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Tips to help you look for a cheap accommodation in France

When you plan to live in France, it is important to know the cost of living in the city where you are going to study. Prices, can easily vary from one city to another. The price difference has to be taken into account in your budget and, in your plan to come to France.

Indeed, France is not a cheap country, and the big cities like Paris are really expensive! So be careful before coming to France. I hope this article may help you to see more clearly the cost of living in different French cities !

First, let's talk about the most important choice, housing. The price differences per square meter between cities are extremely large.

  • Most of the students who want to study in France decide to go to Paris. Indeed, the City of Lights is a dream, but the price of real estate is a little less. Prices are the most expensive in Paris. On average, to have an apartment of 10 square meters, it costs 800/900 euros, without electricity, gas (and WATER) charges. Student residences like CROUS can be a little cheaper.
  • For other cities in the Paris region such as NanterreCergy or Levallois, the average rent is between 630 and 800 euros
  • For the same price in cities like LyonNice or Bordeaux, you can have a 50m2. Otherwise, a student room costs around  550€ in these 3 cities.
  • In smaller cities like RennesRouenNantesGrenoble or Dijon, the rent is even lower, around 400/480 €
  • Finally, if you decide to study at Saint-EtienneLe Mans or Limoges, your rent will be less than 400 euros on average, until you drop to 340 € per month.

It is therefore important to inform yourself and to look on Internet (and on our site) for the scholarships for which you are eligible.

If you have a low budget but really want to study in France, the solution can be to study in one of the cheap cities and travel around France during holidays.

Regarding transport, there is also a lot of disparity. The annual subscription for a young student is on average 220€

·  In Paris, Lyon and Lille, 3 large student cities with a lot of transport, the annual subscription is between 300 and 350 € ·  For medium-sized cities like Nantes, Strasbourg, Rouen, but also larger cities like Bordeaux or Marseille, the subscription will be between 200 and 280 € ·  Finally, for the smallest cities like Poitiers, Aix en Provence, Toulouse, Grenoble, Limoges or Avignon, the annual subscription price is around 100/150 € It is good to know that everywhere in France, student prices are set up for transport (under 26 years old). So be careful to take the right one!
               During your stay in France, you will of course have to taste the French specialty, go out, have fun, have fun! Firstly, for fast Food restaurants and restaurants, the prices are almost all identical everywhere in France. • A menu in a fast-food restaurant will cost you on average 8 € • A menu in a restaurant in the provinces (Bordeaux, Nice, Marseille…) will be between 12 and 20 € and in Paris between 15 and 25 € • The little extras like a pancake, an ice cream, a waffle is between 2.5 and 5 €                To relax and chat with your friends, take advantage of the many bars in the city where you are studying. The price is also a bit different between the city. ·  In Paris, a cocktail is around 10€, a coffee around 2/3€  and a beer around 7€. This is the most expensive city ·  In the other big city such as Lyon, Lille, Strasbourg…etc.., the price is like 15/20% less expensive. ·  And in the small city like Rouen, Caen, Toulouse or Montpellier, you can easily have a drink for 5 or 6€ and a coffee for 1/1,5€.                One of the advantages in France is that the mobile operators are not very expensive. You have the choice between several operators like SFR, Orange, Free, Bouygues, lapostemobile…etc… • The prices for a 50 gigas, unlimited SMS and calls package in mainland France are around  15€ per month (depending on the offers). To see the details for each city (rent, transport, and total), look at the tabler under this article !
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