They Moved to the South of France With $200,000 and Almost Ran Out in 18 Months

On the Riviera, $200,000 is not “set for years” money. It’s “one bad housing decision plus a few normal life habits” money, and it disappears faster than people expect.

They arrived with the kind of confidence Americans only get from seeing six digits in a bank account.

Two suitcases each. A few boxes shipped ahead. A temporary rental near the coast. That first week buzz where every croissant feels like proof you made the right call.

They also arrived with a number that sounds invincible: $200,000.

For a lot of Americans, that’s the emergency fund, the down payment, the runway, the psychological safety blanket. It’s the money you tell yourself will cover “at least a couple of years” while you figure out residency, healthcare, taxes, language, and what your days are going to look like when you are not working.

In the South of France, especially the version Americans picture, the Riviera version, $200,000 does not behave like an invincible number. It behaves like a countdown.

Not because France is a scam, and not because life there is impossible. Because the costs hit in the wrong places, in the wrong order, and Americans tend to spend like they are still inside an American income system.

We live in Spain, so we’re not writing this from a French resident soapbox. We’re writing it like neighbors watching the same pattern play out across borders: people underestimate the landing costs, overpay for housing, add one car “for freedom,” and keep their old spending habits during the honeymoon phase.

Then month 12 shows up, and the math turns ugly.

The first reality check: your $200,000 is not really $200,000 once it lands in euros

If you move to France with $200,000, you usually spend in euros. Rent, groceries, transport, insurance, fees, all euros.

So the first thing that happens is conversion, and conversion is where your “big number” quietly shrinks.

Using the ECB euro reference rate on 18 December 2025, €1 equaled $1.1719. That puts $200,000 at roughly €170,700 before bank fees and before the normal loss you take moving money across borders.

If you use a regular bank transfer, you might lose 1 to 3 percent in spreads and fees without noticing. If the exchange rate moves against you during the year, the loss is bigger. If you keep money in dollars and pull it monthly, you are exposing yourself to currency timing risk every single month.

So the first reality check is simple: your runway is in euros, and your runway is already smaller than the headline.

This is why people feel blindsided. They did not “overspend.” They just started from less than they thought, and then they chose a region where fixed costs eat cash quickly.

The South of France is two different places, and Americans pick the expensive one first

When Americans say “the South of France,” they usually mean a postcard strip.

Nice. Antibes. Cannes. Saint-Raphaël. Menton. Aix-en-Provence if they want to sound tasteful. The parts with sea light, promenades, markets, and apartments that look like they belong in a film.

The problem is that this is also the part where housing behaves like a luxury market. Even long-term rentals get pulled toward tourist pricing, furnished rentals get priced aggressively, and summer pressure doesn’t disappear just because you are trying to live there like a normal person.

In December 2025, SeLoger’s barometer for Nice put furnished apartment rents for a typical two-room layout around €20 per square meter on average, with variation by neighborhood and condition. That one number tells you the whole story: space costs money.

A couple that wants a comfortable one-bedroom, or a small two-bedroom so guests can visit, often lands in the zone where rent eats the runway.

This is where the 18-month cliff begins.

Because Americans do not usually move across the Atlantic to live in a cramped studio and congratulate themselves on financial discipline. They move to feel better.

So they rent the extra room. They choose the nicer neighborhood. They accept a furnished place because it’s easier. They pay a premium because the listing is in English or because the agent is responsive.

That’s not a moral failure. It’s a predictable first move.

And it is exactly how $200,000 turns into a countdown.

The 18-month budget that drains $200,000 without any wild spending

Here’s a realistic version of what happened, built from normal costs and normal decisions, not champagne and yachts.

Assume a couple in their late 50s, early retirees or semi-retired, moving without French income at first. They have $200,000 to live on while they wait for Social Security timing, pension timing, or they plan to shift into part-time remote work later.

They choose a coastal city in the South of France and they want an apartment that feels like a real home, not a crash pad.

Month 0 to Month 2: landing costs

This is where Americans lose time and money because the costs are messy, not dramatic.

• Temporary rental while apartment hunting (4 to 8 weeks): €3,500–€7,000
• Security deposit (often 1 to 2 months depending on furnished or unfurnished): €1,500–€4,500
• Agency fees and move-in costs: €800–€2,000
• Basic furnishings and household setup (even “furnished” places need things): €1,500–€4,000
• Phones, SIMs, small admin costs, translation, copies, photos: €200–€600
• Private health insurance to satisfy visa expectations for many newcomers: €400–€900 per month for a couple, sometimes more depending on age and coverage
• First few weeks of transport, taxis, train tickets, and “we’re still figuring it out” spending: €300–€800

A very normal landing total is €12,000–€20,000 before you have even settled.

If you start with about €170,700, and you drop €18,000 getting established, you now have €152,700.

That’s the runway that will actually carry you.

The monthly burn that looks “reasonable” until you multiply it

Now the monthly life, and this is where it gets quietly lethal.

