I might be saying something here that a lot of people from the US think that it is rubbish, is that i believe what Olof Palme said in a interview 'That any country that doesn't have free healthcare for it's tax paying citizens has failed as a country'. I believe this to be true, and about the smartest and truest thing you can say how a country is governed.
I've lived in France for more than 25 years. Every time I go back to the States, I feel like I have to eat twice as much just to feel that I've ingested enough nutrition. The best part of living here is the respect the French (I'm French now too) have for food.
@@MikeLikesChannel If the only gun violence in US was suicide, it probably wouldn't be frowned upon that much? If no children were harmed or killed by their parents or sibling or by suicide (down to 1-4 years old?!) Mike, are you deliberately being obnoxious or plain stupid? So what you took away from a visit to Paris was ... cigarettes ... the smell of .. cigarettes - right.
@@MikeLikesChannel please... It's a joke? It's clear that they are not speaking about a single bad habit (smoke or whatever else) but about a whole health system
@@MikeLikesChannel you're not wrong. The French smoke too much. Which is what makes it makes it interesting that even so, the French are much healthier than US Americans. The last time I was on a French metro train at rush hour, I was struck by the fact that in that jam-packed train not one single person was seriously overweight.
My husband and I just retired to Ireland four months ago. It is wonderful here, the food is good, the air and water are clean, the people are kind and friendly. We do not own a car, our town is walkable and we can take the train to larger cities. And - healthcare is affordable and high quality.
Music to my ears! Please start a youtube channel! But seriously, how would you compare Ireland to UK and France and US? I have already been thinking of Ireland, but have never been there.
Wow, the summer was non existent this year and you still like it. I love it, never too cold, never to hot. Easy access to all Europe has to offer for holidays, but I always love coming home.
@@donnaknapik9838 100K in passive income for two prohibits my wife and I from immigrating to Ireland as seniors. We’re about 10k short. We just came back from a 10 day vacation there and we enjoyed it immensely. Food is fresh and the people are friendly.
I swear,if I were younger I'd choose Ireland. I have duel citizenship but the culture shock at 79... I am increasingly uncomfortable with so much of US culture ( and politics!).
@systemai Ummm. Yeah : The most common German greeting used in Austria is "Grüß Gott," which translates to "God bless you". Sorry, what were you talking about?
@systemai Do they reference God in their greeting? Yes. BTW: If you don't like the United States , and lay awake at night disliking us, we don't care. We don't think about you at all
I retired in 2023 and my dream to take a 3-4 month roadtrip and see 10 National Parks came true. We met many beautiful friendly people but I noticed an uptick on rude, mean, angry, selfish, entitled, pushy, demanding people on the road, in small towns, in stores, at campgrounds. It made us sad to see its the new norm and they seemed proud of it. We met many Germans, French, Russian, Asian travels that seemed very calm and friendly. We have dear friends from England that told us many years ago that Americans are arrogant and think they are better then anyone else. Its sad especially when we are all humans with the same ancestry. None of us came from another planet. Thank you for your refreshing video 🥰
We have a newly-arrived faculty member in our department, originally from Lyon, been here in Atlanta area for about 8 months. I asked him at the bar the other day, "What's been most surprising good thing since moving here, and what's been the worst?" He said hands-down the best has been and continues to be discovering that his neighbors, work colleagues, and even strangers are genuinely welcoming and go way, way out of their way to help him and his family on every level. The worst? The fear of a school shooting looms much greater in his mind and his wife's mind than they'd ever considered it might.
I moved to France with my wife and my daughter, and Number 4 is definitely up there for me, were I to make a list similar to yours. I think for me its shootings in general, but I will never forget how good it felt to go to a movie theatre in our town in France and just heave a big SIGH of relief and relaxation, knowing that the odds of someone coming into the theatre and shooting it up was no longer something that I had to worry about. It was so beautiful and sad at the same time. I suddenly realized that I had neither fully relaxed nor felt safe watching a movie at the theatre in America in YEARS. Great video, and cheers to the good life y'all have built.
Perhaps related to this situation - you can let your daughter go to school on a bike or just walk, without having to worry too much. Ok, nowhere is perfect land and accidents happen everywhere, but the overall risk is something that influences our daily lives. When you realize that your child hasn't told about awareness drills with how to barricade doors or how to evacuate a classroom through a window for months or years - what a precious moment...
@@nox8730depuis 2015? Mais tu es au courant de l'actualité en France, amigo? En 2023, nous avons passé la barre des 1000 homicides par balle, nous sommes le pays d'Europe où il en a le plus en nombre, donc en proportion devant l'Allemagne et tous les autres. 120 attaques au couteau PAR JOUR en moyenne en France, ça te parle? Faut arrêter avec la France par-ci, la France par-là; nous sommes loin d'être un exemple. Et ne parlons pas des profs égorgés en plein jour. Ils sont gentils, les deux là, mais ils en sont encore à la lune de miel avec la France. Qu'ils viennent à Marseille par exemple et ils verront autre chose...s'ils veulent bien ouvrir les yeux.
Hi guys! We lived in Houston for 30years… a year ago we built a house in Fulshear…35 miles west. It has dark skies at night and way less violence than Houston! Feels very safe. (I would move to France in a heartbeat…after the election, the US is now basically a fascist country….feels like per WW2 Germany.) I’m 74. Pray for us.
I am atheist, so praying would be insincere. Wish you the best. We in Austria had general elections lately, and an extremist right party won. Now the other parties - conservative, social democrat, liberal - are banding up against them and will likely form the new government, and the new parliament is likely to extradite the leader of the rightist party to what in the U.S. would be the attorney general. I've never valued our sh…y Austrian political system so much in my life. Best of wishes to you in the states. Good luck. You're gonna need it. Like never before in your history.
Lets see how you feel in 4 years...Trump was president for 4 years and nothing bad happened. Things have gotten so much worse since he left office. Things will improve b/c the messes Biden made will be cleaned up...Don't worry needlessly. The media is stoking your fear. Most of what they say is totally off base. You probably won't believe me but I'm 74 too and I am thankful that things turned out like they did. I do have a question: how do you know what WW2 Germany felt like? And what would that have to do with us, here and now? Trump is not Hitler...that's another lie you've heard repeatedly and apparently believed. You just wait and see if I'm right.
How do you know what WW@ Germany felt like? You were born after the war. You are worrying for nothing. The media is lying about Trump. He was president 4 years and he followed the Constitution then and he'll do it again. You're just unhappy that the majority of Americans think differently than you do...that doesn't make us a fascist nation..it makes us a democracy. Open up your mind and entertain the idea that maybe YOU are wrong and the rest of us are right.
I have a very vivid memory when travelling across the US. We had been using the long distance buses/coaches - and had numerous minor "incidents" around us, including one shooting and the police stopping the bus to pull the perp off. Every time we crossed the border into Canada it was like a weight lifting from us. The constant sense of threat was the weight removed.
Gun violence is the number one problem in the US for me, pure non sense. I'm French and I'm glad to hear that you are feeling safe and happy in our country.
En France, on a pas d'armes a feu mais du coup, on a le droit aux attaques au couteau ! 😂 ils se sentent en sécurité car ils vivent à la campagne (encore un peu épargnée)
@@safedreams6241 , la criminalité reste trés largement inférieur chez nous, aucne comparaison, les chiffres sont publiques sur le web. D'ailleurs, la France n'est pas plus criminalisé que la majorité du reste de l'Europe de l'ouest, la aussi les chiffres sont disponible. Trop de mauvaise presse sur la France qui sont absolument fausse dans la majorité des cas.
Crime is local. The US spans a continent. Some US States have lower gun violence rates than some Western European countries. Some US cities rank as some of the most homicidal on earth. France has similar contrasts, though perhaps less dramatic.
No country is perfect, but the States seems particularly broken. Things are far from perfect in the UK, but the projected division we hear about America makes me grateful for where I am (and also for next to no money, I can jump on a plane and be in a different country in no time). Politics and religion have a lot to answer for.
The underlying mistake many countries make about traffic is what's the called the theory of perceived capacity. In other words, if drivers perceive that a road, whether it's a small lane or an 8-lane highway has the capacity to help them get to where they want to go quicker, then they take it. So, paradoxically another laneway will always just mean more cars, not the same number of cars going faster. The trick, and this is the unpalatable bit for lots of places to accept, is to realise that discouraging people from using their cars is the best and only way to reduce traffic - along with the provision of very high quality public transport.
Not having to stop will get you there faster... But for sure not requiring a car is better, public transport, biking or walking. Or simply not all travelling to the pointless city centre each day.
Yes, Capitalism and Consumerism are strong in the US. What will the end of the money experiment look like though? I think we are beginning to see signs of it. Project 2025 anyone? In US you are free to F'-up more badly than nearly anywhere else.
I'm from Norway, and l find this video very educational. We value our free time like the French as well. That might be something we have in common in Europe, even though our cultures are very different. I think both Americans and Europeans can get a better understanding watching this, because it's very easy for us to call Americans stupid. But when you grow up with this, and don't get much input from other countries, it's easier to understand their way of thinking.
Well that's very kind of you but I live here and unfortunately stupid fits. My friends resemble these fine people but many are willfully ignorant. I've cut all stressful ties. Traitors not welcome here. Never knew I was capable of such raging anger for my own people.
@@lklpalka I would guess that it`s more ignorance and misinformation than stupidity. It`s a little bit sad to see that the things that we look at as positives like cheap education and healthcare, are used as negatives and examples of the terrifying socialism. The fact is that it`s not"free", but rather paid through our taxes. I also think the two-party system is a problem. If people had more choices they could pick someone closer to themselves, instead of having to choose between two people that a lot of people might not have much in common with. Good luck living your life in France. I`m up in Norway living my best life. I`m working, but my focuse is on family and quality of life
I swear I heard someone on radio say today the campaign for the 2026 congress began last Wednesday (the day after the 2024 election). There was mention of likely challengers to an incumbent,PLUS names for possible presidential candidates in 2028. (IF, that is). I take nothing for granted now.
In lived in the US for 5 years before moving to France 20 years ago. I remember being completely chocked when I went to the pharmacy for the first time with a prescription and my Carte Vital and the pharmacist gave me all the medications and when I asked him how much should I pay his answer was… well nothing….
We don't really get medications for free. They're being paid by the social healthcare and complementary insurances that each worker mandatory contributes through direct levies on salary. It is notably great to be able to get urgent medical care in hospital without being worried about the price. The main drawback is that we, french people, have a tendency to forget that medical care has a high cost and that they are paying for it, but not directly. I think, MDs and pharmacists should present an invoice showing the amounts paid by healthcare and insurances in order for us to see the medical care cost and the reason for our extremely high levies on salary.
@@gillesgambier2202There is sort of wealth that is not seen. If you need it: you're lucky 'cause you have it, if don't need it you're lucky 'cause you're healthy :-) And the money is in the loop, because not everyone has to save for eventual expenses.
@@gillesgambier2202Seeing the cost should make you feel better not having to pay for it... And in the US the middleman insurance companies rips you off greatly. In the US they pay more for less... 😢
Im a New Zealander, my life saved twice by our national healthcare. When i left the first time after a 3 week stay i just signed my discharge and left, no money. But i did go back with flowers (they always get flowers) for the nurses. I am happy to pay taxes here as it pays my med bills forever.
Living in France for 9 years, or so, and I appreciate the general sense of solidarity here among citizens. For example, it's not uncommon to see people chatting with homeless folks and pan-handlers. I've seen it in Paris and in the provinces. Americans are no doubt friendly too, but you get the sense that they believe poverty is a choice.
I live in the Caribbean A french canadian friend came to visit.When he bite into a tomato there was a look of shock on his face and promptly became to stack his plate with tomatoes He had never tasted tomaties like these back home
Hope you don't mind me mentioning my home country of the UK. It might be interesting for you to compare. We had a school shooting in Dunblane, Scotland in 1996 when sixteen very young children aged five and six and one teacher were murdered by a madman with a gun. The country was utterly traumatised. I clearly remember listening to a radio report from there when I was in a traffic jam and feeling the tears running down my face. When I looked across, the man in the car next to me was crying too. Gun laws were then toughened in terms of the types of gun you could buy, where you kept them, why you wanted them, the method of getting a licence and monitoring of owners etc etc. Contrary to what many Americans think guns were not banned completely. They were tightly controlled. But these laws were quickly introduced and have never been challenged. We have not had a single school shooting in the 28 years since then. Contrast that with the way the USA reacted to equally small children being murdered in Sandy Hook and count the school shootings since. It makes terrifying reading. It's in the hundreds.
The kicker is that, some Americans will go out of their way to tell you that Sandy Hook and the many more school shootings after that did not happen, or that they were staged by the 'insert nonsensical conspiracy theory making X Y Z group, existing or not, responsible'.
In Belgium few people can keep guns at home, need a special permit, gun cabinet and police inspection. Otherwise guns are left locked up at legal shooting ranges.
Remember that well I was driving home from work and had to pull over being quite shocked and didn’t want to drive with tears in my eyes. US citizens unless they unfortunately are involved will not remember school shootings from last week never mind nearly 30 years ago.
Well, we dont remember them all. Tbere are too many. Butcee are not nu.b to them. Most people remember Columbine, sandy hook, several shootings at Virginia tech.... But it is exhausting that not enough of us will push for better laws and now we are stuck with an incredibly permissive supreme court vis a vis guns. Pray for us that common sense will prevail.
The main problem with the us is that instead of guns being a tool for hunting and shooting sports, guns are now a lifestyle/ political statement. I was a republican and am a veteran, and remember when we used to show up to school with a shotgun in the back window after hunting before school (pre columbine),no problems. It all went nuts when the nra became a pac for arms manufacturers instead of being a group to support sportsman. A little over 2 years in france now, i hate going back to visit the us. Luckily, this year, most of the family are coming to visit us.
The main problem with the US is the culture. It's a consumer culture where work is precarious. There are no guarantees like with healthcare and worse yet, health insurance is covered primarily by your employer. Everyone dreams of being a rent seeker in order to seek stability for themselves by exploiting others. There is no common goal amongst the citizens except to participate in the markets. Corporations dictate the culture through advertising and media, encouraging individualism and the eradiation of family relationships. The gun violence is just a symption of a neurotic, self-obsessed society full of greed, lust and desperation.
