You’ll hate living in France, unless you know those things! Thanks to Vivaia for sponsoring this video, get 12% off with my code: lucile12
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Watch my other cultural commentary videos:
– Why is it so Easy to be Thin in France? https://youtu.be/sHKXlAnVgo8?si=KOZxQ3ClzcytMq1E
– Why Are French People So Rude? My Thoughts as Local! https://youtu.be/GkxzKuL5gP4?si=p5fXjIv9oCrx8wrz
– Why Parisians are Forced to Live in Tiny Apartments: https://youtu.be/oWwyZUe6MjY?si=udcnnZf59I569gi2
– Why France Has Better Food Than The USA: https://youtu.be/C7fIHeVypdI?si=18f2MiAC8TEeLNrk
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People in this video:
@LivingBobby @brettconti @frenchguytheo
#france #paris #lifeinparis #byalocal
42 Comments
Thanks to Vivaia for sponsoring this video:
Get 12% off with my code: lucile12
– Square-Toe Mary-Jane (Margot Mary-Jane): https://j1l.in/4libH3
– Pointed-Toe Mid Heels (Anna): https://j1l.in/B8ugF4
– Round-Toe Knee-High Platform Chunky Wool Wedge Boots (Eduarda): https://j1l.in/B8ugF4
I would definitely take some inconveniences to get away from American work culture. It's toxic and destroying my health. Currently learning French in hopes of one day moving overseas.
Bahaha moi je voudrais trop vivre au Japon mais, pareil, c'est beau et tout paraît mieux qu'en France mais… Il parait que la vit est dur là bas 🙁
For anyone, living in any country in the world, Job One is to learn the local language.
We Americans expect that as a matter of course from immigrants to our country, and then we fail to realize that people in other countries quite naturally expect us Americans to do that when living in their country.
Free healthcare? Really (humor)
I remember visiting Paris in 2019. I just loved it despite what some people had to say about Paris.
Some French people told me that the Southern France people differ from Parisian people …I immediately understood what they meant.For example North, East, South and West Germany are completely different. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed my time Paris and had only good experience
It's not free healthcare wen you're taxed approximately 15 per cent of your wages every month whether you want it or not; that's definitely not free.
Jamaican American who considers Paris my second home, after NYC. I loveeeee Paris, because of the walkability, the friendliness of the locals and the food OMG. I’ve heard loads of stories about negative experiences that people have had, but I’ve never experienced it myself.
Visited Paris twice already and about to go there in 2 weeks – the Parisians have been the BEST! So welcoming and willing to help…IF you try and speak French (which makes a whole bunch of sense).
Lucile, have you read the book 'The Discovery Of France' by Graham Robb? I read it years ago and it definitely introduced me to a far more in-depth view of France.
Personnellement, je déteste tous ces français qui sont partis aux usa en crachant sur la France pour payer moins d'impôts et quand ils ont entre 50 et 60 ans, quand les factures médicales deviennent trop chères, ils reviennent pour profiter de la sécurité sociale et des soins gratuits.
Personally, I hate all those French people who left for the USA, spitting on France to pay less taxes and when they are between 50 and 60 years old, when the medical bills become too expensive, they come back to take advantage of social security and free care.
When they arrive in France, they discover Africa.
You forgot French racism, nationalism and arrogance but overall good video
I lived in France for 18 years and loved it. I go back as often as possible and feel at home.
One can belong to more than one culture! It's interesting, it's fun and is creative!
Paris is complicated and I have mixed emotions about it. Today's Paris moves like NYC with a fast pace. Working people scurry about trying to make a living. On the other hand, it's like living in a historical museum and just walking along the rues and boulevards you can experience the amazing history and art. Short of having the wealth to rent or buy a pied à terre and keeping one foot planted in the US, for me the issue is affordability, overall quality of Iife after the enchantment fades and giving up my profession paying in the low 6 figures.
I realize there’s more to France than Paris but the other major cities are still expensive and I don't have a taste for their numerous rural villages where I would forever be an outsider.
When getting older living in USA you live in the anxiety to be sick and having to go to the hospital.
My best friend is French and from Normandy. She hates France and the French herself 😂
Free health care? Funny. The French pay in taxes.
A lot of people are looking for Utopua. But it doesn't exist anywhere.
Le probleme n'est pas la France mais les francais !
Very nice video. Would love to visit France one day, but really have to learn the language before that… 😅
I want to retire in France. It's my dream to visit Paris❤
I've been in France for 30 years, married to a Frenchie, with three grown bi-nationals.
I've been in France for 30 years, married to a Frenchie, with three grown bi-nationals.
I've been in France for 30 years, married to a Frenchie, with three grown bi-nationals.
I've been in France for 30 years, married to a Frenchie, with three grown bi-nationals.
I've been in France for 30 years, married to a Frenchie, with three grown bi-nationals.
I'm an American who has been living in northeast France with her French husband and three adult children for the past 30 years. Still cursed/blessed with an accent, which is the starting point of a daily conversation on where I'm from, their last vacation in the USA, etc…
The more I've learned to navigate my world here, the better it gets. In any case, I feel more at home here than in the States.
Something that is deep in French culture is the fact that communication is very context dependent contrary to German or Anglo-Saxon culture.
The latter will try to explain their assumptions more and the French tend to react that they are being treated like little kids.
Wise words. Expectations are the name of the game.
