The Top Ten “Quality of Life” Regions of France

crtb-ac3366-small.jpg

Many dream of moving to France, but which region in France is the best one in which to fulfil that dream?

British online company Movehub – specialists in international house-moving advice – published a list of regions in France where the quality of life is best. Their well-being index is based on the OECD‘s criteria that covered five main criteria: employment; disposable household income levels; housing; education; happiness. So how do the recently re-christened French regions fare?

In 12th Place: Corsica.

Corsica: poor but happy with 5.5 out of 10

Corsica: poor but happy with 5.5 out of 10

It’s a growing favourite destination amongst holidaying French, but it came in last in the quality-of-life charts. The beautiful island slipped to bottom spot with an average disposable income of only €17,521 per annum. It is also labelled as the least stable region in France in terms of employment stability with an unemployment rate of 10% of the active population and an employment rate of just 31.3%. The only point of consolation is that on the happiness chart, Corsica scores very strongly with a mark of 8.1/10.

 

11th place Hauts-de-France and Île-de-France

Paris can be heaven, but not always to live permanently there...

Paris can be heaven, but not always to live permanently there…

The Hauts-de-France region (formerly known as Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie) has a shiny new name but it’s down among the bottom of the table in terms of disposable income with just €19,000 per person on average and 4.3/10 score in the employment rankings. A hundred years ago, it was the centre of the industrial revolution but even though some cities (such as Lille) are vibrant, the overall economic picture is a sluggish one that drags down the region’s quality-of-life score.

The Île-de-France has no problem with disposable (i.e. after tax) income, it seems. It easily tops the table on that score with €23,196 on average. The problem is that the cost of living in the greater Paris region is far higher than in any other region in France. The capital region is also at the bottom of the list in terms of housing, with an average of 1.5 rooms per inhabitant available.

 

10th Place – Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur

Looking from Roquebrune across to Monaco; beautiful but just 5.8/10 for this region

Looking from Roquebrune across to Monaco; beautiful but just 5.8/10 for this region

The region run by former Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi only manages 10th place – a fact that may surprise. The trouble with paradise is that it becomes expensive to find a home in it when so many more are trying to do so at the same time. The cost of accommodation drags its life-quality score down but the region comes in very strongly in terms of its average income.

9th, 8th and 7th Place: Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine, Normandie, Centre-Val de Loire

Normandy - one of three regions tied at 7th place

Normandy – one of three regions tied at 7th place

These three regions fall into the average in terms of quality of life. Basically, they enjoy a decent quality of life but their overall score of 5.9/10 isn’t impressive enough to feature in the top five.

6th Place: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Auxerre - capital of Bourgogne (Burgundy)

Auxerre – capital of Bourgogne (Burgundy)

With 6 out of 10, the new region made up of two older ones enjoys a nice balance of life, even though it actually comes in last in the happiness chart.

5th Place: L’Occitanie

Toulouse - capital of the enlarged Occitanie region

Toulouse – capital of the enlarged Occitanie region

It’s one of the best regions for education with a mark of 8.1/10 but its overall mark of 6.2 out of 10 puts Occitanie in 5th place in France’s regional quality of life rankings.

4th Place: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

The Black Cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand

The Black Cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand

Perhaps influenced more by being joined to what was the richest region in France (Rhône-Alpes), Auvergne finds itself up towards the top of the life-quality league in the new enlarged region. It enjoys a high score in average income (5/10) and in employment (6.3/10 – even higher than greater Paris), giving it an impressive overall score of 6.4/10.

3rd Place: Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Cheers! Bordeaux's region comes in 3rd place

Cheers! Bordeaux’s region comes in 3rd place

The Nouvelle-Aquitaine region scores an overall mark of 6.5/10 with education very strong at 8.2/10 and accommodation at 5.9/10.

2nd Place: Pays de la Loire

Strong marks in education and employment make the Nantes region the 2nd best in France

Strong marks in education and employment make the Nantes region the 2nd best in France

With a score of 6.6/10, this region would have been top of the list for any betting man. Its capital Nantes is a model of reinvention and revitalisation and it’s not surprising to learn that it scored particularly highly in education (8.3/10) and employment (6.4/10).

1st Place: Brittany

Vannes by night: It's the Celtic region of France that fares best in the quality of life index, according to the OECD.

Vannes by night: It’s the Celtic region of France that fares best in the quality of life index, according to the OECD.

Coming in at a score of 7/10, Brittany is the region with the highest quality of life in all of France. It’s a far cry from the days when it was a poor economic and cultural backwater. With Pays de la Loire (part of which is historically Brittany) in second place, it seems that the Celtic lands of France are the parts to be. Brittany was also the leading region when it comes to employment (6.7/10), accommodation (6.1/10) and education (8.8/10). A perfect blend of Ireland and France perhaps?

Meanwhile, below is an image feed to give you some impressions of Breton life (courtesy of Gosh Gallery) to help you dream

scroll to top

We use cookies on this website primarily to improve its functionality. Along with typical standard cookies, we also use cookies and content from Google (maps, YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter) to improve the performance of this site. In order to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Requirements, all cookies and content from Google, Twitter, Facebook and co. are deactivated by default. They will only be activated once you click "Accept" to allow the use of cookies and third-party content. If you initially choose not to accept cookies, you will not be able to watch videos or access other media content on this site. However, you can change this setting on any page containing third-party media by selecting the option to allow content. On the Privacy Policy page under “Cookies” you have the option to give or revoke your consent to the use of cookies. For more information please click the link below to read our: Privacy Policy

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close