@@SurpriseMeJT Well said. I wouldn't classify the US as a "first world" country, as long it suffers from what you are describing. What's horrifying is that it's contagious and spread like a disease.
@@nathanjustus6659 do you think mental health issues are unique to USA? People in other countries have mental health issues but they cannot easily acquire guns.
We have been following you for about a year now in preparation for our own move to France. We finally made it here a few weeks ago, one department over from you. Loving our new life. Thanks for the entertainment and information. Greetings from Cognac!
It's very similar in Canada, once an election is called it can take no more than 37 or up to 51 days, that is it. You receive your voter registration in the mail and on the days listed you go an vote, in and out in less than 5 minutes. There are so many polling places to vote, one even in our condo, we just had to take the elevator downstairs and vote or you can do it ahead of time, just as easy. We see more American politics on our TV than Canadian.
One thing helpfull in France, and all over Europe, is public transportation. You can easily live without a car like I do and go everywhere, including in holidays. This summer, I went in holidays to Zagreb by train, from my hometown of Grenoble, and it was great. Having not to take car of a car, besides the obvious cost of ownership, is also something that gives me tranquility.
As a French person I didn't think that this horrible phenomenon of shootings in schools was something so "engaging", it is absolutely terrible for parents. I raised 4 children but I never thought for a single second that such a tragedy could happen in a public or private school here in France. Poor people.😢
It is a constant concern here in the US. Fortunately, both my children have graduated from college but that doesn't mean we don't worry about them especially since they both live in large American cities.
@@steveh46 But where does this violence come from? Is this violent and anarchic "pioneer spirit"? This cult of violence in Hollywood films? These violent religious sects? Seen from Europe, North American civilization has completely lost its way.
@@aimmethod Problem is: Samuel Paty is a tragedy that happens once a decade in France. Actually, it happened only twice in modern history. In the USA there is a Samuel Paty every week. Enough that the media and the people do not care to mention them anymore. But don't worry: we DO think about him indeed. He is not forgotten. And we have expectations in relation to that. It is not about saying "poor him" and then forgetting about it the next day. As may be the case elsewhere.
I believed the myth growing up in US that “the American farmer FEEDS THE WORLD.” Then I went on week-long bike rides in France & Belgium-to-Amsterdam, passed rolling farms throughout, and discovered Western Euro farmers do quite well, thank you.
Chilean here. Agricultural country. It is very likely that the really tasty apples (or grapes, or peaches, etc.) you bought out of season were Chilean 😉
@@leegarza3986 So very true. Like its the richest country in the world. Not any more. Not even in the top ten. The greatest country in the world. No, it isn't!
C'est bien que vous abordiez des sujets sensibles sans faire exprès de les laisser de côté. C'est + authentique et honnête, toujours un plaisir de vous écouter !
Dis le aux gens autour de toi. On a tendance à nous plaindre. Rien que la carte vitale… aux USA aux Urbences on ye demande ta carte Visa, et l’ambulance est 3000 dollars
@@Vladimir-o8zOne of the main problems in France is the cost of housing. With a net income of €1,500, it’s preferable either not to live in a large city where this cost can be prohibitive or to share expenses as a couple. But even with a combined net income of €3,000, you shouldn’t expect too much when it comes to becoming a homeowner, at least in a large city.
My wife and I had been considering moving to France for several years. (We've both lived "outside" before, so, we know part of the drill.) The funny part is that just the other day, we were talking about the "little" things that drew us there. All four of your items were on the list. For the record, we've been to France seven times over the years. My first visit was to Paris in 1968, just in time to catch the tail end of the demonstrations. That was quite an adventure!
@@nox8730 Thank you sincerely for the input. I've been studying French for several years My wife and I love the language and the culture. Sadly, I am in my later years and malentendant, so I have trouble hearing French in conversation. On the bright side, I read French at a high level. For example, I've read all of Flaubert, most of Camus, a few books by Michel Pastaureau and too many other novels and volumes of French poetry to list. We love Prevert, Apollinaire, Hugo and so many others. French literature is addicting!
@@thistlenstar Oh Prévert. L'amiral Larima, Larime à quoi? La rime à rien. L'amiral Larima, L'amiral Rien. J'ai lu ça quand j'étais gamin, je ne l'ai jamais oublié. Je n'aime pas lire. J'ai toutefois lu du Flaubert, du Zola, du Balzac. "Les Trois Mousquetaires", de ce cher Alexandre, ainsi que sa suite, "Vingt ans après", que j'ai eu le plaisir de lire sur une édition originale de 1850. Bien sûr, Camus, "La Chute". J'ai en revanche détesté "L'espoir" de Malraux, sur la Guerre d'Espagne. Mon seul 'espoir' en l'occurrence était de voir le calvaire s'achever. Littérature et poésie ne peuvent être approchées à travers une traduction. Telle est ma conviction. A part ça... Je comprends bien que tu sois à la retraite. Mon père était avec les flics sur les barricades en 68. L'âge est un facteur qui peut compter, et c'est une circonstance atténuante. Mais la vie ne s'arrête pas à 80 ans. Nous vivons aujourd'hui une époque où 80 ans est encore l'âge des projets. Ma mère étudie présentement l'égyptologie à l'université. La France permet ce genre de chose. Si tu as des soucis avec ton ouïe, sache que ça arrive à d'autres. Préviens ton interlocuteur. Je ne sais quel soins tu reçois aux USA, mais je n'ai jamais croisé quiconque de malentendant avec qui je ne pouvais discuter. En toutes choses, la bonne volonté est la valeur qui prime, et celle qui est la plus à même d'ouvrir des portes. La perfection n'est qu'un absolu. Démontrer que l'on y tend est ce qui donne de la valeur à l'effort. Je ne doute pas que malentendant ou non, des opportunités s'offrent à toi pour faire valoir ton français et nouer des liens en France. Ne parler qu'en anglais ne pourvoiera que des relations superficielles. En particulier quand on considère notre passé troublé avec l'Angleterre et les USA. A chacun sa paroisse, bien sûr, mais je demeure de ceux qui pensent que le voyage ne peut révéler ses vertus qu'à travers la rencontre avec les locaux. Aucun château, jardin ou monument n'aura jamais vraiment de sens si l'on ne comprend pas les us de ceux qui les ont créés. Amicalement.
@@nox8730 Merci pour cette aimable réponse. Je vais bientôt recevoir une aide auditive. La difficulté majeure est la peur de se perdre lors d'une conversation. Mais je vais y travailler! J'ai adoré "Germinal" et "La Chute". Avec "La Chute", j'ai terminé le livre et j'ai immédiatement recommencé à le relire. Quant à Dumas, je n'ai lu que le premier livre de "La Dame de Monsoreau" et la moitié du deuxième livre. C'était une lecture agréable, mais j'ai décidé de lire "Notre Dame de Paris" à la place. Maintenant, je suis à quelques centaines de pages dans "Les Misérables". Souhaitez-moi bonne chance! Nous avons voyagé en France sept fois au fil des ans, nous allons, principalement pour être là, acheter de la nourriture sur les marchés, cuisiner, nous promener et rencontrer des gens quand nous le pouvons. Tchinn Tchinn!
@@nox8730 Learning the language of a place you intend to visit, never mind live in, should be high up everyone's list. When in Rome ... How does anyone expect to interact with the locals if you disregard part of their culture, that is their language? Why should the locals be expected to speak a foreign language, no matter which one it is, if you, as a foreigner, don't make the slightest effort to learn even some basic words such as please, thank you, goodbye, hello, eat sleep drink, whatever.
Our friend just came back from the US after a 2 week stay, she said that fruits and vegetables are out of price and everything is way richer in sugar and fat.. She came back craving for veggies
Ugh. I feel ya about the gun safety issue. There was a lot of anxiety around guns in the US, and really violence in general. For us, as a half African American family, we had the additional anxiety of being targeted due to race - particularly my son who is neurodiverse and an African American male. That has, frankly, been one of the biggest sighs of relief we have had since being here - we do not feel the type of "otherness" that we'd felt in the US for our whole lives. Also, when we met our Mairie a few days ago, he told us the cost certain aspects of keeping up our village roads and water system - there seemed to be full transparency about where our taxes were going. In the US, I NEVER EVER knew what my taxes were paying for. Ever. Living in France is certainly a learning experience for us everyday, but if the extent of our stress is struggling through a conversation with the water company in our district (as opposed to worrying that one of my children might be gunned down in the streets of the US), then the slight discomfort of assimilation into this wonderful new culture is well worth it.
Hello @tracymartin-wray2491 👋 Your family sounds similar to mine in many ways! I have so many questions especially re ND kids and your move. Please reach out to me if you can! It's a wonderful and wise thing you have moved to France. But I sure need to do more research. Merci!!
I see that you use some cryptic words that i don't quite understand as a french: "neurodiverse" or "otherness", amongst others. We don't have this kind of censorship in France. I don't even know if such words are used at all. My advice is to forgo the reliance on that kind of thing as soon as possible. Or you will probably get offended over nothing sooner rather than later. Better prevent this from happening. A good advice is to learn the french way and the french language as soon as possible, if you don't already know it. I have worked with incapacitated kids and some had neurological problems. In France, these kids go to normal schools and get workers like me to support their inclusion with other kids. In my case, i was the teacher, too, since the "main" teacher" simply didn't have the time to handle everything. And so, i had to adapt and find solutions myself. Creating new words is not what brings solutions or a decent life to human beings, according to us. You may not be understood if you bring your vocabulary from the USA. And we don't like little boxes. For the record, i have a TDAH problem. The kids i took care of were autists and kids that suffered from neurological damages. Still, i am a french guy, and they were french kids. Period. Regards.
@nox8730 thank you for the insight! However, I think you may have misunderstood my meaning. What I was saying about France is that we no longer feel beholden to those labels like we did in the US. It's nice just to live our lives as humans without the excess baggage, including unnecessary labels! 😊
@@tracymartin-wray2491 Ah... Sorry, my bad ^^. Seems like i misunderstood indeed. While i read all those americanisms, i started to worry that you may misunderstand what France is all about :) Ouf !
As a (white) Brit living in Portugal, for 20 years I regarded France as my second home. I had a really nice relationship with the exchange family of my younger sister. At first met that family when I was 18. I'm 58 now. And for forty years we've stayed in touch. At that time many British kids would spend a week or two with a French family and vice versa as part of their cultural education. My sister didn't keep up the relationship but I did. Indeed I cycled from the UK (Wales) into France regularly to visit them, to go to weddings and so on. I was always touched by the number of times I was invited into strangers homes to have breakfast while I was passing through small towns and villages. And the number of times I was "beeped' by passing traffic to say "hi to the guy on a bicycle with panniers" or greeted with a happy "Bonjour!" from some lady I'd never ever met putting her clothes out to dry on a washing line in her front garden early in the morning as I cycled past, already hot and sweat. But that these things really left an impression on me. I once went into a pharmacy and left the store quietly without buying anything. The girl at the counter called out a cheery "Au revoir, monsieur!". And, you know, that made me so ashamed of my ignorance that I re-entered the shop, smiled at the young lady, apologised for my ignorance and called out cheerily, with a smile on my face "Au revoir, aussi! Et bonne journée!". She broke into laughter and wished me a great morning, too. One time an old guy - 85 years old and as fit as fiddle - caught up to me on his bike and we cycled together having a chat in French for the next 25km. He was telling how much he loved French bread and how he really missed that when he was in Switzerland. We chatted about all sorts of stuff. He was going to be cycling around 100km that day just for the hell of it and slowed down to keep me company as I made my way through his region on my heavily laden bike. Lovely guy. Eventually he peeled off my route to return home via another. 85 years old. My goodness. I couldn't imagine having that experience in that way in the UK. Certainly not at that time. But it left me feeling like "I wish I could be like him when I'm that age" and "what a wonderful place this would be to live". My affection for France is punctuated by these delightful, happy, day-to-day experiences. There was no shortage of them. I felt more at home there than in the UK and always assumed I'd end up living there with my Portuguese wife. Although I've lived and worked in France and alongside many French people, we ended up staying in Portugal almost by accident. But something (or rather some things) in your post touched me. There are good things and not so good things in any country - France being no different to any other in this regard - but whatever country you live in you must be able to feel at home and at ease with where you are in order to have a happy and fulfilling life. I'm very pleased for you and your family that you seem to have found that peace of mind in France. France - like Portugal and so many others - is a wonderful country. But I also think that one becomes much more positive when given the opportunity for a new beginning. We change when we move country and we do so in a really good way. In part because we have to. In part because we discover things in ourselves that we never had the reason to find before. And in part because we feel lucky to be exactly where we are and making the most of it. Tongue in cheek, when tackling those language barriers with the water company, just keep smiling and go with the flow! 🙂You'll get there eventually with a bit of good humour and patience. I wish you well. Enjoy France! 😉
J'avais conscience que les armes représentaient un problème à l'école aux Etats-Unis, mais votre émotion me montre à quel point c'est omniprésent dans la tête des parents. Cette crainte au quotidien doit être un calvaire. Les français ont parfois un regard critique sur les armes aux US, mais on oublie souvent de penser à celles et ceux qui les subissent avant de penser à celles et ceux qui les utilisent... Content que vous puissiez avoir l'esprit tranquille, ici.
@@kath6720faut arrêter 2 secondes de dire n’importe quoi… la situation en France n’a rien à voir avec celle des USA, même si bien sûr tout est loin d’être parfait!
ça dépend apparemment des états mais je me souviens d'une étudiante américaine quand jétudiais qui a flippé quand on était chez Mcdo et que deux personnes se sont engueulées. L'une delle a sorti son téléphone de sa poche pour commencer à filmer et elle a cru que c'était une arme à cause du geste et s'est jetée par terre de peur. C'était assez dingue, on penserait JAMAIS à ça ici mais elle a expliqué qu'au Texas là d'ou elle venait, son père a été blessé à cause d'une telle altercation.Pas de morts heureusement mais uniquement parce que l'autre a tiré comme un pied et a regretté son juste après. C'est fou franchement.
