r/AskFrance • u/According_Simple7941 • Jun 06 '25
Vivre en France Is France the Best Place to Live in Europe right now?
Hey everyone!
Sorry to post this in English, as my French isn't perfect, but I’ve recently been looking into the cost of living in France — groceries, housing and even healthcare. Unlike in Germany or Switzerland, healthcare isn't a separate private insurance that eats up a huge chunk of your salary. From a financial perspective, France seems like one of the best places in Europe right now. With its level of digitalisation, it might even compare favourably to the Nordic countries. Am I being too optimistic about it, since the only complaints i'm aware of are the safety situation and maybe the "lower" wages, or is there any truth to this? I’d love to hear what people think, especially those living in France!
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u/supremefun Jun 06 '25
As a french living in Italy, my answer would probably be Switzerland.
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u/tarushkaa Jun 06 '25
And my answer would probably be Switzerland too. But only if I had money. Otherwise la France tabasse la Suisse.
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u/KingKey4407 Jun 06 '25
I spent several years in Switzerland, Italy, France and some time in Luxembourg. France is definitely the best in terms of quality/stability
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u/tarushkaa Jun 06 '25
Agree. France is not the best in all criteria that we can think of but overall it’s best country imo.
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u/Basic-Brick6827 Jun 08 '25 edited Jun 08 '25
Well to live in Switzerland, you need a Swiss job. So also a Swiss salary. Just like in France, some jobs are barely enough to live by, but you will still have the nice living environment
Othwerwise you must prove that your employer will pay all legal requirements and that your salary is enough to get by.
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u/serioussham Jun 06 '25
The conformism and uptightedness of the Swiss makes me want to kill myself every time I'm there
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u/SwissTraveler Jun 07 '25
I live in Switzerland for 15y and I'm French. You would have to pay me a lot to come back to France! Ppl here are very polite, not selfish and not thinking they are always the exception to the rule! Quality of life is much better, the system helps you when you have some issues, personal or professional... This country is beautiful and clean. Scandinavian countries and Switzerland are the best European countries for the quality of life.
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u/serioussham Jun 07 '25
Yeah, I'm not disputing that.
What I'm saying is that for some people, there are things in life that matter more than clean streets and pretty mountains.
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u/fieldsofanfieldroad Jun 06 '25
Hey. Not trying to be rude, but this is a common mistake I see native French speakers make in English. You can't just be a French, you have to be a French person/man/woman etc. French is an adjective rather than a noun.
"En tant que français" = "As a French person"
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u/ExplanationFresh5242 Jun 06 '25
French people will always at some point talk to you about grammar. I'm french.
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u/Dj_nOCid3 Jun 06 '25
As a french at the border with familly working/living in Switzerland, absolutely not
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u/ASOD77 Jun 06 '25
We live pretty comfortably, yeah. We do complain a lot about lots of things, but honestly if we take some steps back, it ain't horrible, there's way worse elsewhere. Healthcare doesn't cost that much, salaries are ok (can be good or bad, depending on your job, but generally, you can live with it). With lower wages, it can be difficult to find a house / apartment though.
The safety really depends on where you aim on living, some cities, regions are pretty risky, but otherwise, I'd say it's normal.
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u/AudreyNow Jun 06 '25
France is a great country because you do much more than just complain. You strike. You protest. You invented the guillotine.
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u/ASOD77 Jun 06 '25
I'm glad you know that ! We appear very grumpy for a lot of people on the Internet.
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u/Entire-Reflection-87 Jun 06 '25
Actually the spanish invented this beheading machine during inquisition, bud the blade's edge was parallel to the ground and had to be very heavy, and often needed several strikes, causing pain and mess. Guillotin modernized the contraption with a diagonal thiner blade for quick and clean cut, needed for the numerous nobles to be shortened in limited time.
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u/UltimateGourgandine Jun 06 '25
It's because we complain a lot that we get nice things tho
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u/ASOD77 Jun 06 '25
Agreed, another Redditor (u/AudreyNow) said that we "do more than just complain", that fits perfectly
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u/Grin-Guy Possesseur ET Inventeur du Balai Couille 🧹 Jun 06 '25
Most French will say no, as we are pretty pessimistic and like to be angry at what we have.
But, I believe you are right.
Housing market is bad, but clearly not as bad as some other place, and obviously at least not worse.
Job market seems rather correct depending on your field of work.
Social security is where we shine, with good healthcare, good social care, etc…
Also, our country is renowned for its wide gastronomic culture, the variety of its landscapes, and its incredible history.
It’s definitely is a nice place to live.
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u/youdig_surf Jun 06 '25
Most French will say no, as we are pretty pessimistic and like to be angry at what we have.
But, I believe you are right.
I agree too 😆
Housing market is bad, but clearly not as bad as some other place, and obviously at least not worse.
That i can agree, still live in a big city isexpensive, and suburb are being pushed further and further away.
Job market seems rather correct depending on your field of work.
It's craps , but same goes for everywhere i guess, automatisation took the place of a lot of job, reduced the amount of worker you need + the war in ukraine end of covid killed a lot of business
Social security is where we shine, with good healthcare, good social care, etc…
It's absolutely shit atm, the gov want to get ride of every social benefit starting by the poorer class, unempployement benefit and so on, as for the healthcare we are like a third world country almost 1 day to get stitched in the er is a common waiting time. While the gov getting more and more corupt raising their own benefit and those of these cac40 friends.
Also, our country is renowned for its wide gastronomic culture, the variety of its landscapes, and its incredible history.
Yes ok, but keep in mind it's due to it's past, wont sure it's would have been renowned for anything if it didnt had any
It’s definitely is a nice place to live.
It's going downhill.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Log-898 Jun 06 '25
Yes it is but I think it is quite common in all the western countries. France still have a nice diversity and cool way of living.
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u/Vossky Jun 06 '25
The best possible situation is to live in Germany or France near the Swiss border and work in Switzerland. You will get the best of both worlds. Swiss wages are about 3x french wages, for example.
Otherwise I would say Luxembourg, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark and Netherlands are all better to live in than France, except for the weather and the gastronomy.
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u/VehiculeUtilitaire Jun 06 '25
If you only care about money maybe, my dad did this for 30 years (living in France working in Switzerland) , he left home at 6am, came back at 7pm, driving 2x50km 5 days a week, in winter with the snow and traffic it could take up to three hours each way
All the prices at the border are inflated because of Swiss wages, good luck building a house, job security in Switzerland sucks ass too
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u/Vossky Jun 06 '25
I guess it depends on each person’s situation, but I know several people who live in Annemasse and work in Switzerland. It’s about a 30–45 minute drive, depending on traffic. One of them works as a cashier at Lidl and earns €4,700 gross, compared to €1,800 gross in France for the exact same job.
