Is France the Best Place to Live Abroad?

France is suddenly topping various charts and surveys, and coming out on top with Britons looking for a place to live, work , retire, pay less tax and holiday abroad.  It’s even appealing from a property point of view as well, if you believe some recent headlines.

So is France really the best place to live abroad at the moment?  It certainly has a great deal in its favour as we will now detail; however, there are certain downsides to this stunning nation that we would be amiss if we failed to highlight too!

If you’re looking to escape Blighty’s gloomy skies and dismal economic outlook, France could be worthy of your consideration – but heed the cons as well as the pros before you make a firm commitment to relocate across the Channel for a new life in France.

Because of the ash cloud disruption to travel that affected the whole of Europe last year, and following on from similar scares we’ve already experienced this year in the UK, holidaymakers from the UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany and France itself have their sights set on France because it is so easily accessible.

According to Holiday Lettings and Owners Direct, bookings of French properties to rent are up by as much as 30% this year already.

For Britons we have ferries and trains, we can take our cars or if we want to we can fly to France – travel options are excellent, and the costs of getting across the Channel are not exorbitant at the current time.  Once in mainland France the exceptional road network locally means it’s easy to get to your destination of choice…and the further south you go, the more likely you are to experience excellent summer weather.

France offers such a diversity in terms of landscape and climate that you can find a place to holiday no matter what you want to do and see, and no matter when you want to go.  You can mountaineer in the Alps and experience snow and ice even at this time of the year – or you can head to the Med and be soaking up the sun whilst the UK suffers under heavy grey skies.

In the winter France has some of the best snow-sports resorts in the whole of Europe, and no matter when you travel to France you can soak up the exceptionally rich cultural heritage and history and immerse yourself in all the best bits about this nation.  You can while away your entire day sipping coffee at cafes and sitting outside whilst watching the world go by.  You will be assured of fine cuisine, excellent shopping, and if you make the effort to speak French you will find you’re more welcome than if you arrogantly assume everyone speaks English!

However, this romanticised view of France that we can all experience if we holiday on the other side of La Manche doesn’t always translate easily if you move to settle permanently in France.  Many Britons have come unstuck when attempting to make a new life across the Channel, as they have been struck by how difficult it is to make a living in France, how taxing the bureaucracy is, and how unwelcome they are as permanent incomers.

The Best Bits About Moving to France

On the plus side you have the fact that France is close to the UK so you don’t have to leave family and friends too far behind.  Also, as mentioned above, France is easy to get to from the UK with many and varied travel options making it accessible even if we have to live under a permanent ash cloud.

Whilst France is over twice the size of the UK, its population is only a little bigger than our own which means the country does not exactly suffer from over crowding issues!  This has been one reason why rural property has remained relatively attractively priced in some areas – despite the strength of the euro compared to the pound.

This means Britons can fulfil their desire to own their own home if they move to France, and property ownership rules and laws are strong and relatively transparently documented and adhered to – compared to some countries such as Cyprus and Turkey for example!

The wealth tax threshold has been extended from 790,000 EUR to a whopping 1.3 million which can really advantage some retirees.  Income tax rates are lower in France than the UK, and according to the Telegraph: “Benefits apportioned to family members are attractive, including the recent tripling of the inheritance-tax (IHT) threshold for children to €160,000 (£142,000).”

Dividends may be taxed less, the British state pension is still index linked if you retire to France and the cost of living is comparable to ours in Briton, with some Brits finding that they can offset the weaker pound because they live in southern France where locally grown produce keeps food prices lower, and the better weather keeps their annual fuel costs down.

Living in France Isn’t Always Easy

The trouble with France is its appeal – as ironic as that sounds.  It is a country that many Britons warm to when they holiday there; so much so that a strong percentage believe they could set up a permanent home in France easily.

The truth of the matter is France is a very good place to holiday, but a surprisingly hard place to call home.  If your dream is to live in rural France don’t be surprised to find nothing to do, no services to speak of, no public transportation infrastructure and limited opportunities to get out and meet people.

The dream of starting a new life can turn into a nightmare for Britons who find themselves isolated and basically bored!  Those who relocate with children can suffer most when their children find the local schools perhaps fail them, and it’s really hard to get out and about to take part in extra curricular activities in order to make friends for example.

It’s a fairly well documented reality for some Britons who have attempted to make a new life in France.  Others who move to more urban areas and who intend to work in France can come unstuck when they realise how hard it is for foreign nationals to find employment.  And all Brits find the taxation system complex and the bureaucracy overly complex.

Finally it’s unavoidable but…we need to mention the racism issue.  Some Britons have faced this issue directly and it is very shocking coming from a nation’s people with whom we believe we so closely relate.  I cannot say where it stems from or why, but perhaps it is more of an issue in communities that feel at threat from a strong influx of Britons or foreign nationals in general.

This is a point that will be rejected by many reading this article…but until you have experienced it you may indeed find it hard to believe.  As someone who has lived in France I can assure you it’s a real problem.

And Finally…

Nowhere in the world is perfect – even places that look like paradise on earth such as parts of Australia or Switzerland to name but two beautiful and diverse examples, have their own problems.  So the fact that France has issues to overcome and problems to factor in does not mean that it can’t be your perfect place to live abroad.

It is just important to remove your rose tinted glasses when looking closely at what the country can offer you in terms of your lifestyle desires, and then accept that France can be a tough country to crack.  Get it right and you can live the dream…get it wrong and you may be facing a real nightmare.

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