If you are lucky not to be there at the wrong place and wrong time... Its hard to know when the next islamic massacre will happen. Will you get blown up at a soccer match? shot in a restaurant ? slaughter at a night club ? you and your kid mow down by a truck? etc...
@@sschaem The U.S. murdered more than half a million people during the Vietnam War. The U.S. bombed EyE-raq on a daily basis in the 1990s, which combined with sanctions caused the death of more than half a million EyE-raqi children. The U.S. sponsered and engineered the Iran-Iraq war which caused the death of more than 1 million, and was supplying EYE-raq with biochemical weapons. The list goes on. Wipe the blood from your hands and read a history book to learn about ameriKKKan terrorism. Degenerate obnoxious half-brained juvenile pitiful pathetic subhuman yank fool.
I been to Paris. Spent 3 months there. The only thing I really learned there is that you can pee in these stalls. Plus the Parisians don't even like Paris.
This video is starting to get a lot of views, so I want to make one thing clear. I didn't make this video because I hate everything about Paris and think it's an awful city. It was a cool place to live and to explore. But the reputation of Paris is mostly based on an idea about the city that is not based in reality. So I wanted to introduce people to some of the challenges you will face if you try to move there. A lot of people saying "you were just naive, what did you expect, this is true of any big city" etc etc., well I have to disagree. Before Paris I lived nearly a year in South Korea and didn't experience the same issues. Today, I live in Mexico City and am not experiencing the same issues. So at the end of the day, these thoughts are true to my experience, and that's all I want them to be. If you choose to think I don't know what i'm talking about.... that's up to you ;)
The New Travel .i have lived in Canada and France ! Your are right , french are a bit cold and distant .But a bit more genuine, they do not have fake and friendly Canadian greeting ' Hi , how are you!' when most of the time ,you do not mean it! In short, Canadian are like peach soft from outside, hard inside where the french are like coconut,hard outside and soft inside!
Claudio Dio . It is because North Americans are customers ( better customers services, less taxes, more material stuffs and comfort) where as western europeans are citizens ( longer holidays, better social security, education ,cultural values) . For the american the bigger the better , whereas in France they appreciate more quality to quantity ( food,clothes etc). And Paris is not a ' fun ' city, but more a cultural intellectual,historical and quite snob city, which may not be so appealing to the standard North american young adult like him.
I am glad you left Paris and France. you surely demonstrate a lack of tolerance as if living in North America was that easy AND NO BUREAUCRACY AT ALL:-)! Paris is not perfect, so is any big city!! People speak to you in English? have you just considered that they just wanted to be nice with you and for so long French people have been criticized for not speaking English. People are cold? I have been living in London for 7 years and I can tell you that is not easy being friend with an English person. Paris is stressful like NYC or London. try to stop someone in their commute back home.
1. There are two sides to any big city. I'm English but there are parts of London I'd be frightened of walking through alone at night. 2. If you plan to live somewhere foreign, learn to speak the language first. 3. I retired to the French countryside, La Creuse, in 2015. I could speak French when I arrived. The locals have all been very kind to me and talk to me in French not English. 4. I agree about the bureaucracy.
@BrianBaileyedtech Not required maybe. But it is terrible bad behavior not learning the language, if you decide to live there. Integration starts with the language and if people are not willing to integrate, they shouldn’t live in another country.
I lived 32 years in Paris and there's lot of truth in this video. Will always love Paris though. But yeah bureaucracy, cold people, insecurity, mentality...
cold ppl, insecurity, mentality.... Oooh Paris !!New York city, chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, etc... are paradises compare to Paris !It's just ironic !!!
It's like that in all large cites. We can't talk as if large American cities have community minded folks who aren't fake, greedy and violent. There are FAR less than these kinds of attitudes in the extreme in Paris.
Jay Tee At least they'll be out and about with it, not quiet and cold. New Yorkers, those from LA, Detroit, and Chicago are actually quite forthcoming. You can get a hug from one of these people if you asked nicely. I feel like that couldn't be done in Europe.
@@abhaymishra30 It's Swiss yes. Also, it's a bad idea to want to eat fondue in Paris, as most fondue restaurants outside of the Alps region, Savoie, etc. are shit or fake or overpriced. Fondue is better when in the mountains :D
Marcel Pfister: There is if you eat fondue in Paris. "Fondue is a Swiss and French Savoyard dish of melted cheese served in a communal pot over a portable stove heated with a candle or spirit lamp, and eaten by dipping bread into the cheese using long-stemmed forks. Wikipedia Places of origin: Switzerland, France".
As a foreigner who lived for more or less one year in Paris, i totally agree with all you said here. I'd also add that some Parisians actually hate speaking to english speakers and some even refuse to talk to you once they realize you cant speak French, eventhough i could bet that they knew english better than i did! That happened to me at least 10 times!!!😑 just try to ask for direction, some of them react as if you are pointing a gun at them!!
True 🙌🏻 its sad , I live in Paris from 2015 it broke my soul, stole my smile, I love cultures of countries any where in this world, but we are living beings we cant just enjoy buildings!! I stopped drinking and smoking lately ( things I started in Paris) because I don't want to believe they are the only habits we can enjoy doing in paris?? There's no real love here, people don't hug!! Its cold its dark, it was ok when I was mostly dark because what was going on in my life that time, but the past months I'm trying so hard to heal my self, and just will move out as fast as I can to a bright land 🕯
Wow! It almost broke my heart and soul..but thank God..Christ would not let that happen. I got married here..he is the love of my life..but after a slew of health issues even he knows I have to leave this city ASAP. This society is super dark and the lifestyle is inhumane. We leave together this Sept and until then I'll go sing on a cruise ship. Best luck to you both.
I lived in France for 7 yrs( 2004 to 2011)4 years in Nantes for 3 years in Paris. Nantes was a beautiful city very cheap for students. I used to pay 136 euros for my studio appartment all included. I learned french in Nantes. So i then i decided to move to Paris to study at 'La sorbonne'. Moving to Paris i believe was the biggest mistake of my life because i struggled could not find a place to Stay. I moved countless times all over paris, lived in peoples houses, I paid 400 euros per month renting a room in peoples houses so i ended up dropping out of school which made it hard for the immigration to renew my 'titre de sejeur' student visa. I tried to make friends but people in Paris come and go so i was so lonely.so i decided to move to the US in Atlanta Georgia and here finding a place to stay was quick within 2weeks i had a big appartment . So finding a place to stay i belief is a challenge for students or people moving to France. I miss the french culture food and speaking french but i dont miss the struggles of finding a place to stay. My advice to students moving to france is dont move to Paris, try smaller cities like Nantes, Angers, Rennes..... your experience will be better and cheaper.
Damn. I'm moving to Paris in 3 months to study........ at Pantheon-Sorbonne.... after getting rejected from a school....... in Nantes. Weird coincidences. I have no family in France but I speak fluent french and I have a couple friends from high school moving there at the same time as me. I'm having trouble finding a place to stay but I'll probably end up staying in a student/christian foyer (nonbeliever but it's cheaper). Is my situation fucked? I
guillermo gouldburn Hey just saw your message. it was in someone's house in Joinville - le - pont that i had found through fusac.fr. Google it you will find many people who are renting rooms in their houses.... Remember south of Paris is better than North of Paris....
How do you like Atlanta? I’m from there, but I live in France. I have mixed feelings about the video, though I agree that things are very difficult financially and culturally. I hope that you like Atlanta. I miss it!
French woman I know came to the Silicon Valley, went to Office Depot, ordered business cards, rented a space and took out a business license all in one week. She said it would have taken 2 years in France. My sister had a flat on her way to take her French bf to the airport. He was all hysterical that he would miss the airplane. It was fixed in half an hour. He said it would take half a day in France. He then accused her of offering the tire guy sex in order to get it fixed so quickly.
It’s not Paris. It’s just what being an immigrant is like. It’s just that people from North America don’t experience that too often because people emigrate to North America, not from it.
He's railing about big cities--NYC, London, qualify as his "Paris." Same old stuff--big cities are cold, scammers play on newbies, bureaucracy sucks, getting a job sucks when you're new in town...What is specifically Parisian here?
I have lived here for almost 2 years now. The thing that I hate the most is the smell of pee all over the show and dog poo. This is the 5th country that I lived for more than 6 months, so the bureaucracy doesn't really bother me that much. Every country has a ton of paper work when it comes to immigration. UK's home office is WAY more hostile *LOL*
The pee smell in Paris is definitely something, especially in the metro... they should build and maintain public toilets. Dog poo on the other hand is an issue all over France lol but we are slowly improving ^^
I feel like lots of people make the assumption that Paris is France and stereotype French people as being rude and cold but in my opinion, living in Aix-en Provence people aren't really like that. I think it is more of a big city thing as well as the language barrier
The "coldness" you talked about is not "very french", it's "very parisian" , french people, from de suburd or the country side are really warm ppl and give you hope and make you lovin french and France. Paris is not France , this shitty city do not represent what this country is, what the peope are.
Thank you for the video! Yes, I agree. I also lived in Paris for 6 months and I went through a lot of struggles and challenges myself. Before going to Paris, I had already worked and lived in Singapore, Malaysia, China and Kazakhstan - and these places had their challenges too but I thought it would so much easier to live in a European city - well, it wasn't as I had thought - it was very tough. You are right about the paperwork, red tape even for things like getting a phone card activated or opening a bank account. Accommodation was a nightmare and so was finding work ! And many times, I would not walk into restaurants or cafes just by the way, the waiters would look at me - it's like I am not welcome. Anyway, I am glad that experience is over - I would not go back and live there - maybe as a tourist on a short trip to visit places I did not get to see. I think some places are better to experience just as a tourist.
To be honest I think 6 months is not enough to appreciate the life in a new country. There is a culture shock curve that explain it. Personally it took me over 2 years to truly enjoy the uk
With time you feel worse... I've been there for a year.. and the fun part is parisians feel entitled enough to be treated as a royalty, but make little effort to do the same to others. Horrible!
French people, especially Parisians, are often seen as rude for foreigners. From my point of view, I can see two main reasons. The first is a cultural one. Smiling is emotional for us, not social. We really don't like fake smiles toward our face while being stabbed in the back. Therefore we do not smile at anyone, would she/he be French or Foreigner, unless we feel the true desire to do so. The second one is an over-crowding effect. There are more tourists visiting France each year than its own population. Thus locals tend to pay no attention and care to them. Yes, it is highly regrettable. We, the French, do have the duty to welcome these visitors in a very better way. Servicing is a big lack in our way of running businesses (including in domestic affairs) and we should improve a lot in this domain. Moreover, tourism is a huge source of income for our economy and a great means of publicity for our international image.
Bonjour Harshal Merci pour ton commentaire sympathique. Comme tu apprends le Français, nous allons communiquer dans la langue de Molière. Si tu as des problèmes de compréhension ou d'expression, nous pourrons faire quelques digressions en Anglais. Je suis très touché que tu souhaites venir faire tes études en France. Tu as choisi une très bonne école. Le Français est une langue très difficile, surtout sa grammaire qui est horrible (plusieurs types de verbes, des temps de conjugaison multiples, des règles compliquées avec des exceptions, des exceptions aux exceptions, etc.). Rares sont les Français qui le parlent et l'écrivent correctement. les Québécois certains Africains, et d'autres aussi, sont sans doute même meilleurs. Alors il ne faut pas hésiter à le parler même si tu fais des fautes. Ne t'offusques pas si les gens te reprennent sur tes erreurs, nous le faisons continuellement entre nous Français. C'est juste une manière de s'entraider à s'améliorer, même si cela peut paraître impoli pour les étrangers. J'ajouterai deux choses : - La plupart des étudiants étrangers arrivent très rapidement à comprendre et s'exprimer en Français une fois plongés dans le pays. Même si ce n'est pas parfait. Mais quelle importance ? L'essentiel est de communiquer. Quant à l'accent, il faut oublier. Si on n'est pas né en France, ou y avoir vécu dans sa jeunesse, c'est un vain et inutile effort de vouloir s'y coller. La prononciation est importante, pas l'accent. Après tout Québécois, Africains, et autres francophones parlent très bien Français tout en ayant un accent très différent. - la Légion Etrangère Française recrute chaque année des milliers de jeunes gens venant de tous les coins du monde. 98% d'entre eux ne connaissent pas un seul mot de Français à leur arrivée dans leur unité militaire. En moins de six mois la plupart comprennent et s'expriment convenablement dans notre langue. Il faut dire que le Français y est la seule langue parlée et tolérée, y compris pour les personnes originaires d'un même pays. Petite recommandation pour faire des progrès : lire, beaucoup lire en Français. Commencer par des livres pour enfants. le cerveau y enregistre rapidement le vocabulaire courant, les formes grammaticales et les expressions usuelles. Quant à la culture française. Bien sûr elle est différente des autres. Comme le sont l'américaine, l'italienne, la chinoise, l'indienne, l'allemande, la japonaise, etc. Je suis toujours étonné de lire des commentaires de gens qui viennent visiter ou vivre en France et qui se plaignent du mode de vie et des habitudes autres que celles chez eux. A quoi s'attendaient-ils ? Enfin pour se faire des amis Français, il faut avoir conscience de quatre particularités : - C'est vrai que le Français est moins accueillant que beaucoup d'autres. Certains y voient même un manque d'hospitalité. Néanmoins lorsqu'une personne, ou un groupe de personnes, vous accepte, les relations amicales deviennent généralement profondes. - La France est une agrégation de cultures et de mentalités différentes issues des immigrations successives au cours de l'histoire. Aussi peut-on y rencontrer des attitudes différentes selon l'origine des personnes. - Cette mosaïque de mentalités se retrouve aussi selon les régions. Les gens du nord et de l'est de la France ont des rapports amicaux différents de ceux du sud par exemple. - Paris est une très grande ville et on s'y sent souvent seul malgré la densité de population (j'ai connu le même sentiment à Londres). A mon sens le meilleur moyen de se faire des amis est en s'inscrivant dans des associations (il y en a des milliers de toutes sortes). Elles procurent des activités intéressantes pour les temps de loisirs et on y fait de multiples rencontres qui se transforment souvent en relations amicales. Pour un étranger c'est un moyen inestimable pour communiquer et s'imprégner de culture française. - Attention : contrairement au monde anglo-saxon, chercher à nouer des relations d'amitié au travers du monde professionnel est très difficile. On peut rencontrer des personnes très agréables sur son lieu de travail et avoir avec elles des échanges sympathiques et sincères. Mais cela se transforme rarement en rencontres et sorties en dehors du cadre de l'entreprise. Voilà Harshal quelques éclairages que je souhaitais te donner pour ta venue en France. N'hésites pas à me contacter lorsque tu débarqueras sur notre sol. je serai ravi de te rencontrer (j'adore l'Inde et sa culture immense et variée). Cordialement
I went to Paris few months ago, while the city is beautiful but not so much on customer services. I literally have to wait almost a minute for a cashier to serve me because she was busy chatting with other employee. Other thing is when I came to a restaurant to use the toilet, and I ask politely, but the waiter was giving me a judgemental look, it was really annoying, I did order a drink and the staffs were like so cold, not even say thank you or anything when I paid the bill. A total opposite from Japan or even my home country Indonesia. Also Paris is way too crowded for me personally, so I don’t think I’ll come back anytime soon.
It seems to be a totally different society from Asia. Yet some foreigners love the freedom in France to the point of not understanding the reality: poor customer service and a bi-gone impressionist era.
Wait, you went to Paris, did not speak French and found it difficult to get a job with your English only language skills, and now you're complaining about it because you did not expect that? I'm sure there are things in Paris that suck, but realistically that one doesn't count. It's like arriving in New York or Toronto not speaking any English and expecting to compete with locals for good jobs. I've been to Paris twice, as a nineteen year old and a forty year old and both times I found the locals to be warm, friendly and helpful. Not everyone, of course there are always going to be cold people in a big city, and a few total jerks, but really there were not that many jerks and there were a lot of random strangers who smiled at me. I don't know if it's a male/female thing or what, maybe I have a certain je ne sais quoi, ha ha. A person should go there with an open mind and not assume French people are all arrogant because it isn't true. Of course it makes a big difference to at least try to speak French, even if you don't do so well.