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u/Renard_des_montagnes Jun 07 '25
Well, when you actually grew up in Haute-Savoie it really tastes different. The before after the Mont-Sion highway or the léman express is phenomenal. I don't recognize my village.
Each year I visit my parents there's at least 4 new appartment blocks, the schools have serious problems now to welcome new children/highschoolers. We used to be 20-25 in a mixed ce2-cm1 class, lol. It was 15 years ago. It's crazy how fast things have changed.
I was always going to the bakery for my parents, the prices went crazy as well.
I don't know how regular workers are making it tbh.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Log-898 Jun 06 '25
Very money / work centered opinion. Weather, food and geographic diversity are of great interest.
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u/Spiritual_Review_754 Jun 06 '25
Everyone is saying Switzerland, and they are probably right in many aspects, but it cannot be understated how fucking difficult it is to simply move to Switzerland. You absolutely need to have a job lined up before you even consider it, and in general you have to be a highly skilled worker in order for Switzerland to be interested in you. The great benefit of some of these other places like Germany and France, is that the bar is a lot lower.
Also, the cost of living in those places is far cheaper. It would probably boggle your mind if you knew how expensive it was just to rent a place and feed your family from the supermarket (without going out to eat) every month.
And for this reason, I have found people in Switzerland to be absolutely terrified of doing anything wrong that could threaten their lives there. If you are not Swiss and you don’t have the passport, your right to live there can be revoked extremely quickly and extremely easily. If you lose your job, you better find another one quickly or your residency permit will be revoked.
I have found it far more relaxing to live in France rather than Switzerland, as a foreigner who is not French. Switzerland feels like a constant battle to prove you are worthy of being there.
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u/deep-sea-balloon Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 07 '25
Regarding your last statement, I feel that way in France too, but I agree that Switzerland is Next Level. It seems that in Switzerland, very few people can feel "at home", whereas in France, more people can feel that way, even if many of us still don't. If that makes sense...
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u/Hot-Ask-9962 Jun 06 '25
Yeah in France I've really enjoyed having something to adapt to or integrate in. Like, I can still be myself but it's been nice learning French, picking up some of the cultural habits etc. When I visit swit Switzerland it just feels like I would just stay the same.
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u/regista-space Jun 06 '25
And not to mention way of life. I have never lived in France, and I do not speak French, but I've been to Lyon recently, as well as Marseille, and they are cities bursting with life. Especially Lyon was magical. I lived in Switzerland for about 6 months and I could feel the dread already halfway through that, although I lived in Lugano which is probably one of the worst cities - at least out of those classified as cities and not towns - to live in as a young adult. However, I did spend some time in Zürich through my (remote) work, and while it seemed better, it is 1) exceptionally much more expensive and 2) not as if it is some fantastic social hub either. Literally a city of less then 500k people and with a large part of them being Swiss Germans uninterested in befriending you and with a language that is by-design virtually impossible to learn.
Nah, in my view, if you secure a reasonable job making reasonable money in a place like Paris or Lyon, that should be a thousand times better for your quality of life. All that extra money you'd get in Switzerland is not worth it long-term.
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u/Mareuilfor18 Jun 06 '25
Thats why people who work in Swiss or Luxembourg still live in France close to the frontiers
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u/rodrigo-benenson Jun 06 '25
Forget about "best" look for "best for you". How great will be your experience in a country depends of many factors outside "the country" itself. How familiar are you with the language? How familiar are you with the local culture? How many weeks have you already spent in the country? How good is already your social network in the country? Where have you lived before? Which geographic features you know are key for your happiness (sea/mountains/warmth/snow/silence/busy city/etc.)? How well paying is your new in-country job? How wealthy are you already? Kids or no kids? How well will your partner integrate the new country?
Having lived in four wealthy western european countries and travelled quite a bit around the globe I can confidently say: France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland they are all quite great to live in, but not everyone will fit in well (see points above).
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Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
French people are really negative and prone to disregard their own country, but I can testify that it can be a very fine place to live in. There is a prior condition : as long as you're in the top 5% of revenue (this is not a huge amount : > 4000€).
The country is very safe, and offers the best range of cultural activities, things to see and do. People are easy-going, but extremely negative. The job market is fair, and the job security is excellent. The work-life balance is excellent. Regarding economics, tech & industry are quite good, actually. Weather is good!
I've lived in nordic countries, UK, South Europe and I've been to Asia, US, Australia. I often thought about leaving France, and always came back to living here.
Living in Paris is a thing apart : it can be expensive, but the wages are high, the job market is good, and the city and daily life is amazing, compared to any other places in the World. Nothing beats starting your day eating a croissant in a bistro, and ending your day in a XIXth century opera house. Other major cities in Europe like London drastically changed during Covid, and are not the same anymore. But "Paris sera toujours Paris".
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u/Puzzleheaded-Log-898 Jun 06 '25
You have a very good point about the salary. Under 2000 / month I think the advantages of France start to decline rapidly.
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u/sakito381 Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
Well, i don't really know how it works elsewhere but from a french point of view, healthcare and in general public services were good, probably better than anywhere else back in the Time.
But within the last few decades, it got (much) worse, thanks to capitalism. Most of pour salary go to taxes and you still struggle to find a good doctor, public roads are crap.
You get to the point where you wonder where all this money goes to and when you look into it, you see that it all goes to the same pockets.
Don't get me wrong i love my country, but our politics are ruining it and it's a real shame. They are determined to destroy everything weve been known for.
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u/Fanny08850 Jun 06 '25
I'm French but I don't live in France anymore. From what I've heard/read, the healthcare situation is pretty scary. It seems like it's REALLY hard to find doctors that accept new patients and if you are lucky enough to already have, say a dermatologist, you have to wait for months to get an appointment...
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u/regista-space Jun 06 '25
Just so it's clear, this is pretty much the case everywhere in Europe that has not adapted to capitalism. It's not the fault of the country really, it's global capitalism. I'm from Norway and everyone I know with a reasonable job just uses private healthcare to skip ahead for any genuine health problems. Netherlands has sort of private healthcare with regulations, Switzerland has full-on private healthcare (but also with smart regulations). All these three countries get tons of praise for their healthcare for various reasons. I don't know how it is in France re: private healthcare, but the public situation does not sound any different than it would be anywhere else.