It's interesting to see that you find French roads in good conditions because a lot of French people complain about them and how better they were 30 years ago. The local governments (département) have often budget difficulties to maintain the rural roads. And, nowadays with climate change, there are a lot more of floodings and landslides destroying roads. That said, the first time I went to the US (long time ago, 1985) I was shocked, driven by my American friend on a major New Jersey highway, when we hit such a nasty pothole that I thought we had lost a wheel...
I wish I had a euro for everytime someone French tells me "you think it's good?? It was so much better 30 years ago!". I'm really beginning to be curious about France in the early 90's. 😂 And I was shocked just now to realize that yes, 1994 was indeed 30 years ago. 😳
@gsbeak we've realized complaining together is a form of bonding in France. 😅 But I also sometimes think that it's great in a way, because it's means French don't just accept things "that's how it is", where as we Americans are kind of like "Make the best of it! Be positive!" Even when in the case of the school shoots for example we should be in the streets like (I think) the French would be!
I was in Quebec last year, my first time in North-America, the road condition was really shocking to me. I believe every country/state/province is different in that regard but nevertheless, I've never seen this out of NA. I can confirm there is still a gap. My other frequent complaint was about how confusing direction signage on the highway could be.
#4 is the one that stands out the most for me. Yesterday half of my daughters school was absent due to threats to the schools in our county. I kept my daughter home but my other daughter is a teacher in that school and she went in to work. I was scared all day. they did apprehend the 15 yr old among others making the threats before they were acted on. Thank goodness. I feel guilty daily sending her to school. During covid i was relieved because she homeschooled. I think about moving to France daily especially since i went to visit for the first time in April. a 40 year dream for me. I love how you cover so much about everyday life there, especially with a middle school aged daughter. just like mine. Maybe one i day i can make it there and maybe even be your neighbor. lol. Thank you for this channel. I love it. My favorite TH-cam channel ever. God bless your family
Ugh, I'm so sorry about yesterday. I remember that feeling. It was why I got so emotional talking about it. Thanks for watching and good luck with move to France plans! ❤️
The grass ain't greener on the other side of the Pond, my friend. This country is NOT what you imagine it in your daydreams. The average salary for instance is 20k A YEAR. 20k, you'll be considered poor in the US. From a Frenchie.
We are hoping to take an early retirement and move over there in the next few years, and your channel in particular is making it harder and harder to put it off. Especially the comments about school gun violence (and gun violence in general) really hit home to me. I love every one of your videos - thanks for them.
Our country is not a paradise. When i was in middle school, in the 90's, was the time when we tried to make roms sociable. Result was: one kid got backstabbed. Many others and even teachers were hurt. Because when a 12 years old kid went and punched you out of nowhere, if you dared say anything, his "big brothers" were going to wait for you outside the school. Roms' way. Plus, even without this, in the normal classes, our spanish teacher ended up locked up in a cabinet every year starting in April (she was so, so small...). And so, she stopped coming to school in march. One english teacher was bullied hard. Bullying was a thing. And mind you, this was meant to be in the "rich" suburb of Bordeaux, not in a ZEP or ZUP. My advice is to watch contradictory videos and testimonies that crap hard on my country. Hopefully, they will be based. Because many are not. But still, better that than hoping for a paradise that doesn't exist. Last thing, if you come anyway, make sure to adhere to french ways and values (which are fundamentally different, and oftentimes, opposed to USA values) and to absolutely learn the french language. Or you won't have have a good time. Hopefully, these warnings will be helpful to some. Regards.
@@lioneldemun6033yeah ... Words vs machine guns that kill dozens of people in e few seconds. Not really thé same though. Fireatms are the leading cause of death for kids end teens in the US. Crime rate in the US is 5,6. Almost 5 times what it is in France (1,2)
Did you actually watch the video ? They never said it does not happen. But the frequency and scale of it is utterly different. If you're scared to get shot when you're out in France, you're simply paranoid. While in the US it IS a daily concern, because it happened 513TIMES ALREADY IN 2024 ! There's a Wikipedia page dedicated to 2024 shootings so long that it has more than 600 references.
1000% agree with everything you shared. I would add that health care is much better in other countries also. Thank you for your honesty, transparency and genuine care for your fellow Americans. We can do much better!
I absolutely don't want to scare you or whatever, but please ne ready for some problems. Be chill. No matter how well préparés you are, pour administration is a nightmare. And it is very slow. You need to accept it before you arrive. But in any case, welcome ! Enjoy, have fun. Bé happy ❤
I never say that I'm proud to be French because I'vent choose it : only chance wanted me to be born in this place on planet earth. But I am happy to be French because I know how lucky we are to live in this country. The problem is that many French people are not aware of this luck: we always complain about everything, as if we lived in the worst place on earth! That's why hearing foreign people, especially Americans, talk about France is comforting and instructive. It reminds me of this sentence by Chateaubriand, a great French writer: when I look at myself I am sorry, when I compare myself I am consoled.
C'est une question de perspective. Moi je préfère voir ceux qui font mieux plutôt que ceux qui font pire. En dix ans notre bien-être en a pris un coup grâce à ceux qui nous gouvernent et laissent des "mineurs" immigrés illégaux livrés à eux-mêmes nous pourrir la vie en soirée. Venez sortir à Rennes ou Nantes par exemple et vous aurez la boule au ventre jusqu'à la porte de votre chez-vous.
@@thepymes As a Welshman, I concur. France is a great country and a lovely place to live or pass through. The people are great and it's always a pleasure.
I always enjoy your videos. This one really hits me. I am so overwhelmed by the politics now. And your comments about school shootings! I don't have kids in school anymore - eventually I will have grandkids in school, but also in general society the danger is there. Anybody who is upset or having a bad day can just pull out a gun. This is crazy.
Brave post guys! Well done! Stuff that needed to be said and things that those of us as Americans living in France, all notice and embrace. Even if you don’t have children, the chances of being gunned down in America at say, a Walmart, are astronomically higher than the rest of the world. Always reminds me of that Onion article on this very subject; how it’s “inevitable”, yet it’s the only western democracy it happens in. The bit on the French roads was so spot on. We are in Minervois & Corbieres wine country in the Languedoc. Even the teeniest of wine roads, which we traversed today, meant for tractors and occasional vehicles, has nary a pothole. The infrastructure here is just eons better than the states. And they’ve semi-privatized the road system so I just don’t get why America can’t keep up 😮 More vlogs please!!! I’m addicted to your channel🤓
Many thanks to post these videos with so soft and intelligent way. I am an European woman, Italian precisely, for me what you are speaking all about is very well known. I went to US and really I didn't like the life that is doing there, the way of thinking either. Every country has its goods and bads but the US world is something very strange to me.
I retired in 2014. Took a look at Europe. Returned to Australia twice, couldn't get a place to live. No problem. I've been in Europe since, except to renew my passport. România 🇷🇴 hit the spot. My Age Pension is more than enough. France 🇫🇷 and Spain 🇪🇸 are brilliant
Thanks again for your videos where I discover each time themes that I would not have even imagined like that of worrying about school shootings. I think that the majority of French people have never seen a gun outside of American series! The only weapon that we know is the hunting rifle with lead cartridges that can only be used with a hunting license and only a few weeks a year.
I'm so happy it's this way in France. I grew up in a place where I could decide on the spur of the moment to go get milk and a handgun literally at the same store. It's often easier to buy a gun than get a drivers license depending on the state.
@@BaguetteBound Avez vous dû passer le permis de conduire français ? Même pour un français, ce n' est pas facile à obtenir et j' ai l' impression, l' intuition que le permis de conduire amléricain est beaucoup plus facilement délivré aux US que le permis de conduire français aux français vue l' absence ou le manque de transports collecttifs qui priveraient l' industrie américaine de main d' oeuvre sans autonomie automobile pour le peuple. Un peu comme les armes à feu coté industriel mais pour d' autres raisons. La France a une administration beaucoup plus lourde et importante dans ce pays et ça se voit dans la règlementation pour cadrer son citoyen à tout moment. Avec le permis de conduire légal en France à partir de 17 ans, vous pourriez certainement 1 an ou 2 avant cet anniversaire inscrire votre fille à l' auto école dans le cadre de la Conduite Accompagnée. C' est important parce que le coût de l' assurance automobile pour un jeune qui souhaite conduire & obtient son permis de conduire par la procédure d' apprentiissage de la conduite accompagnée ne contient pas de malus financier Jeune Conducteur pour cette dernière ce qui est intéressant à tout point de vue comme vérifier en tant que parent qu' elle conduit en sécurité et peut être aurons nous le droit à un sujet vidéo de votre part sur cette expérience, ce sujet d' apprentissage de la conduite automobile à la française .... Vos vidéos me rappellent ma chance en tant que français du fait pour moi de vivre en France et je ne peux que vous en remercier surtout quand on connait l' esprit râleur des français. Je me rappelle de mon patron français qui a emmené un jour sa famille à Disneyland en Floride. Devinez ...??? Convois de patrouille de police pour les protéger de l' aéroport jusqu' à leur hôtel à Disneyland .... Comme vous dites : insane. Je reste quand même médusé quand je vois, j' entends encore des français rêver d' aller vivre aux Etats Unis.
I couldn’t agree with this list more. I’m sure you could go on and on, if you wanted to. I can’t wait to taste that fresh fruit when I’m visiting next month, Thanks for the video!
Side note, don't forget to being a jacket or an umbrella. It's been training lately. Sorry. But no matter what thé weather is, have fun, enjoy your stay.
A very well presented video. Please keep up the good work. I hope that people in America tune into your channel. I have been to America and seen their attitude first hand. I also have American friends and have watched them go through this same transition.
Gun violence, including in schools, is growing here i Norway too. No doubt it stems from 'cultural' ideas spreading, originally from the USA, and certainly from guns, including pistols, becoming more common (often illegal).
Merci pour votre vidéo ! J'ai toujours beaucoup de plaisir à vous regarder parce que je vous apprécie beaucoup! J'espère surtout que vous et votre fille serez heureux en France et ne serez pas déçus ! Thank you for your video! I always have a lot of fun watching you because I appreciate you very much! I especially hope that you and your daughter will be happy in France and will not be disappointed!
@@BaguetteBound 🥰En ce qui concerne le fait de manger des légumes et fruits de saison, c'est une volonté, je pense que la plupart d'entre nous avons pris conscience que c'était mieux pour le goût et pour l'écologie. As far as eating seasonal vegetables and fruits is concerned, it's a will, I think that most of us have become aware that it is better for the taste and for the ecology.
@@BaguetteBound Pour Noel et Nouvel an, pour les fêtes de fin d'année, on peut trouver certains fruits hors saison dans les grands magasins comme carrefour, par exemple des framboises, fraises, myrtilles For Christmas and New Year, for the end of year celebrations, you can find some out-of-season fruits in department stores such as Carrefour, for example raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
Great video. I thought for sure healthcare would make the list. How so many of us are locked into our jobs because the cost of healthcare is so outrageous. Not to mention toxic almost 24 hour a day work culture and expectations from companies with the fear of losing your job Nonstop
100 percent healthcare, but we knew (and were excited about) that coming here. This video we wanted to talk about the things that have made bigger impacts in quality of life than we expected. Omg, USA work culture. That's a whole other video we need to make. Thanks for watching.
Some main reasons were leaving the USA next year! Also, totally agree on the produce and the European quality blows us away! I talked about it on a little poorly made YT vid I made. Also, yes, we don't want our daughter to go through shelter in place shooting drills. So off we go
That video is great! The pacing is good and your b-roll edits were great. I just saw it this week and thought it must really be a thing for us Americans woth the produce because we had included it in this video too! Thanks for watching, good luck with you moving plans!
I've lived in Seattle for the last 33 years. I've been planning my exit to France for some time. Just ran across your video and to my surprise, the issues you bring up in it about life in the USA are spot on and, virtually the same I encounter here. Although I have a few more. And as time goes by, the issues are getting worse. I'll be checking out the Bordeaux region in the next few months. I'm done with the U. S.
@@nox8730 I am multilingual with 4 languages on my back (or in my head?) and have a solid knowledge of French. I expect to be fully fluent within six months.
@@restrepoje That's impressive. I myself only know 3 languages. And even then, one is beyond rusted for not using it at all (spanish). This is the reason why i use the english internet: in order not to forget whatever i learned in my 3rd language (english). In this case, if you have good bases in french, the fastest way to learn would be to come here.
@@nox8730 I guess I was lucky to grow up multilingual. Born in the USA in a Spanish speaking environment. Lived In Germany where I did most of my high school in German, and later picked up Portuguese. My German now is rusty, and living in France I would have a N opportunity to visit Germany often to regain my fluency. You are at 3 languages, which would make it a lot easier to acquire a fourth language.
One thing about road condition in France is that when there's a pothole, there's usually someone calling the mayor about it. Nowadays, you can facebook chat the mayor's office about it. Of course some areas still have bad roads, it really depends. Some areas in Paris are pretty bad. But regarding highways, yeah I've been 4 times in the US and it's pretty bad compared to Europe. France and Italy have tolls, so plenty of money to take care of the roads. Compare to Germany which has no tolls, you'll see the difference. However, even freeways in France are in quite good condition compared to the US. From my trips though I found that the South West (Utah, Arizona, Cali) has worse roads than the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington) or New England (Maine, Masschussets). So it can't be just the harsh winters, and anyway the french Alps have really great roads for the most part. I haven't driven in Texas yet. What I hate is the weird concrete highways in the US, as opposed to asphalt in Europe. Asphalt is easier to repair, and gives a smoother ride. But it's not as durable, and requires more greenhouse gases to produce. The issue is that in the US, yeah concrete is twice as durable, but harder to repair, and they do not repair it...
To be fair, it's gridlock in any major US city. But, that isn't the case in rural areas. I've lived in DC, Denver, & close to Los Angeles. Traffic was one of the reasons I couldn't wait to leave DC and Denver. I would love to live in France! I love your videos - and if it weren't for my son and his family, I would leave the US in a New York second. The gun violence is deplorable and so are the politicians that refuse to make them less accessible. Women have to go through a more stringent pipeline for our reproductive health than people do to buy a gun!
