Price it in your money
Tell me where you live now and what you spend a month, and every cost here becomes your number — the same life, priced country by country, in your own currency.
A guide, not a quote. I move your monthly spend by each country’s official price level (Eurostat and the World Bank, whole-economy, EU-27 = 100) — no exchange rates, so it stays in your own currency. But averages hide rent and the city you pick, and changing country is rarely a straight swap. Read these as the right ballpark, then price the real thing.
EU-27 = 100 · 2025. Living in France runs about 10% pricier than the EU average.
Eurostat (prc_ppp_ind) / World Bank, 2025, CC BY 4.0. Whole-economy price level — country averages hide big regional and rent spread.
A €2,500 a month reference life runs about €2,760 a month here — roughly €33,120 a year, and a ×30 number near €994,000.
The reference life the calculators use, scaled by the index above — the same whole-economy figure, a guide not a quote.
Where in Europe
Oceanic in the north, Mediterranean on the south coast — several climates in one country.
resale basis
in Paris — about €2,240/mo for 70 m²
a roof here, against the EU-27 average
In France, buy prices are up 27% since 2015 (+0.7% last year); rents up 10% since 2015.
Read these as the shape, not the price. Housing is the most divergent cost in Europe, and a national average buries the thing that actually decides it — the city, the street, new-build against old. Treat it as a ballpark, then price the real place. Not property or mortgage advice.
Buy price and rent: Deloitte Property Index 2025 (14th ed., 2024 data). Level vs the EU: Eurostat comparative price level for housing (prc_ppp_ind, EU-27 = 100, 2024). Trend: Eurostat house price index and actual-rentals index (2015 = 100, 2025).
The rules that matter for an exit.
A flat tax of roughly 31% on investment gains, social charges included — up from 30% in January 2026. The direction of travel is up, and it moves with budget rounds.
The PEA and assurance-vie both reward you for holding for years, and assurance-vie keeps its lighter social-charge treatment. Know your wrapper before you optimise anything else.
France taxes big portfolios on the way out — broadly, €800,000+ in securities or a 50% company stake — with relief if you keep the assets for years after leaving.
None on financial assets. France's wealth tax (the IFI) covers non-professional real estate only, above €1.3 million — a portfolio of funds sits outside it.
The surviving spouse or PACS partner is fully exempt; each child gets €100,000 tax-free, then progressive 5–45% — most estates land in the 20% band.
The flat rate just moved. Assume it can move again, every budget.
Can you actually move here?
Hold an EU or EEA passport and the door isn't the question — freedom of movement covers the move itself. The clocks and the tax-residency rules below still run for you.
With your passport, skip the doors — the clocks and the tax-residency rules are what matter for you.
No EU passport means one of the doors on the left — each checked against the authority that issues it.
resources at least equal to the net minimum wage — about €1,478/mo (SMIC, 2026), pensions, rents and savings all counting
Never sold residence — the investor 'talent' card wants an active €300,000 project plus French jobs, not a purchase.
permanent residency at 5 yrs · dual allowed · French at B2 + a civic exam (both since January 2026)
your household, main stay, main work or economic centre in France is enough
France's visitor route is real and modest — prove the minimum wage in passive income, promise not to work, renew yearly — and time on it counts toward the five-year clocks. The bar moved elsewhere: since January 2026 a passport takes B2 French plus a civic exam, and the ten-year card B1. Dual citizenship is no issue.
The 2026 language ratchet is in force (B2 for nationality, B1 for the resident card); a decree adding a contribution for some non-working public-health members is pending.
Check it yourself: Service-public — the visitor card · PwC — France tax residence
Getting-in rules checked July 2026. They move faster than tax law — confirm the current rule with the authority before you plan a move around it. Education, not immigration advice.
Residence-based (PUMa): a legally resident non-worker joins the public system after three months in France, then must actually live there six-plus months a year to stay covered.
Private cover: private cover for the whole stay is required for the visitor visa and card; a decree adding a PUMa contribution for some non-working members is pending in 2026.
Healthcare access checked July 2026. Systems are stable but details shift — confirm before you rely on them. Education, not health-insurance advice.
Common questions
- How are investment gains taxed in France?
- A flat tax of roughly 31% applies to investment gains, social charges included, up from 30% in January 2026. The direction of travel is up, and it moves with budget rounds.
- Is there a wealth tax on my investment portfolio in France?
- No. France's wealth tax (the IFI) covers non-professional real estate only, above €1.3 million, so a portfolio of funds sits outside it.
- Is there an exit tax when leaving France?
- Yes. France taxes big portfolios on the way out — broadly €800,000+ in securities, or a 50% company stake — with relief if you keep the assets for years after leaving.
- Are there tax-advantaged accounts in France?
- Yes. The PEA and assurance-vie both reward you for holding for years, and assurance-vie keeps its lighter social-charge treatment.
- Can an American or a Brit retire early in France?
- Yes — the door is the 'visiteur' visa: a long-stay visa for living on your own means, with a sworn undertaking not to work in France. The bar is resources at least equal to the net minimum wage — about €1,478/mo (SMIC, 2026), pensions, rents and savings all counting. An EU or EEA passport skips the visa question entirely — freedom of movement covers the move itself. Rules like these move — confirm with the immigration authority before planning around them.
- How long until a France passport?
- 5 years of legal residence is the general naturalisation rule, with French at B2 + a civic exam (both since January 2026). Dual citizenship is allowed. Permanent residency usually comes at 5 years.
Run your own numbers.
The Exit Calculator
Years to your number, at your savings rate.
OpenWhere You Live
What an annual wealth tax does to the maths — illustrative, deliberately.
OpenThe Geoarbitrage Map
The same life, priced across 58 countries.
OpenThe whole system — wrappers, funds, withdrawal, the blank page — is in the guide: The European FIRE guide
None of this is tax or investment advice — it's education, kept deliberately at the level that survives fact-checking. Rules shift with every budget round; the specifics of your situation belong with a licensed adviser in your country. I'm happily not one.
This page was last verified against official sources on 8 July 2026. What's changed on the map
Know a figure here that’s wrong or out of date? Point me to the line and a source — every correction gets checked, and it’s how the map stays right.
Report a correctionBring me a challenge.
The Exit Audit, then ninety minutes: a straight verdict, real alternatives with their pros and cons, and your first move. If you want someone to nod along, I’m the wrong person to pay.
Ninety minutes, online, €600 — the Exit Audit included.