The other side of the French postcard

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Hi Denver,

Anything to share with us?

Regards
Armand
Expat.com Team

On one hand, I live a fairytale life making wine with my husband in a beautiful setting. We eat well, drink well and my everyday routine is much more simple than it was when I lived in the States. On the other hand, I come from a city of 5 million people and sometimes get bored living in a small town where there aren't many options as far as things to do and places to explore. Something I also miss about life in the US is that you can have a conversation with almost anyone anywhere, at the bank, at the post office, in line for groceries, etc. Not everyone has something interesting to say, but overall I find it a very enriching aspect of American life that I haven't found in France.

Hello all,

This is a nice description about expat living: looking tı the two sides of a postcard. One side is with a charming city photo, but the other side is empty and waiting for your experiences to fill up and tell to the other. For me, I live in Lyon, it is a nice city but the front side of my postcard is not charming as a Paris, NY or London card I mean, Lyon is not a city that can be on top of someones dream cities list,  or doesn't have iconic pictures like Paris to attract you.

But this is also something good that you don't feel the pressure of a big city. Life is easy, travel durations are short, safe, reachable prices, large green areas, calm etc.. But on the other side, since it is not a cosmopolit city it is a little bit close to the foreigners. Especially if you don't know French, until you get used to, it is very hard to conduct your daily life easy and pleasant. But i overcomed with this unpleasant memories with locals with not taking it personal. It is their culture, nothing about me. And since they are at their home and i am the visitor, I should play the game with their rules. And when you break your prejudgements, first impressions start to out the first step you will see even talking very bad French is better than trying to communicate in English. At least for Lyon it is like this

Hey Julien. Well, here's my two cents.

I've been in France since 2005. Finished my studies and currently working here. I live in Cergy, a Paris suburb. Coming from Singapore, what I can say is France and Singapore are on the opposite sides of the scale while totally being equal. However we're not here to talk about that. That'll be for another time.

The two sides of my French postcard. I guess when people think about France, Paris, romanticism, great architecture and vibrant art scene comes to mind. I think it's true when you're a tourist. I still remember my first French croissant and the numerous walks in Paris. Ah yes, the enchantment.

However, life's different when you start living in a country. People only see the beautiful facade of Paris or rather that's what certain French would like to portray. Just like any other city and country, Paris and France have their other sides. Unemployment, crime, high living expenses, noise, hustle and bustle and not to mention the huge number of hobos or what the French call SDF: people living on the streets. It pains me to see them.

On a good note, Paris and it's suburbs are very cosmopolitan. True that France is a european country but it has a huge population of immigrants due to its colonial past. However, I'm not complaining. Being a foreigner myself, I like living in a cosmopolitan environment. Kind of reminds me of Singapore. Anyway, the thing about the French is that no matter how good you speak their language, you'll always get that "look" before you speak. The "look" on their faces as if saying "I'm preparing myself to try really hard to understand what he will say cause his French will be difficult to understand". Yes, that "look". LOL. But hey, I'm not French and I don't want to be. The French are very proud of their language and there's a certain chauvinistic patriotism about it. I've always heard people arguing that French is a language of literature and English is just a business or commercial language. Then I'll always remind them of Chaucer, Gower, Spenser, Shakespeare, Wilde and Dickens among others. Argument closed needless to say. LOL.

Anyway to sum it all, I love the fact that France has a rich history and that the art scene in France is vibrant and that the sky's the limit. You can express yourself, up to a certain extent of course, more than in other countries. However, relationships are very difficult to establish and help from strangers is a rare commodity.

So, I must say that we need to see the two sides of the postcard cause that's what a postcard needs:
Two sides.

Till next time...