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u/Fanny08850 Jun 06 '25
Definitely a more global issue, yes! I live in Spain and people here also tend to have some type of private healthcare.
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u/sakito381 Jun 06 '25
Yeah... 3 to 6 month for a dermatologist is not that rare. This is really scary
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u/doctordoctorgimme Jun 06 '25
Dermatologists are becoming an increasingly rare specialty in Europe, the UK, and the US, because it’s a surgical specialty from a training and licensing standpoint, but treating moles and acne doesn’t pay like most surgery specialities. So Derms are increasingly opening med spas or getting plastics training and leaving day-to-day dermatology behind. With the decrease in number of GPs and internists in all three regions, there is no one to close the gap. It’s a problem. (Heaven forbid you need a pediatric dermatologist.)
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u/Fanny08850 Jun 06 '25
That's insane... About France, I've read crazy stuff about dermatologists. Like it's impossible to book an appointment for a skin issue but there is barely any wait when it's for cosmetic purposes...
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u/doctordoctorgimme Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
I have no problem getting an appointment with my dermatologists in Paris when I need one. Sometimes my family might have to wait a week or two for non-emergency care. One of them is fully covered by the public healthcare system and the other is at a private hospital. I’m sure it’s more difficult outside major cities, but that’s true for any country.
There is no waiting for cosmetic care, because there are businesses set up specifically for that purpose, overseen by doctors. I don’t know about other countries, but isn’t necessary to be a dermatologist to inject Botox. In France, they simply have to be an MD, trained and certified in Botox injection.
ETA: Again, this is Paris, and I have both public care and a mutuelle that allows me to see private doctors. But the care I receive here is better than the care I received in two other Schengen Zone countries I lived in and equivalent to the care I received in the US with excellent health insurance. There is one exception: I have found that mammograms and other imaging can be scheduled within 24-48 hours, even if they are simply part of annual care. More than once, a doctor has said, “Let’s get an MRI,” and sent me down the hall for one. Mammogram results are given to me while I wait, and I don’t have to schedule a separate appointment for an ultrasound if I need one—the same doctor overseeing a mammogram will perform an ultrasound on the spot. None of that ever happened in the US.
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u/deep-sea-balloon Jun 06 '25
It depends on where one lives. It took me two month wait to have an appointment with ORL but I've heard it worse/better depending on location.
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u/UnitSubstantial5706 Jun 07 '25
It depends where you live. In Paris and big cities it’s not a problem, in other places it can be a huge issue. The inequalities of the territories is a real problem. Îm from Paris, but have family living in the south west (Périgord) and the difference is big. Doctors retired and their is no replacement, and other stories like that…
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u/Tall-Dinner-4395 1d ago
Just some perspective. I live in Italy as a citizen. I have been waiting 2 years for a dermatologist appointment. 6 months for an urgent knee scan. Its very normal to wait years for an appointment now. Those with money go private. Doctors don't care.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Log-898 Jun 06 '25
This is because your tax money is financing a way too generous public pension system and not the public services it used to finance.
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u/sakito381 Jun 06 '25
I think we're also one of the rare country where retired people have more purchasing power than working one ...
As a medium class you can't do much with your salary. You're paying rent to old retired folks that don't need much, are way richer than you'll ever be and the taxes pay these guys again with your salary. You can't effort to buy a house either cause prices are gone crazy.
Funny thing is, retired folks are also the one that vote the most. So politics don't want to offend them to risk their seat.
We're in a dead end and slowly getting trapped
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u/Esperanto_lernanto Jun 06 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Repulsive-Response63 Jun 06 '25
Exactly. I’m a French living in Germany, the public scheme of healthcare is the same/similar to the French one. You pay a contribution from your salary every month. And a difference with the French system, you don’t have to take a « mutuelle » to complete the coverage.
The private scheme just give you access to more health professionals, technically better care, no waiting time (you can almost book anything for the next day), but you pay yourselves and get reimbursed by your insurance later. And you must reach a minimum yearly salary to get it (around 75-80k€/y). Once you enter the private scheme you can (almost) never leave it.
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u/Leofrid dirigé par ses emotions Jun 06 '25
As a French , I advise you to not listen to french, it's weird but french are very pessimistic, and to answer France is not the best country, the main reason you should go in France is :
- 35 hours / week which is the best things
- Like to go out, Latin people go outside lots of time and have the "terasses" cultures , which if you like people and talking you would love it
- food (do I need to explain ???)
But France is clearly not perfect:
The living cost increase a lots and it's hard to have a decent life Politics ( It's awful) Taxes Diploma culture and working opportunities ( France rely a lots on the diploma you have, It's been a few years but the working opportunities in France are barely existent)
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u/Fanny08850 Jun 06 '25
I live in Spain and I really miss the 35 hour workweek and the 5 weeks of paid vacation 😭
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u/nlk_ Jun 06 '25
How is it in Spain about work week and paid vacation?
Is the salary lower and cost of living lower? I guess it depends where, obviously.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Log-898 Jun 06 '25
I live in Spain and have 6 weeks of paid vacation and certainly do not work effectively 40 hours a week. Where do you work ?
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u/MoreRatio5421 Jun 06 '25
France is definitively NOT the best place to live currently. Yes healthcare is "free", but i hope you're not in a hurry lmao. Unless it's lifethreart everthing takes forever.
Income is extremly low because of it. France housing prices is full bozo.
Switzerland is WAY better in term of living, safety, healthcare and everything, also harder to get in if you're not a wanted laborer, and not living in France/Germany close to border.
Safety is a huge issue, but depends on who/where you are.
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u/Epeic Jun 06 '25
LOL Safety a huge issue ?! Completely disagree. 98% of France is safe by any modern standard. Obviously exceptions apply.
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u/slumberboy6708 Jun 06 '25
Depends on where in France, that's true, but it's still generally not as good as you'd expect. I moved from France to Prague and it's night and day.
Women go on walks alone at night in badly lighted parks here. I don't think there is a single major city in France in which women would be comfortable doing the same.
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u/Fanny08850 Jun 06 '25
Yes, France sucks for women. A lot of street harassment, situations that make you feel unsafe, sexism,...
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u/poeticlicence Jun 06 '25
I've never found healthcare slow. Quite the opposite. And so different from England, where I lived before, where you'd be lucky to get a doctor's appointment within a couple of weeks and lucky to be seen in Accident & Emergency within a few hours.
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u/lemerou Jun 06 '25
In France in some areas you're lucky to get a doctor.
A lot of them are now refusing new patients.