Hi huajie666 liu I think that the French are the same as people everywhere, a mixture of some nice people and some not so nice. They have some cultural quirks it is best to be aware of before you go there. French people are more likely to be friendly and helpful if you at least attempt to speak French to them, even if you don't do so well. They will switch to speaking English if they can to help you out, but you should speak to them in French first as a sign of respect. Say Bonjour and smile and don't assume French people even in Paris are arrogant because the majority are not. If you go to small towns in the countryside, people there may have a sarcastic sense of humour. I did't know that and I thought they were being mean to me on purpose, lol. I found out later that is just how they joke. For example when I told a clerk at a train station I wanted to go to another town, he said something like, "good then, I'll be rid of you!" Don't worry if this happens to you they are just joking. I think.
you're right. It's called "second degre" and it's actually a joke. When I moved to Canada, I had to stop cause they don't understand. French are not rude or arrogant, they are a bit stiff. We have a lot of social rules tourist should know about before coming to France, because most of these rules apply only with people you don't know.
I had to laugh at point nr.9 - Parisians love to argue. I thought that was true of the French in general. As someone who enjoys French cinema, I find that the in-your-face-shouting-at-the-top-of-the-lungs argument scene is as obligatory to French film as the car chase scene is to American film.
About the line up, you just have to impose yourself. If you're too timid people will just walk over you. You have to deliberately show that you were here first and that you are giving back a form.
You really nailed it! My first trip outside the US alone was to Paris. My French was worse than zero, I basically seemed to revert to grunting...But, somehow I managed to get around and survive. I made it in Paris for a week alone, I new no one and nothing. Scary as hell, but quite liberating in the end. "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere..." Now... Mexico City...that's another story. Looking forward to your take on my favorite city in the world...still!
> Kenneth M : I can imagine Paris would be scary for a Papu coming out of his forest. That an American was scared as hell of travelling here is beyond me. Most people dealing with tourists can speak at least some English. When they don't, you can look up to your smarphone. Streets have names, you're not in Addis Abeba. You can use your smatphone too to find your way. #"If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere..# ha ha I doubt it. If you were scared traveling in Paris, how would it be if you travelled in a country where nobody speaks your language, where there are no signs in English, where they don't use the latin alphabet. A country where the cops are corrupt, the hospitals crowded and dirty etc etc..
everyone has different experiences; my first major trip as an adult, did not speak the language, & on my own, i loved it, have not made it back but would love to but unfortunately since i had the best time on my first visit i fear the second visit will not meet the same experience
You lived in Paris too late. I lived there for a year, in the 1980s. It was great. However, 49 years later, I've seen it degrade to a sh1thole. The beaurocracy has always been out of control.
@@keensterd3654 I was sort of living there, rather spending time for 1 month in the end of the 80's in 1990. Then was fun and safe to walk even in the night. It was some scam on Trocadero or Place de la Concorde. But not everywhere like today. Once I got drunk and sleeping on the bench just beside Elfel Tower for few hours during the day. I was wearing shorts, so my wallet might be visible even for amateur pickpocketers, my shoes were under the bench. Wake up and everything was on the same place. I'm not sure if it would be possible today. Or - Maybe pickpocketers thought I'm just one of policemans who is trying hunting for them. This area was ful of security, but they were just keeping eye if someone is trying to climb up the tower illegaly, or things like that.
ok true we are cold & rude but when you're french it's so recomforting lmao whenever I go on vacation and come back to france and people already argue it's like oh i'm home lmaoo
I am from French Guiana, have been in 65 countries, and have been living for 13 years in Paris where I have also been hundred times since then since my whole family is living there. Everything you say in this video makes sense to me but it also comes from your own experience. This experience will be way different from another person with other expectations in life. At the end of the day, there is no paradise anywhere. There are PROS and CONS to living everywhere. You create your own paradise. And to the NON-EUROPEAN who plan to go on vacation there, I will say go ahead this city is DEFINITELY one of the most interesting place to visit.
I'm from Ireland. I live in Paris and it's wonderful. All cities have their ups and downs, many big cities have housing crises (as you say) and the bureaucracy issue is something you'll find in many places in Europe (along with excellent public services - definitely the case in France).
I went to Paris for only two weeks with my daughter who can speak French. We are Australians. We were only tourists. I found the French people to be exceptionally polite. I don't know how they can put up with so many tourists invading their city. It's the same all over Europe - so many tourists, to the point where it seems like a theme park at times. It must be very difficult for the Europeans.
Parisian myself : 1. The Real Paris - Agrees 2. Bureaucracy - Agrees 3. Employment in Paris - Somewhat Agrees 4. Housing in Paris - Agrees but wrong argumentation. Inner Paris is expensive, suburb is... *ok*. We have way too much Office building, not enough rotation on social flats, and some rich people/society have empty flats... 5. Parisians are Cold - Agrees, partly because of rude/uneducated people. 6. Scams in Paris - Agrees 7. Line Ups - TOTALLY AGREES. Well it's 3/4 the fault of the employer that doesn't employ enough people or make a good system in place and 1/4 of dumb people making stupid stuff and making other people lose their time 8. Parisians Love to Argue - Somewhat Agrees. We are big mouths because we are on the defensive. Joins point n°5 9. Learning French - Agrees, difficult Language 10. Tourists - Somewhat Agrees
i visited paris once for a few days.i couldnt really explain myself when a problem or disagreement occured. but i noticed if i say f*** off to a woman there they will come back ten fold. in england if i randomly tell someone f*** off they wouldnt care about a random stranger saying that.
I worked in Paris for one week and it brought the worst out of me. The French couldn't wait till I left. The two things I hated during that work week was dodging dog crap everywhere on the sidewalks and having dinner with a dog sniffing next to me. I like dogs like you like your child, that's the key your dog, your child, not so fine if they are sitting next to me bugging me when I eat.
After living one year in Paris (never went before as I tourist), I left with the impression that visitors and tourists don't really know much about Paris. Although it was overall a cool city, most people just have a fantasy idea of what it really is like.
Dude be thinking that Paris is the worst in the world LMAO... he should give a try to Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba or Haiti. I dont wanna be racist or something, but first worlders are REALLY sensitive
I live in Paris. People are most definitely not cold. But you MUST know french. I am barely b1 level, and yet not once has anyone tried to "switch to english". People are for the most part very warm, interesting, engaged, and conversational. To say that somehow 12,000,000 people have been made "cold" or mistrustful because of 5 clipboard people by the tour eiffel just makes no sense. I suspect you just didn't speak enough french. Its also not hard to learn french in paris. you learn by immersion, conversations, daily interactions, or by going to one of the many, many language schools. I'm sorry you had such a rough time.
Ok yea I see what you mean, people in the south of france were nicer. I visited Marseille and Montpellier. People in Marseille seemed tough, maybe more so than Paris. Montpellier was very laid back student town :)
"Parisians are cold, french are rude". It 's a very common critique made by disappointed tourists, and especially american ones. Well if you think so, may be you are the one who had been rude and impolite without even knowing it. This is often just a big misensunderstanding. The code of french conversation are : - Bonjour/bonsoir, in a meaningful way, - waiting for a bonjour/bonsoir back (no B back , because of deaf, death or simply not today, means end of conversation) Not waiting for the B back basically means you don't consider your interlocutor as an equal. -s'il vous plaît/or s'il te plaît for intimate, the magic word. We torture our children until they learn to say it :" No chance you will have this baby bottle, before you say it, we wait three weeks, i can wait more, say it, say it!!". When they fail, we abandon them towardn the atlantic ocean, or toward the Channel. Merci/merci beaucoup, second magic word Au revoir/bonsoir/bonne journée : if you don't say au revoir to a french personn, then may be it's better for you to say her Adieu. And it's the same ritual when you enter in any shop or a bar. In America, shops and their employees are here to make money. Employee are basically slaves, you avoid to say them hello and avoid their hello because they will annoy you by trying to sell you something. In France, before being boss, employee or waitress, they are human being and expect you to treat them with respect and dignity. There is only one category of person who enter and exit out a shop without saying bonjour et au revoir in France : thieves. When americans are peaches, frenchies are coconuts. In american education : you have to do your best smile and make all you can to make your interlocutor comfortable, even if you are not totally sincere. you are demonstrative. You hog. You say wonderfull, fantastic, give compliments. It's pretty easy to begin a conversation or a short/superficial relationship with you. But it's a lot much harder to have a deeper relationship with american. This is your way to be polite. You are peaches. Peaches are warm on the outside, and share personal stories, but make the mistake of thinking that is genuine intimacy and you’ll hit the core ‘inner self In french education the way you give and show respect to the other is by giving him distance, respecting his personnal space, not invading him with yourself, do not impose him relationship he could not desire. Too much demonstration with someone you don't or barely know will sound suspect and not very sincere, superficial. You don't speak loudly, invading them with your voice, make great gesture because you don't want to make him uncomfortable. You don't hog him, he is not your mom. The better gift you could give him is sincerity. We Negative feedback is the norm in France.
We are coconut. Negative feedback is a part of our culture and education. An americain would say you're beautiful even if he don't think it. A french would say: don't you have another dress ? Because he think sincerity is how he show respect. Pas mal is probably the best and most sincere compliment a french will give you. If a french say you aregood fantastic, you're a baby who is learning to walk, or someone who deserve pity.
This is true. The French have very high standards. And are extremely aesthetic. So criticism is sincere, so that you improve. In the U.S., it's considered rude to correct someone's language. But the French will take the time to correct you because they want you to improve. To me, that's much nicer. My French friends have really been true friends. They are the ones who invite me to their homes to share a meal. As an American, I know this is rather rare, but I get along very well with the French, but then again I do speak French. Of course, especially with romantic relationships, some relationships can also be very fleeting. But that's everywhere. Paris and France are having problems, no doubt. A weaker economy than its peers, immigration. So people are stressed out and defensive. Can you really blame them?
AussieJ T You're the one to talk. Aussies are only nice to...other Aussies. Try being a foreigner here. I can't go anywhere without people making fun of my name, my accent, or tell me to get back to my country. Australians are so racist and full of themselves it's not funny.
I am French and my sister went to the US and she told me people smile a lot in shops and hotels over there but she felt they were very fake. I have worked in hotels in France and I always tried to be polite but also natural, I did not want to be hypocrite and when I talked to customers I was quite honest on what I thought about America for example (not only negative). I was surprised to see that what I said or did was sometimes interpreted as rude. I heard that Americans see politeness as making the other person comfortable whereas French see it as being respectful.... maybe that's it. I also saw that type of tourist that heard France wall all this and that .... so good and romantic blah blah and who looks for the first thing that goes wrong to generalize about France, as if they were just trying to prove a point they already had... I found out that is often means a lot more about the person than about France…. Of course, France is not perfect and we are going threw tough times… I have been away for a few months and I cant wait to come back for what seems to me like paradise when I am far from it.
My ex French GF thought the same of English people everywhere, they are fake happy to make the other person feel comfortable, whereas, ENglish people thought she was rude because she would not have conversation for sake of it or smile for the sake of it. I agreed with her and never realised how much i said things like 'sorry' or 'hi' to strangers without any reason. If i buy a coffee for example, why do i need to fake smile?
I found Americans to be over the top with fake friendliness. It's irritating. I would rather deal with someone who is just polite and natural without being fake.
Hi Dan. I am from Mexico, but have European citizenship. Long ago I had a British friend living/renting a kind of room in Paris. She invited me to stayed over a few weeks. I experienced closely the bureaucracy of the bank BPN Paribas, they refused to help my friend for days until she refused to leave the office bank, haha. Paris is beautiful and you can find cool and cold people. There are some districts that are not that pretty or secure to visit. Even with the pros I would love to live there if I had the chance and the budget.
THANK U DUDE. I'M LEARNING FRENCH AND I WAS THINKING OF, ONE DAY, MOVE TO PARIS OR QUEBEC BUT NOW I THINK I'M NOT GONNA CHOSE PARIS. I'M MEXICAN AND I WATCHED UR 6 HRS. VID. ,
The scams are really annoying in Paris, I don't know how they can get away with it around the main tourist attractions without getting moved (Rome's the same). Not that common in London.
Maybe they secretly hope they'll cut down on tourism since the city is already overwhelmed with tourists? If the touristy spots have a bad reputation then word spreads and more people may decide to avoid Paris or if they were a victim, avoid coming back soon. That said, if that is why, they'd be better off enacting some sort of tourist tax. Allowing this sort of stuff diminishes the quality of life in the city and as he mentioned in the video, is likely one of the reasons for so many people having a sour attitude (along with all of the tourists).
It's difficult to get rid of scams because the scammers are foreign minors. A lot of them come from eastern Europe and are teenagers. Seeing the picture he showed in the video, I can tell you that the girl is Rom. The head of their gangs knows that French laws are very lax with minors, so they take advantage of the loophole to scam people by having teens do their dirty work. They can't be expelled from the country either because of free circulation within the Schengen zone. When they get arrested by the police, the police have no choice but to release them. Before you say anything, yes, I agree with you, it is a very stupid system.,The UK is not in the Schengen zone, so that's why it's not as common there.
Raphanne very well said. These scammers are a nightmare for the police who do their best to get rid of them. How can people believe that the administration would want to keep these scammers around? They’re a nuisance to both tourists and local people but the locals know ho to get rid of them or ignore them.
@@porte-majestuoso Muslims were brought over from former French colonies and it wasn't problem in the past to live with them but if you treat people like second class citizens undeservinglly then you will provoke unwanted reaction from them unfortunately.
I am sure that it would be hard to find a job in Paris, like you mentioned. People were usually very friendly with us. My father said that it was because we had lived there in our former lives. It is kind of weird that people knew.
I just got back, and my only issues were the lack of places to get coffee at an early hour, the crazy driving, and the smell of urine in places it shouldn’t be (ie a mall). I found most of the French very gracious and willing to help an American who spoke little French. Sometimes people were quite aggressive, pushing past you etc, but I learned quickly to stand my ground. Not that different than the US in that respect.
I am parisian and I have to say that most of the things you say are true. However, they are two points that I want to comment. It is true that you have scams in touristy places, but it is also the same in any big North American city or around the world. Welcome to big cities! My second point is that culturaly we are very different from Canadians. I live in Canada and I find that people are really polite and nice, but it is also hard to create a real friendship with people. While Parsians might seem cold at the beginning, but once you create a connection, friendship lasts forever. No culture is better than another, they are just different, and travelling to new place also means embracing its cultural difference. Now I hope one day you'll come back to Paris and have a better experience :) thanks for your video
Claire Lelièvre As a Canadian, I have to say that you are right. I hate how Canadians are nice and polite but they aren't truly interested in friendships. En tout cas, vous avez quitté la France pourquoi?
theLearner le canada aussi va souffrir du libéralisme irraisonné et du politiquement correct de Trudeau, et c'est vraiment dommage. Par exemple Vancouver qui est vendue aux chinois, rendant la vie la bas financièrement impossible, et l'import massif de maghrebins au Québec
not so many scams here in Australia... and having lived in France 10+ years, I disagree, anglo culture is superior, generally (except for the recent Feminist onslaught on men which has reached high tide) . It's more positive, more friendly, more realistic, more efficient. See the Book "Francais-Americains, L'autre Rive " by Pascal Baudry... Quebec has is essentially anglo culture with French speakers, and is far more human than France. France seems to thrive on making life difficult, which is why I left. Not to mention cowardly in facing immigration problems etc.
Trudeau really is a wrecking ball... quebec was one of the last french speaking places i might consider actually living. but not if its overun by muslims trying to impose sharia.
Just got back from Paris and it was just so beautiful and the locals were so helpful and pleasant to deal with in the week we were there. Tourist were annoying esp at the tower. I found them to be rather ignorant :/ So I can see why the Parisians can get annoyed. I didn’t find them to be cold though lol rather minding their own business in a sense. I love how all shops and stores say their Bonjours and Merci’s It was a great experience:)
Lea Waters I agree also I not long come back from Paris and my experience was brilliant enjoyed everyday the people their are so friendly & polite compared to British
Dude, what you experienced is not unique to Paris but a universal experience when living in a foreign city/country. You’re young and somewhat naive in your expectations. I would suggest continued travel and exposure to ‘uncomfortable’ situations.
omg, my experience of Paris was pretty bad; the rudeness was constant, beyond rude - malignant. I was yelled at by angry staff members in museums, stores, coffee shops. One shop lady viciously snatched a pamphlet from me, I got such a fright; a waitress gave me a plate of food with a pile of ash, from the ciggy hanging out of side of her mouth, she was scary too, so I said nothing. A young girl waitress screamed at me "allez vous en!!!" over a small thing. I was spat at and chased by beggars, grabbed in all areas when crossing a busy road; nearly run over by speeding cars when I crossed at green lights. Going down into metros was surreal, the smell of urine so strong that tears ran down my face. EVERY train trip had a busker with an aggressive expectation that I would pay them. Public toilets close at 3pm, grumpy information centres give wrong information. My lifetime devotion to the French culture and language was pretty shaken.
