Looking for a permanent 'oliday? New research finds France is the best place to emigrate to

By Sean Poulter

Cafe culture: French people are said to enjoy the best quality of life in Europe, with it scoring highly in several categories. The British languish in ninth place


Almost 20million of us go there on holiday every year, so the news that France is streets ahead of its European counterparts for quality of life may come as no surprise.

New research found that life on the other side of La Manche is much better than in the UK on almost every level including living costs, income, lifespan, health, retirement age, holidays and sunshine hours.

The situation is so bad that one in three thinks that now would be a good time to emigrate. And France, it seems, is the ideal destination.

The French enjoy the best quality of life in Europe, according to the survey of ten leading European nations, which bases its verdict on France being top for longevity, early retirement and health spending, and near the top in other categories.

The study found that the price of a sample basket of food was £137.13 in this country compared with £121.81 in Spain and just £119.57 in France. On diesel costs, British drivers pay an average of £1.179 a litre, against just 98.2p in France.

The cost of unleaded petrol, electricity, alcohol and cigarettes in this country is above the European average.

The average UK retirement age is now the fourth highest in Europe at 63.1 years and is set to go higher. Only the Irish, the Dutch and Swedish work until later in life.

France, Spain, Germany, Holland, Sweden and Italy all enjoy a longer life expectancy than the UK, where the average stands at 79.16. Workers in the UK have one of the lowest holiday entitlements in Europe at an average of 28 days.


Sunnier climbs: More people than ever want to emigrate, with France seen as the ideal destination. It has 1,937 hours of sun per year, compared to 1,476 in the UK


France, which has topped the index for the second year running, enjoys the earliest retirement age of 59.3 years, spends the most on healthcare and has the longest life expectancy at 81.09 years.

Its workers also benefit from 36 days holiday a year, while it is only beaten by Spain and Italy in terms of the number of hours of sunshine a year. The sunshine hours for the UK is 1,476 against 1,967 in France and 2,665 in Spain.

Historically, Britons could cling to the fact they had the highest net income in Europe to make up for the other negative comparisons.

But this is no longer the case. Net household income in this country is put at £37,172 after tax, compared with £39,997 in Denmark, £41,130 in Holland and £44,955 in Ireland.

In terms of spending on education and health, Britain lags behind other nations. The UK figure is below the European average, while spending on education in this country is only on a par with Poland.



The Poles rank fourth overall in the European Quality of Life Index, compiled by the price comparison service uSwitch.com.The UK is placed at nine with Ireland bottom in tenth.


Director of consumer policy at uSwitch, Ann Robinson, said: 'Last year compared to our European neighbours we were miserable but rich.

'This year we're miserable and poor. With salaries failing to keep up with inflation, it's likely that we're a long way from achieving the quality of life that people in other countries enjoy.'


source: dailymail