London vs Paris for couples
London, in the United Kingdom, and Paris, in France, are about 344 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules. London leads on safety and getting by in English; Paris on cost, healthcare and internet speed.
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Side by side
Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.
Factor by factor
Cost of living
Paris is cheaper: we estimate about €3,993 a month for a couple living centrally, against €4,315 in London. That is €322 a month, or 7%, less.
Taxes
A tie: the United Kingdom and France both sit in our high tax tier.
Climate
Paris is 2°C warmer on average over the year: 13°C against 11°C in London. Rainfall is similar: about 669 mm a year in London and 659 mm in Paris.
Safety
London is the safer pick: the United Kingdom scores 56 out of 100 on safety, 4 points above France (52).
Healthcare
Paris has the stronger healthcare: France scores 80 out of 100 on healthcare, 6 points above the United Kingdom (74).
Internet
Paris has faster home internet: about 230 Mbps median fixed download against about 110 Mbps in London.
Language
Main languages: English in London; French in Paris. English goes further in London (English everywhere) than in Paris (some English).
Residency and visas
Both are rated possible, with conditions for long-term residency. France has a self-funded route from about $1,720 a month in income; we track no income-based route for the United Kingdom. For short visits, 35 of 198 passports can enter the United Kingdom visa-free and 93 can enter France.
Which one fits a couple
If one of you puts safety (56 against 52 out of 100) and getting by in English (English everywhere against some English) first, London comes out ahead. If the other cares more about cost (€3,993 against €4,315 a month), healthcare (80 against 74 out of 100) and internet speed (230 Mbps against 110 Mbps), Paris does.
Climate can pull the two of you apart too: a partner who wants warmth leans toward Paris (13°C on average), while one who minds the heat leans toward London (11°C).
Size differs too: London is a major city (over 5 million people) and Paris a large one (1 to 5 million people). London is coastal; Paris is near the coast.
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