A realistic monthly budget for that couple on the coast can look like this:

• Rent (comfortable 1 bedroom or small 2 bedroom, good area): €1,800–€2,600
• Utilities and building charges: €150–€280
• Internet and two mobile lines: €60–€120
• Groceries and household basics: €650–€900
• Dining out, cafés, and the “we’re in France” factor: €350–€700
• Transport (car-free or mostly car-free): €120–€250
• If they add a car “for freedom” (very common in the South): €450–€750 per month when you annualize insurance, fuel, parking, maintenance, and depreciation
• Private health insurance: €400–€900
• Pharmacy, dental, small medical costs: €40–€150
• Clothing, home, and replacements: €120–€250
• Local travel, train weekends, museum tickets, events: €150–€350
• One U.S. trip per year, annualized (flights for two plus extra spending): €250–€450 per month averaged
• Buffer for surprises: €300–€600

A couple living this way can land around €6,200 to €8,300 per month without doing anything outrageous.

Now do the only math that matters.

If your burn is €7,800 per month, 18 months is €140,400.

Add the landing costs, say €18,000, and you are at €158,400.

From €170,700, that leaves €12,300.

That is “almost ran out,” without yachts, without luxury shopping, without stupidity. Just rent, insurance, transport choices, and the normal human urge to enjoy the place you moved to.

This is the moment people feel betrayed by the dream. But it’s just arithmetic.

The three expenses that quietly eat the runway

People love to argue about French grocery prices and restaurant value.

That is not where the money disappears.

The runway dies in three places: housing, healthcare compliance, and transport.

1) Housing is the biggest lever, and it is not subtle

On the coast, rent is often the budget dictator. The difference between €1,600 and €2,400 is not just €800. It is your entire freedom category.

It is the difference between:

• taking weekend trips without guilt
• having room for a U.S. visit without panic
• being able to handle a surprise medical expense
• keeping a buffer that stops you from feeling broke

Americans tend to choose housing like they are choosing lifestyle. In Europe, housing is also choosing your financial nervous system.

In the Riviera version of the South of France, you can feel the budget tighten simply by adding 10 square meters.

2) Health insurance is a real cost when you are new, and it is not optional for many paths

A lot of Americans arrive with a mental model that Europe equals free healthcare.

France has an excellent health system, but newcomers are often required to show private coverage during certain visa periods and transitions. Even if you end up covered later, you often pay a real monthly premium at the start.

This cost doesn’t feel huge on its own. €600 per month for a couple sounds manageable.

Then you multiply it by 18 months and it becomes €10,800.

That is a whole year of groceries.

This is why people run out. They ignore the quiet categories and focus on the fun ones.

3) The car is the sneaky American import that rebuilds the U.S. cost structure

The South of France is seductive because of the villages. The coast roads. The idea that you will hop to markets and beaches like a local.

The truth is that many locals do drive, especially outside major city cores. The trap is buying a car before you understand your real pattern.

Once you own one, you pay for:

• insurance
• fuel
• parking
• tolls
• maintenance
• stress tickets in places that were not built for your SUV brain

A car can turn a manageable budget into a burning budget.

This is the blunt line: one car can be the difference between 18 months and 30 months on a $200,000 runway.

The visa and paperwork costs nobody budgets for properly

Americans often do a cute spreadsheet with rent, groceries, and “fun.”

They rarely budget for the friction costs, the paperwork costs, and the “being new” costs.

If you are staying longer than the Schengen 90-day window, you will be dealing with visa and residence pathways that require documents, fees, and usually private insurance. France-Visas also emphasizes proof of resources and coverage for medical expenses for many situations.

Even if the fees are not massive, the process creates costs:

• document translations
• photos, certified copies, shipping
• travel to appointments
• time in bureaucracy that can disrupt work plans
• paying for help when you get stuck

Then there’s the resources requirement for visitor-style residence pathways, which often ties back to a minimum annual resources amount. In late 2025, France’s net monthly minimum wage was around €1,426, and some visitor status guidance references a similar annual threshold.

The point is not the exact number. The point is that many people end up proving financial resources while also burning cash. They are literally spending the runway to prove they have a runway.

That creates a weird pressure: they hesitate to move to a cheaper city because they think it looks “less stable,” but the cheaper city would actually protect their finances.

The most common financial mistake is paying for the easiest path in the first year, then realizing the easy path is the expensive path.

The five mistakes that turn a French dream into a cash bonfire

Here is how the couple got to month 18 with a scary bank balance.

Mistake 1: They treated the first six months like vacation

This is the honeymoon trap.

You eat out more. You do more day trips. You buy little “we live here now” things. You say yes to every experience because you think saying no is failing at your new life.

Six months of that behavior can burn an extra €6,000 to €12,000 without you feeling reckless.

Mistake 2: They rented a furnished place at a premium, then stayed too long

Furnished rentals are convenient, but they are often priced like convenience.