I've lived and worked abroad for a number of years. What you said about the quality of food is true. You have to be wealthy to get good quality food in the US. Where I currently live, a dollar equivalent buys you a decent, healthy meal. A McD burger "meal" costs four dollars. I'd love to live in France, but I can't afford to. Sad, because I can speak a little French, can read a good deal of the newspaper, and like French culture, especially the way of life.
Hi Raina and Jason. After watching some of your great videos, I feel like all French people should watch them to stop constantly criticizing their country (a French national sport that you’ll probably make a video about one day!). It’s really well done, very educational, and it’s very interesting for a French person to see this perspective from across the Atlantic. It really puts a lot of things into perspective regarding the complaints we might have about our country. In short, it’s very instructive for a French person! Thank you, and you are more than welcome... to your home!
In my visits to France, the lack of politicking 24/7 was noticeable and fucking refreshing!!! and absolutely WONDERFUL to never have to worry about gun violence.
Per season food, I am reminded of egg nog/custard starting around October and phasing out around February at most, which adds to appreciating their temporal delight, and wish more things in general were like that, just like thematic holidays, etc.
In 354 days we're moving to Toulouse and I wish it was yesterday. This video is exactly why we want out of this crazy place. I drive over the road currently and my nirvana is never driving a motor vehicle ever again. Thanks for the content, keep it up! ✌🏻💚
Toulouse a great town.... lot of sun, Rugby, good foods, etc...... but be aware it's not a small town compared to a village... So point #2 (traffic jam) shound be here for you...
I get it, I have literally, documented, over a million miles behind the wheel. We moved to the sw of France 2 years ago. Driving is pleasurable again. Especially moving from the east coast. Toulouse has a decent amount of traffic, but, a half hour out of the city on a weekday, you can find yourself alone on the road. Secondary roads at least. Even better in the mountains. Good luck.
😨 Be very careful in Toulouse! 🧐There's a dangerous drug circulating in that region called "le cassoulet". it is extremely addictive and will turn you into a fatty in no time. 😱 Another dangerous drug are the candied violet petals: filthily addictive! 😰A bon entendeur, salut!🙈🙉🙊 Caveat! Caveat! Caveat! 😎
@sebydocky5080 we picked Toulouse because it's a city and has great public transportation. We are retiring early so won't need to commute to and from work.
A number of your observations come back to one issue: anxiety and fear. Anxiety over gun violence, anxiety over travel times, anxiety over the consequence of losing your job ion your healthcare - I know you did not mention it but it’s still hovering in the back of everyone’s mind - , anxiety in a fractured society made obvious by the constant bombardment of political ads. The thing is : American society used to be open, relaxed, optimistic,open, tolerant, positive, some years back. In that regard, it was indeed a beacon. How come this was replaced over the years by this fear,often turning into anger? And it is so great that some of these anxieties were lifted off your shoulders. But not only you. This is also great for your daughter who doesn’t have have to go through school shooting drills, and simply has to worry that there is a dish next week in the school canteen that she doesn’t like. Anyway, love,your videos, they’re so sincere and positive. Keep up,the great work.
Good video. The point about food is very local specific. Whole foods has good produce (yes, expensive). Our town also has weekly farmers markets. The schools shootings hit hard.
This is all great stuff. Thank you so much for your wonderful videos. My husband and I are saving up money so we can move to Nice. It makes the time go faster for us, being able to watch your videos. Thank you.
hery guys, I hope you didn't " discover" how important food is in France !! French love food , love talking about it and eating it of course, and once you finished your meal very often there is one saying and what are we going to cook or eat next , meaning tomorow ! In France we eat season vegetables and fruits, and we hate water tasting stuff ! it's got to be tasty, and it is most of the time -
I kinda of agree on most things you mentioned, I love everything in France, especially the night life in Paris, it doesn't have to be in a night club,even TV is entertaining, the only thing I don't like is the concierge in my building 😅😅...!!!
Concerning the elections here in Australia the lections state and federal usually last about 3 4 weeks. Also voting is compulsory and is done on a Saturday. Also from midnight on Wednesday all political advertising on radio TV and newspapers is banned.
the difference between existing and living is the quality of the food you eat. good quality food - shared is just a promoter of happiness, health and all round well being. what is life without flavor? im a brit, lived in France (le mans) Canada (Calgary) and the US (Colorado and Chicago) while i found life in America to be good, and people's attitude to me great, i did find that between themselves they are extremely combative and very competitive, life there seems to be about how successful you are, what you earn , what you have and what you can afford. everywhere else the focus is more on the type of person you are - who you are is of more interest than what you do. in chicago i was constantly asked why i spent 8 years doing two degrees in nursing and counselling - did i not want more from life? in france i was lauded for having spent so much time focusing on my vocation and the depth of my knowledge and interest. in england - its a hell of a job you do,- well done. i didn't go into nursing because it pays extremely well, (it doesn't ) but it does allow me to live and work anywhere on the planet easily as most countries will issue work visas readily, and so i get to globe trot , meet many different people, experience their cultures, share their foods (the ultimate joy) before nursing i worked in finance and yes i made a decent amount but the difference between waking up thinking 'oh god..another day' and waking up thinking ' yay, another day' .. well no comparison. when my family asked me why i kept country hopping every decade, i would just say 'well, how far would you go... to be happy?'
We are South African nearing the end of a two month trip in the US. We noticed the poor taste of fresh fruit and veg, but also that people tend to eat so much more "bad stuff" like fries, carbs, and in Texas Mac & cheese with everything. Can't wait to get back to good food.
oh wow ! so refreshing to hear you guys speaking about my country and having this sense of essential things. About roads : you have a strong point and this is one of the reasons people pay so much taxes. In Eastern Europe the road can be so poor...
With all respect, explain to me how you had a "great life" in Houston. There is a huge difference between standard of living and quality of life, and the two are often confused or even equated. I have spent a lot of time in Houston, and as big cities go, it's pretty good, but it pales in comparison to the lifestyle in France and many other European countries. Heck, I think it's worth moving to France just for the bread and cheeses ;-). I sincerely hope that France can keep what it has.
There are pockets and enclaves in the US that IMO have better qualities of life-if you can afford them. A college friend and I both settled in the greater Boston area in the early 1990s. The public transportation isn’t always reliable, but my friend has been able to live car free. I live in a walkable town and can run almost all my errands on foot. It’s amazing how much my quality of life improved when I stopped having to drive all the time. There are also farmers markets and CSAs, where we can buy locally grown produce. MA is also a blue state with decent gun control laws. But for a lot of people in the US, this is a prohibitively expensive region to live. I really envy anyone who has the resources to live outside the US, I really do.
I can relate with all your 4 things but from a French who spent so much time in the "fly over states". I’d make a few comments. - The food quality is in the right path back to what it was in France before, we had the food industry making as much damage here than in the US so at least outside big cities your can find excellent produces at a reasonable price. Also being very close to Spain allows to have specific fruits nearly all year long. What I personally find difficult is to find genuinely good meat where I live (Paris), it is not difficult at all when I visit friends and family living in more rural areas as they good directly to the farmer for that. - Election wise, I cannot disagree with you but I believe it comes with the system itself which does have a lot of pros too in the US where citizen can be much much more involved at any level of their governing bodies (county, city, state…). Nevertheless if you’re looking closely we are sadly taking some bad aspects on US election trends but that’s a long story… - for the road, well the country is way too big with way too much subject to hard weather. I’m not defending the laziness or the bad managing of the roads but I understood fairly quickly why there was so many bad roads or dirty roads, which also lead to me not taking any more sedans but only SUV or Trucks for that matter, you never know where you’re going to end up… Still infrastructure is a huge bill to pay at the end, some states, counties or cities just can’t afford it. -for the firearms, I also understand it but I’m a believer the issue is overall a cultural one, as long as the culture or let’s say some sub cultures (in the sense of not the prevalent one) is pushing left and right violence, money and other adult things you’ll have dramatic events coming. Mental illness is not treated properly in the US (I’m not saying we are better), you just need to look on the number of drug addicts sent to prison where they should not be sent, the end of psy ward in the 60s made factories for criminals. Looking at the opioids epidemic makes me think too many people are in desperate need of help and violence is only the symptom not the cause.
As an American who has travelled to France several times, this video really hit home. We're considering buying property in France, as a vacation property, just to be able to visit and travel a couple months out of the year. My wife is a high school teacher and there are gun threat lockdowns at her school several times a year. We still have one daughter in high school and it's something she lives with as well. Also, traffic absolutely sucks in this country, not to mention how crappy and expensive the produce is. School shootings is by number one on this list, political BS and non-stop bombardment for a whole year or more leading up to an election is second. Road traffic is third as its maddening, and that leaves crappy produce fourth. And this is saying a lot as a frequent farmers market goer and foody.
Politics: Larger towns have more than one poll place, and panels are available at every poll place. Otherwise spot on. Produce: Yep. It's wonderful. Before I visited France, I Had. No. Idea. that potatoes (!) could taste so good. Roads: I think your Mairie and/or Prefecture is paying more attention to roads than ours. I could show you some pretty impresive potholes. ;) School shootings/Guns in general: ....yeah.... This one is why my family and I don't live in the US. I simply won't tolerate putting my family through it. It's nice to see that other people have experienced what I have. When you live in the US, you wear an emotional suit of armor and walk around in denial about the fear of losing your children to a school shooting -- or any random shooting. But when you experience life in another country, you realise that the armor and the fear are unnecessary in a healthy society. And then it dawns on you how unhealthy US society is.
We lived in Germany for the better part of 30 years, now we live in Bozen, Italy that used to be part of Austria. I'm so use to eating seasonally, I don't even think about it any more. Stuttgart is known for it's horrible traffic, but everyone takes it in stride. As for school shootings, I'm terrified for my granddaughters.
Have lived in Europe for 16 years.Everything you say is true.However many Americans react aggressively defensive when presented with truths they don't want to hear I have found personally.
I like your channel how many American living in France in Normandy not gonna go back like it here oh and my mom is also French so that kind of helps and I came back to France to be with her in her older years and she did a lot things for me when I was growing up, So I removed myself from the USA equation and went to France to take care of my mom. She’s doing better now and then I met my friends, wife etc. etc..
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I might be saying something here that a lot of people from the US think that it is rubbish, is that i believe what Olof Palme said in a interview 'That any country that doesn't have free healthcare for it's tax paying citizens has failed as a country'. I believe this to be true, and about the smartest and truest thing you can say how a country is governed.
Is this why he was assassinated?
@allenludwigbryant9350 probably not. Decent healthcare has been the norm in many countries for decades.
Its.
Sounds fair. In the USA, only 50% pay any federal income taxes -- so they should do without healthcare.
I've lived in France for more than 25 years. Every time I go back to the States, I feel like I have to eat twice as much just to feel that I've ingested enough nutrition. The best part of living here is the respect the French (I'm French now too) have for food.
The thing that makes Europe better in every way? Health is wealth.
Tell Parisians about their cigarettes then. The entire city stinks like an ashtray.
@@MikeLikesChannel If the only gun violence in US was suicide, it probably wouldn't be frowned upon that much? If no children were harmed or killed by their parents or sibling or by suicide (down to 1-4 years old?!)
Mike, are you deliberately being obnoxious or plain stupid? So what you took away from a visit to Paris was ... cigarettes ... the smell of .. cigarettes - right.
@@MikeLikesChannel please... It's a joke? It's clear that they are not speaking about a single bad habit (smoke or whatever else) but about a whole health system
@@MikeLikesChannel your country is a fentanyl cesspool, end of discussion.
@@MikeLikesChannel you're not wrong. The French smoke too much. Which is what makes it makes it interesting that even so, the French are much healthier than US Americans. The last time I was on a French metro train at rush hour, I was struck by the fact that in that jam-packed train not one single person was seriously overweight.
My husband and I just retired to Ireland four months ago. It is wonderful here, the food is good, the air and water are clean, the people are kind and friendly. We do not own a car, our town is walkable and we can take the train to larger cities. And - healthcare is affordable and high quality.
Music to my ears! Please start a youtube channel! But seriously, how would you compare Ireland to UK and France and US? I have already been thinking of Ireland, but have never been there.
Wow, the summer was non existent this year and you still like it. I love it, never too cold, never to hot. Easy access to all Europe has to offer for holidays, but I always love coming home.
@@donnaknapik9838 100K in passive income for two prohibits my wife and I from immigrating to Ireland as seniors. We’re about 10k short. We just came back from a 10 day vacation there and we enjoyed it immensely. Food is fresh and the people are friendly.
@@wilber8260 The roads are not good though. It depends a bit on the county, but overall expect narrow roads with quite a bit of damage.
I swear,if I were younger I'd choose Ireland. I have duel citizenship but the culture shock at 79...
I am increasingly uncomfortable with so much of US culture ( and politics!).
American culture's tombstone will read:
Too much was not enough
The US lives rent-free in your little brain huh? We don't think about you at al
too much and too big
@systemai Ummm. Yeah : The most common German greeting used in Austria is "Grüß Gott," which translates to "God bless you".
Sorry, what were you talking about?
@systemai Do they reference God in their greeting? Yes.
BTW: If you don't like the United States , and lay awake at night disliking us, we don't care. We don't think about you at all
@@CentristDad155 NO, it says Greet God, in the sense of hello, NO religious context
I retired in 2023 and my dream to take a 3-4 month roadtrip and see 10 National Parks came true. We met many beautiful friendly people but I noticed an uptick on rude, mean, angry, selfish, entitled, pushy, demanding people on the road, in small towns, in stores, at campgrounds. It made us sad to see its the new norm and they seemed proud of it. We met many Germans, French, Russian, Asian travels that seemed very calm and friendly. We have dear friends from England that told us many years ago that Americans are arrogant and think they are better then anyone else. Its sad especially when we are all humans with the same ancestry. None of us came from another planet. Thank you for your refreshing video 🥰
🖖👽
😄
Trump
@@mickymillersson4376 Will make things better, just like before. Liberals are miserable and nasty.