I think the expectation thing is big. I think part of the problem is that explaining some of the "people" or "everyday culture" (or below the surface on the iceberg) things is that people from all countries tend to take things personally and try to "moralize" differences. Which then leads to people either denying the differences or bashing the other culture. At least this is what I feel like a lot of American expats do. I'm from the Midwest US and studied in Romania. It was a while ago, and to your point in terms of differences in culture, I thought that meant language, music, food, etc., not how people interact with strangers. And the only thing I was told was not to be an obnoxious American. So when people in Romania didn't act like Midwestern Americans (small talk, friendly to strangers, etc.) I thought it was because they knew I was American and were treating me differently. Luckily Romanian students explained what was going on. And I loved Romania. But a lot of Americans feel like they have to either say there are no differences or paint the picture that the Romanian (or insert other country) way of doing things is better. I'm not sure if it goes the opposite way, but I've noticed when watching YouTube videos about culture shock they tend to be come across as "Americans just don't understand the superior way that (insert European country) people do things. Once they understand they will realize it is better" or "the difference doesn't really exist, if there is a difference it's because you are the problem". Both of these just keep the false expectations thing alive.
I feel like I was lucky that I studied abroad before YouTube videos on culture shock were a big thing. I was totally unprepared yes. But I also was allowed to process things and especially differences in my own time. I love Midwestern culture and I love Romania. I was upset at first because I thought Romanians were treating me differently because I was American. But I would have also been upset if I thought the only reason Romanians were treating me differently was because I wasn't being "respectful enough" or they would act like Midwesterners if I "acted correctly". Because it just wouldn't be the case. I also think I wouldn't have adapted as quickly if I was told that the way Romanians act towards strangers was superior to my own. I would have naturally been defensive. But just learning that is how it is, and not trying to justify or over analyze the culture made it easier to adopt and appreciate.
Correction: Why Americans will hate France! It's all about finding ur tribe, but when u have a main character energy like so many Americans, u can't open up yo things you don't know or things that don't center you. ALSO, only Americans will tell a French person they hate French people upon meeting for the 1st time.
I’m french and I’ve lived in Guéret, a small town, and in Limoges and in England and I live in Paris now, and I’ve travelled abroad a lot, and I think that the French, and particularly the Parisians, are not so bad, specially if you're polite with them… And yes, we use dryers, usually taller than the one you show, that we call "tancarville". And I can speak english, italian, german and a little bit of spanish, and I’m not the only one ! And when I travel abroad I make an effort to learn a few words of the countries I plan to visit. Are the Americans or the English more lazy or stupid than the French so as to be unable to learn foreign languages ?
Regarding "Hello.": French people, such as the clerk at the hotel or the ticket seller at the train station or the fellow manning the newspaper kiosk, think that Americans are rude because they do not begin the encounter with a gracious "Comment allez-vous?" The American, however, approaches the encounter with a concern to get straight to the point in order not to waste the other person's time, or the time of the person who is waiting in line behind the American. It's a different sense of courtesy.
This is such a fun channel! I can't imagine why anyone would move to France without bothering to learn the French language! I'd love to visit France one day as it's such a fascinating and historically rich land. I studied the language through high school and college but native speakers are a bit too fast for me to always understand fully. FWIW, in America we're used to lots of accents and if you can speak passable English even if heavily accented you'll be accepted by most people.
je trouve que vous exgerez enormement. Je vis aux Etats Unis et jamais personne ne m'a dit qu'il detestait la France ou vivre en France. Paris est une grande ville et comme toutes les grandes villes il y a des inconvenients a y vivre. Il y a aussi des problemes de bureaucratie aux US et si vous allez a la poste il y a toujours une attente d;une demi heure. Le probleme est le meme quand on vient d;Europe et qu;on s'installe aux US, on ne va pas se retrouver dans un filme hollywoodien .
I grew up learning French and have always felt blessed to be able to communicate with people fairly easily in France. But compared to 30 or 40 years ago, I think it is now very easy to navigate Paris even if you don't speak much French. Most Parisians are genuinely helpful to American visitors. And yes, saying "bonjour" when you enter a store or meet someone is an immediate ice-breaker, even if it's the only word you know. Outside of Paris, language is more of an issue, particularly if you intend to live there for more than a month. But it's not rudeness by the French so much as discomfort that they don't speak much English. I've often experienced where someone apologizes for their poor English, even though I spoke French first. It's also really valuable to see more of the country, as it is so diverse. Paris is just one thread of the beautiful tapestry of la belle France!
I love France, but hadn't been to Paris for years. When I revisited, recently, I expected it to be as it was, 25 years ago, rather than the cesspit it's become. I won't adapt. I'll just avoid it, henceforth. A tragedy. Fortunately, there are countless other French gems to explore and enjoy.
Loving anything is fundamentally an act of faith. You have to decide more or less at the outset that you are going to like someone/someplace/something and then take the disappointments in stride. Results-oriented open-mindedness has its function in life but love and happiness are among them them. If you let results and experiences dictate how you feel about a place, you will always end up at a somewhat moderate "I didn't love it but I didn't hate it" conclusion. Which is fine if that's what you want. But if you want to be happy, affirmatively positively happy, about a place, you pretty much have to go in determinedly prejudiced in its favor. That's just the way the human mind works.
So many clichés,.so easy to crack down on France and French. Obviously you will not live on Champs Élysées and hear Édith Piaf sing down the streets. And what does it mean "French suck" when there is such a diversity of people from all over the world in an immigration country for decades like France?
I am an American who grew up very close to a family whose mother was French and her husband American. He was fine. Open and friendly , but she was a snob from the slums of Paris. Their French friends were the same superficial fashion snob types . Paris has some beautiful buildings and parks, for sure , but i definitely did not enjoy the people. I love my America because of the kindness and openness of people. True though, French food is great!
Paris 2009-2014. Beautiful, magical, magnificent. But the French seem very impractical and technically inept. They have world class tech but can't use it. The rudeness I can live with, but nothing simply seems to work.