In places with tourist pressure, furnished long-term rentals can be brutally expensive per square meter. It’s the classic move: “We’ll do furnished for a year while we settle.” Then the year goes by, and the effort to move feels overwhelming, and they renew.

That renewal can be the thing that kills the runway.

Mistake 3: They bought space they did not need

The second bedroom, the terrace, the view, the nicer neighborhood, the “this feels like the dream” extras.

If their rent was €2,400 instead of €1,800, that’s €600 more per month.

Over 18 months, that is €10,800.

That’s the entire private insurance cost again. This is why housing is the lever.

Mistake 4: They added a car before learning their actual geography

They wanted villages. They wanted flexibility. They wanted the feeling of control.

They ended up paying for a car while still walking most days, and still taking trains for longer trips because parking was annoying. The car became a monthly bill for the emotional comfort of having it.

That is how Americans rebuild the U.S. structure inside Europe.

Mistake 5: They didn’t build a real buffer line

Most people budget like this: “Here’s what we spend.”

They do not budget like this: “Here’s what will go wrong.”

In France, the “wrong” can be small but expensive:

• a medical bill you pay up front
• a legal or tax consultation
• replacing a laptop
• a last-minute flight home
• a deposit plus overlapping rent when you move
• a landlord dispute you need help with

Without a buffer, you feel broke even when you are not technically broke. You also make dumb decisions from fear, like staying in an expensive apartment because moving feels risky.

The couple didn’t run out because France is impossible. They ran out because they didn’t treat the runway like fuel. They treated it like a lifestyle.

Where $200,000 lasts longer in the South of France without feeling like exile

If you want the light, the markets, and the southern rhythm, you do not have to pay Riviera pricing.

The better strategy is often to choose a city where daily life is normal, and visit the postcard places instead of living inside them.

In December 2025, SeLoger’s rental estimates put Montpellier around €15 per square meter on average, and Marseille around €16 per square meter on average, with variation by neighborhood and condition.

That difference matters.

If you drop your rent by even €500 to €800 per month, your runway changes shape immediately.

Here are cities that often give you “South of France life” with less financial pressure:

• Montpellier: lively, walkable, student energy, beaches nearby, strong transport
• Marseille: rough edges, real city, big culture, big savings compared to the Riviera, but you need neighborhood discipline
• Nîmes: smaller, calmer, good base city, easy train links
• Perpignan: closer to Spain, warmer, cheaper, not glossy
• Toulon: still coastal, often less hyped than Nice and Cannes
• Avignon: more inland, strong rail connections, festival city energy at times

The goal is not to “downgrade.” The goal is to stop paying a premium for being near tourists every day.

If you want a simple framing, it’s this: live where locals live, visit where tourists visit.

That one decision can turn an 18-month runway into a multi-year runway without changing your personality.

Your first 7 days before you sign anything in France

If you are planning a move with a fixed pot of money, your first week should be brutally practical.

Day 1: Convert your runway into euros and pick a burn ceiling

Decide the maximum you can spend monthly if you want your money to last at least two years, or three years, or whatever your real goal is.

Write it down. A runway without a ceiling becomes a vacation.

Day 2: Choose your housing rule, and do not break it

Pick one of these rules and commit:

• Rent must be under 25 percent of monthly spend
• Rent must be under €1,800 for a couple living on savings
• No second bedroom until you have stable income in France

If you break the housing rule, you will pay for it later. Housing sets the mood of everything else.

Day 3: Decide your car policy for the first 90 days

No car purchase in the first three months. Rent a car when you need one. Test your real pattern.

If you still need a car after 90 days, you will know why, and you will buy with clearer eyes. Freedom is expensive when you buy it too early.

Day 4: Price the boring categories properly

Insurance, phone plans, transport passes, pharmacy, and admin costs.

Make a line called “France friction” and put at least €300 in it monthly. This is the stuff people pretend won’t happen.

Day 5: Build your “one big trip” line item

If you will fly back to the U.S. once a year, budget it monthly. If you do not, you will blow the budget the moment a family situation happens.

Day 6: Pick your base city with a train test

If you can reach the coast in under an hour by train, you can live inland and still have the sea. Run the routes. Check the timing. Make the decision with rail, not fantasy.

Day 7: Do one uncomfortable conversation with yourselves

What are you buying with this move?

If it’s daily Riviera beauty, you will pay for it with a shorter runway.

If it’s calmer life and better days, you can get that in places that are less famous and more stable.

That is the actual trade.

The decision at the end of the spreadsheet

A $200,000 move to the South of France can work. It just cannot be run like a long holiday.

If you treat the money like fuel, keep housing contained, delay the car, and choose a base city that is not priced like a postcard, you can make the runway last.

If you insist on the Riviera version of the dream, a second bedroom, a car, lots of dining out, and frequent travel, then the runway will shrink until you start making anxious choices.

And anxious choices are how people end up going home.

So the real choice is not France versus America.

It’s this: do you want the famous address, or do you want time.

Because with $200,000, you rarely get both.