Question: Hi Alex, what sort of costs for living cost ie. water electric gas and rates, for say, in western regions compared to south western France. thanks Sean.

Answer: Hello Sean, many thanks for your question, if I understand you correctly, I think your question is to ascertain whether or not the cost of utilities varies according to region, and the short answer to that is... not really.

However, there are considerable climatic differences in France, which will of course impact on things like usage of heating as you will consume energy differently if you live in a colder climate. That said if you are in an area where you can make the maximum benefit if solar power that will also impact favourably on your bills. 

So it is quite a complex question to answer, as really everything depends on usage, size of property, region, method of heating, well as opposed to main water; there are a large number of factors that will influence the amount you pay.

But I think its accurate to say that not many people will choose an area of France to live in according to what the cost of utilities might be:  it is more to do with accessibility, climate, lifestyle, cost of property, as whilst running costs are important, these other points are more significant.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk