So is Paris, really expensive? Keep watching to find out.
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Hey guys, welcome back to my channel. And if you're new here, I'm Tiff,
I'm an American living in Paris here to help you navigate life abroad,
navigate life in Paris,
help you jump outside of your comfort zone and successfully set up your life in
a new destination.
So I've been living in Paris for three years and I am constantly being asked.
Is it really that expensive to live in Paris? You know,
how much should I save before I move to Paris?
Is there a more affordable way to live in Paris? Um,
so today I wanted to break down some of my personal expenses in Paris,
along with some of the expenses that you can expect to incur when living in
Paris and can compare that to the country that you're currently living in. Um,
so this is actually an update to the cost of living video that I did about a
year ago.
So I wanted to introduce some new expenses that I didn't mention in that other
video and update to some of the expenses that I shared with you,
and also wanted to give you guys the costs in both euros and USD,
so that it's super easy to follow.
So the categories that I'll be covering in this video are housing,
transportation entertainment, which I know is new for this video.
Beauty - so like hair salons, nail salon, spas, things like that.
And of course, food, especially brunch, cause y'all know, I love a good brunch,
um, as well as grocery delivery, grocery shopping, things of that sort.
So now let's get into it. So starting with housing, um,
so we can start with my apartment.
So I currently pay 1,100€ a month and I'm living in a one
bedroom apartment it's around 31 square meters.
And I have heard that this is a pretty decent price for the space that I live
in, in Paris.
And I believe it because y'all know the drama that I went through with getting
kicked out of my apartment and having to find a new apartment,
the apartment hunt was insane, but when I was searching for an apartment,
honestly, a lot of the spaces around the size were like 1300 euros,
1500 euros, um, 1600 euros, you know,
so I was really excited to find the space for 1100 euros.
I jumped on it and it's really, really nice.
It has a really nice sized living room. Um,
it has a nice kitchen and everything is separated,
which I also really like because usually for this price in Paris,
you'll find a big open space, like a studio apartment,
or kind of just a separation between the bedroom and the kitchen/living room
area. Um,
so I was really excited to find a space that had like everything separated,
which was really nice. And it has a balcony which I absolutely love.
I was so excited to find a space with a balcony and with a lot of natural light.
So I love love of my space.
And I also have an amazing landlord who does happen to speak English.
Um so I kind of lucked out with that, but yeah,
I think 1100 euros for the space in Paris. Isn't horrible. Um, but again,
when you are looking for an apartment and looking at the prices,
of course it does also depend on the arrondissement that you live in.
So there are arrondissements that are a bit more expensive. The seventh,
the eighth, the first, the 16th and the 15th,
which is actually where my very first apartment in Paris was.
And it's insane because I was paying a thousand euros a month for that space.
And it was tiny. It was probably like half the size of this apartment.
And now for only a hundred euros more,
I actually have a proper one-bedroom apartment with a balcony.
But I also think that man in the 15th was taking advantage,
but we ain't going to get into that right now. But yeah,
I really do love the space that I live in right now.
And I do think that 1100 euros for a one bedroom apartment in Paris,
isn't horrible. And also keep in mind, if you are a student living in France,
you are eligible for a benefit called CAF,
which will actually give you money to help you with your housing.
So to help you with your apartment. Um,
and I do know that a lot of landlords do accept CAF because it's literally money
from the government to help you with your living expenses.
So definitely something to check out if you are a student living here or are
planning to move to Paris to study.
And then for electricity.
So I was paying around 57 euros before the world got turned upside down,
but now that I'm at home so much more my electricity bill has definitely
increased. So I now pay around 75 euros to 100 euros a month.
So yeah, my electricity bill has skyrocketed for sure. But again,
I'm at home more, the lights are on more,
I'm using my kitchen appliances more and things like that. So yeah,
that's definitely an update from the first video.
And another expense to add to your list under housing is a TV license,
which will usually cost you around 139 euros per year.
So this expense was a shock to me this year, because I did not realize, um,
that this was a thing out here,
but it's a TV license that you do have to pay if your home has a television,
whether the television belongs to you or not.
And the actual name of this is La Redevance Audiovisuelle.
So I actually just realized this this year. So it's basically a TV tax. Um,
if you have a TV in your apartment, so definitely something to keep in mind. Um,
if you're moving to Paris,
if you're moving to France and then the last few expenses I have under housing,
are housing insurance.
So I pay 22 euros a month for my housing insurance. Um,
and it was super easy to set up. I just set it up through my bank. Um,
so for those of you who are moving to Paris and aren't sure how to do that,
you can typically do it through your bank and then also cell phone and wifi.
So I paid 34.99 euros a month, um, for my cell phone.