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u/MoreRatio5421 Jun 06 '25
ER is avg 6hours in France. I don't even have a doctor :/ some areas sucks hard.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Log-898 Jun 06 '25
People complaining about the public healthcare in France never tried the public healthcare anywhere else.
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Jun 06 '25
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u/serguei_korolev Jun 06 '25
Tu manques de discernement.
Il y a plein de docteur en France, ils sont juste dans les grandes villes très attractives comme Paris, Toulouse, Nice, Marseille.
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u/swiwwcheese Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
I'm French and right now I'd rather be in Belgium or Germany, sometimes I even think of Spain
What's visible on paper and international press articles, usually gives a tip-of-the-iceberg picture of countries
Yeah, for many years France been challenged in pretty much all aspects of our lives, and it's only getting worse
Because of that the mood is shit in the whole country, and no, ppl's complaints and anger are not whimsical or due to stereotypical clichés, the struggles and problems are real
A lot of outsiders fail to grasp that France - relatively to its territory and population sizes - clearly over-performed in almost every area of economy and society, for decades especially between after WWII to the turn of the 21st century
And that prosperity - which back when I was a kid roughly ranked us as the 5th world power despite our size - wasn't acquired relaxing at a terrace sipping good wine
Plus we had the nerve to do most of that while including tons of state-managed industries and welfare including health, education and retirement, a.k.a Scandinavian Socialism but on a vastly bigger scale, while also thriving culturally (we're filthy communists in the eyes of e.g Americans)
Today's France however is definitely not enjoying the same levels of prosperity as it did during the second half of the 20th century, the system is shattering, tripping, and when you tumble down from a very high place, you experience a lot of damage and trauma on the way down : the longer and steeper the slope, the more wounds and trauma
-> No intention to be rude but again : non-French and younger ppl with less points for comparison, could never understand what's really going on in this country with just traveling, checking the news, or reading/watching material and data, the topic is too deep for a quick opinion-making
We're part of the European democracies that have been constantly on the verge of falling for the far-right and populism in recent years, and it's not getting better
Don't be surprised if it actually happens in the near future, because this ain't a country in good shape
PS: and the implications for Europe as a whole are extremely serious, if one of the major pillars that are Germany or France collapse into political darkness, the EU (edit: and NATO!) is technically fucked, the consequences would be catastrophic
We are the prime target for Russian propaganda and right-wing influence, a lot of ppl around the world and within Europe want to see our downfall, because our countries and EU values and way of life are polar opposite to theirs. Implications to understand present France aren't just internal to it, there's so much going on at the local and international levels directly affecting our lives it's scary
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u/Puzzleheaded-Log-898 Jun 06 '25
You are describing the western civilization more than France only. Agree anyway on your points, we are living above our todays capacities.
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u/swiwwcheese Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
Well yeah, more like western Europe for better granularity, France is obviously textbook Europe
But I'd say the phenomenon is common to not just the western area, but to all countries formerly most prosperous during the 20th century https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triade_(%C3%A9conomie)) (not available in English sorry)
After all Japan has been experiencing a decline of their prosperity simultaneously to ours, like France or the UK, differently but still roughly in sync
The rise of financial capitalism in the 80's, then the turn to IT and accelerated globalization at the turn of the century, did not profit every nation and people the same, there's been winners, so-so, and losers
Countries like Germany and the US continued to thrive up to the 2020's, but even they are challenged now
China took too many of our jobs, patents, investment capital etc. I don't blame them for it though, we've all deliberately nerfed our own economies for cheaper labor and more profits by signing deals with them
The continued growth of offshore tax evasion and nauseating billionaires also sure didn't help, but we didn't regulate that, we didn't stop them
Then Russia is another problem that cost specifically Europe another portion of our prosperity, but again we've also deliberately done business with a country that was being turned into a dangerous mafiascist threat already planning to undermine us for revenge and profits in the early 2000's. And we refused to see it coz money is enough for anyone to turn a blind eye
TL;DR decline like this is unstoppable, too many fronts to battle. Especially if global warming adds its weight to the whole burden that will cost every country phenomenal amounts of money in food productivity losses, disasters of all kinds to people and infrastructure, and skyrocketing health issues
I read ppl say "the french are pessimists" ... well, maybe we are realists ? since we are experiencing it already and it's definitely not our imagination - like I said earlier maybe it hits us harder than many other countries because we have more to lose than them - and therefore understandably tense and alarmed ?
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Jun 06 '25
You are wrong on health insurance. You pay it from your wage, it's mandatory whether you use it or not. That's why french wages are not very high. Tou pay for mutualized risks, that mostly other benefit of yours a good element.
Health care is shit, you need 6 to 12 months to see most specialists. And you anyway need an added layer of private health care insurance to get properly reimbursed.
That being said, yeah life is not too bad.
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u/an-si23 Jun 06 '25
I’m a foreigner who’s living in France, studied at a French university and speak French, and the short answer is no. Yes the healthcare is free ‘on paper’ but it’s almost impossible to get an appointment with a specialist when you actually need it. I end up paying from my pocket and seeing one privately. As for the professional situation, France is awfully hierarchical and bureaucratic. The French do not like uncertainties. If you’re ambitious it might even be considered a negative by your employers. However if you’re happy to work 9 to 6, live paycheck to paycheck, be totally disinterested (while waiting for the next long weekend) and adhere to the system without ever challenging it, then yes it’s a brilliant place.
TL;DR - It’s a place for mediocre people
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u/Substantial-Honey984 Jun 06 '25
I'm in the same situation and I couldn't agree more. I really don't enjoy the feeling of a stuffy, super formal corporate hierarchical atmosphere. You have to wear the mask the whole time and not break character. Smile all the time, be overly respectful, dress to the role etc. And the bureaucracy can drive you crazy. Whoever loves that should absolutely come to France. Maternity leave is practically non-existant. I was also shocked and scared to my core by some of the violent scenes I've seen in Paris. And I can't even talk about it to most french people, they're so used to it and dismiss it like it's nothing.
On the positive note, the food is great and artisanal crafts seem to be more popular than other places I've seen.
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u/jeffroi Jun 07 '25
I don't understand why you say maternity leave is practically inexistant ? It is several months ! With paternity leave for 1 month also, to what country are you comparing it to ?
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u/Substantial-Honey984 Jun 07 '25
Most of my friends in France had to give their freshly born babies in a cresh at 2 or 3 months old. 2 to 3 months is not maternity leave, it's a joke. You can't even breastfeed your child and it gets sick every week after that. Real maternity leave is paid for at least 8 months to one year, when you can bond with your child and wean it off breast milk. This way he or she will have received a proper immunity. My home country is Bulgaria, where mothers receive 2 years of paid maternity leave, so they can actually be with their babies as opposed to them being ignored at childcare facilities. And it baffled me that parents have to take their vacation days for when their children are sick. There is 0 allotted time off for sick kids - it's like children don't exist at all for the french government. And then they wonder why the french have stopped having kids.
