Recently, in Current Affairs, Craig McGinty reported that France has once again come out top in a quality of life study, with Britain and Ireland proving to be the worst places to live in Europe.
Research by price comparison website, uSwitch.com, said those in France enjoyed the earliest retirement age (yes! still the case even after it has been raised to 62!), had the longest life expectancy in Europe and that the government spent the most on healthcare. One thing the UK did enjoy in its favour was the highest income level in Europe, but that has now been lost to leave income levels trailing behind Ireland, the Netherlands and Denmark.The uSwitch.com study examined 16 factors to understand where the UK sits in relation to nine other major European countries.
Variables such as net income, VAT and the cost of essential goods, such as fuel, food and energy bills, were examined along with lifestyle factors, such as hours of sunshine, holiday entitlement, working hours and life expectancy to provide a complete picture of the quality of life experienced in each country.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: "Last year compared with our European neighbours we were miserable but rich, this year we’re miserable and poor.
Euro-life-two "Whereas some countries work to live, UK consumers live to work. In fact we work harder, take less holiday and retire later than most of our European counterparts - but the high cost of living makes this a necessity rather than a choice. With salaries failing to keep up with inflation, it’s likely that we’re a long way from achieving the quality of life that people in other countries enjoy. Perhaps unsurprisingly given how life in the UK compares, three in ten people (30%) believe that now is a good time to emigrate."
And the uSwitch.com research concludes by saying that people in the UK can expect to work four years longer and die two years younger than their French counterparts.
And here in the Dordogne we can see the ripple effect of all of that -- almost a nutshell version of this research study.
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