I lived in france many years. Go to the countryside: massif central, pyrenees. Little medieval towns, normal people. Also the alps are amazing. Forget the cities.
Which country are you from, may I ask? Things were never like that 50 years ago (I was there in the "60s +"70s). All these bad experiences are down to multiculturalism.
I am not french myself (but I live in France), and I'm not very fond of Paris for other reasons, but gods, you are not speaking of the Paris I know, you must have visited another dimension. I have visited Paris countless times (I'm a EHG, European historical guide): if you were yelled at by museum staff, you must have done something bad. They see millions of people a day, if they bother to yell at you... (maybe you took an unauthorised picture? You cannot take pictures of everything, it, degrades the exposed object, like murals paintings etc are fragile and react to light). As for being grabbed at on busy roads and about speeding cars: what did you expect from an overcrowded city? Undergrounds... well they smell of urine in every city across the globe, no surprise there... and public toilets are always open. Always. If they are closed it means they are out of service. As for the smoking... it is illegal to smoke inside a restaurant, as a customer, so even more as a worker. You must have been in a very shity place. As for you, mr Woodrow, since you have not set foot in Paris for the last 50 years, your comment about multiculturalism is ill informed and rather than doubting your good intentions I will blame it on too much tv talking about "no-go zones" nonsense. Paris has been full of Arab and blacks for the last century because of french collonies and by russians because of immigration. There is even a bridge named because of immigration in that city, and it's not new...
yeah me and mom were rudely asked by some waiter to leave the restaurant cuz i ordered food only for myself and not for two people ...those fuckin cunts
We went to Paris for the first time this June and we loved it. Learn the basics of French so you have a better time & make friends. Were planning on going back soon.
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Cold people is just a cultural things. I remember some years ago having read some line from an US journalist that moved to Paris and, as you, was chocked by the way Parisian are cold. Then, she realised the truth… they are not cold, they are reserved in society, and conversely some tourists/foreigners are exuberant… and that creates a kind of clash. You have to bear in mind that the way Parisian behave outside and the way they behave within their social circle is totally different. In public space you have to melt into the crowd and mind your own business. I am living in London now and I'm struggling to get use to that, because I feel London people are too loud, they are doing too much. Then, something you have to realised, Paris is small, really small even though the suburb is quite big and that is the problem. Lot of people that are in Paris are not actually Parisian but are living in the suburb. However, the transport system, although it is perfect for Parisian (zone 1), it is not built for suburb people and a lot of people are spending more than 2 hrs per day commuting to go to their jobs and back home. Because everything is centralised inside this little area called Paris and everybody have to converge toward that small city from all around the suburb with a bad transport system (RER mainly). Then at night you need to finish you day job at a precise moment, to take a precise metro for 30 minutes. then you have to wait for 15-20 minutes sometime to get your RER (the train that runs far into the suburb), be in it for 45 minutes, standing all the way, and then miss your bus and have to wait for 30 more minutes to finally get home where you have to cook and so on. You end up by planning every second of your journey to be sure to take your exact RER that will arrive at the exact time to your final station to not have to wait for the bus. That is why "Parisian" people are stressed in the train, screaming at slow tourists, refusing to help some lost one… because they absolutely can't missed their trains ! Living in London now, I have to admit that I am relieved from this stress because the commutation time is much shorter than in Paris, mainly because everything is spread in London, therefore their is not an absolute need to go to central London to go to work.
I absolutely can relate to point number 9. I was visiting le Louvre and was really hungry before hand so we went down some alley way to a cafe for lunch. Right as we walked in the door the waitress, an older french women, quickly asked how many people we had and everything, in french of course, and me wanting to use my high school french skills answered sheepishly, we were seated without incident. As soon as we all had decided on what to order she came back round. I tried ordering what i wanted in french (a savory crêpe with ham and cheese and all that) and as I was saying it, i was nervous and stuttered as i was unsure what exact words to say and she snapped and me and said ‘you want what??’ And i was basically forced to complete all further interactions with this woman in English, disappointed that my practicing my french was not encouraged i stayed away from that in the future.
Great tips on the scams.. I've heard of variations on a few of those in other cities as well. I've heard that French Language thing as well, about any slight mistakes or accents and they switch to English.
Well it can be a little complicated about us (the French) speaking English because we are often criticized for either switching to English too fast, or for refusing to speak English. The thing is that our level in English is terrible when compared to most of the other European countries and we are really aware and ashamed of that. Many French don't refuse to speak English but they will try to avoid it because they do not want to be judged. On the other side, we are taught to do our best to help strangers (though Parisians are notoriously considered as rude by the rest of France) so we might switch to English but usually only if we consider that *our* struggle to speak English is less than *your* struggle to speak French.
Yes! They switch to English after our mistakes -- not to make us feel better -- but to make themselves feel better by not listening our mess ups of their language -- of which they are very, very fond.
I find it rich that English speakers accuse French people of being overly proud of their language and not very forgiving of people's mistakes when they can't tolerate the slightest hint of an accent themselves. If you don't sound exactly like a local, people make fun of you or tell you to get the fuck back to school. At least they do in Australia, so...
The same thing happens to me whenever I visit Montreal. As soon as they detect my American accent, they switch automatically to English but I wanted to practice my French.
I just wanted to see some video about real Paris. Because my big dream was to work there. I found your video but..I can't stop watching to you!😂😶 You're such a nice boy😏💞
the bank you chose is the one that belongs to the post office company . There's even a famous sketch about how long it can take to get what you need there.
....seriously? Being from America and complaining about bureaucracy for foreigeners/non Europeans in Europe? How do you think it is for ANY foreigner who wants to work in the US?
...wow....so friendly....calling people names. Of course he's American....just not from the US. I never said he was dishonest - that is how you interpreted it. And, just because France has a lot of bureaucracy does not mean it is easier for people in Canada or the US
Oh it is way easier in Canada. I'm French and I live in Canada for the past 9 years. I had a lot more papers to fill with the French consulate than with the Canadian government (and I went through immigration). French bureaucracy can be a real nightmare so I always salute people going through immigration in France.
I visited Paris in 1985 and remember heaps more concrete than foliage. Lots of walking. The idiocy to pay extra for a room if you want a shower. I only . experienced about two unfriendly people, when I say unfriendly I mean harassment. Thanks for making this video. I don't want to go back there.
I am living in Paris right now (studying), and I must say you are mostly right. As a Spaniard (and hence, a European) we have lots of advantages that you may not have had, but even so, I honestly think you just didn't go to the right places. There're lots of associations around for foreigners in which you can easily make friends, and be helped around, and about jobs... Mate, if you don't speak French you're a bit screwed. It is obvious that the French will be given the job before you in a French speaking country.
I'm American. I have lived in Paris for 26 years. I cannot agree on any point you have made, except the scams. It is annoying to see these "manouches" with their clipboards, pretending they are deaf. I think it is always helpful to speak the language, but it isn't that necessary in Paris. They are used to foreigners. When people complain about how rude the Parisians are, I always ask myself, "And how did YOU behave?" Good manners and respect for others is pretty international. I came very reluctantly to the conclusion many years ago, most people should not leave home. They travel to Paris and expect to arrive in Pocatello with the Eiffel Tower stuck in the middle.
Well, I have to learn some French words such as "Mr. French, be nice", "Mr. French don't be rude". "Mr. French, may I have your attention". "Mr. French, je sui Brasilien. Oh gosh I forgot how to spell in French Brazilian woman. If you say you are Brazilian, then they mind their manners. LOL.
omg. I am so pissed when I hear this. I mean i can't stand hearing this and reading comments like "ohhhh yea man you're right french are just so rude and arrogant, people should not visit this country its not worth it", when its actually the SAME everywhere on this fucking planet. But just because of bad clichés, we are always perceived as morons BY EVERYBODY while nobody tries to overcome these clichés. But of course its so much easier to find an explanation about a behavior in a cliché, right ;) I have lived in Germany, Australia and Belgium. About 6 months in each country. Each time I visited a country I adapted myself. how do you think the world works ? I was in germany I spoke german. I lived in Melbourne ? I struggled for 2 months but I stepped out of my comfort zone, and I spoke english. Sometimes it was not pleasant at all as I could not get a single word, and people were not always patient,but you definitely have to if you want to communicate eventually. BUT I will never blame Germans and Australians for not talking french. Germans, when they heard that I had an accent always switched to english. I never felt offended -_- but yea as somebody said in the comment, french can speak french or english they ALWAYS will be criticized. Regarding the job, its also SUPER hard to find a job when you don't speak german in germany. You complain about france ? Go to Australia. Its almost IMPOSSIBLE for a foreigner to find a job, even though you speak english cause they just don't want foreigners to steal their jobs, which is not the case in France (just a language issue, which is, in my opinion, easy to overcome if you learn the language). Ill be studying in Madrid next year and I started learning the language cause I don't want to minimize my chances of getting a job there. I mean... ITS JUST COMMON SENSE RIGHT ? Also about the french being cold. oh lord. too bad you haven't tried to understand how people behave here. French people are just like coconuts.Of course its harder to talk to strangers but once you broke the ice, they will want to build an authentic relationship. And I definitely prefer this. Whereas in Australia people are more like peaches. They are all like "Hey mate how is it going", and it is easy to talk with strangers.... until you realized they did not give a shit about you, everything seemed to be so fake, and it was so hard to dig deeper and to actually make friends. I tried to, but I gave up, and I was super happy with my very international squad. French are way less hypocrite, way more honest (which can make same sound rude sometimes). But all the cliché about the french being rude and arrogant... well... its just a cultural misunderstanding because we care about others and its false to say that we only care about us and our country. When you're a foreigner in a foreign country, it will always be SUPER hard to become friend with the locals. Thats not only the case in France.
Bullshit. I had lots of French friends and I got so annoyed at being told that the French invented this or do something better, or that the French are just better in general also not diplomatic in social situations. I was ok with it at first, but then it really started to annoy and had to walk away from it all.
When you're European everything is easier. We're different to you. You're used to don't get smiles etc. You're used to a cold treatment. We're not. It's just a normal treatment for you. When you come to the American continent you'll notice what I'm talking about. Here people behave kind and nice to foreigners. Maybe too much. You'll be amazed of it. You can also travel in a plane through Europe for such a low price.. while if I'd like to go to Argentina from Mexico, in plane of course it costs around 1,500 dollars. While for you to travel to Madrid will cost how much $50 Euros? You don't have to get into all the bureaucracy of the countries you've mentioned either. How long took you to learn German? It's not at all an easy language. It takes years and many years. French is way too easy to learn and speak in comparison. For you is easier to travel because you have an European passport that opens the doors to any country and any door.
Actually no, you are quite wrong, it is not the same everywhere. The Midwest USA, for example is pretty well known withing the USA for being very friendly. Americans in general are because they are happy and flattered you came to their country for a visit and they want you to have a good time.. You may find this naive, etc., but it is a fact.
Didn’t read your whole novel, but did have to comment that it’s not like that everywhere in the world. I won’t say where cuz don’t want everyone moving here. Go away! Just kidding. The Midwest is the best. Except I noticed Some bigger cities around have long lines in the stores now. You want to get some milk? Ok, that’ll be an hour of your life. I don’t understand a store that has more than 3 people in line. What is that? Waste of life. I live in a town where it takes 10 minutes to do anything and people are nice. Why live any other way?
@@cinthiuxdemelon6887 People in different Europen countries are very different. I feel the same as the person in teh video abut France evnthough I come from another European country. For example people in Eastern Europen countries are welcoming towards foreigners and each other as well, because yes, they are happy about people visiting their place and culturally a guest has to be treated well. I have been so warmly welcomed in Ireland. When I asked my Irish host if he was not fed up with all teh tourist, he answered - no, we have a thousand welcomes.
Not speaking the language, not being from Europe and not having an idea what you get into...yeah, typical American. By the way have you ever tried to get a temporary work permit/visa in the US? Paris/French/European bureaucracy is heaven compared to the US.
Syn Ka'an No kidding. Maybe if you payed attention to what the person said you would’ve seen it said U.S and that’s a separate country he wasn’t referring to the continent.
It sounds like you wanted the gentle American experience.... but this time in Paris. Americans are always turned off by foreign countries because they expect the same treatment of (The customer is always right) but in another language and another country. Ive heard countless times when they travel, is if someone doesnt....speak in english.... or if someone didnt take the TIME to speak to them in english, they were rude, they were hostile or just unfriendly. Ive seen Americans walk into cafes in Paris and didnt even *bother* to ask in broken french if the waiter spoke any English, just right off the bat, from the get go, only in english and then become flustered and speak under their breath to each other when the waiter left at just how rude Europeans are. Can you imagine, being in a restaurant in the states and someone walks in and starts speaking in Swahili or Japanese and then have the NERVE to be offended because the waiter or workers didnt understand their native tongue?
This dude isn’t American. Stop giving talking bad about Americans just because it’s the cool thing to do now. And especially don’t do it if the dude isn’t even American -_-
Wow! You just FAILED badly. Paris is a shit hole and you tried to attack Americans 😂😂😂. Like foreigners dont do that in other nations dipshit. Nice try tho!
The Modern Investor I love how people say this, but get made at Americans when we expect people to speak English when they are in the USA. I am not saying I agree with this 100% of the time, but people are such hypocrites when speaking about Americans so much. Like if you came to the United States not speaking English don’t get mad for someone not understanding you. I also agree the same can be said in reverse, you are in France people are gonna speak French.
I'm french and i feel a bit sad by those points of view. Next time you'll come, i'll be glad to host you, in order to improve these bad feelings you had about parisians. Ps: on parait froids mais on est plein de guimauves à l'interieur 😁
@@pouloulou6109 ah bon? et genre dans les autres pays tu trouves qu'ils sont "tolerants" et "acceptent la différence"? Genre par exemple au hasard, les pays dans lesquels on torture les homosexuels et ceux où les femmes sont soumises et ne peuvent rien faire sans l'accord de l'homme? Hummm, ta haine de la France doit surement influencer ton opinion.
I think he was being pretty fair. I lived in Paris for year, and I'm living in another city in France now (and have been for a year). The one thing I don't agree with is them being "cold." While it's true they avoid eye contact more, they just seem more reserved and polite as opposed to cold in a negative way. And if you go farther south, they'll be more "warm" (though, I know, this video is just about Paris). But yeah the bureaucracy and hoops and obstacles and lines and forms and delays and all that is no joke lol
That’s why you don’t go to Paris, you got to Nantes, Grenoble, Cannes, Lyon or something like that and then if you REALLY aren’t satisfied, you can visit Paris on weekends or something. The people in Paris... they tend to... despise literally anything that isn’t « one of them « 100%
about us being cold it's more complicated than that I'm a guy, but if you're a girl and we live in this patriarchal system and a latin culture on top it girls will be very distant for a reason, and as repercution of habits so will be guys. but the good side of a latin culture is you get to chill, take a coffee on a terrasse, take your time to properly eat and enjoy the food and not run with fake coffee in a cardboordcup also most big cities are like that, too . many people, too many things happening and people annoying for this or that, wether it's paris, london or NY more generally the french culture is different. it's not that we are that cold, it's that if you come up to us whilst not knowing you, we will find it suspicious, specially if you're over optimistic like most anglo saxon, it will be seen as fake. it's just how we are, and it' snot more complicated to make friends, it's different, as a french in the uk, people would be very friendly for a night and then completly forget about you. in france it's the opposite, it will take more time but then (well nothing is forever but you'll find true friends. then paris is not the entire france, and parisians don't represent all the french. there are different regions, cultures, food, and usually people are way more welcoming. still, I may have stayed too long here, paris is still beautifull even after decades, and uou can find people with whom to connect, and paris is my home , for better or worse, until death do us part
I have visited Paris, and I loved it. The people are very nice, and I am going again this year. As an American, I think it is very important to learn about French culture before going. Small example: Don't hug French people (unless you are old friends). It is very uncomfortable for them. It is nothing in the U.S., but it is considered intimate in France. Just shake hands (there's also les bises - kisses on the cheek - but that's more complicated). It is not difficult - just search youtube for French culture for tourists or something! Spend a little time learning the language too. It helps a lot, and it's fun.
yup you nailed it we're not different human beings, we're just raised differently with different culture so of course you need to understand the codes of ones culture but at our core, we're just the same we like to eat and dance, and love, and meet people, and see amazing things, and so on
Omg I was watching your video and realized I know your old boss I even have a photo of her carrying me around haha we found that irish pub like a miracle it was actually the best party night I ever had with a canadian friend and italian friends.
