We lucked out with our house. 10k canadian all it needed was paint, flooring and roof. Yes you read that right 10 thousand. Small town living with major city/shopping 45mins away. I feel very fortunate and didn't think we'd ever be able to afford a home in this life time.

Wow! I am astounded at the low cost of housing there! Holy moly! Our heating bill is similar but we keep our place less warm than a lot of people. We wear sweaters and wool socks a lot. Our cooling bill is higher, though. Where we live can be very hot an humid. We're on well water and have no water costs but we're not wasteful with water. In our area we've been told that the aquifer is being stressed. Plus, we're aware that any water used in our area ends up in the Chesapeake Bay and contributes to the contamination of the bay so we are conscious of those things. Like you, we don't take 20 minute showers, for example. Again wow! We only get internet, no tv service, and it costs almost $85 a month. I've read before that we Americans pay way more for tv and internet and it's apparently true. And your cellphone service! What?! I'm paying $45 a month for 2 GBs of data! And we Americans complain about paying $3 a gallon for gas, lol! You pay the equivalent of $270 a year American for car insurance?! I'm an excellent driver with no accidents or tickets or anything and great credit (Your credit rating affects your insurance rates. I don't know if that's true anywhere else.) and I pay more than twice that for the minimum coverage! And that certainly doesn't cover breakdowns! I always knew about your health care costs in France and most of the civilized world. But you can't tell some Americans that they're being ripped off! They refuse to believe it. They honestly think you're getting inferior care. It's crazy. The camping facilities are inexpensive, too?! You have to pay almost as much for a hotel room as you do for camping in the US. That didn't used to be true. Clothing prices are comparable to France here in the US. I hope I didn't go on too long but I thought it was very interesting comparing the cost of living.

I really enjoyed this video. I wish we had health care like that here in the US.

If I didn't live so far away (Australia) this video would have convinced me to pack up and move to Brittany! You have made such a smart move to such a beautiful part of the world.

I really enjoyed hearing the cost comparisons. Thank you for sharing. Mike does a great job editing.🌻

Such a lot of great information presented so clearly and in an interesting way. All costs in Australia are ridiculous. We live about 45 minutes from Melbourne (we moved to a regional town of about 20,000 people) and average house cost here is $560k. Health insurance we pay $4800 a year for a medium level of cover but still pay out of pocket for standard Dr bills. House insurance is around $1600 per year but that is higher than normal as our house is larger than normal. Petrol is currently $1.59 per litre - it was sitting around $1.10 for years but in the past 18 months has increased. Our dream is to retire to Italy - or maybe do six months in Italy, six months back here.

Extraordinary detail and comparisons. I'm a Canadian and right now we're paying $1.47 a litre. I travel to the US a lot pre-covid and I've never paid more than 2.49 to 1.99 a gallon the further south you travel the cheaper it gets. Skechers running shoes at TJ Maxx $18 in Canada it's $50. What has changed for us in Canada (post covid) is the price of beef. What used to be 2.99 to 3.99 a pound is now $8.99 to $12.99. Canada's going to vegetarian LOL. We had a covid outbreak in our meat plant. Hope it goes back down. My body type needs beef. Really enjoy your content. Have a good day💐

What a wonderfully informative video! Obviously an incredible amount of work and research went in to the making of this, thank you so much. I absolutely loved the view behind you. I just discovered your channel a couple of days ago from Frugal Jo, and I've been binge watching your videos. I see your channel is growing well, but you should still have way more subscribers! Good luck!

Great information presented well. Thanks. I really enjoyed it. Greetings from South Australia.

Really enjoyed this blog. Thanks for sharing and doing the research. Loved the stream behind you. Looking forward to future videos.

FYI. You are definitely going to wait for seeing a doctor in the US. As much as several months for some specialist. (Dermatologist)

Thank you so much for this very informative video on life in Brittany! Here in NY everything is so expensive! I think all of your costs are lower than ours! We also heat our home with wood! Our oil costs are very high if we were to completely heat our home with oil (maybe $3000. yearly) so we supplement with wood. I learned so much from this! Thanks again, Jane and Michael! Francine in NY

Interesting video, thanks Jane. Here in Australia the cost of housing is completely out of control. It affects everything else.

Always love it when your video pops up on here. As I always seem to say you are very generous in sharing your knowledge with us Jane. Thank you again I only wish I'd moved over to France years ago when I retired I love France. Take care

That's wonderful that you have wood delivered. I never knew it was so inexpensive to live there. tfs🍃🍂🍁🌞🌛🦃🥰✝️🥧😃🙏🧡🌲

Thank you Jane and Michael. Another really interesting video. I'm from Ireland, though living in Scotland now. Ireland is a very expensive country to live in! Thanks again. Kindest regards, Maureen

Thank you Jane, I love the background and the babbling brook behind you. I live in the US in the Pacific Northwest in Washington state. We have a lot of rain but the same sort of greenery. Lots of trees, ferns and undergrowth. A great place for gardening. I'm a big rose enthusiast and I enjoy riding my Welsh cob. I love it when you show us your days "out" and visit your town or parks and walks. Recently I enjoyed watching a trip you took to a marina and the lovely boats that were moored there. Thanks for letting us all tag along. God bless you .

