Cost of Living in France for Indian Students

France, as a country, needs no introduction. People know the country and also know that it is one of the expensive countries to stay in. In fact, this is not too far from the truth. Some of the French cities are rather expensive to stay in. But on an average, if we were to look at the country from a student’s point of view…then how costly is it? Well, nothing too extravagant but yes, a tad more than other European countries like Germany and Italy. Comparing it to UK and USA, well, it’s cheaper but just.

As a student, there are many costs that would affect your day to day costs. The biggest would be the rentals/ accommodation as well as the cost for food and sustenance. Here’s a breakup of the basic utilities and their costs that a student would have to incur.

Particulars	Average Monthly Cost in EUR	Average Monthly Cost in INR
Rental for 1 bedroom apartment	550	37,603.50
Basic Utilities (Electricity, Water, etc.)	140	9,571.80
Monthly Pass (Transport)	48	3,281.76
Telephone, Internet, etc.	28	1,914.36
Recreation	100	6837.00
Food and Drink	145	9,913.65
Monthly Average Spend	1,011	69,122.07

These, as mentioned, are only indicative costs and give a fair enough idea of the average. What is important to note, however, is that the bigger the city, the higher the cost of living! For instance, rentals in Paris are almost twice as much as the country average at about €928 per month for a single room accommodation. Also, the other things would be more are well. The city averages at about €180 per month for basic utilities and recreation costs way more – after all there is so much to see and do in a city like Paris.

The rates also vary if you are looking at city centre properties or are willing for accommodation in the suburbs. Also, three bedroom accommodation, if taken on sharing basis, would cost a student much less. Also, campus accommodation, again, would be cheaper as well and a great place for students to explore. It’s all about finding your balance. Here’s a comparative look at the top student cities in France and their monthly average expenses.

City	Paris	Montpellier	Lyon	Lille	Toulouse
Rental for 1 bedroom apartment	988.00	633.00	520.00	533.00	528.00
Basic Utilities (Electricity, Water, etc.)	180.00	140.00	142.00	110.00	105.00
Monthly Pass (Transport)	68.00	48.00	56.00	52.00	44.00
Telephone, Internet, etc.	26.00	30.00	29.00	28.00	28.00
Recreation	150.00	100.00	110.00	100.00	110.00
Food and Drink	168.00	186.00	162.00	157.00	128.00
Monthly Average Spend (in EUR)	1,580.00	1,137.00	1,019.00	980.00	943.00
Monthly Average Spend (in INR)	108,024.60	77,736.69	69,669.03	67,002.60	64,472.91

As is evident, leaving aside Paris, all the famous cities have a cost of living closer to the country average. This again would vary from region to region and as a student, you are sure to find an optimal solution. The only advice we wish to furnish at this point is that when planning, keep these figures at the basic. Optimizing would happen later but when planning, it would be wise to keep these figures in mind as the very basic.