And for my wifi it was basically a package, but I'm telling you,
I'm not really loving the cell phone plan and the internet plan that I have.
So right now I'm with free mobile. And honestly,
I've had this plan since living in Paris. You know, when I was a student,
I was like, Oh my God,
what's the cheapest plan that I can get for my cell phone and for internet.
And this was it. Um, but I definitely want to upgrade.
So for those of you guys who are living in Paris,
definitely let me know what cell phone providers you guys are with and what you
would recommend because it is definitely time for an upgrade.
And then the last expense is my VPN, which I highly recommend you have,
if you are coming from the United States and still want to watch some of your
favorite TV shows.
So I'm currently paying five euros a month for my VPN,
and I love it because I have access to all of my streaming services, um,
that aren't yet available in France. Um, so definitely something to look into,
again,
if you are coming from the United States and want to have access to all of your
favorite shows. So that wraps up my housing expenses in Paris.
So now let's move on to transportation. Um,
so I typically take public transportation in Paris, so the Metro or the bus.
So a one way ticket on the Metro is 1.90€. Um, but what I was doing,
especially before the world got turned upside down and I was out a lot more is I
was getting a monthly Metro pass, which is 75 euros a month. Um,
I don't really do this anymore just because I'm not out every single day.
So I usually will just get like four or five tickets every time I go on the
Metro. But yeah, it's usually 75 euros a month if you, um,
do you want to get that monthly pass.
And if you are commuting from the outskirts of Paris, um, so from the suburbs,
um, it does mean that you have to take a train called the RER to connect you to
Paris. And that is a bit more expensive to take.
I believe a one-way ticket on the RER. You know,
if you're coming from the outskirts of Paris is six euros and 15 cents.
And I think the price of your ticket will depend on the zone that you're going
to. Um, I normally, whenever I would get a ticket from Cergy into Paris,
I would normally take tickets for zones one through five.
And that ticket was around six euros I believe.
So definitely something to keep in mind if you're commuting from the outskirts,
from the suburbs into Paris.
And also if you are a student or if you're under 26,
you are eligible for a discount on public transportation.
I cannot remember the exact discount or what it is definitely something for you
guys to research, but just know um again, if you're a student,
if you're under 26, you will be able to get a discount on these prices.
All right so now let's get into the fun stuff like entertainment,
because of course there is so much to do in Paris. Um,
and I wish I included this in my first video, but I didn't.
So I'm including it now. So first is the movie theater. So, um, yes,
there are a lot of different cinemas in Paris. Whenever I've gone,
I've usually paid 12 euros for a movie ticket and I'm pretty sure that's the
same. Honestly, the movie theaters have basically been closed for about a year.
Um,
but I'm pretty sure it's probably the same if they were to open back up so 12
years for a movie ticket, but, um, something that they do,
that's really cool and I'm pretty sure they do this in the United States is that
you can actually get a monthly pass.
That's 34 euros a month and it gives you access to all movies.
So you can see them whenever you want. And you can even bring a friend with you,
which I thought was really cool. So that's kind of the cinema,
the movie theater, and then getting into the museums.
So there are so many beautiful museums,
exhibitions and things like that in Paris.
So I'm only going to speak to a few of the ones that I've been to personally,
so you can kind of judge from there. So the first is the L'Atelier des Lumieres,
which I absolutely love. Oh my gosh. If you are traveling to Paris,
if you are moving to Paris, definitely, definitely something to check out.
So when I went, I paid 15 euros and I'm telling you guys,
this art exhibition is amazing. Um, and when I went, um,
it was Van Gogh's art exhibition, and it's like,
you walk in and there's art on the floors, there's art on the walls,
there's art on the ceiling and you can literally sit down anywhere in the
exhibition and just watch because everything is playing almost like a movie with
music. It's so, so nice.
So relaxing, I think actually went on a date there. Um, but it's so, so cool.
So I highly recommend you guys do that if you were coming to Paris.
And then I'll give you another museum, just so you can compare.
So Musée du Louvre, which of course, if you are coming to Paris,
you can not miss out on going to the Louvre.
So if you purchase your ticket online, I know at 17 year olds,
like if you purchase it, um, in advance,
but then if you actually buy your ticket at the museum, it's 15 euros. Um,
so definitely something to keep in mind. And also, um,
every Sunday of the month you can get into all of these museums for free.
I'm not sure about L'Atelier des Lumieres,
but I know for sure you can get into the Louvre for free,
along with Musée Picasso,
um Musee D'Orsay which I haven't gone to Musee D'Orsay yet I really
really had wanted to go. And I think I had tried a few times,
but every time I go, there's this huge, crazy line. And I'm like, oh,
I can't do it, I can't do it,
but I have to go one of these days beyond the very first Sunday of every month,
um a handful of museums in Paris are free.