Here in Argentina there is no people from outside. I would like to move to another country so i could meet people from every places. Argentinians thinks that its the only part of the world and they dont know that you can travel to other places or that there is people who are from other countries.
Nice video, but I think there could have been more added to the list.... what about the fact that in Paris they HATE if you give them a 50 euro bill??? Cashiers don't like it, they want something smaller, they will pull faces, and give you the worst reaction and will refuse to exchange it for smaller bills. Every time you walk in to a shop with a large bill you are already anticipating the reaction you will get from some grumpy cashier. Also, when you arrive from London via the Eurorail, and walk into the Paris train terminal you will encounter employees in shops who can't speak (or refuse to) speak english, despite the fact that this is an international terminal, and London is 2 hours away. Paris can feel like a remote island where people are completely oblivious to the fact that they are just a tiny part of the world.
Paris very densely populated: everyone lives in an apartment (houses are few and for the very wealthy), streets are jam-packed with cars and people, and living there is exhausting. And then there's "parigot" -- the Paris dialect -- which can be a little grating on the ear. It certainly helps if you speak French fluently. I do and enjoyed my time there but, as for living there -- NON! There are smaller cities in France without the pressure (and the tourists!) where you can actually meet and interact with people.
@@sebastianb.4048 I got tired of the concrete and rats very quickly. And that many people crowded together makes for some very strange mental health issues. :(
If you can stay in any foreign speaking country for an extended period of time you learn how to get by and what to do. It also always gets easier the longer you stay. It’s different, it’s a challenge, but that’s what makes it an adventure!
You never get used to aloofness which doesn't change whatever the period of time you stay or actually live in the place - namely in France, in my case for 16 years
I was born and raised in Paris and I still live and work here. Everything you said is true, but there are some points that you should be aware of: Scams by the Eiffel Tower: there is a strong police enforcement around the area to protect tourists and all informations for safety are provided in many languages. However, you still have to be careful, those scammers are gypsies who operate in all big European cities. Lineups: Lining up twice in the same bank or whatever is a real pain and it also applies to locals as well, and people usually wait for their turn (I said "usually"!) Bureaucracy: Yes, it is very hard to work in France if you're not a citizen of the European Union just like it's hard (if not impossible) for Europeans to work in the United States... One advice: if you don't speak any French or poor French when you're visiting Paris, don't directly speak English to people without asking first if they do speak English and without saying "bonjour"! It's considered as being rude and people might tell you off or respond in French and you won't be able to understand. If you first say hello and then ask if they speak English, they will say either yes or no, but they will be more willing to help you. Remember that all Parisians may not speak English fluently, especially older people.
*@Chris Keller* ~Et en fait, quelqu'un pourrait commencer en plus avec, "Pardon(nez)...?", et alors, "Mais, vous parlez anglais peut-etre...?" En vrai, n'importe quoi; on leur sera archi-moche en tout cas, nous parigot[e]s - hein ({; > ...?!
Try moving to Manhattan! Especially, if you have kids- The school application process and the cost of education is astronomical! Finding a place to live is no picnic, unless the company you will be working for helps out- Gorgeous and exciting I know with these cities- a great deal to enjoy- you just need to be aware of the pitfalls before you move.
To be fair, and as being a french, I have something to say, all I want to tell you is, YOU ARE RIGHT! , and welcome to Paris, you can choose yo enjoy the difference or hate it, that's all :) C'est la vie
One thing I can say that 6 months is not a long time to stay in a place. The first impressions are true and you cannot help to be naive with first I pressions. There are cultural differences just like you cannot be friends immediately with a person, one must feel the atmosphere. When I go back to my native country, I experience a reverse culture shock because I have learned behavioral patterns which are not universal, but adapted to each specific place. I have met the most unforgetable people in Paris for they have captured my heart for being human, comprehensive and helpful. The thing I hate is the bureaucracy because it is so dumb and backwards. There is a lot of freedom here but that ends when we have to think about living expenses, declaring annual revenue and compulsory voting as a dutiful citizen which makes me realize that I am not a tourist in Paris.
I can think of many incidents that could be stuck in a 10 things I hate about Paris type video, but the positives totally override all of them, even when I couldn't work for the first two months, because I couldn't get a bank account opened easily and quickly. Much depends on your circumstances and your personal outlook on life - the city acts like a mirror. Take the metro for example, you can stare at your feet and think everybody is miserable. Nobody really wants to be stuck in such close proximity to strangers, especially on those hot summer days, but if you drag yourself out of the mentality, I find some people will smile, maybe pass a few words of conversation. If you're pregnant or have young kids, usually someone will give you a seat, and if you're stuck at the back of the carriage and want to get out, people move out the way, or leave the carriage to let you get out before getting back on. I've seen people trip and fall, and others rush to their attention, and even the beggars in the train are polite when they address you. Group mentality in almost every city in the world is going to be different, it's understandable why people can be more unapproachable when living in a capital city.
Am french, moved in many cities in france. You are absolutely right. Rather be jobless elsewhere than working there. If you cant stand lines, dont go to the mediterranean side, its like 10mn per person on the tabacco shop. Bureaucracie, or administration : the hell anywhere Overall very 'casty', arrogant. The reputation is true.
Dude, I am French and, worse than that I am parisian. But what you say here is absolutely outrageous: 1. French and parisian are amongst the nicest people IN THE ENTIRE WORLD when it come to "welcoming" foreigners in their city 2. Paris is an absolute unbeatten beauty. Full stop! 3. Food is simply the best in world 4..... Naaaa I am just kiddin. I am french, I am parisian and what you say is 100% pure concentrated authentic truth... The only thing I am gonna add is that i am actually not parisian anymore. I used to live there for the first 30y of my life. And when I go back there what strikes me is first that it is definitely a beautiful city (but just like many others in Europe, and in France as well) and second, that parisian are actually the closest thing you can find from what people commonly define as "Jerk". Now one last thing, a sad thing, amongst us, parisian to parisisn, we are actually nice blokes... not kiddiing this time. That is probably we are regarded as snobish. :D
My American son studied in Lyon, and worked in Paris. He said it was much, much easier to live in Lyon. He said Paris is huge, extremely expensive and as tough and gritty as NYC. He was not a fan of Paris. He also said that the French are notorious for complaining about something insignificant, instead of fixing the simple problem.
Shari Berry The word is râleur, and yes the french are in a class of their own, it downgrades your life in a way you can't imagine until you live it. I find not speaking to French people anywhere improves my quality of life enormously.
I'm curious to know if you like Mexico City way more than Paris after spending a lot of time in both places. I've been all over Europe, but never really had the desire to go to Paris. Thinking about going to Mexico City soon. Wondering if you would say the people in Mexico City are more personable than the people in Paris. I really like your channel and think you do a great job with it. Keep up the good work!
Joel Roz: Latin America (Mexico City, Medellin, etc.) is slowly becoming the new Europe. These cities are still developing, but there’s a certain charm, optimism and innocence in its peoples which the stale and jaded Europeans rejected long ago
@Joshua : I guess you lived in Paris more than 6 years ago, right? Because parisian nightlife has completely changed since that, and Paris has become the european nightlife capital, with only Berlin coming close.
As I told you, yes it obviouly have : Paris currently has the highest amount of legal nightclubs in Europe (and probably the world), mostly on the underground side of things. Most are open all night, and a ouple are even open 60 hours in a row, non stop (Concrete). Then there's all the raves, outdoor clubs in the woods, on boats, etc. It is literally insane. A new generation of really young parisian brought a new energy and audience. It mostly started in 2010. On any Thursday/Friday/Saturday night, you would really struggle to make a definitive choice on where to go party. As for the food, it is indeed more expensive than Mexico, but what would you expect? ;) Paris is one of the top 3 cultural cities in the world. As for the variety and quality, you must have been unlucky, because it's literraly impossible to exhaust the diversity of chinese, japanese, Indian, african, caraïbean, turkish, and of course french food. BTW, if you know your way, you can eat cheap food pretty much all the time, especially if you go with exotic tastes (I used to live very central, and had several options within a 3 mn walk for less than 5 euros a meal). I'm sure you can find even cheaper in Mexico, but respectfully, I doubt you'd find the diversity, especially considering how small Paris actually is (Mexico is 15 times bigger, and has 4 times more population), but having all the current top artists coming to the city every week also has a cost. One of the greatest cheap thing about Paris that no one has yet mentioned is that it's the best city in the world for movies, and by far : firstly, it still is very affordable (most people use cards that allow them unlimited access to 90% of the hundreds of theaters of the city, including art house ones, and so for 20 euros a month!), the amount of new releases, festivals, retrospectives, etc is unparralleled, and you'll struggle to find moe respectfull audiences at any given hour anywhere else (don't dare answer your phone or even have it on, you'll get thrown out by the audience!). Finally, te amount of free cultural events also is to my better knowledge unchallenged.
One last thing that is amazing (but cureently maybe changing) is the city bikes : it's so cheap and efficiant!!! For 39 euros a year, you basicaly don't have to use anything else anymore for transport, as Paris is so small that no trip will be much longer than if you waited for the subway and connexions, or if you had to struggle finding a cab (that's one of the biggest nightmare of parisian life. Anyone who really lived there would put that on the podium of a negative list for Paris).
I wish the people in America reacted to lines just as the French do. If a person is too stupid or lazy to have everything ready to go when he hits the front of the line, that person should be sent back to the beginning of the line to see if he can get his act together. Today I went to the drive through at a local bank. I had the check I was going to deposit endorsed and the deposit slip filled out correctly. In the cars ahead of me, the people pulled up to the window and just sat there as if they were shocked to find themselves sitting in their car at the bank drive through. What goes through their heads? Did they pull into the drive through on a whim or absent-mindedly? Unfortunately, with cars in a drive through you can only sit and wait it out, until they wake up and try to figure out what they drove into the drive through for in the first place.
In countries like Italy or France where bureaucracy is king, you're practically never "ready to go". Especially in public administration you're sent back and forth from one office/counter to the next to get all the required paperwork done, and no one knows/tells you in advance what you really need to get your stuff done. So you end up wasting your time in endless lines, driving from office to office and then waiting weeks or months for the lazy butts doing their jobs. I moved from Switzerland to Italy and I can tell you, it's like jumping from civilization into the deepest African jungle.
Bureaucracy aside, getting a job in Paris is a cakewalk compared to Canada! You just have to work in construction. The entire city is under construction. The French are building new train stations all over the map, and new appartements are being built around them. The demand for construction jobs is record high, and not enough people apply. It's a stark contrast to Canada where the record low oil prices means that everyone is getting sacked in the oil patch. R.I.P. Canada 😭😭
This doesn't reflect French people in general, on the countryside we're much warmer et nice to each other. People in big cities have a lot of stress because of work, transports, loud neighbours and so on, this isn't an excuse but may be it explains why they're so cold and mean. I lived in Lyon for 4 years and I'm glad I'm back in a small village now!
I witnessed the same thing. I think it would be acceptable if things where different, but getting better... Sadly every time I go, it seem that the quality of life dropped a little more. And I now also see massive segregation and a complete change in culture where French ("les gaulois") have been pushed out.
lol i got 3 bracelets tied on me when i went on a school trip (french class finally raised enough funds 😅) to paris from cali my teacher was furious bc some students actually gave money to the guys who tied the bracelets around our wrists...I just walked away and said thanks afterwards 💀
I'm both Canadian and French and I have to disagree with the idea that people are cold in Paris. I noticed that in north america everyone is really nice and polite in the streets, in the service etc. but the more intimate relationships are much more superficial. In Paris and France, people are clearly not the nicest in everyday life but the friendships you will make are much more stronger. Like the french and europeans always land each other stuff, help each other etc.
I think Paris is one of those cities that are fun if you have a lot money
If you are lucky not to be there at the wrong place and wrong time... Its hard to know when the next islamic massacre will happen.
Will you get blown up at a soccer match? shot in a restaurant ? slaughter at a night club ? you and your kid mow down by a truck? etc...
@@sschaem The U.S. murdered more than half a million people during the Vietnam War.
The U.S. bombed EyE-raq on a daily basis in the 1990s, which combined with sanctions caused the death of more than half a million EyE-raqi children.
The U.S. sponsered and engineered the Iran-Iraq war which caused the death of more than 1 million, and was supplying EYE-raq with biochemical weapons. The list goes on.
Wipe the blood from your hands and read a history book to learn about ameriKKKan terrorism.
Degenerate obnoxious half-brained juvenile pitiful pathetic subhuman yank fool.
Such a Wingwong - that’s true anywhere in the world - lol
I been to Paris. Spent 3 months there. The only thing I really learned there is that you can pee in these stalls. Plus the Parisians don't even like Paris.
And if there are no muslims around
This video is starting to get a lot of views, so I want to make one thing clear. I didn't make this video because I hate everything about Paris and think it's an awful city. It was a cool place to live and to explore. But the reputation of Paris is mostly based on an idea about the city that is not based in reality. So I wanted to introduce people to some of the challenges you will face if you try to move there.
A lot of people saying "you were just naive, what did you expect, this is true of any big city" etc etc., well I have to disagree. Before Paris I lived nearly a year in South Korea and didn't experience the same issues. Today, I live in Mexico City and am not experiencing the same issues. So at the end of the day, these thoughts are true to my experience, and that's all I want them to be.
If you choose to think I don't know what i'm talking about.... that's up to you ;)
Eh bien, ne revenez jamais. Vous serez heureux... et nous aussi. Pas de quoi en faire un fromage (français).
The New Travel .i have lived in Canada and France ! Your are right , french are a bit cold and distant .But a bit more genuine, they do not have fake and friendly Canadian greeting ' Hi , how are you!' when most of the time ,you do not mean it! In short, Canadian are like peach soft from outside, hard inside where the french are like coconut,hard outside and soft inside!
Yes, you don't know what your talking about! Maybe you just need to grow up and get some wisdom.
Claudio Dio . It is because North Americans are customers ( better customers services, less taxes, more material stuffs and comfort) where as western europeans are citizens ( longer holidays, better social security, education ,cultural values) . For the american the bigger the better , whereas in France they appreciate more quality to quantity ( food,clothes etc). And Paris is not a ' fun ' city, but more a cultural intellectual,historical and quite snob city, which may not be so appealing to the standard North american young adult like him.
I am glad you left Paris and France. you surely demonstrate a lack of tolerance as if living in North America was that easy AND NO BUREAUCRACY AT ALL:-)! Paris is not perfect, so is any big city!! People speak to you in English? have you just considered that they just wanted to be nice with you and for so long French people have been criticized for not speaking English. People are cold? I have been living in London for 7 years and I can tell you that is not easy being friend with an English person. Paris is stressful like NYC or London. try to stop someone in their commute back home.
"There's always some form you're missing in France": TRUER WORDS HAVE NEVER BEEN SPOKEN
Form??
1. There are two sides to any big city. I'm English but there are parts of London I'd be frightened of walking through alone at night.
2. If you plan to live somewhere foreign, learn to speak the language first.
3. I retired to the French countryside, La Creuse, in 2015. I could speak French when I arrived. The locals have all been very kind to me and talk to me in French not English.
4. I agree about the bureaucracy.
I think villages that are very far from big cities is where you really sense a French environment.
No no no, this isn't true. Try Danang Vietnam - fabulous city, no Vietnamese required.
@BrianBaileyedtech Not required maybe. But it is terrible bad behavior not learning the language, if you decide to live there.
Integration starts with the language and if people are not willing to integrate, they shouldn’t live in another country.
I lived 32 years in Paris and there's lot of truth in this video. Will always love Paris though. But yeah bureaucracy, cold people, insecurity, mentality...
cold ppl, insecurity, mentality.... Oooh Paris !!New York city, chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, etc... are paradises compare to Paris !It's just ironic !!!
It's like that in all large cites. We can't talk as if large American cities have community minded folks who aren't fake, greedy and violent. There are FAR less than these kinds of attitudes in the extreme in Paris.
Jay Tee I think media has a role in these extremist attitude. They exploit and augment any story for eye balls and create this toxic feeling
Jay Tee At least they'll be out and about with it, not quiet and cold. New Yorkers, those from LA, Detroit, and Chicago are actually quite forthcoming. You can get a hug from one of these people if you asked nicely. I feel like that couldn't be done in Europe.
+leftist bitch > I feel like that couldn't be done in Europe.
You'd be surprised
There‘s nothing Parisian about cheese fondue
Lol. Its swiss??