Our monthly insurance for auto and homeowners+ contents @$400. Does not include health insurance. Our cell phones (I phones) 2- @$150 per month. Gas is back up to $4.00 per gallon for my car.

I found the food to be higher, but it is so GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great video, thanks for all the time you spent researching. Very informative. Xx

Really interesting video. I enjoyed hearing what things cost in France. Thank you for breaking it down. 👍🏻

Wow, I realize that this video is 2 years old but I'm thinking today in 2024 in the US for my husband and I to have two mobile phones runs is 125.00 a month which according to google would be 117.30 euros.... now gas prices are definitely a different thing, in Southwest Georgia the average gas right now is $3.37 US dollars the national average is running at about $4.85. If you were to go nationwide. I could not imagine having to go to work every day hopefully retiring in the next 2 years but anyways, and paying $8.50 2 years ago which is probably equivalent to $10 now for a gallon..... I would love to be able to go without central air. But again living in the US in the South with such a humongous high humidity rate that leaves you gasping for air one looks for the air conditioner😊😊 Love catching up on some of your older videos. We do enjoy them...take care

Awesome video you 2 ! love your work as usual. More food ideas - specially veg inspired :D

Loved the video you appear to live in such a wonderful area.

What an interesting blog, I am amazed at how really cheap some things in france are.I could just pack up my caravan and move over.,but a house would be more practical!!! Lots of good information .

Jane you are so interesting and know what you are talking about. I have always had to be thrifty and it is great to listen to you and just feel that I have tried to do everything I can to save money but live well. Hi Pam.

Great average home price. In the county where we live in North Carolina, they reported homes selling averaging about $300,000 US dollars.

Housing costs in Canada have skyrocketed. I own a condominium town house and they are selling for anywhere from $250,000 to $300,000.

So much great information. The car fuel prices blow my mind. I just paid $2.89 a gallon yesterday. Early this year we were paying $1.89 a gallon. I am currently insured, (accessing insurance is horrible) and am paying $93 a month with a sizable subsidy. Some years I’ve had to go without.

Hi Jane, still playing catch up with all your vlogs; I focus more especially on this type of content as Colin & I intend to be in France May of this year for our reccie. SO MUCH useful information; thank you. We are technically retired but we're considering being 'micro-entrepreneurs' - probably hospitality as we have enjoyed being Airbnb hosts here in NZ - just so we can be registered for tax & take advantage of the health care system. Our pensions will be paid by the UK & NZ governments & we both have private plans. Is our thinking correct?

Congratulations on reaching 10k subscribers. This is a great list and I have most of these in my home. Although I have indoor airers, I still haven’t put an outdoor drying line up, so I’m sorting it out now. There are still some useful blowy days left in 2021. Thanks for the reminder.

This video is comprehensive, thanks a lot for taking the time to put so much information together.

Wow Jane you did a lot of cool stuff this year. I love the drawer/book shelf idea. I will keep on watching. All the best in 2022!!!!

Really interesting! I live in the U.S. (Florida) and what struck me was how much less you pay for home and car insurance. I pay $1,200 per year for car insurance and because of hurricanes my home insurance is over $3,000. Very interesting to hear about the health care system in France. I’ve heard from others that it is excellent and your comments confirm that. You and Mike were smart to move to France before Brexit. I assume that it is much harder now if it even is possible.

Thanks so much for the informative video. Very interesting. I wouldn't want to move back to UK either.

Our internet, TV and land line phone, is $180 a month and that is with basic TV, intermediate internet and unlimited local and long distance phone. And no way to cut it down b/c there is no competition.

Health insurance for myself and my husband is $16,000 a year. His employer pays 2/3rds of it as a benefit in lieu of wages and we pay the rest.

What a fabulous informative video, I’m glad to see that your subscribers are slowly increasing, I do hope that watchers are allowing the ads to run…… I know they generate a small income for the gorgeous camera man, if it’s a long one then go grab a drink. Take care and keep safe………. Love Wendy 💙♥️💋🌈

Here in the US my husband pays almost $500 dollars per month for the both of us through his employer, his employer pays about another $900 for us. And that is considered good in the US and we still have to pay $25 to $45 for the office visit! It's so very expensive! And most people don't want a government health care system, crazy!!!!

Very informative. Thanks

Great informative video. Thanks for sharing. 👍

Right now on the California Central Coast housing is averaging $450K US for a standard home. Waiting for the housing bubble to pop here.

We love Brittany and in the good old days (!) used to holiday around the Quiberon area. You make it sound a very good option - but I'm assuming, post Brexit, it will be well nigh impossible to follow your example! Great video, BTW. Jackie x

Wow! I might need to move in next door to you Jane! I live in the Midwest U.S., where the cost of living is much lower than in either of the coasts. But some of your costs are much lower than here. My homeowners insurance is $200/month! Property taxes on homes in my area are thousands per year. It is getting unaffordable town a home. I bought my home in 2008 for $78,500. Houses in my area are now selling for $260,000 and higher. My home was a real fixer upper (not as much as yours) but I have done a lot of work to it. Y biggest expenses since my home is paid off is healthcare and other insurance.

