As my husband and I were on our way to Nantes for a business meeting yesterday, we passed by dozens of gas stations throughout the small towns and on the side of the highways. We notice how absolutely L-I-N-S-A-N-E the gas prices in France are.
We decided to do a little calculation during our 1 hour and 20 minutes drive and here's what we got :
Premium gasoline comparison :
It costs 1.65€ /L in France
1 Gallon = 3,79 Liters
1G = 6.25€
1€ = US$1.3297
US$8.31/gallon in France comparing to US$4.45 in Los Angeles*
(*based on a random Chevron gas station in Los Angeles)
That's two times more expensive than LA!
In total, we pay at least 400€ (about US$530) per month just for gas between the two of us. That is, if we don't count the extra gas we pump when driving out of town for a weekend getaway or business trips. Unlike my husband, I only use my car a few times a week. Most couples here both work full-time and go to work in separate cars.
 |
| O-U-C-H!!! |
No wonder lots of French people around us don't have any extra money for leisure such as going to the movies, eating at restaurants, buying new clothes, or turning on the heater at over 15°C at home. The cost of living in France is ridiculously expensive. After paying for mortgages, gas, utilities, and dozens of extra tax that Americans don't have to pay, most French people don't have much left at the end of the month.
There is the minorities in France that can afford all this and a lot more. However, it is almost unacceptable to spend money or show that you have money while the average French people are tying to make their ends meet. And when you do, lots of people will make you suffer. For example, people that have a house that is a little bit nicer than their neighbor's house, they are bound to run into a lot of bad surprises non-stop. My neighbors, a very discreet and nice young couple, once got a letter from the city hall asking them to chop off their beautiful half-century-old mimosa tree because their next-door neighbor was suffering from not being able to have a full sea view as they enter their drive way into their garage in their car. Or your neighbor/friends/relatives secretly calling the French tax administration and have you audited every time someone buys a new car. We hear this all the time and it happened to many of our friends. This happens much less in big cities like Paris, probably because people are too busy to notice what everyone else is doing. As for the the small towns that make up the majority of France, they better learn to deal with it or move to the big cities.
We are not Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates, but we have a little bit of extra to have a fun night out in town from time to time. But with all the pressure from our family, neighbors, & society, I simply cannot live like I used to when I was in California. The only time we feel free to be ourselves and have fun is when we are on vacation, where we can splurge on monstrosities like movies, restaurants, or maybe even some new clothes, without being judged or criticized as if we've committed a crime.
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