This is how much money you need to happily live in Paris (a lot!)
Paris is one of the most well-known and visited cities in the world. It is also one of the most expensive ones. Because nothing is free in life and you have to pay to Paris for providing the beautiful architecture, plenty of activities, grand jardins and many other fine things of life. In this article, I will put the term “expensive” in the numeric term and reveal the dark secret aka the cost of living in Paris over the long-term.
First of all, I wanted to give you a brief introduction to my persona, who has been a happy habitant of the lovely city of Paris. I am 25-year-old Russian person, who came to Paris to study for the Masters. Subsequently, I extended my stay here to do several internships, including my dream one in the United Nations.
In short, it is not a lie, Paris is a damn expensive city to live in. I am not talking about the surviving mode, which surely is way cheaper. One can get a rough approximation of a cost living in Paris by looking at the minimum wage in Paris, called SMIC (le salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance). As of 2019, the monthly SMIC Brut was set to €1 521,22 (Brut meaning the gross amount) or €10,03 per day. In Russia and I guess in most sane countries, this seems like fortune (Swiss people, please leave the surprised looks for yourself). Just to be clear, we are talking about the minimum here. You will be quite restricted in what you can do in Paris with your SMIC. You need to earn more than SMIC, actually well more than SMIC, to enjoy what Paris has to offer.
Now, let’s look at some categories in more detail to completely lose any desire to live in Paris.
Food
French people love food. Nice food. And nice food costs money. French people are also known for sophisticated cuisine. And the sophisticated cuisine also costs quite a lot.
Eating in
Eating home is a must in Paris unless you want to spend a fortune. If I don’t eat out, I usually spend around €40 per day. To give you a perspective, I will explain my situation. I live with my sister and we aren’t great eaters of meat, we are more of veggies, dates, falafels and yoghurt type of people (even though, meat appears at our table around once a week). Also, we usually do our grocery shopping in Monoprix and Franprix in the city centre, since this is where we live. It is 1/3 cheaper if you buy stuff in Lidl, but we don’t have any around. Also, I do not want to sound snobbish, but the quality in Lidl is slightly inferior to the mentioned stores. If you are planning to save on your groceries, there are large shops like Casino and Achan. But again, for me, it would not be easy or convenient (and most importantly will be worth the money) to go to those large shops and spend an hour to get there without a car. And also to come back with a huge suitcase of food for the whole week.
Eating out
Logically, eating out in Paris is even more expensive than eating in. If you go to Chinese traiteurs, the meal is in the range of €5–10. If you move up the scale, there will be some fast-food chains, both healthy and not so much, where you should expect to spend around €9 minimum (for a menu, which is usually a sandwich and a drink or a drink and some more semi-proper dish, such a sushi, poke bowl and things like this). Cute, healthy spots in Paris are no cheaper. Expect to spend a minimum of €9 on an avocado toast and around €3–4 on a cappuccino.
And I haven’t even started talking about a more upscale type of places. My maximum was the restaurants with dishes for €18–25, but it is really mid-range places. Those are already quite expensive for me as I am a student, but they are surely not a ceiling at all. If you are a true gourmand, then expect to spend a minimum of €60 euros for a menu in a fine restaurant.
If you are already shocked by food prices, please calm yourself down. I haven’t even started talking about accommodation prices.
Also, it is important to note that: of course, you can always push it and save more on food. You can always have a €4 euro crepe in the Latin Quarter (but it will be quite empty, including either just sugar or ham if you are into a salty version). To enjoy your food a bit, expect to spend €10 minimum.
Accommodation
I live in Le Marais. We pay €1300 and it’s a studio of 30 sq.m, which faces a nice, quiet street. We have a relatively equipped kitchen, a double bed and a sofa. And this is pretty much it. For the money we pay here, we could live in a pretty decent apartment in Moscow in terms of size and refurbishment. Or we could live in a damn castle of 300m2 in my hometown ( it has over 1 million inhabitants, but it is not too known worldwide). I deeply apologize for the comparisons with Russia, but I am a Russian, so cannot really help it. But yeah, I am well aware of why it is cheaper in Russia. It’s just nobody really talks about Russia, so I wanted to contribute.
It is a bit pricey for what we get, but then again, as a foreigner, it is quite challenging to rent an apartment in France, so if you manage to rent out anything that is livable, you are good enough and should thank whoever you believe in. Why is so, you ask? Well, France has a lovely system of guarantors, which basically means that you cannot rent out an apartment if a French resident, i.e a person paying taxes in France, does not guarantee that in case you stop paying your rent, he will have you covered. As a person coming from Russia and having no relatives not just in France, but in the whole European Union, I am a bit screwed on this front. That is why I am forced to go to agencies specialising on dealing with foreigners, which in turn limits my choice in terms of apartments and also increased the amount of fees I have to pay to the agency (which, I must admit, are not too efficient here, but this is the whole another conversation).
Surely, you can live in the suburbs of Paris, in so-called la banlieue. But in such case, be prepared to spend an hour one-way to get to Paris. And also to pay around 80 euros for the monthly metro/train/tram pass.
Activities
Cultural activities
Museums are free if you are under 26 years old. If you are above this age, be prepared around €10 for the entry. There is a huge but here: Paris is the city of gorgeous architecture, beautiful parks and cosy streets. And all this is free. So, I would say that you do not need much money to explore Paris itself. Plus, museums are free on the first Sunday of the month, so plan your trip well.
Nights out
Drinks in the bars are expensive. The minimum is around €6–8 for a beer in a decent area. And this is just a pint of beer! I strongly recommend you to stalk happy hours and do the research prior randomly going into a bar. Also, use an app called MisterGoodBeer, which provides the prices of a pint of beer in and out of happy hours for most of the bars and restos in Paris. Forewarned is forearmed.
The entry to the club is €10 minimum, although you can still find some places that have free entry, although expect them to be slightly underground.
Overall
Last month, my sister and I spent €3100 (rent included). And we lead a pretty modest, student life. We are not party people, so our main entertainment is just wandering around the city, going to the museums and chilling in parks.
We eat out 1 time per week for sure, but on average it is 2 times. I am responsible with grocery shopping and try to buy nice, balanced and healthy food. But again, my sister and I do not really like meat and we are not alcohol drinkers. Also, we do not like moving by public transport and prefer walking instead.
I hope this article shed some light on the cost of living in Paris. If you have any questions regarding life in Paris or the cost of particular things, I will be more than happy to answer. Also, if you need any advice on your Parisian adventure, please feel free to ask.