Welcome in france again, everything is not perfect here, by far, but we are so lucky to be there
Exactement. On a tendance à l'oublier, mais nous vivons dans un pays exceptionnel.
@@MrSebfrench76il le serait vraiment s'il était mieux géré!
We have a newly-arrived faculty member in our department, originally from Lyon, been here in Atlanta area for about 8 months. I asked him at the bar the other day, "What's been most surprising good thing since moving here, and what's been the worst?" He said hands-down the best has been and continues to be discovering that his neighbors, work colleagues, and even strangers are genuinely welcoming and go way, way out of their way to help him and his family on every level. The worst? The fear of a school shooting looms much greater in his mind and his wife's mind than they'd ever considered it might.
So he is irrational.
I moved to France with my wife and my daughter, and Number 4 is definitely up there for me, were I to make a list similar to yours. I think for me its shootings in general, but I will never forget how good it felt to go to a movie theatre in our town in France and just heave a big SIGH of relief and relaxation, knowing that the odds of someone coming into the theatre and shooting it up was no longer something that I had to worry about. It was so beautiful and sad at the same time. I suddenly realized that I had neither fully relaxed nor felt safe watching a movie at the theatre in America in YEARS. Great video, and cheers to the good life y'all have built.
Bro, you do realise there has been a lot of islamic terrorist attacks in France lately right ?
Il convient cependant de rappeler que le terrorisme islamiste existe. Bien que nous n'ayons pas eu ce genre de problème depuis 2015.
Perhaps related to this situation - you can let your daughter go to school on a bike or just walk, without having to worry too much.
Ok, nowhere is perfect land and accidents happen everywhere, but the overall risk is something that influences our daily lives.
When you realize that your child hasn't told about awareness drills with how to barricade doors or how to evacuate a classroom through a window for months or years - what a precious moment...
@@nox8730depuis 2015? Mais tu es au courant de l'actualité en France, amigo? En 2023, nous avons passé la barre des 1000 homicides par balle, nous sommes le pays d'Europe où il en a le plus en nombre, donc en proportion devant l'Allemagne et tous les autres.
120 attaques au couteau PAR JOUR en moyenne en France, ça te parle?
Faut arrêter avec la France par-ci, la France par-là; nous sommes loin d'être un exemple. Et ne parlons pas des profs égorgés en plein jour.
Ils sont gentils, les deux là, mais ils en sont encore à la lune de miel avec la France. Qu'ils viennent à Marseille par exemple et ils verront autre chose...s'ils veulent bien ouvrir les yeux.
Those who trade security for liberty deserve neither.
Hi guys! We lived in Houston for 30years… a year ago we built a house in Fulshear…35 miles west. It has dark skies at night and way less violence than Houston! Feels very safe. (I would move to France in a heartbeat…after the election, the US is now basically a fascist country….feels like per WW2 Germany.) I’m 74. Pray for us.
❤
I am atheist, so praying would be insincere. Wish you the best. We in Austria had general elections lately, and an extremist right party won. Now the other parties - conservative, social democrat, liberal - are banding up against them and will likely form the new government, and the new parliament is likely to extradite the leader of the rightist party to what in the U.S. would be the attorney general. I've never valued our sh…y Austrian political system so much in my life. Best of wishes to you in the states. Good luck. You're gonna need it. Like never before in your history.
Lets see how you feel in 4 years...Trump was president for 4 years and nothing bad happened. Things have gotten so much worse since he left office. Things will improve b/c the messes Biden made will be cleaned up...Don't worry needlessly. The media is stoking your fear. Most of what they say is totally off base. You probably won't believe me but I'm 74 too and I am thankful that things turned out like they did. I do have a question: how do you know what WW2 Germany felt like? And what would that have to do with us, here and now? Trump is not Hitler...that's another lie you've heard repeatedly and apparently believed. You just wait and see if I'm right.
How do you know what WW@ Germany felt like? You were born after the war. You are worrying for nothing. The media is lying about Trump. He was president 4 years and he followed the Constitution then and he'll do it again. You're just unhappy that the majority of Americans think differently than you do...that doesn't make us a fascist nation..it makes us a democracy. Open up your mind and entertain the idea that maybe YOU are wrong and the rest of us are right.
I have a very vivid memory when travelling across the US. We had been using the long distance buses/coaches - and had numerous minor "incidents" around us, including one shooting and the police stopping the bus to pull the perp off. Every time we crossed the border into Canada it was like a weight lifting from us. The constant sense of threat was the weight removed.
border
Gun violence is the number one problem in the US for me, pure non sense. I'm French and I'm glad to hear that you are feeling safe and happy in our country.
En France, on a pas d'armes a feu mais du coup, on a le droit aux attaques au couteau ! 😂 ils se sentent en sécurité car ils vivent à la campagne (encore un peu épargnée)
@@safedreams6241 , la criminalité reste trés largement inférieur chez nous, aucne comparaison, les chiffres sont publiques sur le web. D'ailleurs, la France n'est pas plus criminalisé que la majorité du reste de l'Europe de l'ouest, la aussi les chiffres sont disponible. Trop de mauvaise presse sur la France qui sont absolument fausse dans la majorité des cas.
L’argent toujours l’argent mais j’ose à croire que ça ne va pas tarder aussi en France.
@@patricevialle
Crime is local. The US spans a continent. Some US States have lower gun violence rates than some Western European countries. Some US cities rank as some of the most homicidal on earth. France has similar contrasts, though perhaps less dramatic.
No country is perfect, but the States seems particularly broken. Things are far from perfect in the UK, but the projected division we hear about America makes me grateful for where I am (and also for next to no money, I can jump on a plane and be in a different country in no time). Politics and religion have a lot to answer for.
If you think that France is not broken... you have no idea. The country is beyond repair. Wait a couple of years...
And Think Tanks, they have a helluva lot to answer for.
The underlying mistake many countries make about traffic is what's the called the theory of perceived capacity. In other words, if drivers perceive that a road, whether it's a small lane or an 8-lane highway has the capacity to help them get to where they want to go quicker, then they take it. So, paradoxically another laneway will always just mean more cars, not the same number of cars going faster. The trick, and this is the unpalatable bit for lots of places to accept, is to realise that discouraging people from using their cars is the best and only way to reduce traffic - along with the provision of very high quality public transport.
@sserptoh Absolutely true. Improvements to roads actually induce more demand.
Not having to stop will get you there faster...
But for sure not requiring a car is better, public transport, biking or walking. Or simply not all travelling to the pointless city centre each day.
America IS marketing, IS advertisement, IS selling...thus the US advertising of politics.
Yes, Capitalism and Consumerism are strong in the US. What will the end of the money experiment look like though? I think we are beginning to see signs of it. Project 2025 anyone? In US you are free to F'-up more badly than nearly anywhere else.
I'm from Norway, and l find this video very educational. We value our free time like the French as well. That might be something we have in common in Europe, even though our cultures are very different. I think both Americans and Europeans can get a better understanding watching this, because it's very easy for us to call Americans stupid. But when you grow up with this, and don't get much input from other countries, it's easier to understand their way of thinking.
" it's very easy for us to call Americans stupid"
Yes indeed. That's because they are, as they proved yet again last week.
Well that's very kind of you but I live here and unfortunately stupid fits. My friends resemble these fine people but many are willfully ignorant. I've cut all stressful ties. Traitors not welcome here. Never knew I was capable of such raging anger for my own people.
@@lklpalka I would guess that it`s more ignorance and misinformation than stupidity. It`s a little bit sad to see that the things that we look at as positives like cheap education and healthcare, are used as negatives and examples of the terrifying socialism. The fact is that it`s not"free", but rather paid through our taxes. I also think the two-party system is a problem. If people had more choices they could pick someone closer to themselves, instead of having to choose between two people that a lot of people might not have much in common with. Good luck living your life in France. I`m up in Norway living my best life. I`m working, but my focuse is on family and quality of life
@@lagresomActually true... In the US you are not free to vote due to the two party system... That is if you want your vote to count...
@@lagresom Half of Americans are stupid. The election just proved that!
From here, Australia, we see USA elections as starting probably a year from the last one! It's nuts.
I swear I heard someone on radio say today the campaign for the 2026 congress began last Wednesday (the day after the 2024 election). There was mention of likely challengers to an incumbent,PLUS names for possible presidential candidates in 2028. (IF, that is). I take nothing for granted now.
In lived in the US for 5 years before moving to France 20 years ago. I remember being completely chocked when I went to the pharmacy for the first time with a prescription and my Carte Vital and the pharmacist gave me all the medications and when I asked him how much should I pay his answer was… well nothing….
We don't really get medications for free. They're being paid by the social healthcare and complementary insurances that each worker mandatory contributes through direct levies on salary. It is notably great to be able to get urgent medical care in hospital without being worried about the price.
The main drawback is that we, french people, have a tendency to forget that medical care has a high cost and that they are paying for it, but not directly. I think, MDs and pharmacists should present an invoice showing the amounts paid by healthcare and insurances in order for us to see the medical care cost and the reason for our extremely high levies on salary.
@@gillesgambier2202There is sort of wealth that is not seen. If you need it: you're lucky 'cause you have it, if don't need it you're lucky 'cause you're healthy :-)
And the money is in the loop, because not everyone has to save for eventual expenses.
@@gillesgambier2202 Once a year your Sécurité sociale sends you the list of what has been paid for, so you know what you did get.
@@gillesgambier2202Seeing the cost should make you feel better not having to pay for it... And in the US the middleman insurance companies rips you off greatly. In the US they pay more for less... 😢
Im a New Zealander, my life saved twice by our national healthcare. When i left the first time after a 3 week stay i just signed my discharge and left, no money. But i did go back with flowers (they always get flowers) for the nurses.
I am happy to pay taxes here as it pays my med bills forever.
Living in France for 9 years, or so, and I appreciate the general sense of solidarity here among citizens. For example, it's not uncommon to see people chatting with homeless folks and pan-handlers. I've seen it in Paris and in the provinces. Americans are no doubt friendly too, but you get the sense that they believe poverty is a choice.
I live in the Caribbean A french canadian friend came to visit.When he bite into a tomato there was a look of shock on his face and promptly became to stack his plate with tomatoes He had never tasted tomaties like these back home
Hope you don't mind me mentioning my home country of the UK. It might be interesting for you to compare.
We had a school shooting in Dunblane, Scotland in 1996 when sixteen very young children aged five and six and one teacher were murdered by a madman with a gun. The country was utterly traumatised. I clearly remember listening to a radio report from there when I was in a traffic jam and feeling the tears running down my face. When I looked across, the man in the car next to me was crying too.
Gun laws were then toughened in terms of the types of gun you could buy, where you kept them, why you wanted them, the method of getting a licence and monitoring of owners etc etc. Contrary to what many Americans think guns were not banned completely. They were tightly controlled. But these laws were quickly introduced and have never been challenged. We have not had a single school shooting in the 28 years since then.
Contrast that with the way the USA reacted to equally small children being murdered in Sandy Hook and count the school shootings since. It makes terrifying reading. It's in the hundreds.
The kicker is that, some Americans will go out of their way to tell you that Sandy Hook and the many more school shootings after that did not happen, or that they were staged by the 'insert nonsensical conspiracy theory making X Y Z group, existing or not, responsible'.
In Belgium few people can keep guns at home, need a special permit, gun cabinet and police inspection. Otherwise guns are left locked up at legal shooting ranges.
Remember that well I was driving home from work and had to pull over being quite shocked and didn’t want to drive with tears in my eyes. US citizens unless they unfortunately are involved will not remember school shootings from last week never mind nearly 30 years ago.
Well, we dont remember them all. Tbere are too many. Butcee are not nu.b to them. Most people remember Columbine, sandy hook, several shootings at Virginia tech.... But it is exhausting that not enough of us will push for better laws and now we are stuck with an incredibly permissive supreme court vis a vis guns. Pray for us that common sense will prevail.
The main problem with the us is that instead of guns being a tool for hunting and shooting sports, guns are now a lifestyle/ political statement. I was a republican and am a veteran, and remember when we used to show up to school with a shotgun in the back window after hunting before school (pre columbine),no problems. It all went nuts when the nra became a pac for arms manufacturers instead of being a group to support sportsman. A little over 2 years in france now, i hate going back to visit the us. Luckily, this year, most of the family are coming to visit us.
Well said (unfortunately).
The biggest thing about violence is that we have mental health issues as a nation, alas.
The main problem with the US is the culture. It's a consumer culture where work is precarious. There are no guarantees like with healthcare and worse yet, health insurance is covered primarily by your employer. Everyone dreams of being a rent seeker in order to seek stability for themselves by exploiting others. There is no common goal amongst the citizens except to participate in the markets. Corporations dictate the culture through advertising and media, encouraging individualism and the eradiation of family relationships. The gun violence is just a symption of a neurotic, self-obsessed society full of greed, lust and desperation.
@@SurpriseMeJT Well said. I wouldn't classify the US as a "first world" country, as long it suffers from what you are describing. What's horrifying is that it's contagious and spread like a disease.
@@nathanjustus6659 do you think mental health issues are unique to USA? People in other countries have mental health issues but they cannot easily acquire guns.
We have been following you for about a year now in preparation for our own move to France. We finally made it here a few weeks ago, one department over from you. Loving our new life. Thanks for the entertainment and information.
Greetings from Cognac!
Congrats!!
From a fellow European (Germany) - welcome 😃
We do need people who want to share our culture and values!
Enjoy France!
Alcoholic beverages are not good for your health. 😅😅
@@antoinemozart243Riiiight! I may try to not have that second or third glass of Pinot tonight.
It's very similar in Canada, once an election is called it can take no more than 37 or up to 51 days, that is it. You receive your voter registration in the mail and on the days listed you go an vote, in and out in less than 5 minutes. There are so many polling places to vote, one even in our condo, we just had to take the elevator downstairs and vote or you can do it ahead of time, just as easy. We see more American politics on our TV than Canadian.
One thing helpfull in France, and all over Europe, is public transportation. You can easily live without a car like I do and go everywhere, including in holidays. This summer, I went in holidays to Zagreb by train, from my hometown of Grenoble, and it was great. Having not to take car of a car, besides the obvious cost of ownership, is also something that gives me tranquility.
