Whereas the mere point out of France could evoke photographs of berets, fancy meals, and leisurely strolls alongside the Seine, the fact of life in France is sort of totally different from the clichés painted by widespread creativeness. Actuality is nothing like what we see within the films 99% of the time. It’s solely regular, although, to not know what actual life is like elsewhere if we haven’t skilled it for ourselves.
Let’s get into a number of the greatest misconceptions I’ve heard through the years about life in France. I’m right here to set the document straight!
8 HUGE misconceptions folks have about life in France
1. That revenue taxes are 45%.
There’s this enormous false impression that revenue taxes in France are 45% or extra and folks commonly carry this up — simply the opposite day on FB really — particularly individuals who don’t stay in France and by no means have. They nearly say it in a approach that has an undertone of, “Gotcha! You’re an fool for residing in France as a result of taxes rob you blind!”
We’re all entitled to our opinion, in fact, however let’s get the FACTS proper first.
There are a number of sorts of taxes in France together with revenue tax, property tax, inheritance tax, and so forth. in addition to social costs. However no, revenue taxes are NOT 45% of your earnings. Simply no. Let me set that one straight proper off the bat.
I’m taking this proper from the official public service web site. France has a progressive revenue tax that assesses every bracket of your revenue otherwise. You pay zero revenue tax on earnings as much as €10,777. The portion from €10,778 to €27,478 is taxed at 11%. It goes up from there. Provided that you make over about 168k do you pay 45% and it’s solely on that portion above 168k, not the whole quantity.
The overwhelming majority of French folks make NOWHERE close to that quantity. A very good wage in France exterior of Paris is 4,000 euros/month internet…. not even near 168k/yr the place you’d encounter a forty five% tax price. Lower than 1% of individuals fall into this class.
On high of that, French-Property.com explains {that a} good chunk of individuals pay ZERO revenue tax due to tax credit and incentives: “Solely 44% of inhabitants in France pay any revenue tax in any respect; solely round 14% pay on the price of 30%.” Issues that assist? Be the only breadwinner for your loved ones, donate to charity, make energy-efficient enhancements to your house, and so forth.
Earlier than shifting to France, my taxes within the U.S. had been important as a self-employed particular person, so once you add U.S. revenue tax and self-employment tax (flat 15.3%) along with my month-to-month American healthcare premium, what I used to be paying again then isn’t so totally different from what we pay now.
I’m not a tax skilled and naturally revenue taxes are extra sophisticated than this. Some folks’s explicit conditions imply they incur a wealth tax or topic them to different reporting necessities that enhance their tax burden.
As a pair with no youngsters, Tom and I don’t get the identical tax credit score as a household with three youngsters.
The opposite factor that confuses folks is the distinction between social contributions (les cotisations) vs. revenue tax. They’re not the identical factor.
As a self-employed particular person, I pay each social costs and revenue tax. In the event you’re an worker of an organization, the corporate takes on nearly all of the social costs routinely. However they nonetheless receives a commission, therefore why French salaries are sometimes decrease than comparable American ones for comparable jobs..
Anyway, in your on a regular basis center class particular person, taxes in France will not be ridiculous. They’re not nothing, however they aren’t the numbers you see folks casually throwing round. Info matter.
All that mentioned, perhaps crucial half is that taxes and social costs we pay in France don’t go right into a black gap. There are advantages we obtain in return. Healthcare, unemployment, maternity/paternity depart and household advantages, reasonably priced larger schooling, and a lot extra. It’s a very totally different system than what we now have within the U.S. and it’s not a straightforward apples to apples comparability.
Personally talking, I don’t thoughts paying into the system for the larger good of all. Let me quote JFK, “A rising tide lifts all ships.” Buuuutttt to be utterly sincere, if I used to be a excessive net-worth particular person bringing in nicely over 168k/yr, perhaps I’d really feel otherwise.
2. That I’ve to pay taxes in each France and the U.S.
I don’t pay taxes in France and the U.S. As a everlasting resident of France and a U.S. citizen, I’m required to file a tax return within the U.S. for so long as I stay a U.S. citizen and earn over $400 a yr. That doesn’t imply I’ve to pay taxes within the U.S., although.
Due to a double taxation treaty between France and the U.S., any earnings an individual earns in 2023 as much as $120,000 are excluded from taxation within the U.S. So in case you earn your cash in France, even a fantastic French wage, so long as it’s below $120k, you owe zero of it to Uncle Sam since you pay your taxes in France. You continue to should file a return although.
As I mentioned, I’m not a tax skilled so please seek the advice of an accountant to go over your explicit scenario.
3. That it’s important to be a French citizen to stay in France (or that I’m one, and it’s computerized).
Being a citizen or everlasting resident of France means you’ll be able to legally reside in France, however they aren’t the identical factor. I’m a everlasting resident of France on a carte de séjour (equal of a Inexperienced Card) since my husband is French. I’ve the fitting to stay, work, and pay taxes in France.
