Transportation in Paris was even cheaper for me than the prices quoted, though–the French gov. heavily subsidizes most student expenses. Also, I couldn’t agree more about the cost-value of food (from markets or restaurants) being better in Paris! The French believe that their land has quasi-magical properties that produce high-quality food (they call it their “terroire”), and I think they’re right!
The Frugal New Yorker´s last blog ..I can make that cheaper…

Too bad he doesn’t seem to realize that our health care system is “the best in the world” and any socialized medicine is evil and will clearly let seniors and such die rather than provide them with the proper care.

Seriously, how much work is it to move to France? I’m sure I can pick up French okay. Tim will learn. Sigh.
Abigail´s last blog ..Debt first, kids later?

But for cost-of-living – like Kelly, I live in Grenoble and find the cost of living here “out in the provinces” significantly cheaper than Paris. Paris salaries are higher, but so is the cost of everything else, as my Parisian friends have noted. And Grenoble has a pretty high cost-of-living when compared to other areas I’m told.

I was quite surprised to realize, when I went house-hunting in Grenoble, that although real estate prices were way less than those in Silicon Valley where I last lived (California is way off the map when comparing real estate), they were pretty comparable with those in the Rochester, New York area – and were quite a bit higher than those in other parts of New York State where I have lived before.

My own cost-of-living in Grenoble is comparable to what it was for me in Silicon Valley, more expensive in some ways and less expensive in others. My electric bill here is staggering. Electric heat? Whose bright idea was that? (France gets a significant amount of electricity from nuclear power, BTW. I’m old enough to remember the promise of a future with “electricity from nuclear power, too cheap to meter.” Ha!)