JinxLeRai

Hello all,

I have been offered work as a translator in Toulouse, and am not sure whether it sounds like an affordable possibility. They say they can't offer me more than 26k a year as a salary. Now, I'm only just completing my studies and don't expect something tremendous, but that seems a bit low, especially considering the high taxes in France. (I read someone that you ought to expect to put aside a good 20% of your salary in various taxes... is this true?)

I am able to live very frugally as a young single person without expensive tastes (I've been getting by on 400 € a month for the past two years in Germany), but I also need to start paying back some student loans when I graduate. My main question here is, is it at all possible that I could get by on 26k € per year in Toulouse and still be able to put a little something away? Or is this utterly unrealistic?

Thanks very much in advance for any advice you can give me.

Chatter Static

Welcome to the Forum, Yes you do have to put your tax aside to pay at the end of the year France does not offer a PAYE system like the UK but your medical contributions will be deducted at source although there is top up insurance to add on. It is possible at 26k but life in France is not quite a cheap as folk think supermarket shopping prices have risen dramatically here over the last few years. do you have any idea where in Toulouse you want to live? as it varys cost wise quite a bit.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!
First of all, well done for landing a first job in France! IMHO, it's a good salary for a beginner, provided that you don't do more than the statutory 35 hours per week.
Members in or near Toulouse will come along with advice about rents and general cost of living there, and financial experts will calculate how much you'll be paying in S.S. côtisations and how much you'll have to put by for Income Tax next year.
Don't hesitate to come back with other questions!

dennerlymum

wish I earnt 26K!

Although the cost of living is quite high here in Toulouse, it is possible to live on 26K and put some by; the majority of my trainers live on half that!

Tweedpipe

I thought Dennerlymum would say that.
Congratulations on securing a job there.

As they would typically say in Toulouse, "26k? Plus que suffisant pour les saucisses de Toulouse et du pastis con!

EuroTrash

I live on well less than half that - before cotis and tax

JinxLeRai

Thank you for the welcomes, everyone! I was very pleased to discover this site, as it seems to be a treasure-trove of good information from those in the know.

The responses so far are more encouraging than I had expected. Lovely! I'm a bit nervous about the tax situation in particular, since until now I haven't actually been earning enough to have to pay taxes at all in Germany (oh, the glamorous student life), but now I'm feeling somewhat more assured.

I was hoping not to be too far from the centre of town, although I know that makes a considerable difference in rent costs. I've read that public transportation there is effective and not too costly, but I generally prefer to be closer to the action if possible. I'd be all right taking a flatshare, at least at first, to save on costs.

Peabrain

Hi,

The main thing to find out is if this is brut (gross) or net. If it's brut, which I imagine it is, then you're looking at 18% being knocked off for health care (sécurité sociale/RDS/CSG) unemployment and retirement. (http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/F2302.xhtml) As has already been said, income tax is paid the following year, based on your previous year's earnings. I wouldn't have thought it would be much on €26,000, although you are single.
Your proposed salary doesn't sound too bad for a translator over here; permanent salaried jobs as translators are very few and far between; many fully-qualified translators do free-lance work that doesn't necessarily have much to do with what they were trained for.
You'll get by.
Good luck,
PB

Garonne

It's a jolly good wage!! Well done you

mentalist

So how did you get the job? Quite frankly, I would be more than happy with that package if/when I decide to leave my current overseas posting.

JinxLeRai

Glad to share. I simply posted my CV all over the place, on websites such as Monster, Indeed, Languagejobs.org, Xpatjobs.com, and Linguistlist.org. A headhunter found my information there and got in touch with me directly on behalf of the firm in question.

dennerlymum

persistance and effort always win the day!

Tweedpipe

Wasn't that one of the themes that Flamby was trying to conjure up in last weeks televised prime-time interview?

Tweedpipe

For info, the offered salary you mention is almost certainly the gross amount, as this is traditionally the way an annual salary is expressed in France (not net).
Please let us know if you decide to take the job, and keep us posted of your experience whilst in France.
Good luck.

dennerlymum

Have to admit that I am not sure dont have french TV