top-right) or post another thread on the subject of keeping horses in France, as this is a major factor when calculating a monthly budget.
Hope this is of some help!

Tweedpipe

Keeping horses in France would indeed be a major factor when calculating a monthly budget.
HERE is a fairly comprehensive article on the subject of keeping horses here, and particularly the many differences - and potential difficulties that one may encounter in France.

Steviecops

Thanks for the replies, all I for gratefully received. I think I should give a little more info about my circumstances and how they've changed recently. I had my own house in the UK, but lost it through the divorce process in order to keep my pension when I retire. I am currently renting a room, paying child maintenance and keeping four horses on land that I rent. As you might imagine, it's a struggle!

My options for the future are to either, stay in the UK, rent a small flat for expensive rent and work until I die, or retire at 55, but a property in France with enough land to keep at least two horses and enjoy my retirement. I haven't got any plans yet, it's a big step and there's a lot to learn, which is what I'm trying to do now. I'm reading as much as I can and have started to learn French.

Most of the expense involved with horses is paying for somewhere to keep them. With my own land, that major expense wouldn't arise. The biggest expense for me, living in the UK, is renting somewhere to live. With my own property, I wouldn't have that expense. Buying a property abroad is my only chance of becoming a home owner again and actually being able to retire. I spent two summers in Corsica when I was young and loved the country, the people and the lifestyle. I would like to live somewhere with a nice climate, ie, short winters and long summers. I've been looking at Aquitaine in particular. Any other suggestions very welcome

Steviecops

Very interesting article. Thank you.

Touraine

What is your budget for buying a house & land Steviecops ?

That is going to have a big bearing on your new adventure.

.....and how much land do you need for your horses ?

dmu

Sorry to disillusion you, but winters in S.W. France are no longer short, and summers aren't necessarily long. Predictable nice climates don't exist any more and, for many years now, mild winters in the South of France are a myth.
Here in the Languedoc, Winter 2014 started with continuous, cold rain and two lots of floodings (which reached National News) in the Autumn, Arctic spells with snow in "official" Winter, running into a long wet Spring. I admit that the grass is lush at the moment, but it will be dry and yellow by June.
I would suggest looking further South, but even then, I believe, from what has been said on the Spain Forum, that they have been having hard Winters, too.
If you want to live here, with your own property and on your budget, which will be possible for yourself, you may find it necessary to leave your horses in the UK. Sorry

InVinoVeritas

The climate in the Bordeaux area isn't great, it's only in SE France that you'll find mild winters and long summers though maybe even that will change in the future.

Reading between the lines of what you are saying I'm not sure you're going to find a property within your budget unless it's in deepest darkest Gers.

Also retiring at 55 compounds the problem of exchange rate movements, pension keeping up with cost of living etc etc. At least in the UK it would be possible to get a small part-time job to supplement the income but this would just not be possible in France.