After moving from London to the South of France, something unexpected happened: we slowly stopped spending money on many everyday things – without planning to.
When people imagine life in France, they often picture an expensive lifestyle: long lunches, cafés, beautiful food, markets, wine, holidays. And while some things here are expensive, what surprised us most was how many regular costs quietly disappeared as our daily life changed.
This video isn’t about budgeting, frugality, or money-saving tips.
It’s an honest reflection on how living in France feels less rushed, less transactional, and less centred around constant spending – especially as a family with young children.
In this video, I share how our spending habits naturally changed after moving abroad, including:
– Entertainment and free time in France
– Eating out, takeaways, and French coffee culture
– Children’s activities and everyday family life in France
– Clothes, shopping, and conscious consumption
– Socialising, celebrations, and community life
Some of these changes were intentional.
Some happened without us even noticing.
And some came simply from living somewhere where certain options just aren’t available.
What surprised me most wasn’t what we stopped buying, but how little we missed it.
In the video, I also mention vide-greniers (French flea markets).
If you’re curious about those, I talk about them in more detail in this video:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-5JiFNJ4fo
This is just our personal experience. Life in France looks very different depending on where you live – city, village, coast, or countryside.
But if you’re curious about everyday life beyond the postcards, I hope this gives you a small, honest glimpse.
Chapters:
00:00 – Life in France & the cost we imagine
01:40 – Entertainment & how we spend our free time now
02:52 – Eating out, takeaways & coffee
04:14 – Children’s activities & everyday life
06:09 – Clothes & buying less
07:31 – Socialising & celebrating
08:34 – Reflection & closing thoughts
If you enjoy calm, reflective videos about everyday life in the south of France, slow living, and family life abroad, you might enjoy the other videos on this channel.
🤍 If you’d like to support the channel, you can do so by leaving a Super Thanks – it truly helps more than you know. Thank you for being here.
12 Comments
Good story as per usual telling us what you do with your life in France, about every other month I will do a reasonable size grocery shop?, Because when I cook, I try to make at least 8 to 10 sometimes even more portions., I will keep out one or two portions of whatever I’m cooking, and then the rest I divide up into certain sizes and freeze, at any given time I normally have around two months of frozen food in the freezer, if you say, for instance, I spend €15 on meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc., the time I cooked it all and then divided it up. It’s only cost me about probably less than two euros per meal., ❤Fr
Hello Gaby and thank you again. Your videos are like your eyes. They have the gentleness of a calm morning, tender glimmers on the world around you. A real breath of fresh air.
Hi Gabi, thank you very much for this very interesting and thought-provoking insight. Very nicely presented with a well-balanced view on some often over-looked aspects (advantages!) associated with your new life-style..👍
Thank you for another great video. You brought back memories of how I grew up and the value of a simpler lifestyle. I'm looking forward to the next video.
Oh, finally I heard. London. I see
Bravo pour tes vidéos qui amènent les réflexions sur la vie quotidienne à un autre niveau que bien d'autres expats. Bonne continuation et bienvenue en France
This really resonated. It’s wild how your habits change without you consciously trying to change them.
You live in a clean, healthy, safe place. It's easy for you to connect with neighbors and with nature. It sounds like an ideal place to raise children.
All the best to you!!
very nice and sincere video! très sympa de ta part.
üdvözlet egy bécsi srácból Lyonból
Miki
We are so lucky to live in such a wonderful place 👍I agree that à slower pace of life is much more fulfilling and less stressful and expensive 👌
Me and my family live in the Pyrenees 🙏so peaceful!
Freedom + countryside = the best childhood one can possibly hope for…
You have a very good sense for presentation, it has a nice flow and easy to listen along.