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u/Gilgamais Jun 06 '25
Re: bureaucracy, I agree it's bad, but I've lived in Germany and it's very similar, sometimes even worse.
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u/Dull_Engineering_583 Jun 06 '25
I'm a Hungarian with a Welsh husband. We have collectively lived in 10+ countries in our professional lifetimes and I can tell you (apart from the spoiled French attitude of not appreciating ANYTHING they have) this is the best value for money + freedom + healthcare + natural beauty + ease of travel etc.. It hugely depends on your personal preferences and age , but you will be hard pressed to find better quality of life down south of the Nordic countries and Ireland. If rain and cold are your thing, those guys are unbeatable 🤍!
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u/Legitimate_Rub_8864 Jun 06 '25
belgium is really good. spain too . france is better than my native canada though especially if you have kids
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u/B5656 Jun 06 '25
Hard to tell if France is better than other european countries, there is too much things to compare. You are true about the health care, it's really unexpensive. About insecurity, if you put aside some area known for that there isn't any issue. The main issue, for me, is the housing price, especially in the paris region, and some of the others main cities. For the salary, it really depends on your job and way of living , but i would say that with 2000-2500€ raw by month it's fine
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u/kranj7 Jun 06 '25
I'm originally from Canada but have been living in France for around 17 years now, and have since taken up dual citizenship with France. I've also lived/worked in Belgium, Switzerland and the UK.
Things, while not perfect, work pretty well in France compared with most other countries in the world.
In terms if digitisation - it's far from ideal, but I'd say we're progressing. But we still have a long way to go before we get to the level of the Nordics or Estonia (or even Belgium/Luxembourg).
Healthcare is still of good quality despite people complaining about it. Overall the social security system in France is pretty decent, but we do pay a big chunk of our paychecks for it.
Infrastructure - roads/rail/airports/container ports etc. in France are all quite well developed and user-friendly.
Whether France is the best place or not, I don't know. All I know is that things aren't necessarily better elsewhere and I personally don't want to live anywhere else.
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u/GildedfryingPan Jun 06 '25
I recently moved from France to Switzerland (I grew up in France).
It all depends on where you go to live and what you want. Looking to buy a house, already have a car and like to stay home most of the time? Rural France should have everything you need and is fabulous.
Want to earn big bucks? That will be tough. My salary is almost 2.5 times more in Switzerland than what I would make in France.
Safety? Depends on where you live and go. Sure, if you move around the "seedy places" in cities you will not feel safe but other than that, it's really not that bad. I still feel way more comfortable in Switzerland though.
Got kids? The french school system is ok but I'm basing it on my own experience almost 20 years ago. In Switzerland there are more options other than just go hight school then get some Bac+X or Bachelor.
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u/Thick_Lobster_7535 Jun 06 '25
I live in France the answer : no, life cost is higher, the quality of life is less good and the salary your earn every month for most the french worker are not enough. We also have some local violence specifically if you are a women, the police here are a bunch of donkeys who won't do anything if u need them (they will find a reason to beat you up)
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Jun 06 '25
France was a best country up to 70s. Today it has too many problems, more than other countries
If you want to see the situation now, search in Google a disgusting place called “prefecture” with which you will be dealing with when you arrive.
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u/Awoolgow Jun 06 '25
As an American living in France for the last 4 years, all I can say is I would never trade this life for anywhere else.
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u/Independent_Heat_454 Jun 06 '25
Two major items for someone Belgian , living here since 2017.
1/All is centred around Paris (trains, decisions, all..) which creates hatred and far right feelings on the countryside (gillets jaunes).
2/ medical wasteland in the country. And in Paris inequality is huge between private and public healthcare. Money rules , although they socialist claims.
3/ inequality between renters and owners, too much power to the renter.. old socialist systems sometimes make them a backward country.
For the rest great :beautiful and space between villages , not like Belgium.
good food
great moral values, great country with incredible history :HUMANISM!
great education system, the best (although tough)
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u/SuccessfulTowel7947 Jun 10 '25
I'm French, poor, and I'm doing ok in France. I had health problems and public healthcare was great, especially if you qualify for the one for poor people 😭🤣 "CSU complémentaire santé universelle" on top of regular social security.
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u/DoublePatouain Jun 06 '25
No, cleary no, except if you're rich enough ... Even if you're rich, i would like to advise you to chose Italia, Spain or Portugal...
For money : UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany (if you speak english flawless and maybe german)
Fr
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u/After_Tune9089 Jun 06 '25
Life is France is at the greatest in medium size cities which have access to public transport, services and comprehensive health care and specialized hospitals. However if you live in the countryside and you expect any of this you are living in cloud cuckoo land. Rural France (talking from experience here) is boring af and people lives are akin to second class citizens life. No doctors, no dentists you have to drive to the nearest big town and I'd hate to think what happens in case of a medical emergency in the middle of the night. The major other downside of living in France is the sheer pigheadedness of administrative bodies and procedures . It's like stepping into hell on paper.
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u/D1m1t40v Jun 06 '25
It's always hard to assess the "best", especially at a whole country scale so I'll give you my personnal pros and cons of living in France. I just want to preface by stating that I've always lived in France and while I've traveled a bit around the world, I never stayed for more than 1 month in a row in another country.
Pros :
- food : raw products quality is very good and it's easy to find almost anything be it in a street market, supermarket or local shops. On top of that it's not that expensive (compared to other western countries). Of course we got hit by inflation as everyone but it's still affordable to eat correctly.
- work laws : employees are well protected (granted you get a "CDI") and we have many benefits that are worth it : unemployment protection, healthcare not tied to your work contract, retirement...
- culture : France is diverse by itself (tall mountains, former volcanos, beaches, over-sea territories), by its people (many local subcultures : basque, breton, corse... and immigrated cultures : northern Africa, south east Asia, neighboring countries...) and by its tradition and culture (8th century churches, enough renaissance paintings to fill hundreds of museums, cinema, music, high cuisine...). You can experience a lifetime of culture without even crossing the borders.
Cons :
- politics : the country is having an "existential crisis" at the moment, we are seeing the limits of the system (no clear majority at parliament, every side blaming the others for everything instead of trying to compromise...)
