By accepting the position of her dreams at the prestigious Georgetown University in Washington, Géraldine Vitry no longer thought she would have to count her money. The eyes of the postdoctoral researcher in biology lit up when she discovered her promise of employment at $5,000 per month, an astronomical sum if we compare it to the average salary of young researchers in France, which barely exceeds 2,000 euros net.
But the first receipts put an end to this daydream. Having barely arrived on American soil, a visit to a supermarket that could resemble a Monoprix makes her realize that in the future, she will have to be vigilant. “I only bought breakfast and chips: $60…”says the thirty-year-old, still shocked a year later.
If inflation remains roughly the same as in France, at 3.4% year-on-year in April (compared to 2.2%), the cost of living is much higher in the United States. A quick look at the Numbeo online comparator shows that it takes 7,181 euros net per month in Los Angeles, 7,408 euros in Washington DC, and 9,785 euros in New York to maintain a standard of living obtained with 5,700 euros net per month in Paris.
$2,500 rent for a two-room apartment
Enough to encourage Géraldine Vitry and her husband to review their copy. With $120,000 gross per year, the couple thought they were free from any financial concerns. But the reality on the ground leads the two French people to question their future in the American capital. With $2,500 rent – ” a good plan “assures Géraldine – and more than 1,000 dollars of food, not counting insurance and outings, they barely manage to put aside 1,000 dollars per month, “which is insufficient for our retirement”. The United States does not have a pay-as-you-go system: it is therefore up to households to save to ensure a suitable retirement.
However, the American dream has regained momentum in recent years. According to the IMF, the GDP per capita of the United States this year exceeded 85,000 dollars annually, or 38,000 dollars more than that of France (47,000 dollars). This difference was only 11,000 dollars in 2014. At the origin of this takeoff in American GDP: a strong dollar which is now close to parity with the euro (compared to 1 euro = 1.57 dollars in 2008), a sector buoyant tech and wages which have been growing faster than inflation since mid-2023.
“For a couple with two children, it’s a minimum of 8,000 to 10,000 euros per month”
As a result of this economic boom, “life is getting more and more expensive”, notes Vincent Durin. This entrepreneur, however, is not one to be pitied: he recently bought himself his American dream, a racing car for more than $130,000. The Frenchman from Deux-Sèvres can afford it, his bakery opened in Lake Worth, a popular small town in Florida, has reached a million dollars in turnover in just three years. An unimaginable success in France, where it would be difficult to sell pain au chocolat for 5 euros.
Yes, but this turnover must be compared to his car insurance at 700 dollars per month or his health insurance which is around 1,000 dollars (still per month). “For a couple with two children, it’s a minimum of 8,000 to 10,000 euros per month to live peacefully”he asserts.
Get an idea of prices before going there
Armelle Perben lived in seven different countries before co-founding Absolutely French, a Parisian agency which supports expatriates in their efforts. To avoid any financial disappointment, she advises taking a reconnaissance trip. “You should not hesitate to ask your company, this allows you to better choose your neighborhood and to hear from French people who are already established. » For those who do not have this opportunity, she suggests finding out about Facebook groups for French-speaking communities. “Most of them are called ‘Les Français à…’ followed by the name of the city. They are a good way to identify the main points of friction on site. » To get an idea of the standard of living, it is also possible to take a look at the salaries of Americans, classified by city, using comparators such as levels.fyi or Glassdoor.
Louis Delaoustre carried out this scouting work on site, a few months before opening an office in New York. The co-founder of the Montreal start-up Potloc, specializing in marketing studies, then considered the amount of expatriation packages to offer to the three French employees who will join him in the Big Apple. “I started from a simple observation: life is on average twice as expensive here as in Paris, so I offered them salaries twice as high”says the 35-year-old entrepreneur. “Then I realized that it was a little low for families and I added $20 to $30,000 per year, per dependent, because having children is expensive here.”continues Louis Delaoustre.
Building a family: a real budget across the Atlantic
An expense item that is sometimes underestimated by candidates for expatriation. When she arrived in East Cobb, a wealthy suburb on the outskirts of Atlanta, Fanny Picart didn’t even think she would have to work. Her husband, a manager in a Dutch logistics start-up, had obtained a tripling of his salary to $7,500 net per month to emigrate to the south of the United States. “At the beginning, we said to ourselves that we would be large”she says.
But after two years spent in the “Capital of the South”, and with two young children, the reality is more bitter. “The smallest family outing to the museum costs 100 dollars, the subscription to the martial arts club of the big one exceeds 150 dollars per month, everything goes very quickly here”, regrets the thirty-year-old. She looked for a job, without success, due to a lack of position corresponding to her profile. Even if she found one, the daycare packages have nothing to do with France: in her neighborhood, they easily reach $2,000 per month. “We are therefore careful and we rarely go on vacation”sums up the one who “lived well in Paris with 5,000 euros between them”.
Alix Carnot, director of Expat Communication, therefore recommends “reintegrate social costs” into the equation, including the expensive education of children, from nursery to university, which can cost several tens of thousands of dollars, starting in kindergarten. No Social Security here. American health insurance policies range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per month, depending on their coverage and the degree of coverage by the company.
Maintain a “French” lifestyle
“It’s all about lifestyle”, however, reassures Isabelle Lagadic, who lived for nearly thirty years in the United States. The higher education teacher lives on the outskirts of Cincinnati. Here, we are far from the megacities and with 3,700 dollars net per month, she manages to “live very well, with everything you need”. The fifty-year-old, who is now American, considers herself lucky to have kept the “thrifty side” the French. “By being careful and limiting excesses, it is entirely possible to buy good quality products and live well”agrees the chemistry teacher who works in the public sector and has hardly had a raise for 17 years.
According to her, we must at all costs avoid “do like the Americans” And “living beyond our means, blowing our money as soon as we receive it”. Isabelle Lagadic is still speechless in the face of the almost cultural recourse to debt. His friends all have around ten credit cards. A warning which will not prevent the French from crossing the Atlantic in ever greater numbers: according to the Quai d’Orsay, in 2023, the United States remains the 2nd most attractive country for French expatriate candidates (just behind Switzerland) with 150,587 registered in the register, an increase of 3.6% compared to 2022.