@@abhaymishra30 It's Swiss yes. Also, it's a bad idea to want to eat fondue in Paris, as most fondue restaurants outside of the Alps region, Savoie, etc. are shit or fake or overpriced. Fondue is better when in the mountains :D
I was also going to say this ^^
I think he's referring to raclette which is pretty popular at Bastille.
Marcel Pfister: There is if you eat fondue in Paris. "Fondue is a Swiss and French Savoyard dish of melted cheese served in a communal pot over a portable stove heated with a candle or spirit lamp, and eaten by dipping bread into the cheese using long-stemmed forks. Wikipedia
Places of origin: Switzerland, France".
As a foreigner who lived for more or less one year in Paris, i totally agree with all you said here. I'd also add that some Parisians actually hate speaking to english speakers and some even refuse to talk to you once they realize you cant speak French, eventhough i could bet that they knew english better than i did! That happened to me at least 10 times!!!😑 just try to ask for direction, some of them react as if you are pointing a gun at them!!
True 🙌🏻 its sad , I live in Paris from 2015 it broke my soul, stole my smile, I love cultures of countries any where in this world, but we are living beings we cant just enjoy buildings!! I stopped drinking and smoking lately ( things I started in Paris) because I don't want to believe they are the only habits we can enjoy doing in paris?? There's no real love here, people don't hug!! Its cold its dark, it was ok when I was mostly dark because what was going on in my life that time, but the past months I'm trying so hard to heal my self, and just will move out as fast as I can to a bright land 🕯
Goddess of The Light I’m experiencing the same 😭
Emma aban ☹️I hope your stars surround you with light🙌🏻
Thanks dear 🙏I hope so.
Wow! It almost broke my heart and soul..but thank God..Christ would not let that happen. I got married here..he is the love of my life..but after a slew of health issues even he knows I have to leave this city ASAP. This society is super dark and the lifestyle is inhumane. We leave together this Sept and until then I'll go sing on a cruise ship. Best luck to you both.
I am living in paris. I really got depression after six months. You feel like you’re so stranded here.
I lived in France for 7 yrs( 2004 to 2011)4 years in Nantes for 3 years in Paris. Nantes was a beautiful city very cheap for students. I used to pay 136 euros for my studio appartment all included. I learned french in Nantes. So i then i decided to move to Paris to study at 'La sorbonne'. Moving to Paris i believe was the biggest mistake of my life because i struggled could not find a place to Stay. I moved countless times all over paris, lived in peoples houses, I paid 400 euros per month renting a room in peoples houses so i ended up dropping out of school which made it hard for the immigration to renew my 'titre de sejeur' student visa. I tried to make friends but people in Paris come and go so i was so lonely.so i decided to move to the US in Atlanta Georgia and here finding a place to stay was quick within 2weeks i had a big appartment . So finding a place to stay i belief is a challenge for students or people moving to France. I miss the french culture food and speaking french but i dont miss the struggles of finding a place to stay. My advice to students moving to france is dont move to Paris, try smaller cities like Nantes, Angers, Rennes..... your experience will be better and cheaper.
everlyne Njenga you paid 400 euros a month for a room? Please tell me, WHERE IS IT?
Damn. I'm moving to Paris in 3 months to study........ at Pantheon-Sorbonne.... after getting rejected from a school....... in Nantes. Weird coincidences. I have no family in France but I speak fluent french and I have a couple friends from high school moving there at the same time as me. I'm having trouble finding a place to stay but I'll probably end up staying in a student/christian foyer (nonbeliever but it's cheaper). Is my situation fucked? I
guillermo gouldburn Hey just saw your message. it was in someone's house in Joinville - le - pont that i had found through fusac.fr. Google it you will find many people who are renting rooms in their houses.... Remember south of Paris is better than North of Paris....
How do you like Atlanta? I’m from there, but I live in France. I have mixed feelings about the video, though I agree that things are very difficult financially and culturally. I hope that you like Atlanta. I miss it!
Thnkuuu so much
Really watch out with pick pocketing my dads wallet got stolen within 30 minutes of arriving there of the plane.
French woman I know came to the Silicon Valley, went to Office Depot, ordered business cards, rented a space and took out a business license all in one week. She said it would have taken 2 years in France. My sister had a flat on her way to take her French bf to the airport. He was all hysterical that he would miss the airplane. It was fixed in half an hour. He said it would take half a day in France. He then accused her of offering the tire guy sex in order to get it fixed so quickly.
omg those girls with the clipboards came up to me at the eiffel tower lmao i'm glad i gave them a fake name and walked away
Julian Aguilar
Just smile and pretend you’re deaf.
Smile and wave boys... smile and wave
It’s not Paris. It’s just what being an immigrant is like. It’s just that people from North America don’t experience that too often because people emigrate to North America, not from it.
Finally, someone who gets it. Living in Paris as a local will always be non-obtainable by an unqualified backpacker.
He's railing about big cities--NYC, London, qualify as his "Paris." Same old stuff--big cities are cold, scammers play on newbies, bureaucracy sucks, getting a job sucks when you're new in town...What is specifically Parisian here?
Maybe I should have read all these comments in this string/sub-string before giving a long-winded explantion in my post.
agree
Thank you !
I have lived here for almost 2 years now. The thing that I hate the most is the smell of pee all over the show and dog poo. This is the 5th country that I lived for more than 6 months, so the bureaucracy doesn't really bother me that much. Every country has a ton of paper work when it comes to immigration. UK's home office is WAY more hostile *LOL*
Glad to hear that about UK's Home Office tho as we've let in far too many immigrant
The pee smell in Paris is definitely something, especially in the metro... they should build and maintain public toilets.
Dog poo on the other hand is an issue all over France lol but we are slowly improving ^^
come to SF for smell of pee/poo...its lovely here too!
That is the thing I hear most about Paris; most places stink of urine.
@@elizabethsheffield6609 What would you say is the problem with letting immigrants in. Most of them are highly skilled.
I feel like lots of people make the assumption that Paris is France and stereotype French people as being rude and cold but in my opinion, living in Aix-en Provence people aren't really like that. I think it is more of a big city thing as well as the language barrier
Maybe Paris is to France as New York is to the United States.
The "coldness" you talked about is not "very french", it's "very parisian" , french people, from de suburd or the country side are really warm ppl and give you hope and make you lovin french and France.
Paris is not France , this shitty city do not represent what this country is, what the peope are.
Thank you for the video! Yes, I agree. I also lived in Paris for 6 months and I went through a lot of struggles and challenges myself. Before going to Paris, I had already worked and lived in Singapore, Malaysia, China and Kazakhstan - and these places had their challenges too but I thought it would so much easier to live in a European city - well, it wasn't as I had thought - it was very tough. You are right about the paperwork, red tape even for things like getting a phone card activated or opening a bank account. Accommodation was a nightmare and so was finding work ! And many times, I would not walk into restaurants or cafes just by the way, the waiters would look at me - it's like I am not welcome. Anyway, I am glad that experience is over - I would not go back and live there - maybe as a tourist on a short trip to visit places I did not get to see. I think some places are better to experience just as a tourist.
Maybe you were not able to live in a free country !
No disrespect to french pals but currently france isnt very well compard to the rest of europe union
To be honest I think 6 months is not enough to appreciate the life in a new country. There is a culture shock curve that explain it. Personally it took me over 2 years to truly enjoy the uk
That's a good point. Maybe I would feel differently after more time, I can't argue with that!
With time you feel worse... I've been there for a year.. and the fun part is parisians feel entitled enough to be treated as a royalty, but make little effort to do the same to others. Horrible!
@@arghyadeepbhattacharyya4143 lol
@@troyeakb6314 😅😅😅sad but true
@@arghyadeepbhattacharyya4143 wtf 😂😂😂
French people, especially Parisians, are often seen as rude for foreigners.
From my point of view, I can see two main reasons.
The first is a cultural one. Smiling is emotional for us, not social. We really don't like fake smiles toward our face while being stabbed in the back. Therefore we do not smile at anyone, would she/he be French or Foreigner, unless we feel the true desire to do so.
The second one is an over-crowding effect. There are more tourists visiting France each year than its own population. Thus locals tend to pay no attention and care to them.
Yes, it is highly regrettable. We, the French, do have the duty to welcome these visitors in a very better way. Servicing is a big lack in our way of running businesses (including in domestic affairs) and we should improve a lot in this domain. Moreover, tourism is a huge source of income for our economy and a great means of publicity for our international image.
Bonjour Harshal
Merci pour ton commentaire sympathique. Comme tu apprends le Français, nous allons communiquer dans la langue de Molière. Si tu as des problèmes de compréhension ou d'expression, nous pourrons faire quelques digressions en Anglais.
Je suis très touché que tu souhaites venir faire tes études en France. Tu as choisi une très bonne école.
Le Français est une langue très difficile, surtout sa grammaire qui est horrible (plusieurs types de verbes, des temps de conjugaison multiples, des règles compliquées avec des exceptions, des exceptions aux exceptions, etc.).
Rares sont les Français qui le parlent et l'écrivent correctement. les Québécois certains Africains, et d'autres aussi, sont sans doute même meilleurs. Alors il ne faut pas hésiter à le parler même si tu fais des fautes. Ne t'offusques pas si les gens te reprennent sur tes erreurs, nous le faisons continuellement entre nous Français. C'est juste une manière de s'entraider à s'améliorer, même si cela peut paraître impoli pour les étrangers.
J'ajouterai deux choses :
- La plupart des étudiants étrangers arrivent très rapidement à comprendre et s'exprimer en Français une fois plongés dans le pays. Même si ce n'est pas parfait. Mais quelle importance ? L'essentiel est de communiquer. Quant à l'accent, il faut oublier. Si on n'est pas né en France, ou y avoir vécu dans sa jeunesse, c'est un vain et inutile effort de vouloir s'y coller. La prononciation est importante, pas l'accent. Après tout Québécois, Africains, et autres francophones parlent très bien Français tout en ayant un accent très différent.
- la Légion Etrangère Française recrute chaque année des milliers de jeunes gens venant de tous les coins du monde. 98% d'entre eux ne connaissent pas un seul mot de Français à leur arrivée dans leur unité militaire. En moins de six mois la plupart comprennent et s'expriment convenablement dans notre langue. Il faut dire que le Français y est la seule langue parlée et tolérée, y compris pour les personnes originaires d'un même pays.
Petite recommandation pour faire des progrès : lire, beaucoup lire en Français.
Commencer par des livres pour enfants. le cerveau y enregistre rapidement le vocabulaire courant, les formes grammaticales et les expressions usuelles.
Quant à la culture française. Bien sûr elle est différente des autres. Comme le sont l'américaine, l'italienne, la chinoise, l'indienne, l'allemande, la japonaise, etc. Je suis toujours étonné de lire des commentaires de gens qui viennent visiter ou vivre en France et qui se plaignent du mode de vie et des habitudes autres que celles chez eux. A quoi s'attendaient-ils ?
Enfin pour se faire des amis Français, il faut avoir conscience de quatre particularités :
- C'est vrai que le Français est moins accueillant que beaucoup d'autres. Certains y voient même un manque d'hospitalité. Néanmoins lorsqu'une personne, ou un groupe de personnes, vous accepte, les relations amicales deviennent généralement profondes.
- La France est une agrégation de cultures et de mentalités différentes issues des immigrations successives au cours de l'histoire. Aussi peut-on y rencontrer des attitudes différentes selon l'origine des personnes.
- Cette mosaïque de mentalités se retrouve aussi selon les régions. Les gens du nord et de l'est de la France ont des rapports amicaux différents de ceux du sud par exemple.
- Paris est une très grande ville et on s'y sent souvent seul malgré la densité de population (j'ai connu le même sentiment à Londres). A mon sens le meilleur moyen de se faire des amis est en s'inscrivant dans des associations (il y en a des milliers de toutes sortes). Elles procurent des activités intéressantes pour les temps de loisirs et on y fait de multiples rencontres qui se transforment souvent en relations amicales. Pour un étranger c'est un moyen inestimable pour communiquer et s'imprégner de culture française.
- Attention : contrairement au monde anglo-saxon, chercher à nouer des relations d'amitié au travers du monde professionnel est très difficile. On peut rencontrer des personnes très agréables sur son lieu de travail et avoir avec elles des échanges sympathiques et sincères. Mais cela se transforme rarement en rencontres et sorties en dehors du cadre de l'entreprise.
Voilà Harshal quelques éclairages que je souhaitais te donner pour ta venue en France.
N'hésites pas à me contacter lorsque tu débarqueras sur notre sol. je serai ravi de te rencontrer (j'adore l'Inde et sa culture immense et variée).
Cordialement
Why do people even expect smiles ? Franchement je ne vois pas pourquoi je sourirais à tord et à travers comme une folle dingue🤔
Dolly Madeson And we don’t want your kind either ! Now get the F out of here. Connasse.
@@ramia184 It is cultural! Les gens jugent les gens de l'extérieur.
So what re you doing in africa canada and australia..
I went to Paris few months ago, while the city is beautiful but not so much on customer services. I literally have to wait almost a minute for a cashier to serve me because she was busy chatting with other employee. Other thing is when I came to a restaurant to use the toilet, and I ask politely, but the waiter was giving me a judgemental look, it was really annoying, I did order a drink and the staffs were like so cold, not even say thank you or anything when I paid the bill. A total opposite from Japan or even my home country Indonesia.
Also Paris is way too crowded for me personally, so I don’t think I’ll come back anytime soon.
It seems to be a totally different society from Asia. Yet some foreigners love the freedom in France to the point of not understanding the reality: poor customer service and a bi-gone impressionist era.
big cities just seem to be that way. SF, LA or wherever.
A minute? They made you wait a full minute? Those bastards!
David - that made me laugh too. A whole minute!
compering paris to japan cities is like compering an electric chair to a chair
Wait, you went to Paris, did not speak French and found it difficult to get a job with your English only language skills, and now you're complaining about it because you did not expect that? I'm sure there are things in Paris that suck, but realistically that one doesn't count. It's like arriving in New York or Toronto not speaking any English and expecting to compete with locals for good jobs. I've been to Paris twice, as a nineteen year old and a forty year old and both times I found the locals to be warm, friendly and helpful. Not everyone, of course there are always going to be cold people in a big city, and a few total jerks, but really there were not that many jerks and there were a lot of random strangers who smiled at me. I don't know if it's a male/female thing or what, maybe I have a certain je ne sais quoi, ha ha. A person should go there with an open mind and not assume French people are all arrogant because it isn't true. Of course it makes a big difference to at least try to speak French, even if you don't do so well.
I speak French.
Mary Dolman thanks for your perspective. Is majority of French people nice?
Hi huajie666 liu I think that the French are the same as people everywhere, a mixture of some nice people and some not so nice. They have some cultural quirks it is best to be aware of before you go there. French people are more likely to be friendly and helpful if you at least attempt to speak French to them, even if you don't do so well. They will switch to speaking English if they can to help you out, but you should speak to them in French first as a sign of respect. Say Bonjour and smile and don't assume French people even in Paris are arrogant because the majority are not. If you go to small towns in the countryside, people there may have a sarcastic sense of humour. I did't know that and I thought they were being mean to me on purpose, lol. I found out later that is just how they joke. For example when I told a clerk at a train station I wanted to go to another town, he said something like, "good then, I'll be rid of you!" Don't worry if this happens to you they are just joking. I think.
you're right. It's called "second degre" and it's actually a joke. When I moved to Canada, I had to stop cause they don't understand. French are not rude or arrogant, they are a bit stiff. We have a lot of social rules tourist should know about before coming to France, because most of these rules apply only with people you don't know.
He said it was because of the BUREAUCRATIE and it's 1000% reality
I had to laugh at point nr.9 - Parisians love to argue. I thought that was true of the French in general. As someone who enjoys French cinema, I find that the in-your-face-shouting-at-the-top-of-the-lungs argument scene is as obligatory to French film as the car chase scene is to American film.
The Parisian is not representing the real charateristic of the French people in general...
Menteuse !
from my 8 or so years in france, i can safely same they're similar relative to others
Parisian is arrogant
@@thomascool1335 well most of the parisian are foreigners
@Jack O'Jack as a french i like the historical site in Paris but that's it, it not really a good city for me.
About the line up, you just have to impose yourself. If you're too timid people will just walk over you. You have to deliberately show that you were here first and that you are giving back a form.