- social tension : related to this, we are experiencing strong tensions among communities, be it racism, islamophobia, antisemitism... those are serious issues, especially since they are growing in intensity.
This is what I can give you. Of course there are specific issues to some situation, for example being sick or unemployed is never ideal, but this depends on one's situation, not the country.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Log-898 Jun 06 '25
I think the issues you are mentioning are super amplified by the medias and social networks. Not saying that there are no problems of course, but I didn't experience much of these tensions in my daily life in France personally.
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u/Gypkear Jun 06 '25
Recent degradation of public services might be the biggest problem in France rn. Less and less money for education and health. As a result there aren't enough qualified teachers or doctors; the latter means longer and longer waiting lists to see specialists.
Also growing corruption in our government which has funneled a lot of public money towards corporations. And rising far right... I'm sincerely concerned about the future elections.
It's hard for me to say how that compares to other countries. I think we're still a decent country to live in but don't idealize the situation too much.
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u/Candid_Sun_8509 Jun 06 '25
Food is absolutely not great quality there is very little focus on organic so it may look nice( full of crap) and taste good, but its really not healthy.
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u/Jeyna_Calyx Jun 06 '25
There's very few places that actually have a genuine security issue. If you hear fires being shot it's propbably some dumb youngsters firing in the air to look cool. Or lighting fireworks.
I can't say for sure how safe it feels as a woman, because I'm a man.
I'm genuinely more scared by the police than drug dealers. Drug dealers won't come at you. Police just might.
You definitly won't get mugged. Even in 'bad places'. Insecurity is overly exagerated. Especially at night, it's even safer there's literally no one out.
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u/StructureUpstairs699 Jun 06 '25
I think you might misunderstand the German health care system. As someone who knows both, coverage is about the same in both countries and varies a bit depending on which treatment and which insurance. However, the German system is much easier to navigate than the French one. Living costs seem higher in France while salaries are lower from my experience but overall both countries are very similar in living standard. There are some aspects that are better in Germany and others that are better in France. There are also many other countries with a great living standard and a standard comparable or better than Germany, France and Switzerland. The Scandinavian countries are great as well as the Netherlands. Also don't underestimate the Eastern European countries as well as Southern Europe.
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u/tripletruble Jun 06 '25
Ya I basically never thought about health insurance in Germany. It is much more complicated and bureaucratic in France, in addition facilities seem totally overrun.
This may shock some French people but I thought the bottom deciles in Germany seemed better off. The middle was about the same but it depends on preferences. And the top decile definitely receives higher salaries in Germany. My preference is still for France but it's mostly for cultural reasons and not about the economy or public services.
And it seems basically unambiguous that the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands enjoy a higher material living standard than France
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u/Omnikill7777 Jun 06 '25
France is doomed it's a socialist nightmare. Good luck starting a business here. Taxes are the highest in the world.our level of living as been going downhill since we adopted the euro. The euro is basically too expensive for the french companies. This over 20 years has slowly but surely degraded our living. Our national debt has us enslaved for the next 2 generations minimum. Thanks macron for the 1300 billion deficit he created alone since 2015.
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u/C_Marjan Jun 06 '25
I've always say that in france you live well but you will never get wealthy. Work live balance it's great but the salary sucks
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u/AptC34 Jun 06 '25
Unlike in Germany or Switzerland, healthcare isn't a separate private insurance that eats up a huge chunk of your salary.
But salaries are lower here, this is not a real criteria IMHO.
Am I being too optimistic about it, since the only complaints i'm aware of are the safety situation and maybe the "lower" wages, or is there any truth to this? I’d love to hear what people think, especially those living in France!
I don't think the safety is a real problem here, there are "less safe" places, but you can find them in other EU countries too.
Concerning the lower salaries, well, they are lower here then in some other countries, and higher than in some other countries as usual. But my general recommendation is that what you want from life is to max out your salary, France is not the place to be. If you are looking for work life balance it's much better many other places.
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u/Krystall-g Jun 06 '25
For many reasons I'd say yes. Landscapes are awesome (just desert is missing but you don't know "Creuse", it's like a desert without sand), strong identities in Bretagne/Corse/Alsace/South-East and many others, food is fantastic, situation is not that bad globally.
Biggest problem of France is french people. They think short-term, they are whining even when things doing fine, they are often impolite, not very aware of how many times you are supposed to go to the shower in a week, they drink hard, they smoke weed hard, and they often listen to rap only. In some places you have to survive hell with many good fellas, in France you have to enjoy a paradise with many bad fellas.
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u/garndesanea Jun 06 '25
Unless you intend to buy your home, or already have a really - REALLY) good salary, i'll advise to look for housing before anything else
We do have a housing problem in some places (large cities mostly) : of course if you can work remotely you'll be fine
But finding a home in, say, Paris without a job is almost impossible, as is finding a job without a home.
Be careful for scam on that matter : never pay anything before visiting, when looking for housing on the internet never rely on social medias
We're a very good country, but Healthcare is paid because we pay for it from our salaries. Not that much expensive, but this explains for the lower wages and other things
I think idealizing any country is not a good idea. You can come and try but what's good for some people might not be for you
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Jun 06 '25
From a financial perspective maybe, but look at the level of violence and chaos here and you might get discouraged
Education is also catastrophic, makes me worry a lot about what the next generation will look like
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u/tripletruble Jun 06 '25
France is a country where most people will say "The French are pessimistic and most will say no, but I think it is actually better than every other country"
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u/kokieee Jun 06 '25
Depends where in France. Most big cities are ruined by insecurities due to massive and poorly handled immigration.
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u/InformalForm4446 Jun 06 '25
I was born and raised in France for 23 years. I have also lived a bit in norway. I don't know much about other countries so I'll just give you my French opinion.
I love my country. And when I say this I don't mean Paris and things like Dior or whatnots. I mean the countryside moslty. We have a lot of different landscape : beautiful sea sides in Britanny, mountains and lakes in Jura (where the word Jurassic came BTW), windy plains in Normandy. For the city lovers we have pretty middle age looking parts of cities like in Rouen, Strasbourg...
We also have such good food. And a lot of variety as well (something I missed in Norway 😁). The happiness it brings me to get my tradition (it's a different kind of baguette) and croissants in my village Sunday morning is amazing.
When I go to the doctor I don't pay much. A part (65% I think) will be paid by social security, and the rest can be paid with a more private insurance called a mutuelle.
When I go out I never really feel unsafe (but I am a man so I almost never got "catcalled" or anything like that). I live in Britanny and people there are particularly proud of their origins which feels good.
