France and Spain are the best places to live in Europe

Published on September 30, 2011 by Ray Hughes · No Comments

France and Spain have come out on top in a ‘Quality of Life’ Index produced by uSwitch looking at the places with the best quality of life in Europe.

Positive economic conditions have contributed towards France being named as the best place to live in Europe once again

Despite having the fourth largest average annual income in Europe, people living in the UK do not seem to enjoy the accompanying lifestyle as they came in last place.

The study looks at 16 factors such as income, days of sunlight, price of food, fuel, life expectancy and many more.

France has been rated as the best country to live in for three consecutive years, despite having an average income which is £7k less than in the UK.

Spain also ranks highly as they have a high life expectancy average and enjoy the highest holiday allowance in Europe of 39 days.

“Last year at least our neighbours in Ireland were worse off, now we can’t even console ourselves with that,” said Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.

“We are now officially at the bottom of the pile. We may still be enjoying the fourth highest household income in Europe, but the high cost of living means that we’re living to work.”

It appears that the UK has some work to do if they are to catch up to their French and Spanish counterparts.

Transfer Money to France

If you are looking to invest in France, think carefully about how you will be transferring money to France. Foreign currency exchange rates quoted by banks are almost always worse than the exchange rates available through specialist currency dealers.

So if you are sending money to France – which you will inevitably have to do if you are looking to make a property investment, be sure to compare the market before you buy your overseas currency.