How does one go about moving to France from the US? Do you have to be a citizen to purchase a house, and so forth? Thanks so much for all your sharing of information!!

Thank you for sharing all this wonderful honest information.

Interesting video Jane🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Sounds like you've chosen a great place to live. Did you decide to live in rural central Brittany because of the lifestyle costs you're describing?

Car insurance is with company I'm with mma dependent on usage and kilometres, more done,more to pay so its not necessarily cheaper.

Excellent video. Very interesting information.

Thank you so much for this fantastically detailed information. Very interesting. I am also from Australia, and agree with the other comments on here, that our outgoings seem really high. My family is in the UK, so a large part of my budget is travel :)

So interesting, thanks for sharing.

A very informative Video, thanks

Really interesting thank you

WOW so informative. Moving to France has often been topic of conversation between my husband and I, but what with teenage children and elderly parents it's never been the right time. I assume you and Mike are both French citizens? Have you made a video of your experience on moving to France - the buying a property process, moving furniture from Britain, Citizenship etc? Thoroughly enjoy your videos...

Great video. Could you be more specific as to the number and variety of television stations? Thank you for sharing.

Sounds reasonable compared to Pennsylvania USA. Our health care costs are crippling

Very interesting information!

Wonderful video.

How are the cost of prescriptions in France? In the US it depends on which insurance program you have and they can range from $2.50 for a bottle to $1200 for a bottle, usually a one month supply. Thanks for the video.

Wonderful video. Those gas prices...wow 😲

I was talking to Tim about your video and he’s curious about property taxes.

Great video. How hard is it to sell in France. I have heard it takes ages to get the sale done etc. Here in Australia we get an offer and 30 days later have the money in the bank.😀

Jane did you talk about property taxes?

this video is great

Problem with house prices is that if you ever want or need to move back to the uk from france, as my in laws have done, it will be very difficult for you to afford any kind of house here!

Great

I was wondering how your pet care costs compare to the US? I am talking about ordinary vet care costs....pet food costs....things like that.

We pay $1.55 per litre in Canada .

Hi Jane,are house prices in Brittany cheaper than rest of the France too?Also,I am curious why you chose Brittany in France? You could live somewhere milder in south of France...

My jaw dropped when you said the price of gas for cars there. Yikes! That would be a huge motivator to drive an electric car-or at least a hybrid. Although, I guess consumption might be a lot less there since things are closer together. We do a lot of driving in the US bc our public transit is not reliable if you live in the suburbs. Of course healthcare costs more than make up for those gas prices!

Thanks Jane for doing this video. I found it very interesting. Sounds like a great place to live. How do you find the locals, are they welcoming to foreigners?

I live in the US and would love to have your health care pricing because ours is definitely expensive even through an employer sponsored plan. But try to buy it on your own and its extremely expensive. That said I wouldn't want to pay the price you pay for gasoline. Wow that is high. We are complaining in my area about gas being up to $3.00 a gallon.

Hi Jane: Can you tell me more about the taxes you mentioned about takings vs income. I am thinking about moving to France and thinking about the taxation for residents when self employed.

Do you pay equivalent of council tax? One of my biggest bills is he council tax of £2300 a year. It’s a huge percentage of my wage.

This is 2 years old. Can you update in another video? I would like to see if inflation has changed this in 2024. Inflation has caused prices to be much higher in the US.

is the electricity network owned by the government, or privately?

Thank you for sharing your life with us! It is very. Interesting. Could we come to France and live on our pensions there, or would we not be allowed to stay? I am in the United States, Kansas. Just wondering.

I ❤️ your life in France Jane , do you want a lodger? 😜x

Interesting. How do you become a citizen? Do you speak French?

if i ever travel to france im not visiting paris im visiting where you live

What Visas are you on. Are you long term residents or permanent residents.

Do you pay for waste control/garbage pickup?

I am looking to buy a home in France to retire. Do you have any tips on home buying? Did you have a surveyor check your home out before buying? Did you have your own realtor?

Great info Jane - thank you - very interesting. Quick question re water bills. Do you pay separately for waste water or is that included in the charges you mentioned in the film? Also do you pay car tax each year? And what about refuse collection etc - is it in a council tax like in the UK or do you have to pay privately? Sorry for all the questions but you said to ask! Thanks again.

Who wants to move to France? 🇫🇷 me 😊

How do you travel to the UK from Brittany? Cost?

I am an Aussie, your costs are so low. You can triple or quadruple costs dependent on your state.

In uk we have mot for a car each year,what do you have?

I'm curious about education costs.

So interesting. We feel totally robbed here in the UK lol.

I will not complain about fuel prices...

I’m all electric ⚡️ USA Indiana hot summers cold winters new construction house I pay 185 Euros / $200 US dollars a month for all electric. 1750 sq foot home / 162 sq meters

Same comparison in 2023?

I’m wondering if you were on your own, Jane, would you have moved to Brittany and why/why not?

Are you both fluent in French? Is that a must?