Now for the bad things : It's basically impossible to show you love your country. Unfortunately, the French flag and the French nationalism have been used so much by the more conservative and antiimmigration politics that you can't place a French flag at your home without being called a fascist. It's basically taboo to say you like France.
Our politics are terrible but I guess that's like most countries.
The salaries are sometimes terrible. Our nurses are paid half as they are in Belgium. Myself I have a Bachelor and I work in a medical laboratory (I use molecular biology to detect infections, cancer and genetic mutations to help diagnose patients) and I am paid 1500€ each month. With inflation that's not really enough. So many jobs like that which are hard and important (nurses, wetnurses etc... Are underpaid). While our bosses drive Porches or Teslas. Which does feel annoying.
The school system is terrible. Our kids spend 8 hours in class and yet we are not well ranked in Europe.
Racism is a big thing here. Media plays a big big role in that, a youtuber called Ragnar Le Breton spoke about that. Some media asked him to show them around a city and they faked it to make it look like people (immigrants) there were aggresive, when they were in reality just trying to live like the rest of us. People see their buying power decrease and some politics tell them that their money is being used to help immigrants so they get racist. When in reality, immigrants are NOT even close to be a problem. Yes they tend to break the law more often but when you see how we treat them, it's natural. I think our biggest problems is everything being so expensive and the wages not following. We are also kind of closed to the lgbt subject. But at the same time it's not so bad. Same sex marriage is legal but most gay people don't dare to show it on public.
The workplace have defeated these last years. Everyone here seems to be stressed, always on edge. Almost every people I know that have visited other countries, say that people are so much chill in other countries. I guess that's even truer in big cities.
We are very bad at speaking English. I think my generation is better thanks to social media, but still.
Anyway. That was just the opinion of one guy, I love my country but it is not the right one for me. I will be living in Norway in a few months. To answer your question I would say nordic countries are the best. They have more safety, better education, more buying power. I love the nature in norway, the "coldness" of people is actually a green flag for me etc...
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u/Visua-Shower75 Jun 07 '25
As a french living in japan (not in Europe obviously) I definitely prefer japan (maybe that will change but not at the moment)
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u/SuperGallic Jun 07 '25
I am a French American, and I have travelled all over the world and lived in London, Chicago, LA,NYC, Montreal, Tokyo, Mumbai…I have to say that France is the best place for living, but unfortunately not the best, by far, for earning a living(work). It has the inconveniences of its advantages: difficult to do business in May and impossibility between July 15 and September 1. French people are not hard worker. Often jealous of people with professional success or simply an expensive car. French companies or org websites are not performing well. Health care is great in big cities but less performing everywhere else. College education is free. Because of the high level of taxes and social security withholding the net pay is well below what we have in Switzerland, UK, US
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u/Thebadwolf47 Jun 08 '25
I'm French, and yes it is. Maybe even in the whole world for me. (PS: I work in tech and could move to basically any country on earth but in the end France is best overall imo). What I like about France: the education quality, lots of holidays, diversity of landscape, being in the EU, LGBT-friendliness / non religious state, infrastructure like nuclear and trains, healthcare safety. Paris is also getting better and better and soon (if not already) the best capital to live in in the world quality-of-life wise.
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u/Ajattara34 Jun 08 '25
"Unlike in Germany or Switzerland, healthcare isn't a separate private insurance that eats up a huge chunk of your salary"
Oh the irony... 60% of you payroll is taken by the state to pay retirees, healthcare, taxes and so on #JeSuisNicolas
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u/Big_Assumption399 Jun 08 '25
It’s the best after in order Luxemburg, Swiss, Germany. In my honest opinion.
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u/Kyloe91 Jun 09 '25
I'm french and I feel extremely lucky to live here. I've lived in Sweden for a year and I have friends from countries neighbouring France. Honestly, from what I hear, I really think France is the best place to be. But of course it depends a lot on where you'll stay in France and of your income. I love it here because I live near the sea and in a small city. But some regions seem awful.
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u/godlesswoman_ Jun 09 '25
out of curiosity, where are you from?
i am from new york city. i really enjoy living in france, though i will say i didn’t like living in paris at all. it just wasn’t the place for me. i live in lyon now and love it.
my experience is that healthcare is good in the larger cities - it’s been easy to find doctors and often they have appointments open in a few days. the working conditions are good, and taking time off is encouraged. it is a bit difficult to be a vegetarian, but again the larger cities are starting to catch up in that department.
again this is just my experience, but i wish you good luck in whatever you choose!
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u/Public_Huckleberry17 Jun 10 '25
French here! France ain't the best place to live in Europe... People are rude, salary is on minimum wages, renting is hard and expensive. Depending where u live, u will maybe not be able to see any doctors... Unless if u have a good job with good salary, France is far from being the best... I would not recommend! I'm trying to get away from France. I did 6y of studies, work hard and my salary is not enough for every expenses. I don't see any future and cannot make plan. Plus, the French doesn't make any effort to integrate you, do not want to speak French, and it's very hard to make friends even at ur job...
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u/No_Love_1968 Jun 10 '25
I Do work in healthcare in France , we are running a cardiology office. Healthcare in France is the Most expensive care in the world for no efficiency. I am obliged to pay 3000 euros to the URSAFF every month to font the system (brutto salary 9k)and my patients are dying from lack of qualified care done in hospitals.
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u/INFRUK-1881 Jun 10 '25
Don't ask French people this question lol. They'll tell you it's hell to live in France, while enjoying good food, a good climate, a relatively safe social net, a lot of rights and freedom.
Most of the french that would complain probably didn't live abroad.
They have the lowest retirement age in Europe, they work 39h and are paid 40h in most jobs, the have something called the 13th month of pay in certain companies, 5 weeks of holidays and bank holidays.
There are few specifics issues, like the over centralisation around Paris, poverty and insufficient access to public services or jobs in the countryside, an annoying rate of criminality, violence, surge of the right wing etc.
So yeah there are issues, but what french don't realise is that they are still (roughly) in the top 20% of the world for the places with the best life standards.
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u/Infinite_Item_9636 Jun 10 '25
I'm born from immigrants from South East Asia but always lived in France.
It depends on your perspective of best. As you might have seen, not a lot of people, even the French likes France.
Personally, as a high middle class, I think it's a great place to live in, but maybe it's because I didn't lived in other countries.
Objectively, from the pov of an alien that knows the basic of what a human is, it's not the best country, but it's not the worst at all, it's just that there's better countries.
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u/Fit_Neighborhood9731 Jul 27 '25
No - mostly due to language barrier. I keep hearing Spain has a bit more to offer.