As a French person I didn't think that this horrible phenomenon of shootings in schools was something so "engaging", it is absolutely terrible for parents. I raised 4 children but I never thought for a single second that such a tragedy could happen in a public or private school here in France. Poor people.😢
It is a constant concern here in the US. Fortunately, both my children have graduated from college but that doesn't mean we don't worry about them especially since they both live in large American cities.
@@steveh46 But where does this violence come from? Is this violent and anarchic "pioneer spirit"? This cult of violence in Hollywood films? These violent religious sects? Seen from Europe, North American civilization has completely lost its way.
You should be more worried about Samuel Paty like incidents in your schools.
@@aimmethod But we are very vigilant and thank God it affects adults, not children.
@@aimmethod Problem is: Samuel Paty is a tragedy that happens once a decade in France. Actually, it happened only twice in modern history. In the USA there is a Samuel Paty every week. Enough that the media and the people do not care to mention them anymore. But don't worry: we DO think about him indeed. He is not forgotten. And we have expectations in relation to that. It is not about saying "poor him" and then forgetting about it the next day. As may be the case elsewhere.
I believed the myth growing up in US that “the American farmer FEEDS THE WORLD.” Then I went on week-long bike rides in France & Belgium-to-Amsterdam, passed rolling farms throughout, and discovered Western Euro farmers do quite well, thank you.
There is not a patch of ground that is not used! You can really see it from a plane when you fly over 😊😊
Chilean here. Agricultural country. It is very likely that the really tasty apples (or grapes, or peaches, etc.) you bought out of season were Chilean 😉
@@MariaMartinez-researcherI notice your produce all the in the store. Americans are fed a load of bs constantly.
Kiwi here... As the name implies, we do fruit, Dairy and the best lamb in the world, for the world.
I dont think i eat any american products, ever.
@@leegarza3986 So very true. Like its the richest country in the world. Not any more. Not even in the top ten. The greatest country in the world. No, it isn't!
C'est bien que vous abordiez des sujets sensibles sans faire exprès de les laisser de côté. C'est + authentique et honnête, toujours un plaisir de vous écouter !
Thank you for your positivisme ! I’m French and it make me happy to here good about m’y countrie !
Dis le aux gens autour de toi. On a tendance à nous plaindre. Rien que la carte vitale… aux USA aux Urbences on ye demande ta carte Visa, et l’ambulance est 3000 dollars
You know what, France was low on my list of countries for retirement but your video's have made France high on my list.
France is now your country. Enjoy our beautiful country 🇫🇷
Tell me please, can someone make a living with €1500 net income per month in France? Thank you
@@Vladimir-o8z not an American by any means 😆
@@Vladimir-o8z Hello , yes you can, but it is really the minimum to live comfortably in a small to medium sized city.
@@stephanejacq1416 Thank you!
@@Vladimir-o8zOne of the main problems in France is the cost of housing. With a net income of €1,500, it’s preferable either not to live in a large city where this cost can be prohibitive or to share expenses as a couple. But even with a combined net income of €3,000, you shouldn’t expect too much when it comes to becoming a homeowner, at least in a large city.
“It doesn’t have to be that way” - such a simple thought but such a profound statement when it comes to so many things in the US
My wife and I had been considering moving to France for several years. (We've both lived "outside" before, so, we know part of the drill.) The funny part is that just the other day, we were talking about the "little" things that drew us there. All four of your items were on the list.
For the record, we've been to France seven times over the years. My first visit was to Paris in 1968, just in time to catch the tail end of the demonstrations. That was quite an adventure!
As a french, i have one advice: learn french. We would welcome pretty much any decent person, except those who don't learn the language. Regards.
@@nox8730 Thank you sincerely for the input. I've been studying French for several years My wife and I love the language and the culture. Sadly, I am in my later years and malentendant, so I have trouble hearing French in conversation. On the bright side, I read French at a high level. For example, I've read all of Flaubert, most of Camus, a few books by Michel Pastaureau and too many other novels and volumes of French poetry to list. We love Prevert, Apollinaire, Hugo and so many others. French literature is addicting!
@@thistlenstar Oh Prévert.
L'amiral Larima,
Larime à quoi?
La rime à rien.
L'amiral Larima,
L'amiral Rien.
J'ai lu ça quand j'étais gamin, je ne l'ai jamais oublié.
Je n'aime pas lire. J'ai toutefois lu du Flaubert, du Zola, du Balzac. "Les Trois Mousquetaires", de ce cher Alexandre, ainsi que sa suite, "Vingt ans après", que j'ai eu le plaisir de lire sur une édition originale de 1850. Bien sûr, Camus, "La Chute". J'ai en revanche détesté "L'espoir" de Malraux, sur la Guerre d'Espagne. Mon seul 'espoir' en l'occurrence était de voir le calvaire s'achever. Littérature et poésie ne peuvent être approchées à travers une traduction. Telle est ma conviction. A part ça...
Je comprends bien que tu sois à la retraite. Mon père était avec les flics sur les barricades en 68. L'âge est un facteur qui peut compter, et c'est une circonstance atténuante. Mais la vie ne s'arrête pas à 80 ans. Nous vivons aujourd'hui une époque où 80 ans est encore l'âge des projets. Ma mère étudie présentement l'égyptologie à l'université. La France permet ce genre de chose.
Si tu as des soucis avec ton ouïe, sache que ça arrive à d'autres. Préviens ton interlocuteur. Je ne sais quel soins tu reçois aux USA, mais je n'ai jamais croisé quiconque de malentendant avec qui je ne pouvais discuter. En toutes choses, la bonne volonté est la valeur qui prime, et celle qui est la plus à même d'ouvrir des portes. La perfection n'est qu'un absolu. Démontrer que l'on y tend est ce qui donne de la valeur à l'effort. Je ne doute pas que malentendant ou non, des opportunités s'offrent à toi pour faire valoir ton français et nouer des liens en France. Ne parler qu'en anglais ne pourvoiera que des relations superficielles. En particulier quand on considère notre passé troublé avec l'Angleterre et les USA.
A chacun sa paroisse, bien sûr, mais je demeure de ceux qui pensent que le voyage ne peut révéler ses vertus qu'à travers la rencontre avec les locaux. Aucun château, jardin ou monument n'aura jamais vraiment de sens si l'on ne comprend pas les us de ceux qui les ont créés.
Amicalement.
@@nox8730 Merci pour cette aimable réponse. Je vais bientôt recevoir une aide auditive. La difficulté majeure est la peur de se perdre lors d'une conversation. Mais je vais y travailler!
J'ai adoré "Germinal" et "La Chute". Avec "La Chute", j'ai terminé le livre et j'ai immédiatement recommencé à le relire. Quant à Dumas, je n'ai lu que le premier livre de "La Dame de Monsoreau" et la moitié du deuxième livre. C'était une lecture agréable, mais j'ai décidé de lire "Notre Dame de Paris" à la place. Maintenant, je suis à quelques centaines de pages dans "Les Misérables". Souhaitez-moi bonne chance!
Nous avons voyagé en France sept fois au fil des ans, nous allons, principalement pour être là, acheter de la nourriture sur les marchés, cuisiner, nous promener et rencontrer des gens quand nous le pouvons.
Tchinn Tchinn!
@@nox8730 Learning the language of a place you intend to visit, never mind live in, should be high up everyone's list. When in Rome ...
How does anyone expect to interact with the locals if you disregard part of their culture, that is their language?
Why should the locals be expected to speak a foreign language, no matter which one it is, if you, as a foreigner, don't make the slightest effort to learn even some basic words such as please, thank you, goodbye, hello, eat sleep drink, whatever.
Our friend just came back from the US after a 2 week stay, she said that fruits and vegetables are out of price and everything is way richer in sugar and fat.. She came back craving for veggies
Je pense que votre amie attend un heureux événement😮
@@PascalDupont-ft7hd peu de chance 😅
After having spent 3 weeks in Brittany in March/April, I can no longer be bothered with the garbage we call produce at the supermarket here in the US.
What you call "produce", french people just call it "food" 😉
Ugh. I feel ya about the gun safety issue. There was a lot of anxiety around guns in the US, and really violence in general. For us, as a half African American family, we had the additional anxiety of being targeted due to race - particularly my son who is neurodiverse and an African American male. That has, frankly, been one of the biggest sighs of relief we have had since being here - we do not feel the type of "otherness" that we'd felt in the US for our whole lives.
Also, when we met our Mairie a few days ago, he told us the cost certain aspects of keeping up our village roads and water system - there seemed to be full transparency about where our taxes were going. In the US, I NEVER EVER knew what my taxes were paying for. Ever.
Living in France is certainly a learning experience for us everyday, but if the extent of our stress is struggling through a conversation with the water company in our district (as opposed to worrying that one of my children might be gunned down in the streets of the US), then the slight discomfort of assimilation into this wonderful new culture is well worth it.
Hello @tracymartin-wray2491 👋 Your family sounds similar to mine in many ways! I have so many questions especially re ND kids and your move. Please reach out to me if you can! It's a wonderful and wise thing you have moved to France. But I sure need to do more research. Merci!!
I see that you use some cryptic words that i don't quite understand as a french: "neurodiverse" or "otherness", amongst others. We don't have this kind of censorship in France. I don't even know if such words are used at all. My advice is to forgo the reliance on that kind of thing as soon as possible. Or you will probably get offended over nothing sooner rather than later. Better prevent this from happening. A good advice is to learn the french way and the french language as soon as possible, if you don't already know it. I have worked with incapacitated kids and some had neurological problems. In France, these kids go to normal schools and get workers like me to support their inclusion with other kids. In my case, i was the teacher, too, since the "main" teacher" simply didn't have the time to handle everything. And so, i had to adapt and find solutions myself. Creating new words is not what brings solutions or a decent life to human beings, according to us. You may not be understood if you bring your vocabulary from the USA. And we don't like little boxes. For the record, i have a TDAH problem. The kids i took care of were autists and kids that suffered from neurological damages. Still, i am a french guy, and they were french kids. Period. Regards.
@nox8730 thank you for the insight! However, I think you may have misunderstood my meaning. What I was saying about France is that we no longer feel beholden to those labels like we did in the US. It's nice just to live our lives as humans without the excess baggage, including unnecessary labels! 😊
@@tracymartin-wray2491 Ah... Sorry, my bad ^^. Seems like i misunderstood indeed. While i read all those americanisms, i started to worry that you may misunderstand what France is all about :) Ouf !
As a (white) Brit living in Portugal, for 20 years I regarded France as my second home. I had a really nice relationship with the exchange family of my younger sister. At first met that family when I was 18. I'm 58 now. And for forty years we've stayed in touch.
At that time many British kids would spend a week or two with a French family and vice versa as part of their cultural education. My sister didn't keep up the relationship but I did. Indeed I cycled from the UK (Wales) into France regularly to visit them, to go to weddings and so on. I was always touched by the number of times I was invited into strangers homes to have breakfast while I was passing through small towns and villages. And the number of times I was "beeped' by passing traffic to say "hi to the guy on a bicycle with panniers" or greeted with a happy "Bonjour!" from some lady I'd never ever met putting her clothes out to dry on a washing line in her front garden early in the morning as I cycled past, already hot and sweat. But that these things really left an impression on me.
I once went into a pharmacy and left the store quietly without buying anything. The girl at the counter called out a cheery "Au revoir, monsieur!". And, you know, that made me so ashamed of my ignorance that I re-entered the shop, smiled at the young lady, apologised for my ignorance and called out cheerily, with a smile on my face "Au revoir, aussi! Et bonne journée!". She broke into laughter and wished me a great morning, too.
One time an old guy - 85 years old and as fit as fiddle - caught up to me on his bike and we cycled together having a chat in French for the next 25km. He was telling how much he loved French bread and how he really missed that when he was in Switzerland. We chatted about all sorts of stuff. He was going to be cycling around 100km that day just for the hell of it and slowed down to keep me company as I made my way through his region on my heavily laden bike. Lovely guy. Eventually he peeled off my route to return home via another. 85 years old. My goodness. I couldn't imagine having that experience in that way in the UK. Certainly not at that time. But it left me feeling like "I wish I could be like him when I'm that age" and "what a wonderful place this would be to live".
My affection for France is punctuated by these delightful, happy, day-to-day experiences. There was no shortage of them.
I felt more at home there than in the UK and always assumed I'd end up living there with my Portuguese wife. Although I've lived and worked in France and alongside many French people, we ended up staying in Portugal almost by accident. But something (or rather some things) in your post touched me.
There are good things and not so good things in any country - France being no different to any other in this regard - but whatever country you live in you must be able to feel at home and at ease with where you are in order to have a happy and fulfilling life. I'm very pleased for you and your family that you seem to have found that peace of mind in France. France - like Portugal and so many others - is a wonderful country. But I also think that one becomes much more positive when given the opportunity for a new beginning. We change when we move country and we do so in a really good way. In part because we have to. In part because we discover things in ourselves that we never had the reason to find before. And in part because we feel lucky to be exactly where we are and making the most of it.
Tongue in cheek, when tackling those language barriers with the water company, just keep smiling and go with the flow! 🙂You'll get there eventually with a bit of good humour and patience.
I wish you well. Enjoy France! 😉
Really interesting video. I’m French American and I agree with your videos!!
The husband reminds me of Bill Evans in his midlife so much, it's just something I can't let go. Lots of luck to you in France. Greetings from Belgium
Bravo!
Believe it or not, all decent countries in the world are like France.
The "Farm to Table" thing here made my French cousins laugh. It's what they do every single day.
We just had a gun threat at our high school this week. Lots of parents kept kids home.
It’s insane.
Great video!
It is insane. There's no other word for it at this point.
J'avais conscience que les armes représentaient un problème à l'école aux Etats-Unis, mais votre émotion me montre à quel point c'est omniprésent dans la tête des parents. Cette crainte au quotidien doit être un calvaire. Les français ont parfois un regard critique sur les armes aux US, mais on oublie souvent de penser à celles et ceux qui les subissent avant de penser à celles et ceux qui les utilisent... Content que vous puissiez avoir l'esprit tranquille, ici.
