rasiah thanks for the details.
Here pay scales are national so as we live in a fairly cheap area of France I guess that's why we feel well-off.
Our mortgage is 1000? a month, but we'll have paid it off in a couple of years (12yr loan).
Childcare is heavily subsidized, particularly for under-threes, at most I paid 800? to the childminder per month, half of which I got back in benefits. Nowadays both DS are in school and it works out as 400-500? a month, including lunches.