A survey released at the end of last year placed the UK as the worst place to live in Europe in terms of quality of life. And guess who came out on top? Yes, France thanks to the earliest retirement age in Europe, the highest percentage of GDP spent on healthcare(11%) and the longest life expectancy. France’s lucky workers also have 36 day holiday a year compared to the UK 28, and are only behind Spain and Italy at hours of sunshine/ day.
By comparing France to the UK, we realize that although the average income in a normal household is bigger in the UK than in the rest of Europe but the higher income dose not mean a better lifestyle. The higher income is mainly used up to pay for the higher cost of life in the UK. The UK pays more for bills, gas, electricity, cigarettes and alcohol. So who is better off?
You would think that with so many taxes the UK would at least have a good health and education plan, but recent budget cuts have direct effect on life expectancy as more and more studies indicate that higher and better education lead to a longer life.
Unsurprisingly more and more people consider that now is the time to emigrate. And so do we. Studies show that fewer and fewer expats return to the UK.
The benefits of living and working in France:
– environment
– climate
– culture
– leisure
– education
– healthcare
– shorter working days
– earlier retirement
– more annual leave
– more sunshine
Professional expats are typically earning over £20,000 more than their UK peers, with 92% reporting an increase in salary in 3 years.
So if the UK considers moving to France a good idea what do you think of it?
(you are welcome to give us your opinion in the Free For All discussion topic)
Articre source:Â http://blog.sextantproperties.com/2011/02/03/yet-another-reason-to-move-to-france/
