So France has the best quality of life in Europe. Or at least that was the finding of a recent study by consumer comparison service uSwitch.com, as I highlighted in a recent posting[1].
I imagine the residents of France may be thinking something different as this week’s round of strikes and protests gets underway.
News reports say the strikes are set to widen to include a range of sectors, including road transport, energy, posts, telecommunications and public service. The industrial action has brought fears of fuel shortages as workers at oil refineries walk out, and rail chaos as train staff join in, threatening to bring the country to a standstill.
The protest has been spurred by moves to raise the minimum retirement age from 60 to 62, and the full retirement age from 65 to 67 years – a change that rather undercuts one of the advantages of French life highlighted by the uSwitch.com survey. The government claims it is needed to prevent the country’s pension deficit from spiralling out of control and threatening the system as a whole.
In total, Nicolas Sarkozy’s government has announced plans to cut spending by €45bn over the next three years in a bid to meet its budget deficit target.
Meanwhile Spain, which came second in the uSwitch.com quality of life rankings, has seen unemployment more than double (to about 20%) since 2007. In a bid to curb its budget deficit, the government is raising the top level of income tax and introducing a range of austerity measures for 2011 designed to cut spending by 8%.
Of course, the UK faces its own economic difficulties – as, for that matter, does the United States. But if you’re aiming to escape your home country’s problems and find a better quality of life by moving abroad, it’s important to remember the grass is not always greener on the other side.
[1] http://expatliving101.com/living-in-spain/what-quality-of-life-can-you-expect-abroad/
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