So definitely something to take advantage of. But honestly, guys,
there are a lot of things that you can do for free in Paris.
So definitely something to take advantage of, um, for example,
and actually a place in Paris that I absolutely absolutely love is Les Deux
Plateaux. Um,
so you guys have probably seen them if you follow me on Instagram and have been
following me on YouTube,
you've probably seen them in some videos or Instagram posts, but I love, love,
love Les Deux Plateaux. Um, I love that area of Paris.
It's right by Palais Royale, um, Jardin du Luxembourg is completely free. Um,
Tuileries garden is free. What else is there that's free?
If you want to sit outside the Eiffel Tower now to go up to the top,
that's not free um, but if you just want to sit outside, um,
that's completely free. Also,
if you want to sit by the Seine which a lot of people do in the summertime with
a bottle of wine, that's completely free.
So there are a lot of free fun things to do in Paris. You know,
if you don't want to spend money on a museum or things like that.
So guys, what are your thoughts so far is Paris expensive.
And how do these prices compare to the country that you're currently living in?
Let me know in the comments below. All right.
So now moving on to my absolute favorite topic, Which is food.
Starting with brunch, cause y'all know, I love a good brunch in Paris.
So I'll give you the prices of like three different brunch spots that I love,
love, love to go to. So the prices that I'm giving you are for two people,
so like two meals, um, and two drinks. So the first is Sunday in Soho.
I love the spot. You guys know, I talk about it all the time.
It's also black owned.
It's owned by a guy who actually moved from New York city to Paris, comme moi,
like me. Um, so I love, love, love this restaurant.
If you guys move to Paris or come here to visit definitely a great place to, um,
check out. So typically when I go to Sunday in Soho,
it's usually around 42 euros for two people. So this is for two meals. Um,
usually I get my favorite a matcha latte or you can get a smoothie um,
they have so many great drinks on the menu and the food is so good, Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh. My favorite dish is probably the fried chicken sandwich,
which is amazing, but I also really like getting the nourish bowl,
which is also really good. Um, Oh, but they just have so much to choose from.
Um, again,
it's probably my favorite brunch in Paris and then another brunch spot that I
really, really love is Immersion, um, and similar pricing to, um,
Sunday in Soho, I would say. The last time I went,
it was 37 years for two people.
And this is actually a restaurant that opened pretty recently.
They were able to open it up with everything that's going on with, um,
Paris being shut down, which I thought was really cool.
And the owner is pretty young. I actually had the opportunity to meet her.
She's super, super sweet. So Immersion is another really great spot in Paris.
And then the last one I'll give to you guys is Echo Deli, which, Oh my God,
I love Echo Deli. I would say it's a bit more expensive than the other one.
Whenever I go for two people, it's usually around 55 euros,
but the food is so good. I love the crispy rice bowl. They're like, honestly,
it's hands down my favorite. They also have a really good veggie sandwich,
which is awesome. Oh my gosh. And the pancakes, Oh my gosh,
they have these blueberry pancakes that are gluten-free and they're to die for.
They're so good. Um,
so those are three brunch spots that I really love to go to, um,
with the prices.
So you can kind of see how much I typically spend for a brunch in Paris.
So now let's get into grocery shopping. Um,
so I definitely have to say my grocery budget has increased as of late. Um,
I would definitely say I spend maybe 75 to a hundred euros on groceries a
week. So that's what 350 around 350-400 euros a month. Um,
cause your girl likes to eat. Yo girl likes to cook. Um, so yeah,
my grocery budget has definitely increased, um,
since just being at home a lot more.
And I typically get my groceries from Monoprix for the most part,
but also sometimes Franprix also sometimes Carrefour,
but I have been taking advantage of, um, delivery. So for Monoprix um, which is,
you know, a bigger supermarket here,
you can find them in every arrondissement um,
grocery delivery is actually free for orders over 50 euros,
which is pretty cool. Um,
and I guess I can give you a breakdown of how much you can expect to pay for
certain products like bread, eggs, milk,
just so you can compare it to where you're living. Um,
I'd actually really be interested in hearing, you know,
what the comparison is in your country. Um, so for bread,
I typically pay maybe one to two euros, um,
for bread when shopping at Monoprix and then for milk. Um,
so I usually only buy Almond milk, dairy free milk.
So I usually pay around three euros for that and then for eggs. Um,
so I always buy my eggs organic, so I usually pay around 4.50€ for eggs.
So yeah, that's a, that's a sneak peek into, you know,
some basic basic grocery items, but I'd love to hear, you know,
how that compares to the country that you're living in.