Turning into a French citizen isn’t computerized and also you don’t should develop into a citizen to stay in France. I’ve not pursued citizenship but as a result of it’s a fairly lengthy, tedious, costly course of and it will change nothing about my day-to-day life. I might have began the method, although, after 4 years of marriage.
The one factor it will change apart from giving me a French passport along with my American one is that I’d have the fitting to vote in France. Turning into a citizen isn’t an enormous precedence for me in the meanwhile, so it’s not one thing I’m dashing to do. Any more money we now have goes towards flights to go to household or towards sustaining our dwelling.
However the citizenship choice is there for me if and after I wish to pursue it.
4. That each one French girls are trendy.
There are trendy French girls for certain. They exist. In large cities, you’ll undoubtedly discover extra fashionably dressed girls than you’d in a small rural city. However there are a great deal of French girls who don’t actually care about trend in any respect.
You’ll discover French girls who’re dressed to the nines within the newest fashions always and others who couldn’t care much less about whether or not they’re carrying Louis Vuitton, H&M, or one thing they purchased 10 years in the past. Plus, a complete bunch in between the extremes.
Total, the French look extra put collectively than the common American and elevate their informal model a bit, however that doesn’t imply everybody is trendy or has an enormous price range for trendy garments — or that they care about wanting trendy!
If you wish to know what to put on in France, learn this. I set the document straight and even hyperlink to some items you’ll love carrying!
Picture credit score: Shutterstock.com / Roxana Jifcovici
5. That each one French individuals are a sure approach
Let me piggyback off my earlier level. I used to consider the French by way of outdated clichés. The media is nice at serving to us in that division.
I believed all French folks — okay perhaps not ALL, however most — had been all elegant folks and nice cooks who shopped solely on the farmers market and had been slim and trendy with well-behaved youngsters.
Then I moved to France and had a little bit of a wakeup name.
Earlier than that, I had visited France as soon as as a excessive schooler (and hated it, for the document). Other than that, I had little or no real-life expertise with the French upon which to base my opinions. I had mates who visited France a bunch of occasions and instructed me all in regards to the French in each flattering and never so flattering methods. I discuss all these stereotypes we have to STOP believing right here.
After marrying a French man and shifting to France, little by little, the outdated clichés had been changed by precise life experiences that set me straight. What you see on trip isn’t actual life, or a minimum of not the entire story.
The French are like another group of individuals. Some are nice cooks and others aren’t. Some individuals are cultured and stylish and others aren’t. The French love McDonald’s. Some folks stay in public housing. Some are wealthy. Not everybody outlets on the market. French youngsters scream too. Some individuals are obese. I wrote about these French folks myths right here btw.
On reflection, it looks like widespread sense now, however till I received firsthand expertise, the outdated clichés had been alive and nicely in my head. Emily in Paris retains them alive for lots of people as nicely! I actually nonetheless hear them ALL the time…. therefore this publish.
8 Issues folks MAJORLY overlook when shifting to France >>
6. That the French are lazy
I devoted a complete publish to this one, however the backside line is that no, the French aren’t lazy. Can you discover lazy French folks? Positive, you will discover lazy folks anyplace. It’s not a very French trait.
The French aren’t workaholics and work to stay, not the opposite approach round. That’s loads simpler to do with job safety through a piece contract and the truth that healthcare isn’t tied to your employment.
Learn the publish I linked simply above for extra of my ideas on that “lazy French” trope.
Picture credit score: Shutterstock.com / Phovoir
7. That French healthcare is free (and ideal)
I’ve loads to say on this.
There’s a form of peace that comes with figuring out France views entry to healthcare as a primary human proper and never a privilege or advantage of working for employer. You received’t bankrupt your self if in case you have an accident or main well being prognosis.
One other vital level is that healthcare in France is NOT tied to your employment. In the event you lose your job or give up, you and your loved ones don’t lose entry to healthcare (nor are you compelled to pay for one thing like COBRA).
However French healthcare isn’t free. Not even shut. It’s not free on the level of service generally, neither is it free on the backend. It’s true that you’ll pay little or no (by American requirements) once you obtain care and a variety of that’s reimbursed, however going to the physician in France isn’t free.
Right here’s the way it works (oversimplified simply to provide the fundamentals): You pay 25 euros on to your common practitioner on the time of the go to. A proportion is routinely reimbursed to your checking account a number of days later by France’s social safety system. There are not any well being care plans the place you select your protection and each French particular person has the identical base charges and reimbursement, not like the U.S. the place the plan you might have makes a HUGE distinction by way of protection and price.
Now, you do have the selection of whether or not or not you might have supplementary insurance coverage that you simply pay out of pocket referred to as a mutuelle. On this case, a further portion could also be reimbursed, in case you select to have one. Most individuals do have one as a result of the social safety base reimbursement charges aren’t at all times nice. Ours has respectable protection and it’s 152 euros/month.
You don’t should look too far to listen to about nice experiences with the French healthcare system (I’ve had many) within the case of most cancers diagnoses, main surgical procedures, childbirth, remedy prices, and so forth. Lots of my very own readers have instructed me about how nicely they had been handled in French hospitals and the way reasonably priced it was.