Même réaction que vous. Et plus étonnée encore de l'importance du pourcentage des morts d'enfants.
Oui enfin ça se gâte en France, hein…
@@kath6720faut arrêter 2 secondes de dire n’importe quoi… la situation en France n’a rien à voir avec celle des USA, même si bien sûr tout est loin d’être parfait!
on a jamais l'esprit tranquille quand on est parent, même au Bhoutan
ça dépend apparemment des états mais je me souviens d'une étudiante américaine quand jétudiais qui a flippé quand on était chez Mcdo et que deux personnes se sont engueulées.
L'une delle a sorti son téléphone de sa poche pour commencer à filmer et elle a cru que c'était une arme à cause du geste et s'est jetée par terre de peur.
C'était assez dingue, on penserait JAMAIS à ça ici mais elle a expliqué qu'au Texas là d'ou elle venait, son père a été blessé à cause d'une telle altercation.Pas de morts heureusement mais uniquement parce que l'autre a tiré comme un pied et a regretté son juste après.
C'est fou franchement.
I have to say the video was so smooth, wow, very talented youtubers and perfect duo 👍
It's interesting to see that you find French roads in good conditions because a lot of French people complain about them and how better they were 30 years ago. The local governments (département) have often budget difficulties to maintain the rural roads. And, nowadays with climate change, there are a lot more of floodings and landslides destroying roads.
That said, the first time I went to the US (long time ago, 1985) I was shocked, driven by my American friend on a major New Jersey highway, when we hit such a nasty pothole that I thought we had lost a wheel...
I wish I had a euro for everytime someone French tells me "you think it's good?? It was so much better 30 years ago!". I'm really beginning to be curious about France in the early 90's. 😂 And I was shocked just now to realize that yes, 1994 was indeed 30 years ago. 😳
@@BaguetteBound Maybe, it's because we love so much to complain ! 😀
@gsbeak we've realized complaining together is a form of bonding in France. 😅
But I also sometimes think that it's great in a way, because it's means French don't just accept things "that's how it is", where as we Americans are kind of like "Make the best of it! Be positive!" Even when in the case of the school shoots for example we should be in the streets like (I think) the French would be!
@@BaguetteBound I don't remember who said this, but here it is: "France is a paradise full of people who pretend they live in hell".
I was in Quebec last year, my first time in North-America, the road condition was really shocking to me. I believe every country/state/province is different in that regard but nevertheless, I've never seen this out of NA. I can confirm there is still a gap. My other frequent complaint was about how confusing direction signage on the highway could be.
#4 is the one that stands out the most for me. Yesterday half of my daughters school was absent due to threats to the schools in our county. I kept my daughter home but my other daughter is a teacher in that school and she went in to work. I was scared all day. they did apprehend the 15 yr old among others making the threats before they were acted on. Thank goodness. I feel guilty daily sending her to school. During covid i was relieved because she homeschooled. I think about moving to France daily especially since i went to visit for the first time in April. a 40 year dream for me. I love how you cover so much about everyday life there, especially with a middle school aged daughter. just like mine. Maybe one i day i can make it there and maybe even be your neighbor. lol. Thank you for this channel. I love it. My favorite TH-cam channel ever. God bless your family
Ugh, I'm so sorry about yesterday. I remember that feeling. It was why I got so emotional talking about it. Thanks for watching and good luck with move to France plans! ❤️
@@BaguetteBound I noticed you tearing up. Thanks for the kind words. Means a lot to me. I will get there. Planning ahead just like you did.
We don t know that kind of problem in Belgium too. Sorry for US citizens, I ve been there many times before. Greetings from Belgium🇧🇪🍀🍀🍀
The grass ain't greener on the other side of the Pond, my friend. This country is NOT what you imagine it in your daydreams.
The average salary for instance is 20k A YEAR. 20k, you'll be considered poor in the US.
From a Frenchie.
@@lioneldemun6033 fais des études,
We are hoping to take an early retirement and move over there in the next few years, and your channel in particular is making it harder and harder to put it off. Especially the comments about school gun violence (and gun violence in general) really hit home to me. I love every one of your videos - thanks for them.
Our country is not a paradise. When i was in middle school, in the 90's, was the time when we tried to make roms sociable. Result was: one kid got backstabbed. Many others and even teachers were hurt. Because when a 12 years old kid went and punched you out of nowhere, if you dared say anything, his "big brothers" were going to wait for you outside the school. Roms' way. Plus, even without this, in the normal classes, our spanish teacher ended up locked up in a cabinet every year starting in April (she was so, so small...). And so, she stopped coming to school in march. One english teacher was bullied hard. Bullying was a thing. And mind you, this was meant to be in the "rich" suburb of Bordeaux, not in a ZEP or ZUP.
My advice is to watch contradictory videos and testimonies that crap hard on my country. Hopefully, they will be based. Because many are not. But still, better that than hoping for a paradise that doesn't exist. Last thing, if you come anyway, make sure to adhere to french ways and values (which are fundamentally different, and oftentimes, opposed to USA values) and to absolutely learn the french language. Or you won't have have a good time. Hopefully, these warnings will be helpful to some. Regards.
French here, regarding the #4
It's not that there isn't any school violence, last one was in april. But the scope is soo different!
The last school violence happened yesterday, a teacher was threatened with death by a 15 yo pupil. You are lying.
Ça depend où t'es... la racaille de cités qui ne vient pas des EU apporte la violence. Mais bon... pour un gauchiste, c'est juste cool.
There was a uni shooting in Prague too. It happens once in a decade
@@lioneldemun6033yeah ... Words vs machine guns that kill dozens of people in e few seconds. Not really thé same though. Fireatms are the leading cause of death for kids end teens in the US. Crime rate in the US is 5,6. Almost 5 times what it is in France (1,2)
Did you actually watch the video ?
They never said it does not happen.
But the frequency and scale of it is utterly different.
If you're scared to get shot when you're out in France, you're simply paranoid.
While in the US it IS a daily concern, because it happened 513TIMES ALREADY IN 2024 !
There's a Wikipedia page dedicated to 2024 shootings so long that it has more than 600 references.
1000% agree with everything you shared. I would add that health care is much better in other countries also. Thank you for your honesty, transparency and genuine care for your fellow Americans. We can do much better!
When I do make that move to France I will have everything in order. Thanks to your episodes. Lots of love from Tennessee
I absolutely don't want to scare you or whatever, but please ne ready for some problems. Be chill. No matter how well préparés you are, pour administration is a nightmare. And it is very slow. You need to accept it before you arrive. But in any case, welcome ! Enjoy, have fun. Bé happy ❤
I never say that I'm proud to be French because I'vent choose it : only chance wanted me to be born in this place on planet earth. But I am happy to be French because I know how lucky we are to live in this country. The problem is that many French people are not aware of this luck: we always complain about everything, as if we lived in the worst place on earth! That's why hearing foreign people, especially Americans, talk about France is comforting and instructive. It reminds me of this sentence by Chateaubriand, a great French writer: when I look at myself I am sorry, when I compare myself I am consoled.
C'est une question de perspective. Moi je préfère voir ceux qui font mieux plutôt que ceux qui font pire. En dix ans notre bien-être en a pris un coup grâce à ceux qui nous gouvernent et laissent des "mineurs" immigrés illégaux livrés à eux-mêmes nous pourrir la vie en soirée. Venez sortir à Rennes ou Nantes par exemple et vous aurez la boule au ventre jusqu'à la porte de votre chez-vous.
Coluche disait "Je suis content d'être français. D'abord parce que je suis français et qu'ensuite j'aime bien être content!"
No where is perfect, but as an Englishman when I think of the greatest countries on Earth, I believe France is one of the very best places.
@thepymes Are you sure you are an English man ? I'm joking, i love your country too.
@@thepymes As a Welshman, I concur. France is a great country and a lovely place to live or pass through. The people are great and it's always a pleasure.
It’s so refreshing to hear positive things about France, at a time when we are all watching the economic gap widening with the US!
I always enjoy your videos. This one really hits me. I am so overwhelmed by the politics now. And your comments about school shootings! I don't have kids in school anymore - eventually I will have grandkids in school, but also in general society the danger is there. Anybody who is upset or having a bad day can just pull out a gun. This is crazy.
Brave post guys! Well done!
Stuff that needed to be said and things that those of us as Americans living in France, all notice and embrace.
Even if you don’t have children, the chances of being gunned down in America at say, a Walmart, are astronomically higher than the rest of the world. Always reminds me of that Onion article on this very subject; how it’s “inevitable”, yet it’s the only western democracy it happens in.
The bit on the French roads was so spot on. We are in Minervois & Corbieres wine country in the Languedoc. Even the teeniest of wine roads, which we traversed today, meant for tractors and occasional vehicles, has nary a pothole. The infrastructure here is just eons better than the states. And they’ve semi-privatized the road system so I just don’t get why America can’t keep up 😮
More vlogs please!!! I’m addicted to your channel🤓
Many thanks to post these videos with so soft and intelligent way. I am an European woman, Italian precisely, for me what you are speaking all about is very well known. I went to US and really I didn't like the life that is doing there, the way of thinking either. Every country has its goods and bads but the US world is something very strange to me.
I retired in 2014. Took a look at Europe. Returned to Australia twice, couldn't get a place to live. No problem. I've been in Europe since, except to renew my passport. România 🇷🇴 hit the spot. My Age Pension is more than enough. France 🇫🇷 and Spain 🇪🇸 are brilliant
Thanks again for your videos where I discover each time themes that I would not have even imagined like that of worrying about school shootings. I think that the majority of French people have never seen a gun outside of American series! The only weapon that we know is the hunting rifle with lead cartridges that can only be used with a hunting license and only a few weeks a year.
I'm so happy it's this way in France. I grew up in a place where I could decide on the spur of the moment to go get milk and a handgun literally at the same store. It's often easier to buy a gun than get a drivers license depending on the state.
@@BaguetteBound Avez vous dû passer le permis de conduire français ?
Même pour un français, ce n' est pas facile à obtenir et j' ai l' impression, l' intuition que le permis de conduire amléricain est beaucoup plus facilement délivré aux US que le permis de conduire français aux français vue l' absence ou le manque de transports collecttifs qui priveraient l' industrie américaine de main d' oeuvre sans autonomie automobile pour le peuple.
Un peu comme les armes à feu coté industriel mais pour d' autres raisons.
La France a une administration beaucoup plus lourde et importante dans ce pays et ça se voit dans la règlementation pour cadrer son citoyen à tout moment.
Avec le permis de conduire légal en France à partir de 17 ans, vous pourriez certainement 1 an ou 2 avant cet anniversaire inscrire votre fille à l' auto école dans le cadre de la Conduite Accompagnée.
C' est important parce que le coût de l' assurance automobile pour un jeune qui souhaite conduire & obtient son permis de conduire par la procédure d' apprentiissage de la conduite accompagnée ne contient pas de malus financier Jeune Conducteur pour cette dernière ce qui est intéressant à tout point de vue comme vérifier en tant que parent qu' elle conduit en sécurité et peut être aurons nous le droit à un sujet vidéo de votre part sur cette expérience, ce sujet d' apprentissage de la conduite automobile à la française ....
Vos vidéos me rappellent ma chance en tant que français du fait pour moi de vivre en France et je ne peux que vous en remercier surtout quand on connait l' esprit râleur des français.
Je me rappelle de mon patron français qui a emmené un jour sa famille à Disneyland en Floride.
Devinez ...???
Convois de patrouille de police pour les protéger de l' aéroport jusqu' à leur hôtel à Disneyland ....
Comme vous dites : insane.
Je reste quand même médusé quand je vois, j' entends encore des français rêver d' aller vivre aux Etats Unis.
I couldn’t agree with this list more. I’m sure you could go on and on, if you wanted to. I can’t wait to taste that fresh fruit when I’m visiting next month,
Thanks for the video!
Lol, yes, we had to cut ourselves off.
Hope you time here is lovely!
Side note, don't forget to being a jacket or an umbrella. It's been training lately. Sorry. But no matter what thé weather is, have fun, enjoy your stay.
Yup, you nailed it.
Kids being killed; cardboard tasting food; never-ending, extremely divided, politics; little to no public transit.
A very well presented video. Please keep up the good work. I hope that people in America tune into your channel. I have been to America and seen their attitude first hand. I also have American friends and have watched them go through this same transition.
Your video popped up in my feed. I like your points.
Gun violence, including in schools, is growing here i Norway too. No doubt it stems from 'cultural' ideas spreading, originally from the USA, and certainly from guns, including pistols, becoming more common (often illegal).
Merci pour votre vidéo ! J'ai toujours beaucoup de plaisir à vous regarder parce que je vous apprécie beaucoup! J'espère surtout que vous et votre fille serez heureux en France et ne serez pas déçus ! Thank you for your video! I always have a lot of fun watching you because I appreciate you very much! I especially hope that you and your daughter will be happy in France and will not be disappointed!
Merci!! And we will look for your TV show recommendations. 🙂
@@BaguetteBound 🥰En ce qui concerne le fait de manger des légumes et fruits de saison, c'est une volonté, je pense que la plupart d'entre nous avons pris conscience que c'était mieux pour le goût et pour l'écologie. As far as eating seasonal vegetables and fruits is concerned, it's a will, I think that most of us have become aware that it is better for the taste and for the ecology.
@@BaguetteBound Pour Noel et Nouvel an, pour les fêtes de fin d'année, on peut trouver certains fruits hors saison dans les grands magasins comme carrefour, par exemple des framboises, fraises, myrtilles For Christmas and New Year, for the end of year celebrations, you can find some out-of-season fruits in department stores such as Carrefour, for example raspberries, strawberries, blueberries
Great videos, honest and open dialogue. I would love to know what your US based friends feel about the things you discuss.
Great video. I thought for sure healthcare would make the list. How so many of us are locked into our jobs because the cost of healthcare is so outrageous. Not to mention toxic almost 24 hour a day work culture and expectations from companies with the fear of losing your job Nonstop
100 percent healthcare, but we knew (and were excited about) that coming here. This video we wanted to talk about the things that have made bigger impacts in quality of life than we expected.
Omg, USA work culture. That's a whole other video we need to make.
Thanks for watching.
