You Get More Bang for Your Buck in Paris

(NY City by Erica Simone)

I don’t know about you, but I love statistics! I am often asked about the cost of living in Paris, and other cities in France, by so many of you thinking about making a move outside of the U.S. You have your hard-earned savings or social security, or even earnings, and you want to know where you get more bank for your buck, and of course, where you’ll be happiest.

On the whole, I can tell you from experience, without the help of statistical data, that living in Paris is a whole lot less expensive than most major cities in the U.S. and even around the world. When I visit my daughter in New York, I am SHOCKED at the cost of groceries, how her monthly maintenance fees are 12 TIMES what I pay, how if we were to rent out her apartment, the same apartment in Paris would cost HALF AS MUCH, how mortgage interest rates are higher, how drugs are 10 TIMES the cost in the U.S. and let’s not even begin to think about all other medical costs, the cost of high quality education, how all sorts of insurance premiums are higher, etc., etc., etc. In fact, in 1997 when I had to decide if I was going back to the U.S. or staying in France, I couldn’t afford to live in the U.S. based on the earnings and savings I had at the time, but Paris was “du gâteau” (a piece of cake).

Numbeo.com, to which I subscribe, is a “crowd-sourced global database of reported consumer prices, perceived crime rates, quality of health care, among other statistics which enables users to share and compare information about the cost of living between countries and cities” founded by an ex-Google software engineer. Here are some real statistics to prove what I say is true…

The source of much of the following text is Numbeo.com. Here is Numbeo.com explained:

The following indices are relative to New York City (NYC). Which means that for New York City, each index should be 100(%). If another city has, for example, rent index of 120, it means that on an average in that city rents are 20% more expensive than in New York City. If a city has rent index of 70, that means on an average in that city rents are 30% less expensive than in New York City.

Cost of Living Index (excluding rent) is a relative indicator of consumer goods prices, including groceries, restaurants, transportation and utilities. Cost of Living Index doesn’t include accommodation expenses such as rent or mortgage. If a city has a Cost of Living Index of 120, it means Numbeo estimates it is 20% more expensive than New York (excluding rent).

Rent Index is an estimation of prices of renting apartments in the city compared to New York City. If rent index is 80, Numbeo estimates that price of rents in that city is on an average 20% less than the price in New York.

Cost of Living Plus Rent Index is an estimation of consumer goods prices including rent comparing to New York City.

See more detail at numbeo.com.

COST OF LIVING IN PARIS IS NOT AS EXPENSIVE AS NEW YORK
        
Four-person family monthly costs: 3,111.83€ without rent (using our estimator). A single person monthly costs: 861.16€ without rent. Cost of living rank is 24th out of 541 cities in the world. Paris has a cost of living index of 92.78. (more details at numbeo.com).

STANDARD OF LIVING IN NEW YORK IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN PARIS

You would need around 6,107.80€ (7,487.02$) in New York, NY to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 4,400.00€ in Paris (assuming you rent in both cities). This calculation uses our Cost of Living Plus Rent Index to compare cost of living. This assumes net earnings (after income tax). You can change the amount in this calculation.

– Consumer Prices in New York, NY are 7.79% higher than in Paris
– Consumer Prices Including Rent in New York, NY are 38.81% higher than in Paris
– Rent Prices in New York, NY are 100.06% higher than in Paris
– Restaurant Prices in New York, NY are 8.30% higher than in Paris
– Groceries Prices in New York, NY are 14.57% higher than in Paris
– Local Purchasing Power in New York, NY is 1.32% higher than in Paris

PROPERTY PRICES COMPARISON BETWEEN FRANCE AND UNITED STATES
    
Index                                            France         United States

Price to Income Ratio:                    10.16            3.33

Mortgage as Percentage of Income:     
                                                    62.13%         24.04%
Loan Affordability Index:                1.61              4.16
Price to Rent Ratio – City Centre:    31.57             9.27
Price to Rent Ratio –
Outside of Centre:                         27.90             8.46
Gross Rental Yield (City Centre):    3.17%           10.79%
Gross Rental Yield
(Outside of Centre):                      3.58%           11.82%

PROPERTY PRICES COMPARISON BETWEEN NEW YORK, NY AND PARIS    
    
Index                                            New York        Paris

Price to Income Ratio:                    12.37              17.66
Mortgage as Percentage of Income: 88.91%     105.70%
Loan Affordability Index:                 1.12                0.95
Price to Rent Ratio – City Centre:     19.05             38.04
Price to Rent Ratio –
Outside of Centre:                          16.30              36.55
Gross Rental Yield (City Centre):     5.25%            2.63%
Gross Rental Yield
(Outside of Centre):                       6.14%             2.74%    

QUALITY OF LIFE COMPARISON BETWEEN PARIS AND NEW YORK, NY
    
Index                                            Paris                New York, NY

Quality of Life Index:                     129.00             138.14

Purchasing Power Index                 98.70               100.00
Safety Index                                 46.96               55.16
Health Care Index                         73.20               63.51
Climate Index                               88.44               81.13
Cost of Living Index                      92.78               100.00
Property Price to Income Ratio      17.66               12.37
Traffic Commute Time Index         42.91               44.91
Pollution Index                            66.50               55.61
    
HEALTH CARE COMPARISON BETWEEN PARIS AND NEW YORK, NY
        
Index                                           Paris                 New York, NY

Health Care System Index:            73.20                63.51    
Skill and competency of
medical staff                                80.43                74.04
Speed in completing
examination and reports               69.93                71.30
Equipment for modern
diagnosis and treatment               88.97                90.20
Accuracy and completeness in
filling out reports                         75.74                73.53
Friendliness and courtesy
of the staff                                  60.45                67.27
Responsiveness (waitings)
in medical institutions                  52.21                48.61
Satisfaction with Cost to you        75.74                37.96
Convenience of location for you    79.62                70.75
Contributors:                              70                     55

The cost of living index for the top 10 most expensive countries are:

1     Bermuda       144.88     
2     Switzerland   131.39
3     Iceland         123.96     
4     Norway         113.70
5     Bahamas       100.68     
6     Luxembourg  96.56     
7     Denmark       93.30     
8     Singapore      91.40     
9     Japan            86.58     
10     Israel           86.53     

France ranks:

13     France         83.86     

And the cost of living index for the top 10 least expensive countries are:

106 Bangladesh     31.99     
107 Azerbaijan       30.62     
108 Georgia           29.66     
109 Kosovo            29.44     
110 Syria               27.81     
111 Tunisia            27.67     
112 India               26.88     
113 Ukraine           25.98     
114 Egypt              25.69     
115 Pakistan          25.08     

Dig deep into the Numbeo.com site and see for yourself how France measures up…or any other country or city for that matter…and then make the comparisons yourself!

A bientôt,

Adrian Leeds
Adrian Leeds Group

Respond to Adrian:
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P.S. If you’re planning a trip to Nice in search of your own pied-à-terre, allow us to assist you. And, as a friend, you can book a stay in my pied-à-terre, Let Matisse! Now’s the time to book your stay. Contact our Bookings Manager, Patty, now!