However none of that simply magically occurs. Healthcare is funded by social costs and taxes in France. Salaries are typically decrease than what we could also be used to within the U.S. as a result of the employer pays an enormous chunk on the backend in social costs.
Nevertheless it’s not all unicorns and rainbows. Generally it may take some time to get an appointment with a specialist. In the event you’re a brand new affected person and must see a dermatologist in my space, a 6-month wait or extra is the norm. It’s not a lot better for the dentist or ophthalmologist.
Picture credit score: Shutterstock.com / KANOWA
Right here’s one other instance: Final week (early March), I FINALLY received an ultrasound after initially seeing my physician again in September for one thing. The primary appointment obtainable was a 6-month wait away. Once I first referred to as to schedule it again in September, the books for 2024 weren’t even open but.
Thank goodness all of it checked out, however dang, sure sorts of illnesses progress rapidly and I couldn’t assist however assume a 6-month await some folks might have detrimental penalties.
And naturally you might have unhealthy medical doctors in France too, like anyplace else on the earth. I’ve had a bunch of lower than stellar experiences through the years too. France isn’t resistant to that! Plus, issues are simply carried out otherwise than what you could be used to.
I used to be denied a prescription for an Epipen (even out of pocket, they value a fraction of what they do within the U.S.) for my meals allergy from my allergist as a result of she felt it was unlikely I’d have an anaphylactic response. Because it’s a public system, some medical doctors are extra hesitant to jot down prescriptions and order exams. The physician is in cost… advocating for your self won’t be taken nicely.
You additionally received’t discover pressing care chains in France just like the tremendous handy for-profit ones we now have in the USA. Sure, France has emergency care however I’m referring to one-stop walk-in outlets with prolonged hours the place you’ll be able to see a medical physician, get lab work or x-rays carried out multi functional place with none paperwork for pressing however non-emergency issues.
As well as, dental care isn’t notably nicely reimbursed — even with a mutuelle — and even much less so when you want one thing like a dental implant, root canal, or crown.
Right here’s a latest instance: I put on a nightguard for my TMJ situation and the overall value to have one made was 350 euros. Half of it nonetheless got here out of my pocket even with the sécu and mutuelle as a result of it’s not a nicely reimbursed merchandise. That’s not HUGE, however once you consider how a lot we pay for healthcare, it’s not nothing both.
The price of glasses is one other instance. If you need primary lenses and frames, you might have some low-cost choices, however if you need skinny lenses in your robust rx which have a blue mild coating and anti glare and all that plus good frames, get able to pay. My rx sun shades (which might be medically crucial) had been 262 euros out of pocket only for the lenses.
You’ll additionally pay out of pocket for remedy in case you see a psychologist. Whereas psychiatry appointments are coated by the sécu, remedy through a psychologist can get fairly costly and is commonly value prohibitive.
All of that mentioned, let me return to my authentic level that healthcare is a primary human proper in France and that counts for lots — even when the system isn’t excellent.
8. That life in France is best for each foreigner than life of their dwelling nation
Each time I publish on social media a couple of constructive facet of life in France (and even inform somebody in actual life), folks will say one thing like, “You’re so fortunate/I want I might transfer there!/Have to be good!”
Folks have this impression that residing in France is synonymous with an ideal, care-free life, prefer it’s some form of prize that we’re all hoping to win that simply fell into our laps.
There are such a lot of the explanation why somebody may transfer overseas. We are inclined to romanticize residing overseas in France however I believe it’s damaging to imagine that everybody residing overseas has a better, higher, or happier life than they did of their dwelling nation. France has loads going for it, that’s a reality, nevertheless it’s not a utopia.
Anybody who says in any other case both hasn’t lived right here lengthy sufficient or is mendacity.
Life as a foreigner in France long-term may be onerous. I’ve by no means sugarcoated that.
Additionally, folks in France have issues like folks anyplace. It’s so true that our issues comply with us wherever we go. Divorce, monetary points, well being issues, grief, habit, and different life issues can occur anyplace and residing in la belle France doesn’t make us resistant to any of them.
I believe it’s straightforward to imagine the grass is at all times greener after we’re unhappy with the circumstances of the place we’re at present. I wrote an article in regards to the downside with fantasy worlds and wrote, “The issue with solely seeing a fantasy world is that it’s a farce with just one viewpoint. It’s solely a part of the story, of 1 story. We’re blind to the nuanced realities of life and the imperfections that make an attractive story complete.”
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Lots of the misconceptions I’ve talked about play right into a elementary distinction in how the U.S. and France view society and our place in it. A latest article in The Connexion explains it so nicely: “The distinction between the French Dream and its American counterpart is solidarity. It’s an expertise of communality not individuality, requiring the sacrifice of a part of one’s liberty within the widespread curiosity…”
In France, we pay into the system for the larger good of all. It’s a mindset distinction that’s all about solidarity and enhancing the life for everybody. To stay in France and to stay nicely, it’s important to be on board with that idea. In any other case, you’ll at all times be an outsider. And a really sad one!
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