You really nailed it! My first trip outside the US alone was to Paris. My French was worse than zero, I basically seemed to revert to grunting...But, somehow I managed to get around and survive. I made it in Paris for a week alone, I new no one and nothing. Scary as hell, but quite liberating in the end. "If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere..." Now... Mexico City...that's another story. Looking forward to your take on my favorite city in the world...still!
Kenneth M when i was there the trains were not running. People were going crazy.
why was it so scary? explain me
Yes I need to know more!
> Kenneth M : I can imagine Paris would be scary for a Papu coming out of his forest. That an American was scared as hell of travelling here is beyond me. Most people dealing with tourists can speak at least some English. When they don't, you can look up to your smarphone. Streets have names, you're not in Addis Abeba. You can use your smatphone too to find your way.
#"If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere..# ha ha I doubt it. If you were scared traveling in Paris, how would it be if you travelled in a country where nobody speaks your language, where there are no signs in English, where they don't use the latin alphabet. A country where the cops are corrupt, the hospitals crowded and dirty etc etc..
everyone has different experiences; my first major trip as an adult, did not speak the language, & on my own, i loved it, have not made it back but would love to but unfortunately since i had the best time on my first visit i fear the second visit will not meet the same experience
You lived in Paris too late. I lived there for a year, in the 1980s. It was great. However, 49 years later, I've seen it degrade to a sh1thole.
The beaurocracy has always been out of control.
Lucky you. I would have loved to have lived in Paris in the 80's or up until the mid 90's.
@@keensterd3654 I was sort of living there, rather spending time for 1 month in the end of the 80's in 1990. Then was fun and safe to walk even in the night. It was some scam on Trocadero or Place de la Concorde. But not everywhere like today.
Once I got drunk and sleeping on the bench just beside Elfel Tower for few hours during the day. I was wearing shorts, so my wallet might be visible even for amateur pickpocketers, my shoes were under the bench. Wake up and everything was on the same place. I'm not sure if it would be possible today.
Or - Maybe pickpocketers thought I'm just one of policemans who is trying hunting for them.
This area was ful of security, but they were just keeping eye if someone is trying to climb up the tower illegaly, or things like that.
@@iLolek10
My dad says the same thing
ok true we are cold & rude but when you're french it's so recomforting lmao whenever I go on vacation and come back to france and people already argue it's like oh i'm home lmaoo
I am from French Guiana, have been in 65 countries, and have been living for 13 years in Paris where I have also been hundred times since then since my whole family is living there. Everything you say in this video makes sense to me but it also comes from your own experience. This experience will be way different from another person with other expectations in life. At the end of the day, there is no paradise anywhere. There are PROS and CONS to living everywhere. You create your own paradise. And to the NON-EUROPEAN who plan to go on vacation there, I will say go ahead this city is DEFINITELY one of the most interesting place to visit.
And with Jesus in your life - it sure makes a difference 💟💟 I really believe it
@@lauraswihart4816 Good for you
September to March? That's the worst half of the year
true
@country autumn and winter, dude, use your brain
I'm from Ireland. I live in Paris and it's wonderful. All cities have their ups and downs, many big cities have housing crises (as you say) and the bureaucracy issue is something you'll find in many places in Europe (along with excellent public services - definitely the case in France).
I went to Paris for only two weeks with my daughter who can speak French. We are Australians. We were only tourists. I found the French people to be exceptionally polite. I don't know how they can put up with so many tourists invading their city. It's the same all over Europe - so many tourists, to the point where it seems like a theme park at times. It must be very difficult for the Europeans.
Parisian myself :
1. The Real Paris - Agrees
2. Bureaucracy - Agrees
3. Employment in Paris - Somewhat Agrees
4. Housing in Paris - Agrees but wrong argumentation. Inner Paris is expensive, suburb is... *ok*. We have way too much Office building, not enough rotation on social flats, and some rich people/society have empty flats...
5. Parisians are Cold - Agrees, partly because of rude/uneducated people.
6. Scams in Paris - Agrees
7. Line Ups - TOTALLY AGREES. Well it's 3/4 the fault of the employer that doesn't employ enough people or make a good system in place and 1/4 of dumb people making stupid stuff and making other people lose their time
8. Parisians Love to Argue - Somewhat Agrees. We are big mouths because we are on the defensive. Joins point n°5
9. Learning French - Agrees, difficult Language
10. Tourists - Somewhat Agrees
i visited paris once for a few days.i couldnt really explain myself when a problem or disagreement occured. but i noticed if i say f*** off to a woman there they will come back ten fold. in england if i randomly tell someone f*** off they wouldnt care about a random stranger saying that.
I worked in Paris for one week and it brought the worst out of me. The French couldn't wait till I left. The two things I hated during that work week was dodging dog crap everywhere on the sidewalks and having dinner with a dog sniffing next to me. I like dogs like you like your child, that's the key your dog, your child, not so fine if they are sitting next to me bugging me when I eat.
After living one year in Paris (never went before as I tourist), I left with the impression that visitors and tourists don't really know much about Paris. Although it was overall a cool city, most people just have a fantasy idea of what it really is like.
"If i made it in Paris i could make it anywhere"
Yeah righ... Wanna say hello to my loved country, Brazil?
Dude be thinking that Paris is the worst in the world LMAO... he should give a try to Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba or Haiti. I dont wanna be racist or something, but first worlders are REALLY sensitive
@@sebastianb.4048 you hurt my feelings 😡
I live in Paris. People are most definitely not cold. But you MUST know french. I am barely b1 level, and yet not once has anyone tried to "switch to english". People are for the most part very warm, interesting, engaged, and conversational. To say that somehow 12,000,000 people have been made "cold" or mistrustful because of 5 clipboard people by the tour eiffel just makes no sense. I suspect you just didn't speak enough french. Its also not hard to learn french in paris. you learn by immersion, conversations, daily interactions, or by going to one of the many, many language schools. I'm sorry you had such a rough time.
*Have you been to Paris? Did you love it or hate it?* 🇫🇷 🥖 🍷
The New Travel
That "coldness" is not "very french" but very Parisian, have you spent time in south of France?
Ok yea I see what you mean, people in the south of france were nicer. I visited Marseille and Montpellier. People in Marseille seemed tough, maybe more so than Paris. Montpellier was very laid back student town :)
The New Travel
I'm a Montpellier native. Marseille can be a rough city, so you have to be tough there.
I enjoyed my time in Montpellier. I was there in time to see a christmas market, and it was awesome!
The New Travel it was nice but we ran into a lot of rude people.
"Parisians are cold, french are rude". It 's a very common critique made by disappointed tourists, and especially american ones. Well if you think so, may be you are the one who had been rude and impolite without even knowing it.
This is often just a big misensunderstanding.
The code of french conversation are : - Bonjour/bonsoir, in a meaningful way,
- waiting for a bonjour/bonsoir back (no B back , because of deaf, death or simply not today, means end of conversation)
Not waiting for the B back basically means you don't consider your interlocutor as an equal.
-s'il vous plaît/or s'il te plaît for intimate, the magic word. We torture our children until they learn to say it :" No chance you will have this baby bottle, before you say it, we wait three weeks, i can wait more, say it, say it!!". When they fail, we abandon them towardn the atlantic ocean, or toward the Channel.
Merci/merci beaucoup, second magic word
Au revoir/bonsoir/bonne journée : if you don't say au revoir to a french personn, then may be it's better for you to say her Adieu.
And it's the same ritual when you enter in any shop or a bar.
In America, shops and their employees are here to make money. Employee are basically slaves, you avoid to say them hello and avoid their hello because they will annoy you by trying to sell you something.
In France, before being boss, employee or waitress, they are human being and expect you to treat them with respect and dignity.
There is only one category of person who enter and exit out a shop without saying bonjour et au revoir in France : thieves.
When americans are peaches, frenchies are coconuts.
In american education : you have to do your best smile and make all you can to make your interlocutor comfortable, even if you are not totally sincere. you are demonstrative. You hog. You say wonderfull, fantastic, give compliments. It's pretty easy to begin a conversation or a short/superficial relationship with you. But it's a lot much harder to have a deeper relationship with american. This is your way to be polite. You are peaches.
Peaches are warm on the outside, and share personal stories, but make the mistake of thinking that is genuine intimacy and you’ll hit the core ‘inner self
In french education the way you give and show respect to the other is by giving him distance, respecting his personnal space, not invading him with yourself, do not impose him relationship he could not desire. Too much demonstration with someone you don't or barely know will sound suspect and not very sincere, superficial. You don't speak loudly, invading them with your voice, make great gesture because you don't want to make him uncomfortable. You don't hog him, he is not your mom. The better gift you could give him is sincerity. We
Negative feedback is the norm in France.
We are coconut. Negative feedback is a part of our culture and education.
An americain would say you're beautiful even if he don't think it.
A french would say: don't you have another dress ? Because he think sincerity is how he show respect. Pas mal is probably the best and most sincere compliment a french will give you. If a french say you aregood fantastic, you're a baby who is learning to walk, or someone who deserve pity.
I think not... I lived there 10 years. In Aus we have normal humans who smile and small talk to starngers. Not in Paris it's a city of death...
This is true. The French have very high standards. And are extremely aesthetic. So criticism is sincere, so that you improve. In the U.S., it's considered rude to correct someone's language. But the French will take the time to correct you because they want you to improve. To me, that's much nicer. My French friends have really been true friends. They are the ones who invite me to their homes to share a meal. As an American, I know this is rather rare, but I get along very well with the French, but then again I do speak French. Of course, especially with romantic relationships, some relationships can also be very fleeting. But that's everywhere.
Paris and France are having problems, no doubt. A weaker economy than its peers, immigration. So people are stressed out and defensive. Can you really blame them?
AussieJ T You're the one to talk. Aussies are only nice to...other Aussies. Try being a foreigner here. I can't go anywhere without people making fun of my name, my accent, or tell me to get back to my country. Australians are so racist and full of themselves it's not funny.
Hey: he's CANADIAN!!! Did you even bother to watch the video, or did you just commence to trolling?
Bureaucracy isn’t limited to Paris, it’s like that in France anywhere you live
I am French and my sister went to the US and she told me people smile a lot in shops and hotels over there but she felt they were very fake. I have worked in hotels in France and I always tried to be polite but also natural, I did not want to be hypocrite and when I talked to customers I was quite honest on what I thought about America for example (not only negative). I was surprised to see that what I said or did was sometimes interpreted as rude. I heard that Americans see politeness as making the other person comfortable whereas French see it as being respectful.... maybe that's it. I also saw that type of tourist that heard France wall all this and that .... so good and romantic blah blah and who looks for the first thing that goes wrong to generalize about France, as if they were just trying to prove a point they already had... I found out that is often means a lot more about the person than about France…. Of course, France is not perfect and we are going threw tough times… I have been away for a few months and I cant wait to come back for what seems to me like paradise when I am far from it.
WHY is everyone assuming this guy is Amecian, He SAYS he is Canadian.
FRANCE IS A MUSLIM SHITHOLE
I'd rather have fake nice anyday.. At least they are nice..
My ex French GF thought the same of English people everywhere, they are fake happy to make the other person feel comfortable, whereas, ENglish people thought she was rude because she would not have conversation for sake of it or smile for the sake of it. I agreed with her and never realised how much i said things like 'sorry' or 'hi' to strangers without any reason. If i buy a coffee for example, why do i need to fake smile?
I found Americans to be over the top with fake friendliness. It's irritating. I would rather deal with someone who is just polite and natural without being fake.
In my country is very important to be polite and kind to others, and most people around the world do like us very much, that really makes me proud.
Please tell me what country you are from? I long to live in a kind and polite society.
Hi Dan. I am from Mexico, but have European citizenship. Long ago I had a British friend living/renting a kind of room in Paris. She invited me to stayed over a few weeks. I experienced closely the bureaucracy of the bank BPN Paribas, they refused to help my friend for days until she refused to leave the office bank, haha. Paris is beautiful and you can find cool and cold people. There are some districts that are not that pretty or secure to visit. Even with the pros I would love to live there if I had the chance and the budget.
THANK U DUDE. I'M LEARNING FRENCH AND I WAS THINKING OF, ONE DAY, MOVE TO PARIS OR QUEBEC BUT NOW I THINK I'M NOT GONNA CHOSE PARIS. I'M MEXICAN AND I WATCHED UR 6 HRS. VID. ,
Paris is not what medias show 🌞😹
If you think people in Paris are cold and hard to make friends with, you should try living here in Amsterdam. It's even worse! It's super hard 😭
The scams are really annoying in Paris, I don't know how they can get away with it around the main tourist attractions without getting moved (Rome's the same). Not that common in London.
Fly Drive Explore yes they would be put in jail for a year in the United States lol
Maybe they secretly hope they'll cut down on tourism since the city is already overwhelmed with tourists? If the touristy spots have a bad reputation then word spreads and more people may decide to avoid Paris or if they were a victim, avoid coming back soon. That said, if that is why, they'd be better off enacting some sort of tourist tax. Allowing this sort of stuff diminishes the quality of life in the city and as he mentioned in the video, is likely one of the reasons for so many people having a sour attitude (along with all of the tourists).
@Alison N
Nonsense, the government is trying to increase the number of tourists, they have published a goal of 100 million foreign tourists by 2020.
It's difficult to get rid of scams because the scammers are foreign minors. A lot of them come from eastern Europe and are teenagers. Seeing the picture he showed in the video, I can tell you that the girl is Rom. The head of their gangs knows that French laws are very lax with minors, so they take advantage of the loophole to scam people by having teens do their dirty work. They can't be expelled from the country either because of free circulation within the Schengen zone. When they get arrested by the police, the police have no choice but to release them. Before you say anything, yes, I agree with you, it is a very stupid system.,The UK is not in the Schengen zone, so that's why it's not as common there.
Raphanne very well said. These scammers are a nightmare for the police who do their best to get rid of them. How can people believe that the administration would want to keep these scammers around? They’re a nuisance to both tourists and local people but the locals know ho to get rid of them or ignore them.
Thing number one: PARIS IS NO LONGER PARIS!
Gladiador why
Paris will always be Paris
The whole world is f....ed!
Pierre The Hypebeast
Mmmmm...... muslims???
@@porte-majestuoso Muslims were brought over from former French colonies and it wasn't problem in the past to live with them but if you treat people like second class citizens undeservinglly then you will provoke unwanted reaction from them unfortunately.
I am sure that it would be hard to find a job in Paris, like you mentioned. People were usually very friendly with us. My father said that it was because we had lived there in our former lives. It is kind of weird that people knew.
I just got back, and my only issues were the lack of places to get coffee at an early hour, the crazy driving, and the smell of urine in places it shouldn’t be (ie a mall). I found most of the French very gracious and willing to help an American who spoke little French. Sometimes people were quite aggressive, pushing past you etc, but I learned quickly to stand my ground. Not that different than the US in that respect.
I am parisian and I have to say that most of the things you say are true. However, they are two points that I want to comment. It is true that you have scams in touristy places, but it is also the same in any big North American city or around the world. Welcome to big cities! My second point is that culturaly we are very different from Canadians. I live in Canada and I find that people are really polite and nice, but it is also hard to create a real friendship with people. While Parsians might seem cold at the beginning, but once you create a connection, friendship lasts forever. No culture is better than another, they are just different, and travelling to new place also means embracing its cultural difference. Now I hope one day you'll come back to Paris and have a better experience :) thanks for your video
Claire Lelièvre As a Canadian, I have to say that you are right. I hate how Canadians are nice and polite but they aren't truly interested in friendships. En tout cas, vous avez quitté la France pourquoi?
J'ai quitté la France par amour :)
theLearner le canada aussi va souffrir du libéralisme irraisonné et du politiquement correct de Trudeau, et c'est vraiment dommage. Par exemple Vancouver qui est vendue aux chinois, rendant la vie la bas financièrement impossible, et l'import massif de maghrebins au Québec
not so many scams here in Australia... and having lived in France 10+ years, I disagree, anglo culture is superior, generally (except for the recent Feminist onslaught on men which has reached high tide) . It's more positive, more friendly, more realistic, more efficient. See the Book "Francais-Americains, L'autre Rive " by Pascal Baudry... Quebec has is essentially anglo culture with French speakers, and is far more human than France. France seems to thrive on making life difficult, which is why I left. Not to mention cowardly in facing immigration problems etc.
Trudeau really is a wrecking ball... quebec was one of the last french speaking places i might consider actually living. but not if its overun by muslims trying to impose sharia.