But I also do do some of my grocery shopping at some of the specialty stores out
here, like Naturalia Vegan, for example, um,
because I am lactose intolerant and Monoprix doesn't usually have a lot of the
dairy free items that I like, like vegan cheese, vegan yogurt, things like that.
Um, so Naturalia Vegan is a bit more expensive and even for delivery,
I believe it's around 13.50 for delivery and then it's free for orders
over a hundred euros.
And then just to give you an idea of how much some of the products from
Naturalia Vegan costs. So, um,
I usually get things like ghee from Naturalia Vegan.
So that's usually around 10 euros,
but I actually did find a really cool shop in Chateau D'eau that also has ghee.
So now I get like a big tub of it for around 16 euros that lasts me so long. Um,
but ghee from Naturalia Vegan is usually 10 euros. Um,
I also get my vegan cheese from Naturalia Vegan,
which is four euros and then the acai packs to make my acai bowls. That again,
if you guys follow me on Instagram,
you guys are always seeing me post my ice balls.
I also get those from naturally vegan and those are around six years, I believe.
And they give you four packs of acai in each package. So yeah,
those are just some of the costs from Naturalia Vegan. So that's again,
more of a specialty store just so you can kind of see the comparison. Um,
but yeah, again, let me know, even for specialty stores in your home country,
how much do you guys typically pay for similar products? I'd love, love,
love to hear from you. So that wraps up some of my food expenses in Paris. Um,
so grocery shopping, going to brunch. Um,
so let me know what you guys think about those and now let's move on to beauty.
Cause I know I didn't talk about this in the very first video. Um,
so for one the nail salon,
so honestly I literally have not gotten my nails done in over a year,
which is crazy. Um,
but there's this one nail salon that I love in Paris and it's called Girls Nail
Bar. So that's typically the nail salon that I go to.
And every time I go for a gel manicure, I pay 25 euros.
And then for a pedicure I pay um also 25 euros. So, um,
that's pretty similar to what I was paying in New York City.
You guys can let me know what you think about those prices and then when it
comes to getting my eyebrows done. Um,
so I always get my eyebrows threaded and I found this really cool place that I
love that's in Chateau D'eau. So again, if you guys have been following me,
you've probably seen me go to it in a lot of my day in the life videos.
But I only pay seven euros to get my eyebrows threaded,
which is a lot cheaper than what I was paying in New York city.
And even when I lived in Boston, even in San Francisco,
I think that this is the cheapest that I've ever paid for eyebrow threading,
eyebrow waxing, or anything like that. So yeah, I love, love,
love getting my eyebrows threaded. Um,
I only go to this one place in Chateau D'eau um,
because I love it and they're so gentle. So, um, yeah,
I only pay seven euros to get my eyebrows threaded.
And then for other things like if you want to get a massage,
so I've actually have only gone to one place to get a massage in Paris and it's
called Zen Thai Massage in the 15th arrondissement. And when I went,
I got like a 30 minute back massage,
which was actually amazing and I paid 55 euros for it.
And it was a hot stone massage, which I absolutely loved. Um,
honestly when things open back up, I will definitely go back and do a full hour.
It was super relaxing. The place was really nice inside. So I really,
really liked that,
but y'all be careful be careful with these massage parlors in Paris. Um,
cause I do have to say my friend was telling me this when we were walking
through Pigalle, um, which is kind of like the red light district in Paris that,
uh,
not all of the massage parlors - so you will see like massage on the window are
really for massages.
So definitely something to keep in mind if you are in Pigalle kind of that
area and looking to get a massage, I would kind of advise against that, um,
go to somewhere like Zen Thai Massage or at least research the place before you
go so that you don't get yourself caught up.
And then next under beauty is the hair salon. So honestly, since living here,
I have never paid more than 50 euros to get my hair done.
So I typically wear my hair in crochet braids crochet all day. Um, and yeah,
I've never paid over 50 euros.
So this is very different from what I was paying in New York city because in New
York I was paying $80 every time I wanted to get my hair done. Um,
so there's definitely a difference there, but yeah,
I would say typically most um braiding salons will charge you around 50 euros
for crochet. Um, if they ask you for a lot more than that,
I'm telling you I've never paid more than 50 euros to get my hair done here.
So guys, that's a wrap on my updated breakdown of living expenses in Paris.
So again, definitely drop me a comment below, letting me know,
how these prices compare to the country that you're currently living in.
I'd love to see that comparison.
And if you're looking for more advice,
more tips on navigating life in Paris or navigating life abroad,
definitely get on my email list.
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And you'll probably also love this video where I talk about the 10 things that I
wish I knew before moving to Paris. So that's all for me, guys.
Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you next week.