I found you guys through the BI article and immediately subscribed. Interesting and inspiring. Thank you for sharing.
Some main reasons were leaving the USA next year! Also, totally agree on the produce and the European quality blows us away! I talked about it on a little poorly made YT vid I made.
Also, yes, we don't want our daughter to go through shelter in place shooting drills. So off we go
That video is great! The pacing is good and your b-roll edits were great. I just saw it this week and thought it must really be a thing for us Americans woth the produce because we had included it in this video too!
Thanks for watching, good luck with you moving plans!
@@BaguetteBound aw thanks 🙏 for the well wishes and checking it out!
I've lived in Seattle for the last 33 years. I've been planning my exit to France for some time. Just ran across your video and to my surprise, the issues you bring up in it about life in the USA are spot on and, virtually the same I encounter here. Although I have a few more. And as time goes by, the issues are getting worse. I'll be checking out the Bordeaux region in the next few months. I'm done with the U. S.
Bienvenue en France 🇫🇷 ❤
If you come here, learn french. Not just a few words. Mandatory for both your own sake and that of others. Regards.
@@nox8730 I am multilingual with 4 languages on my back (or in my head?) and have a solid knowledge of French. I expect to be fully fluent within six months.
@@restrepoje That's impressive. I myself only know 3 languages. And even then, one is beyond rusted for not using it at all (spanish). This is the reason why i use the english internet: in order not to forget whatever i learned in my 3rd language (english).
In this case, if you have good bases in french, the fastest way to learn would be to come here.
@@nox8730 I guess I was lucky to grow up multilingual. Born in the USA in a Spanish speaking environment. Lived In Germany where I did most of my high school in German, and later picked up Portuguese. My German now is rusty, and living in France I would have a N opportunity to visit Germany often to regain my fluency. You are at 3 languages, which would make it a lot easier to acquire a fourth language.
One thing about road condition in France is that when there's a pothole, there's usually someone calling the mayor about it. Nowadays, you can facebook chat the mayor's office about it. Of course some areas still have bad roads, it really depends. Some areas in Paris are pretty bad. But regarding highways, yeah I've been 4 times in the US and it's pretty bad compared to Europe. France and Italy have tolls, so plenty of money to take care of the roads. Compare to Germany which has no tolls, you'll see the difference. However, even freeways in France are in quite good condition compared to the US. From my trips though I found that the South West (Utah, Arizona, Cali) has worse roads than the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington) or New England (Maine, Masschussets). So it can't be just the harsh winters, and anyway the french Alps have really great roads for the most part. I haven't driven in Texas yet. What I hate is the weird concrete highways in the US, as opposed to asphalt in Europe. Asphalt is easier to repair, and gives a smoother ride. But it's not as durable, and requires more greenhouse gases to produce. The issue is that in the US, yeah concrete is twice as durable, but harder to repair, and they do not repair it...
Love you guys - really happy you live your best life In France !
Quality of life is real
To be fair, it's gridlock in any major US city. But, that isn't the case in rural areas. I've lived in DC, Denver, & close to Los Angeles. Traffic was one of the reasons I couldn't wait to leave DC and Denver. I would love to live in France! I love your videos - and if it weren't for my son and his family, I would leave the US in a New York second. The gun violence is deplorable and so are the politicians that refuse to make them less accessible. Women have to go through a more stringent pipeline for our reproductive health than people do to buy a gun!
Omg, another thing that's nuts. 🤦♀️
Great you guys are so positive. France is the best country on earth. Enjoy!
I've lived and worked abroad for a number of years. What you said about the quality of food is true. You have to be wealthy to get good quality food in the US. Where I currently live, a dollar equivalent buys you a decent, healthy meal. A McD burger "meal" costs four dollars.
I'd love to live in France, but I can't afford to. Sad, because I can speak a little French, can read a good deal of the newspaper, and like French culture, especially the way of life.
Hi Raina and Jason. After watching some of your great videos, I feel like all French people should watch them to stop constantly criticizing their country (a French national sport that you’ll probably make a video about one day!). It’s really well done, very educational, and it’s very interesting for a French person to see this perspective from across the Atlantic. It really puts a lot of things into perspective regarding the complaints we might have about our country. In short, it’s very instructive for a French person! Thank you, and you are more than welcome... to your home!
In my visits to France, the lack of politicking 24/7 was noticeable and fucking refreshing!!! and absolutely WONDERFUL to never have to worry about gun violence.
Per season food, I am reminded of egg nog/custard starting around October and phasing out around February at most, which adds to appreciating their temporal delight, and wish more things in general were like that, just like thematic holidays, etc.
In 354 days we're moving to Toulouse and I wish it was yesterday. This video is exactly why we want out of this crazy place. I drive over the road currently and my nirvana is never driving a motor vehicle ever again. Thanks for the content, keep it up! ✌🏻💚
Toulouse a great town.... lot of sun, Rugby, good foods, etc...... but be aware it's not a small town compared to a village... So point #2 (traffic jam) shound be here for you...
I get it, I have literally, documented, over a million miles behind the wheel. We moved to the sw of France 2 years ago. Driving is pleasurable again. Especially moving from the east coast. Toulouse has a decent amount of traffic, but, a half hour out of the city on a weekday, you can find yourself alone on the road. Secondary roads at least. Even better in the mountains. Good luck.
Welcome in Toulouse soon then :)
😨 Be very careful in Toulouse! 🧐There's a dangerous drug circulating in that region called "le cassoulet". it is extremely addictive and will turn you into a fatty in no time. 😱 Another dangerous drug are the candied violet petals: filthily addictive! 😰A bon entendeur, salut!🙈🙉🙊 Caveat! Caveat! Caveat! 😎
@sebydocky5080 we picked Toulouse because it's a city and has great public transportation. We are retiring early so won't need to commute to and from work.
A number of your observations come back to one issue: anxiety and fear.
Anxiety over gun violence, anxiety over travel times, anxiety over the consequence of losing your job ion your healthcare - I know you did not mention it but it’s still hovering in the back of everyone’s mind - , anxiety in a fractured society made obvious by the constant bombardment of political ads. The thing is : American society used to be open, relaxed, optimistic,open, tolerant, positive, some years back. In that regard, it was indeed a beacon. How come this was replaced over the years by this fear,often turning into anger?
And it is so great that some of these anxieties were lifted off your shoulders. But not only you.
This is also great for your daughter who doesn’t have have to go through school shooting drills, and simply has to worry that there is a dish next week in the school canteen that she doesn’t like.
Anyway, love,your videos, they’re so sincere and positive. Keep up,the great work.
Good video. The point about food is very local specific. Whole foods has good produce (yes, expensive). Our town also has weekly farmers markets. The schools shootings hit hard.
This is all great stuff. Thank you so much for your wonderful videos. My husband and I are saving up money so we can move to Nice. It makes the time go faster for us, being able to watch your videos. Thank you.
hery guys, I hope you didn't " discover" how important food is in France !! French love food , love talking about it and eating it of course, and once you finished your meal very often there is one saying and what are we going to cook or eat next , meaning tomorow ! In France we eat season vegetables and fruits, and we hate water tasting stuff ! it's got to be tasty, and it is most of the time -
I kinda of agree on most things you mentioned, I love everything in France, especially the night life in Paris, it doesn't have to be in a night club,even TV is entertaining, the only thing I don't like is the concierge in my building 😅😅...!!!
Concerning the elections here in Australia the lections state and federal usually last about 3 4 weeks. Also voting is compulsory and is done on a Saturday. Also from midnight on Wednesday all political advertising on radio TV and newspapers is banned.
the difference between existing and living is the quality of the food you eat. good quality food - shared is just a promoter of happiness, health and all round well being. what is life without flavor?
im a brit, lived in France (le mans) Canada (Calgary) and the US (Colorado and Chicago) while i found life in America to be good, and people's attitude to me great, i did find that between themselves they are extremely combative and very competitive, life there seems to be about how successful you are, what you earn , what you have and what you can afford. everywhere else the focus is more on the type of person you are - who you are is of more interest than what you do.
in chicago i was constantly asked why i spent 8 years doing two degrees in nursing and counselling - did i not want more from life?
in france i was lauded for having spent so much time focusing on my vocation and the depth of my knowledge and interest.
in england - its a hell of a job you do,- well done.
i didn't go into nursing because it pays extremely well, (it doesn't ) but it does allow me to live and work anywhere on the planet easily as most countries will issue work visas readily, and so i get to globe trot , meet many different people, experience their cultures, share their foods (the ultimate joy)
before nursing i worked in finance and yes i made a decent amount but the difference between waking up thinking 'oh god..another day' and waking up thinking ' yay, another day' .. well no comparison.
when my family asked me why i kept country hopping every decade, i would just say 'well, how far would you go... to be happy?'
Nice to hear that you went to something rather than away from something. Unfortunately people often do the opposite...
left DFW in 2011 for NZ. the parallels in our experiences and perceptions here and yours in france are interesting to say the least
We are South African nearing the end of a two month trip in the US. We noticed the poor taste of fresh fruit and veg, but also that people tend to eat so much more "bad stuff" like fries, carbs, and in Texas Mac & cheese with everything. Can't wait to get back to good food.
I will NEVER move back to the US. It is so much better in Europe. Agree with all your points
oh wow ! so refreshing to hear you guys speaking about my country and having this sense of essential things. About roads : you have a strong point and this is one of the reasons people pay so much taxes. In Eastern Europe the road can be so poor...
Can you do something about the cost of moving money from USA to France?
Thank you for posting! I live in the US and agree 100%. It's exhausting to have this under current of constant division and fear.
With all respect, explain to me how you had a "great life" in Houston. There is a huge difference between standard of living and quality of life, and the two are often confused or even equated.
I have spent a lot of time in Houston, and as big cities go, it's pretty good, but it pales in comparison to the lifestyle in France and many other European countries. Heck, I think it's worth moving to France just for the bread and cheeses ;-). I sincerely hope that France can keep what it has.
There are pockets and enclaves in the US that IMO have better qualities of life-if you can afford them. A college friend and I both settled in the greater Boston area in the early 1990s. The public transportation isn’t always reliable, but my friend has been able to live car free. I live in a walkable town and can run almost all my errands on foot. It’s amazing how much my quality of life improved when I stopped having to drive all the time. There are also farmers markets and CSAs, where we can buy locally grown produce. MA is also a blue state with decent gun control laws. But for a lot of people in the US, this is a prohibitively expensive region to live.
I really envy anyone who has the resources to live outside the US, I really do.
I can relate with all your 4 things but from a French who spent so much time in the "fly over states". I’d make a few comments.
- The food quality is in the right path back to what it was in France before, we had the food industry making as much damage here than in the US so at least outside big cities your can find excellent produces at a reasonable price. Also being very close to Spain allows to have specific fruits nearly all year long. What I personally find difficult is to find genuinely good meat where I live (Paris), it is not difficult at all when I visit friends and family living in more rural areas as they good directly to the farmer for that.
- Election wise, I cannot disagree with you but I believe it comes with the system itself which does have a lot of pros too in the US where citizen can be much much more involved at any level of their governing bodies (county, city, state…). Nevertheless if you’re looking closely we are sadly taking some bad aspects on US election trends but that’s a long story…
- for the road, well the country is way too big with way too much subject to hard weather. I’m not defending the laziness or the bad managing of the roads but I understood fairly quickly why there was so many bad roads or dirty roads, which also lead to me not taking any more sedans but only SUV or Trucks for that matter, you never know where you’re going to end up… Still infrastructure is a huge bill to pay at the end, some states, counties or cities just can’t afford it.
-for the firearms, I also understand it but I’m a believer the issue is overall a cultural one, as long as the culture or let’s say some sub cultures (in the sense of not the prevalent one) is pushing left and right violence, money and other adult things you’ll have dramatic events coming. Mental illness is not treated properly in the US (I’m not saying we are better), you just need to look on the number of drug addicts sent to prison where they should not be sent, the end of psy ward in the 60s made factories for criminals. Looking at the opioids epidemic makes me think too many people are in desperate need of help and violence is only the symptom not the cause.
As an American who has travelled to France several times, this video really hit home. We're considering buying property in France, as a vacation property, just to be able to visit and travel a couple months out of the year. My wife is a high school teacher and there are gun threat lockdowns at her school several times a year. We still have one daughter in high school and it's something she lives with as well. Also, traffic absolutely sucks in this country, not to mention how crappy and expensive the produce is. School shootings is by number one on this list, political BS and non-stop bombardment for a whole year or more leading up to an election is second. Road traffic is third as its maddening, and that leaves crappy produce fourth. And this is saying a lot as a frequent farmers market goer and foody.
Politics: Larger towns have more than one poll place, and panels are available at every poll place. Otherwise spot on.
Produce: Yep. It's wonderful. Before I visited France, I Had. No. Idea. that potatoes (!) could taste so good.
Roads: I think your Mairie and/or Prefecture is paying more attention to roads than ours. I could show you some pretty impresive potholes. ;)
School shootings/Guns in general: ....yeah.... This one is why my family and I don't live in the US. I simply won't tolerate putting my family through it.
It's nice to see that other people have experienced what I have. When you live in the US, you wear an emotional suit of armor and walk around in denial about the fear of losing your children to a school shooting -- or any random shooting. But when you experience life in another country, you realise that the armor and the fear are unnecessary in a healthy society. And then it dawns on you how unhealthy US society is.
That last paragraph...😥 because it rings true.
We lived in Germany for the better part of 30 years, now we live in Bozen, Italy that used to be part of Austria. I'm so use to eating seasonally, I don't even think about it any more. Stuttgart is known for it's horrible traffic, but everyone takes it in stride. As for school shootings, I'm terrified for my granddaughters.
Have lived in Europe for 16 years.Everything you say is true.However many Americans react aggressively defensive when presented with truths they don't want to hear I have found personally.
I like your channel how many American living in France in Normandy not gonna go back like it here oh and my mom is also French so that kind of helps and I came back to France to be with her in her older years and she did a lot things for me when I was growing up, So I removed myself from the USA equation and went to France to take care of my mom. She’s doing better now and then I met my friends, wife etc. etc..
Very true - all of it!