Just got back from Paris and it was just so beautiful and the locals were so helpful and pleasant to deal with in the week we were there. Tourist were annoying esp at the tower. I found them to be rather ignorant :/ So I can see why the Parisians can get annoyed. I didn’t find them to be cold though lol rather minding their own business in a sense. I love how all shops and stores say their Bonjours and Merci’s
It was a great experience:)
Yeah, for a week everything is beautiful and lovely, like any other tourist would say. This is about those who have actually lived and worked there.
Lea Waters You must have searched far and wide there are very few local Parisians left.
This is bs
Lea Waters I agree also I not long come back from Paris and my experience was brilliant enjoyed everyday the people their are so friendly & polite compared to British
Lea Waters Lol. What locals? They’re all immigrants the locals were booted out
Dude, what you experienced is not unique to Paris but a universal experience when living in a foreign city/country. You’re young and somewhat naive in your expectations. I would suggest continued travel and exposure to ‘uncomfortable’ situations.
You're skinny with perfect skin and bone structure. You could have modeled there.
I noticed that too, he actually looks quite french too..
He is one of those guys who probably doesnt realise how good looking he is..
He could've but probably wasn't interested
omg, my experience of Paris was pretty bad; the rudeness was constant, beyond rude - malignant. I was yelled at by angry staff members in museums, stores, coffee shops. One shop lady viciously snatched a pamphlet from me, I got such a fright; a waitress gave me a plate of food with a pile of ash, from the ciggy hanging out of side of her mouth, she was scary too, so I said nothing. A young girl waitress screamed at me "allez vous en!!!" over a small thing. I was spat at and chased by beggars, grabbed in all areas when crossing a busy road; nearly run over by speeding cars when I crossed at green lights. Going down into metros was surreal, the smell of urine so strong that tears ran down my face. EVERY train trip had a busker with an aggressive expectation that I would pay them. Public toilets close at 3pm, grumpy information centres give wrong information. My lifetime devotion to the French culture and language was pretty shaken.
I lived in france many years. Go to the countryside: massif central, pyrenees. Little medieval towns, normal people. Also the alps are amazing. Forget the cities.
Ann Thomas > Hilarious ! Poor little thing !
Which country are you from, may I ask? Things were never like that 50 years ago (I was there in the "60s +"70s). All these bad experiences are down to multiculturalism.
I am not french myself (but I live in France), and I'm not very fond of Paris for other reasons, but gods, you are not speaking of the Paris I know, you must have visited another dimension. I have visited Paris countless times (I'm a EHG, European historical guide): if you were yelled at by museum staff, you must have done something bad. They see millions of people a day, if they bother to yell at you... (maybe you took an unauthorised picture? You cannot take pictures of everything, it, degrades the exposed object, like murals paintings etc are fragile and react to light). As for being grabbed at on busy roads and about speeding cars: what did you expect from an overcrowded city? Undergrounds... well they smell of urine in every city across the globe, no surprise there... and public toilets are always open. Always. If they are closed it means they are out of service. As for the smoking... it is illegal to smoke inside a restaurant, as a customer, so even more as a worker. You must have been in a very shity place.
As for you, mr Woodrow, since you have not set foot in Paris for the last 50 years, your comment about multiculturalism is ill informed and rather than doubting your good intentions I will blame it on too much tv talking about "no-go zones" nonsense. Paris has been full of Arab and blacks for the last century because of french collonies and by russians because of immigration. There is even a bridge named because of immigration in that city, and it's not new...
yeah me and mom were rudely asked by some waiter to leave the restaurant cuz i ordered food only for myself and not for two people ...those fuckin cunts
We went to Paris for the first time this June and we loved it. Learn the basics of French so you have a better time & make friends. Were planning on going back soon.
Cold people is just a cultural things. I remember some years ago having read some line from an US journalist that moved to Paris and, as you, was chocked by the way Parisian are cold. Then, she realised the truth… they are not cold, they are reserved in society, and conversely some tourists/foreigners are exuberant… and that creates a kind of clash. You have to bear in mind that the way Parisian behave outside and the way they behave within their social circle is totally different. In public space you have to melt into the crowd and mind your own business. I am living in London now and I'm struggling to get use to that, because I feel London people are too loud, they are doing too much.
Then, something you have to realised, Paris is small, really small even though the suburb is quite big and that is the problem. Lot of people that are in Paris are not actually Parisian but are living in the suburb. However, the transport system, although it is perfect for Parisian (zone 1), it is not built for suburb people and a lot of people are spending more than 2 hrs per day commuting to go to their jobs and back home. Because everything is centralised inside this little area called Paris and everybody have to converge toward that small city from all around the suburb with a bad transport system (RER mainly). Then at night you need to finish you day job at a precise moment, to take a precise metro for 30 minutes. then you have to wait for 15-20 minutes sometime to get your RER (the train that runs far into the suburb), be in it for 45 minutes, standing all the way, and then miss your bus and have to wait for 30 more minutes to finally get home where you have to cook and so on. You end up by planning every second of your journey to be sure to take your exact RER that will arrive at the exact time to your final station to not have to wait for the bus. That is why "Parisian" people are stressed in the train, screaming at slow tourists, refusing to help some lost one… because they absolutely can't missed their trains !
Living in London now, I have to admit that I am relieved from this stress because the commutation time is much shorter than in Paris, mainly because everything is spread in London, therefore their is not an absolute need to go to central London to go to work.
I absolutely can relate to point number 9. I was visiting le Louvre and was really hungry before hand so we went down some alley way to a cafe for lunch. Right as we walked in the door the waitress, an older french women, quickly asked how many people we had and everything, in french of course, and me wanting to use my high school french skills answered sheepishly, we were seated without incident. As soon as we all had decided on what to order she came back round. I tried ordering what i wanted in french (a savory crêpe with ham and cheese and all that) and as I was saying it, i was nervous and stuttered as i was unsure what exact words to say and she snapped and me and said ‘you want what??’ And i was basically forced to complete all further interactions with this woman in English, disappointed that my practicing my french was not encouraged i stayed away from that in the future.
Great tips on the scams.. I've heard of variations on a few of those in other cities as well. I've heard that French Language thing as well, about any slight mistakes or accents and they switch to English.
Well it can be a little complicated about us (the French) speaking English because we are often criticized for either switching to English too fast, or for refusing to speak English.
The thing is that our level in English is terrible when compared to most of the other European countries and we are really aware and ashamed of that. Many French don't refuse to speak English but they will try to avoid it because they do not want to be judged.
On the other side, we are taught to do our best to help strangers (though Parisians are notoriously considered as rude by the rest of France) so we might switch to English but usually only if we consider that *our* struggle to speak English is less than *your* struggle to speak French.
you forgot another reason which is people can want to seize opportunity to practice and show english skills (if they don't get many chances to)
Yes! They switch to English after our mistakes -- not to make us feel better -- but to make themselves feel better by not listening our mess ups of their language -- of which they are very, very fond.
I find it rich that English speakers accuse French people of being overly proud of their language and not very forgiving of people's mistakes when they can't tolerate the slightest hint of an accent themselves. If you don't sound exactly like a local, people make fun of you or tell you to get the fuck back to school. At least they do in Australia, so...
The same thing happens to me whenever I visit Montreal. As soon as they detect my American accent, they switch automatically to English but I wanted to practice my French.
you had me at ''Well my spiteful friend, you have come to the right place.''
I just wanted to see some video about real Paris. Because my big dream was to work there. I found your video but..I can't stop watching to you!😂😶 You're such a nice boy😏💞
the bank you chose is the one that belongs to the post office company . There's even a famous sketch about how long it can take to get what you need there.
....seriously? Being from America and complaining about bureaucracy for foreigeners/non Europeans in Europe? How do you think it is for ANY foreigner who wants to work in the US?
he's not american you twat. and france is known for mindnumbing bureaucracy so it's not like he's being dishonest.
...wow....so friendly....calling people names. Of course he's American....just not from the US. I never said he was dishonest - that is how you interpreted it. And, just because France has a lot of bureaucracy does not mean it is easier for people in Canada or the US
Oh it is way easier in Canada. I'm French and I live in Canada for the past 9 years. I had a lot more papers to fill with the French consulate than with the Canadian government (and I went through immigration). French bureaucracy can be a real nightmare so I always salute people going through immigration in France.
Well, wrongly so.
Willow Whiteraven - t’es pas français, C’est pas vrai
it is hard to start up any where u go. when u move around u do begun stronger but u also lose a lot of momentum in some ways.
I visited Paris in 1985 and remember heaps more concrete than foliage. Lots of walking. The idiocy to pay extra for a room if you want a shower. I only . experienced about two unfriendly people, when I say unfriendly I mean harassment. Thanks for making this video. I don't want to go back there.
LMAO
Your impression of the grumpy parisian with the cigaret at the end
I am living in Paris right now (studying), and I must say you are mostly right. As a Spaniard (and hence, a European) we have lots of advantages that you may not have had, but even so, I honestly think you just didn't go to the right places.
There're lots of associations around for foreigners in which you can easily make friends, and be helped around, and about jobs... Mate, if you don't speak French you're a bit screwed. It is obvious that the French will be given the job before you in a French speaking country.
I'm American. I have lived in Paris for 26 years. I cannot agree on any point you have made, except the scams. It is annoying to see these "manouches" with their clipboards, pretending they are deaf. I think it is always helpful to speak the language, but it isn't that necessary in Paris. They are used to foreigners. When people complain about how rude the Parisians are, I always ask myself, "And how did YOU behave?" Good manners and respect for others is pretty international. I came very reluctantly to the conclusion many years ago, most people should not leave home. They travel to Paris and expect to arrive in Pocatello with the Eiffel Tower stuck in the middle.
"...expect to arrive in Pocatello with the Eiffel Tower stuck in the middle..."
C'est vrai! mdr
Haha you couldn't be more wrong. Open your eyes. Paris is a shit hole.
You can tell this dude moved to paris because he couldn't be involved with his BF back home.
Well, I have to learn some French words such as "Mr. French, be nice", "Mr. French don't be rude". "Mr. French, may I have your attention". "Mr. French, je sui Brasilien. Oh gosh I forgot how to spell in French Brazilian woman. If you say you are Brazilian, then they mind their manners. LOL.
Really? Then where to go in France?
drop that skin care routine 🙏🏻
Yes very nice 👍🏻
omg. I am so pissed when I hear this. I mean i can't stand hearing this and reading comments like "ohhhh yea man you're right french are just so rude and arrogant, people should not visit this country its not worth it", when its actually the SAME everywhere on this fucking planet. But just because of bad clichés, we are always perceived as morons BY EVERYBODY while nobody tries to overcome these clichés. But of course its so much easier to find an explanation about a behavior in a cliché, right ;) I have lived in Germany, Australia and Belgium. About 6 months in each country. Each time I visited a country I adapted myself. how do you think the world works ? I was in germany I spoke german. I lived in Melbourne ? I struggled for 2 months but I stepped out of my comfort zone, and I spoke english. Sometimes it was not pleasant at all as I could not get a single word, and people were not always patient,but you definitely have to if you want to communicate eventually. BUT I will never blame Germans and Australians for not talking french. Germans, when they heard that I had an accent always switched to english. I never felt offended -_- but yea as somebody said in the comment, french can speak french or english they ALWAYS will be criticized. Regarding the job, its also SUPER hard to find a job when you don't speak german in germany. You complain about france ? Go to Australia. Its almost IMPOSSIBLE for a foreigner to find a job, even though you speak english cause they just don't want foreigners to steal their jobs, which is not the case in France (just a language issue, which is, in my opinion, easy to overcome if you learn the language). Ill be studying in Madrid next year and I started learning the language cause I don't want to minimize my chances of getting a job there. I mean... ITS JUST COMMON SENSE RIGHT ? Also about the french being cold. oh lord. too bad you haven't tried to understand how people behave here. French people are just like coconuts.Of course its harder to talk to strangers but once you broke the ice, they will want to build an authentic relationship. And I definitely prefer this. Whereas in Australia people are more like peaches. They are all like "Hey mate how is it going", and it is easy to talk with strangers.... until you realized they did not give a shit about you, everything seemed to be so fake, and it was so hard to dig deeper and to actually make friends. I tried to, but I gave up, and I was super happy with my very international squad. French are way less hypocrite, way more honest (which can make same sound rude sometimes). But all the cliché about the french being rude and arrogant... well... its just a cultural misunderstanding because we care about others and its false to say that we only care about us and our country. When you're a foreigner in a foreign country, it will always be SUPER hard to become friend with the locals. Thats not only the case in France.
Bullshit. I had lots of French friends and I got so annoyed at being told that the French invented this or do something better, or that the French are just better in general also not diplomatic in social situations. I was ok with it at first, but then it really started to annoy and had to walk away from it all.
When you're European everything is easier.
We're different to you. You're used to don't get smiles etc. You're used to a cold treatment. We're not.
It's just a normal treatment for you.
When you come to the American continent you'll notice what I'm talking about.
Here people behave kind and nice to foreigners. Maybe too much.
You'll be amazed of it.
You can also travel in a plane through Europe for such a low price.. while if I'd like to go to Argentina from Mexico, in plane of course it costs around 1,500 dollars. While for you to travel to Madrid will cost how much $50 Euros?
You don't have to get into all the bureaucracy of the countries you've mentioned either.
How long took you to learn German? It's not at all an easy language. It takes years and many years.
French is way too easy to learn and speak in comparison.
For you is easier to travel because you have an European passport that opens the doors to any country and any door.
Actually no, you are quite wrong, it is not the same everywhere.
The Midwest USA, for example is pretty well known withing the USA for being very friendly. Americans in general are because they are happy and flattered you came to their country for a visit and they want you to have a good time..
You may find this naive, etc., but it is a fact.
Didn’t read your whole novel, but did have to comment that it’s not like that everywhere in the world. I won’t say where cuz don’t want everyone moving here. Go away! Just kidding. The Midwest is the best. Except I noticed Some bigger cities around have long lines in the stores now. You want to get some milk? Ok, that’ll be an hour of your life. I don’t understand a store that has more than 3 people in line. What is that? Waste of life. I live in a town where it takes 10 minutes to do anything and people are nice. Why live any other way?
@@cinthiuxdemelon6887 People in different Europen countries are very different. I feel the same as the person in teh video abut France evnthough I come from another European country. For example people in Eastern Europen countries are welcoming towards foreigners and each other as well, because yes, they are happy about people visiting their place and culturally a guest has to be treated well. I have been so warmly welcomed in Ireland. When I asked my Irish host if he was not fed up with all teh tourist, he answered - no, we have a thousand welcomes.
Not speaking the language, not being from Europe and not having an idea what you get into...yeah, typical American.
By the way have you ever tried to get a temporary work permit/visa in the US? Paris/French/European bureaucracy is heaven compared to the US.
Canada is part of America
Syn Ka'an No kidding. Maybe if you payed attention to what the person said you would’ve seen it said U.S and that’s a separate country he wasn’t referring to the continent.
Just because they’re on the same continent, doesn’t mean their policies are exactly the same and they definitely aren’t the same country
anders damin - Canadian bureaucracy is also very complicated for a foreigners
He's Canadian smartass. The Canadian working visa is pretty much heaven. You can find a job within a week if you want to.
It sounds like you wanted the gentle American experience.... but this time in Paris. Americans are always turned off by foreign countries because they expect the same treatment of (The customer is always right) but in another language and another country. Ive heard countless times when they travel, is if someone doesnt....speak in english.... or if someone didnt take the TIME to speak to them in english, they were rude, they were hostile or just unfriendly. Ive seen Americans walk into cafes in Paris and didnt even *bother* to ask in broken french if the waiter spoke any English, just right off the bat, from the get go, only in english and then become flustered and speak under their breath to each other when the waiter left at just how rude Europeans are. Can you imagine, being in a restaurant in the states and someone walks in and starts speaking in Swahili or Japanese and then have the NERVE to be offended because the waiter or workers didnt understand their native tongue?
I speak French and I'm not American. Nice try though...
HELLO - CANADIAN, the guy is CANADIAN.
This dude isn’t American. Stop giving talking bad about Americans just because it’s the cool thing to do now. And especially don’t do it if the dude isn’t even American -_-
Wow! You just FAILED badly. Paris is a shit hole and you tried to attack Americans 😂😂😂. Like foreigners dont do that in other nations dipshit. Nice try tho!
The Modern Investor I love how people say this, but get made at Americans when we expect people to speak English when they are in the USA. I am not saying I agree with this 100% of the time, but people are such hypocrites when speaking about Americans so much. Like if you came to the United States not speaking English don’t get mad for someone not understanding you. I also agree the same can be said in reverse, you are in France people are gonna speak French.
go to southern France French people can be some of the warmest chillest people ever
True! Even in Strasbourg and Bordeaux...😀😀😀
I'm french and i feel a bit sad by those points of view. Next time you'll come, i'll be glad to host you, in order to improve these bad feelings you had about parisians.