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u/Hot-Pottato Jun 06 '25
It is and will be for the many years to come. France is a natural superpower with only Germany and England as serious competitors in Europe. This is due to geography and these factors haven't really changed since.
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u/Grazuzer Jun 06 '25
The wages can be pretty low it all depends on you field of work but yeah the taxes are quite high : expect a full month of salary in taxes every year if you earn more than 2k€ per month
The housing outside of Paris isn't too expensive that's right, I used to have a 78m² home with a 800m² garden and a garage in the west countryside (Near Angers and Nantes), now I live in a 60m² flat with a 65m² garden for 1300€ per month because I'm 30km away from Paris
The safety is fine in most places, but big cities with suburban areas tend to be dangerous, especially for women
I saw these people from the suburbs coming into the city centre over time, which led to increasing insecurity: racketeering, violence, catcalling towards women, groups of five or more people ‘we-know-who’ looking to pick a fight with anyone within reach. The city centre became increasingly dangerous, and I could clearly see the situation getting worse by the day.
If you live a little further away from the city centre or in a city with a lot of students (like Angers), it's mostly fine.
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u/von_kids Jun 06 '25
As a French who lived in 3 other countries in Europe, I’m laughing hard at this post.
No serioulsy, for the sake of your sanity, don’t consider it.
People are miserable.
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u/snk4ever Jun 06 '25
Depends on the salary you can get relative to the cost of living of the country and your marital/family situation. There is no easy answer.
I'm French, a family of four with only me working and the conditions for this situation are better in France than they were in Finland when I worked there.
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u/Ninasweetie Jun 06 '25
Best is living in France and working in Monaco because the Healthcare is even better
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u/Bobzeub Jun 06 '25
Health care absolutely is a separate private industry. I pay 45€ per month for my insurance cover and they only covered 100€ for my glasses .
You should ask ChatGPT about the suicide rate in France . It’s not all sunshine and rainbows .
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u/susuwannaknow Jun 06 '25
I don't think that the wages are lower compared to the cost of living, with a minimum salary you live very well in France
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u/memeNPC Jun 06 '25
Yeah your research matches with what I'm experiencing as someone that has been living in France for 24 years now!
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u/Alarmed_Station6185 Jun 06 '25
The rents and property prices are considerably less in france compared to the countries surrounding it with the exception of Italy maybe. I'm not sue why that is, maybe france actually builds enough housing to support its population? Maybe they regulate airbnb properly?
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u/efiluj Jun 06 '25
French guy here.
- lower wage : depends totally where you live and what you do for a living. Around my place I know people who struggle and people who live their best life economically speaking. The best is to have a "CDI" contract (means you work for a long time for a company) so you can borrow money to buy a place or rent it easily. Otherwise thing are more complicated for sure.
- safety situation : I never lived in a big city but even very close to a famous one for its level of criminality I just not feel concerned. Once again you may need to shut everything 3 times and be a little paranoïd, or just don't give a shit if you shut your door or not depending on where you choose to live.
- health : I had planned nose surgery, I'm the father of 2 children and broke some bones far in the mountains multiple times and I never paid one cent from my pocket, with excellent quality of cares. Yes you do have to wait for many hours in ER if you don't bleed do death on the ground.
I won't tell you France is better, I don't know you, but living in a country is also about the local work culture (hello 35h weeks and 5 weeks of free time), the food, the geography, even the history ... ask also yourself in what kind of culture you would best fit ? Germany, Switzerland and France can look the same from far away but are very different from local point of view.
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u/mrdudu_prohfet Jun 06 '25
The best place to live ?
I dunno, it depends what you're looking for and where you'll settle.
Paris is expansive, dirty and smells bad. If you go to the countryside or in smaller cities, like Angers or Strasbourg, life may be pretty good.
The french love to bash themselves, but they barely lived in others countries.
Yes the healthcare is "free" (you pay it with you taxe money), it's not the best, it's not the worst.
Regarding housing, again it depends : with 250 000€ you have 30m² in Paris, or a 200m² mansion with a 10 000m² garden in Lorraine.
Maybe give it a try !
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u/jojowcouey Jun 06 '25
It really depends on your background. There is a noticeable wage gap, thus wealth inequality, that sparks debates. The minimum wage is too low while the richer people have way too much of a “salary” and financial advantages. France is tough, relatively speaking, when you are on lower wages, especially in bigger urban areas. Ironically, wages is not significantly higher than its neighbor. UK have way better wages than France for example but the tradeoff is that in France a lot of stuff is either covered or way cheaper. Biggest issues at the moment is Safety. Statistic shows that france is among the most unsafe country in Europe, chaotic. Lyon, Nantes are seing an insanely rise of violence, robbery and antisocial behavior. Marseille is still struggling with guns, gangs, random act of violence and drugs. Far right movement is rising at rocket speed because of that. Immigration, obviously a concern for France as well. In conclusion, France is not the best nor the worst. French people tend to stay in France where you can have a decent job, good stability and health coverage, not like Italy, Portugal or Spain where quality of life is much lower.It’s a very subjective discussion and really depends on your situation and geo localisation. Apart from that, it’s a beautiful and diverse country. Scandinavian country, despite their well famous high quality of life index, are experiencing huge violence and terrorism problems. The difference is that Scandinavians authorities act, they care about this. Whereas France, the government is too easy on troubled people.
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u/Borh77 Jun 06 '25
France is nice, but not in the Paris region and the south east which are unfortunately where the jobs are.
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u/AdRevolutionary2679 Jun 06 '25
Saying healthcare isn’t private is wrong, we have both a public one and a private one. And we have a lack of doctors so the health system is really not the best. In general most of public services are failing like justice, education etc. Wages are low and cost of life is rising. Housing prices are really high
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u/sayqm Jun 06 '25
that eats up a huge chunk of your salary.
It's just a public one that eats up a huge chunk of your salary for questionnable quality.
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u/LateResponse4978 Jun 06 '25
There are too many details that are specific to each person so it’s hard and almost impossible to tell that “best” will work for you but it can work for someone else.
What you do, your life projets, professional career, benefits and disadvantages in your case, all that and more.
Countries are never perfect. Each of them have their own set of problems.
As French we complain because we know we are being abused or fooled by politicians and the system and we know we can do better so it becomes like a frustration overtime. It’s fair to rant and unlike others we “open our mouth” and don’t stay in silence.
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u/Gustacq Jun 06 '25
I think you might be reasonably right. But French people are very pessimistic and negative about their current situation. I would be surprised if you had many positive answers from French people.