Ps: on parait froids mais on est plein de guimauves à l'interieur 😁
Ce sont que des conneries.
ha bon ? perso je vois surtout des gens intolérants, moqueurs, et rejetant la différence
@@thomasfrance3545 nah
@@pouloulou6109 ah bon? et genre dans les autres pays tu trouves qu'ils sont "tolerants" et "acceptent la différence"? Genre par exemple au hasard, les pays dans lesquels on torture les homosexuels et ceux où les femmes sont soumises et ne peuvent rien faire sans l'accord de l'homme? Hummm, ta haine de la France doit surement influencer ton opinion.
I think he was being pretty fair. I lived in Paris for year, and I'm living in another city in France now (and have been for a year). The one thing I don't agree with is them being "cold." While it's true they avoid eye contact more, they just seem more reserved and polite as opposed to cold in a negative way. And if you go farther south, they'll be more "warm" (though, I know, this video is just about Paris). But yeah the bureaucracy and hoops and obstacles and lines and forms and delays and all that is no joke lol
That’s why you don’t go to Paris, you got to Nantes, Grenoble, Cannes, Lyon or something like that and then if you REALLY aren’t satisfied, you can visit Paris on weekends or something. The people in Paris... they tend to... despise literally anything that isn’t « one of them « 100%
Not only Paris, a lot applies to other towns and cities in France, but generally speaking I am happy living in France.
I do agree, Paris is a hard city to live in ... but not only for foreigners, for French people too !
about us being cold
it's more complicated than that
I'm a guy, but if you're a girl
and we live in this patriarchal system and a latin culture on top it
girls will be very distant for a reason, and as repercution of habits
so will be guys.
but the good side of a latin culture is you get to chill, take a coffee on a terrasse, take your time to properly eat and enjoy the food and not run with fake coffee in a cardboordcup
also most big cities are like that, too . many people, too many things happening
and people annoying for this or that, wether it's paris, london or NY
more generally the french culture is different. it's not that we are that cold, it's that if you come up to us whilst not knowing you, we will find it suspicious, specially if you're over optimistic like most anglo saxon, it will be seen as fake.
it's just how we are, and it' snot more complicated to make friends, it's different, as a french in the uk, people would be very friendly for a night and then completly forget about you. in france it's the opposite, it will take more time but then (well nothing is forever but you'll find true friends.
then paris is not the entire france, and parisians don't represent all the french.
there are different regions, cultures, food, and usually people are way more welcoming.
still, I may have stayed too long here, paris is still beautifull even after decades, and uou can find people with whom to connect, and paris is my home , for better or worse, until death do us part
I have visited Paris, and I loved it. The people are very nice, and I am going again this year. As an American, I think it is very important to learn about French culture before going. Small example: Don't hug French people (unless you are old friends). It is very uncomfortable for them. It is nothing in the U.S., but it is considered intimate in France. Just shake hands (there's also les bises - kisses on the cheek - but that's more complicated).
It is not difficult - just search youtube for French culture for tourists or something! Spend a little time learning the language too. It helps a lot, and it's fun.
yup you nailed it
we're not different human beings,
we're just raised differently with different culture
so of course you need to understand the codes of ones culture but at our core, we're just the same
we like to eat and dance, and love, and meet people, and see amazing things, and so on
s3lfFish - wow it’s refreshing to read intelligent comments sometimes on TH-cam !
Omg I was watching your video and realized I know your old boss I even have a photo of her carrying me around haha we found that irish pub like a miracle it was actually the best party night I ever had with a canadian friend and italian friends.
Hahahaha wow! Now this is a comment I never thought I would read. Talk about a small world 😂😂
Here in Argentina there is no people from outside. I would like to move to another country so i could meet people from every places. Argentinians thinks that its the only part of the world and they dont know that you can travel to other places or that there is people who are from other countries.
Fun fact, most of the parisian population is composed of foreigners, i'm not talking about tourists but about people living here
Nice video, but I think there could have been more added to the list.... what about the fact that in Paris they HATE if you give them a 50 euro bill??? Cashiers don't like it, they want something smaller, they will pull faces, and give you the worst reaction and will refuse to exchange it for smaller bills. Every time you walk in to a shop with a large bill you are already anticipating the reaction you will get from some grumpy cashier. Also, when you arrive from London via the Eurorail, and walk into the Paris train terminal you will encounter employees in shops who can't speak (or refuse to) speak english, despite the fact that this is an international terminal, and London is 2 hours away. Paris can feel like a remote island where people are completely oblivious to the fact that they are just a tiny part of the world.
World Traveller
I can attest to this. I live here and even buying a bottle of water with a 10 euro note got me in a spot of bother.
Paris very densely populated: everyone lives in an apartment (houses are few and for the very wealthy), streets are jam-packed with cars and people, and living there is exhausting. And then there's "parigot" -- the Paris dialect -- which can be a little grating on the ear. It certainly helps if you speak French fluently. I do and enjoyed my time there but, as for living there -- NON! There are smaller cities in France without the pressure (and the tourists!) where you can actually meet and interact with people.
Sounds so much like NYC!
@@timriehl1500 i would love to live in NYC, i like that vibe of urban metropolis, unlike this country side place i live in (Argentina)
@@sebastianb.4048 I got tired of the concrete and rats very quickly. And that many people crowded together makes for some very strange mental health issues. :(
If you can stay in any foreign speaking country for an extended period of time you learn how to get by and what to do. It also always gets easier the longer you stay. It’s different, it’s a challenge, but that’s what makes it an adventure!
You never get used to aloofness which doesn't change whatever the period of time you stay or actually live in the place - namely in France, in my case for 16 years
I was born and raised in Paris and I still live and work here.
Everything you said is true, but there are some points that you should be aware of:
Scams by the Eiffel Tower: there is a strong police enforcement around the area to protect tourists and all informations for safety are provided in many languages.
However, you still have to be careful, those scammers are gypsies who operate in all big European cities.
Lineups: Lining up twice in the same bank or whatever is a real pain and it also applies to locals as well, and people usually wait for their turn (I said "usually"!)
Bureaucracy: Yes, it is very hard to work in France if you're not a citizen of the European Union just like it's hard (if not impossible) for Europeans to work in the United States...
One advice: if you don't speak any French or poor French when you're visiting Paris, don't directly speak English to people without asking first if they do speak English and without saying "bonjour"! It's considered as being rude and people might tell you off or respond in French and you won't be able to understand.
If you first say hello and then ask if they speak English, they will say either yes or no, but they will be more willing to help you.
Remember that all Parisians may not speak English fluently, especially older people.
*@Chris Keller* ~Et en fait, quelqu'un pourrait commencer en plus avec, "Pardon(nez)...?", et alors, "Mais, vous parlez anglais peut-etre...?" En vrai, n'importe quoi; on leur sera archi-moche en tout cas, nous parigot[e]s - hein ({; > ...?!
Try moving to Manhattan! Especially, if you have kids- The school application process and the cost of education is astronomical! Finding a place to live is no picnic, unless the company you will be working for helps out- Gorgeous and exciting I know with these cities- a great deal to enjoy- you just need to be aware of the pitfalls before you move.
marie-elena Waldrip agreed!
To be fair, and as being a french, I have something to say, all I want to tell you is, YOU ARE RIGHT! , and welcome to Paris, you can choose yo enjoy the difference or hate it, that's all :) C'est la vie
One thing I can say that 6 months is not a long time to stay in a place. The first impressions are true and you cannot help to be naive with first I pressions. There are cultural differences just like you cannot be friends immediately with a person, one must feel the atmosphere. When I go back to my native country, I experience a reverse culture shock because I have learned behavioral patterns which are not universal, but adapted to each specific place. I have met the most unforgetable people in Paris for they have captured my heart for being human, comprehensive and helpful. The thing I hate is the bureaucracy because it is so dumb and backwards. There is a lot of freedom here but that ends when we have to think about living expenses, declaring annual revenue and compulsory voting as a dutiful citizen which makes me realize that I am not a tourist in Paris.
I agree with beauracracy is insane I was there a month I couldn’t imagine living there
Yes please don’t come here. You seemed so stupid to shared the magic of this city.
I can think of many incidents that could be stuck in a 10 things I hate about Paris type video, but the positives totally override all of them, even when I couldn't work for the first two months, because I couldn't get a bank account opened easily and quickly. Much depends on your circumstances and your personal outlook on life - the city acts like a mirror. Take the metro for example, you can stare at your feet and think everybody is miserable. Nobody really wants to be stuck in such close proximity to strangers, especially on those hot summer days, but if you drag yourself out of the mentality, I find some people will smile, maybe pass a few words of conversation. If you're pregnant or have young kids, usually someone will give you a seat, and if you're stuck at the back of the carriage and want to get out, people move out the way, or leave the carriage to let you get out before getting back on. I've seen people trip and fall, and others rush to their attention, and even the beggars in the train are polite when they address you. Group mentality in almost every city in the world is going to be different, it's understandable why people can be more unapproachable when living in a capital city.
Am french, moved in many cities in france.
You are absolutely right. Rather be jobless elsewhere than working there.
If you cant stand lines, dont go to the mediterranean side, its like 10mn per person on the tabacco shop.
Bureaucracie, or administration : the hell anywhere
Overall very 'casty', arrogant. The reputation is true.
Beaurocracy is craaaazy!
Rains a looooot!!
But it is a beautiful city!
Paris might was well be its own foreign country. I have been there 3 times and have yet to meet one actual French person.
Honestly it’s hard to spot a french person anyways. It’s not like they have a distinctive face
Dude, I am French and, worse than that I am parisian. But what you say here is absolutely outrageous:
1. French and parisian are amongst the nicest people IN THE ENTIRE WORLD when it come to "welcoming" foreigners in their city
2. Paris is an absolute unbeatten beauty. Full stop!
3. Food is simply the best in world
4.....
Naaaa I am just kiddin. I am french, I am parisian and what you say is 100% pure concentrated authentic truth...
The only thing I am gonna add is that i am actually not parisian anymore. I used to live there for the first 30y of my life. And when I go back there what strikes me is first that it is definitely a beautiful city (but just like many others in Europe, and in France as well) and second, that parisian are actually the closest thing you can find from what people commonly define as "Jerk".
Now one last thing, a sad thing, amongst us, parisian to parisisn, we are actually nice blokes... not kiddiing this time. That is probably we are regarded as snobish.
:D
My American son studied in Lyon, and worked in Paris. He said it was much, much easier to live in Lyon. He said Paris is huge, extremely expensive and as tough and gritty as NYC. He was not a fan of Paris. He also said that the French are notorious for complaining about something insignificant, instead of fixing the simple problem.
Shari Berry The word is râleur, and yes the french are in a class of their own, it downgrades your life in a way you can't imagine until you live it.
I find not speaking to French people anywhere improves my quality of life enormously.
I'm curious to know if you like Mexico City way more than Paris after spending a lot of time in both places. I've been all over Europe, but never really had the desire to go to Paris. Thinking about going to Mexico City soon. Wondering if you would say the people in Mexico City are more personable than the people in Paris. I really like your channel and think you do a great job with it. Keep up the good work!
Joel Roz: Latin America (Mexico City, Medellin, etc.) is slowly becoming the new Europe. These cities are still developing, but there’s a certain charm, optimism and innocence in its peoples which the stale and jaded Europeans rejected long ago
@Joshua : I guess you lived in Paris more than 6 years ago, right? Because parisian nightlife has completely changed since that, and Paris has become the european nightlife capital, with only Berlin coming close.
@stuntrockconfusion Yes, it was in 2007. Hmm, I'm surprised to hear that. The city was dead by 2 am when I lived there. Has it gotten better?
As I told you, yes it obviouly have : Paris currently has the highest amount of legal nightclubs in Europe (and probably the world), mostly on the underground side of things. Most are open all night, and a ouple are even open 60 hours in a row, non stop (Concrete). Then there's all the raves, outdoor clubs in the woods, on boats, etc. It is literally insane. A new generation of really young parisian brought a new energy and audience. It mostly started in 2010. On any Thursday/Friday/Saturday night, you would really struggle to make a definitive choice on where to go party. As for the food, it is indeed more expensive than Mexico, but what would you expect? ;) Paris is one of the top 3 cultural cities in the world. As for the variety and quality, you must have been unlucky, because it's literraly impossible to exhaust the diversity of chinese, japanese, Indian, african, caraïbean, turkish, and of course french food. BTW, if you know your way, you can eat cheap food pretty much all the time, especially if you go with exotic tastes (I used to live very central, and had several options within a 3 mn walk for less than 5 euros a meal). I'm sure you can find even cheaper in Mexico, but respectfully, I doubt you'd find the diversity, especially considering how small Paris actually is (Mexico is 15 times bigger, and has 4 times more population), but having all the current top artists coming to the city every week also has a cost. One of the greatest cheap thing about Paris that no one has yet mentioned is that it's the best city in the world for movies, and by far : firstly, it still is very affordable (most people use cards that allow them unlimited access to 90% of the hundreds of theaters of the city, including art house ones, and so for 20 euros a month!), the amount of new releases, festivals, retrospectives, etc is unparralleled, and you'll struggle to find moe respectfull audiences at any given hour anywhere else (don't dare answer your phone or even have it on, you'll get thrown out by the audience!). Finally, te amount of free cultural events also is to my better knowledge unchallenged.
One last thing that is amazing (but cureently maybe changing) is the city bikes : it's so cheap and efficiant!!! For 39 euros a year, you basicaly don't have to use anything else anymore for transport, as Paris is so small that no trip will be much longer than if you waited for the subway and connexions, or if you had to struggle finding a cab (that's one of the biggest nightmare of parisian life. Anyone who really lived there would put that on the podium of a negative list for Paris).
I wish the people in America reacted to lines just as the French do. If a person is too stupid or lazy to have everything ready to go when he hits the front of the line, that person should be sent back to the beginning of the line to see if he can get his act together. Today I went to the drive through at a local bank. I had the check I was going to deposit endorsed and the deposit slip filled out correctly. In the cars ahead of me, the people pulled up to the window and just sat there as if they were shocked to find themselves sitting in their car at the bank drive through. What goes through their heads? Did they pull into the drive through on a whim or absent-mindedly? Unfortunately, with cars in a drive through you can only sit and wait it out, until they wake up and try to figure out what they drove into the drive through for in the first place.
In countries like Italy or France where bureaucracy is king, you're practically never "ready to go". Especially in public administration you're sent back and forth from one office/counter to the next to get all the required paperwork done, and no one knows/tells you in advance what you really need to get your stuff done. So you end up wasting your time in endless lines, driving from office to office and then waiting weeks or months for the lazy butts doing their jobs. I moved from Switzerland to Italy and I can tell you, it's like jumping from civilization into the deepest African jungle.
Bureaucracy aside, getting a job in Paris is a cakewalk compared to Canada! You just have to work in construction. The entire city is under construction. The French are building new train stations all over the map, and new appartements are being built around them. The demand for construction jobs is record high, and not enough people apply. It's a stark contrast to Canada where the record low oil prices means that everyone is getting sacked in the oil patch. R.I.P. Canada 😭😭
This doesn't reflect French people in general, on the countryside we're much warmer et nice to each other. People in big cities have a lot of stress because of work, transports, loud neighbours and so on, this isn't an excuse but may be it explains why they're so cold and mean. I lived in Lyon for 4 years and I'm glad I'm back in a small village now!
Paris is no longer Paris. It has vanished during the last three decades.
I witnessed the same thing. I think it would be acceptable if things where different, but getting better...
Sadly every time I go, it seem that the quality of life dropped a little more.
And I now also see massive segregation and a complete change in culture where French ("les gaulois") have been pushed out.
lol i got 3 bracelets tied on me when i went on a school trip (french class finally raised enough funds 😅) to paris from cali my teacher was furious bc some students actually gave money to the guys who tied the bracelets around our wrists...I just walked away and said thanks afterwards 💀
*@starlitblckjck* ~Oh, dear; have you never seen the film "Final Destination" then ({; > ...?!
I'm both Canadian and French and I have to disagree with the idea that people are cold in Paris. I noticed that in north america everyone is really nice and polite in the streets, in the service etc. but the more intimate relationships are much more superficial. In Paris and France, people are clearly not the nicest in everyday life but the friendships you will make are much more stronger. Like the french and europeans always land each other stuff, help each other etc.