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Moi aussi, j'étais fonctionnaire (professeur de piano au Conservatoire de Montpellier) Je suis retraitée maintenant. J'ai la double nationalité USA/France. J'aime beaucoup le contenu de vos videos! J'identifie avec vos remarques et vos commentaires quand aux differences du quotidien entre les deux pays. Bravo...continuez!

I love living in France. I am fine with paying a bit more in taxes so that everyone can get good health care. I came here to study at the Paris Conservatory of Music and ended up marrying a Frenchman. We have since divorced, but I will never divorce with France! Some things here aren't perfect, but nothing is perfect in any country! The charm, the history, the people...I love it all.

I've been living in France since 1966 and in Montpellier since 1978. The first thing I did here was get central A.C.! It heats in the winter and cools in the summer. I also put in electric blinds and mosquito netting on the windows and bay windows. It gets really hot here in the summer, and mosquitoes are a real pain! There are great beaches about 30 minutes away (Carnon, Palavas, La Grande Motte...) I love it here!

I've been living in France since age 20. I've always kept my "English speaker" accent, although my French is almost perfect. Nobody over here has ever criticized me for this. On the contrary, they say I sound like Jane Birkin! I appreciate your videos and this one was especially good! Keep up the good work...

Thank you sis❤

there's technology that can help you speak another language

En vrai, dinner and a Movie, c'est vraiment une bonne idee

Holy crap! I just did it. I could not on my life figure out how to do the trill 'R'. Thank you :)

Hi Diane, Another great post. So on point. We love your videos, my husband and I really relate to most, if not all the things you talk about. We are happy to know we aren’t the only ones experiencing expat living. 💕🇫🇷😊

I've been living in Montpellier since 1978. I enjoyed this video so much! When I first came to France, I was studying piano at the Conservatoire de Paris. My local baker gradually taught me the words for all of his pastries, breads, etc. And he would say "Si vous ne pouvez pas me dire le nom de ce que vous voulez, je ne vous le vendrai pas!" In a joking manner, of course!

I don't care for the taste or texture of Nutella. When I read the ingredient label, I decided to never eat it again. I agree with you. People eat some really strange stuff.

I am 81 and have been living in, studying in, and visiting France since I was 15. I am a French teacher. These differences are completely accurate. Also I spent last summer in Southern France with my French partner. I needed to see a doctor twice. He sent me to his doctor. Each visit cost approximately $30.00. The doctor ordered labs and I needed to go to a separate lab for the tests. The sum total for several tests was $100.00. I needed prescriptions as well and I just walked into the pharmacy and got them filled immediately and the same drugs were substantially cheaper than in the US. Like Diane said there are myriad other differences. Here’s one of the biggest: a Bachelors Degree costs about $170; a Masters costs about $243; a PhD costs about $360. Taxes are higher but not exorbitant.

My dream is to open a minimalist green ghiblicore pastry and bakery with my future husband

coisa mais linda!

Thanks for sharing your experiences 😊

I remember awhile ago reading an article about living abroad in retirement. The thing that most failed to consider was missing family and the expense of either returning to the US to visit or the prohibitive expense of family coming to visit. I have children and a new grandson so I don't want to be more than a half day from either one. Visiting Paris is another thing. I went for the first time in November and while the trip had its challenges I definitely want to return which was a total surprise. Paris was never on my bucket list. I'm half Italian so I thought I'd get to Italy first. Still want to go to Italy but Paris and learning French have intrigued me in a way I did not anticipate.

If you look at France from orbit you see a luminous, radioactive glow from all the reactors. Maybe it gives them a sense of urgency thus they are very direct. No time to waste just in case.

Fun fact : France is the second largest market for Mc Donald after the US. But we make it more classy because we are french!

Great video. What time of year was this? Thanks

Not puffery, thanks. However, for the most part, people moving to France don't do "research." They simply review information. Research is the advancement of knowledge in a particular disciple such as physics. It involves the scientific testing of hypotheses that are either acceptied or rejected. Interpretation is then done only in the scope of the research hypothesis; thus, subjectivity is avoid. Anecdotes can be informative, but they are not based in research.

Metric please

Je me suis posé la même question quand je suis aller au usa les américains ne parlait pas bien français! C est fou. Bref. En france on parle français mais pas anglais 😊

You were only at 25 km from my home when in Saintes or Cognac ;)

As a Canadian married to a Frenchman, I can relate to most of these. The very thought of a duvet as the ONLY top covering on a bed makes my skin crawl and insist on a flat sheet in between. Square pillows will remain foreign to me for eternity. I love the bread bags, but I suspect they only are useful in France, because houses in North America are drier and make the bread inedible, whereas my sister-in-laws 14th century house retains humidity and thereby moistens the bread.

Wait the French do this aswell? I had my expirence with language switchers when I was speaking German in Germany. I would say my German is better now than it was in 2019. No matter what language your learning I would say if your B1 or above few people will switch to English.

I think that bank fees compared to the United States are due to the difference in the use of bank loans and credit scores. in France, debt is monitored and banks will not authorize additional payments even in multiple payments and they will not be able to take out a loan for a large purchase like a house or a car. French banks limit overconsumption and even private agency loans are monitored by the bank which gives its agreement in relation to the salary and current payments, compare to American consumption which encourages overconsumption. I think that's why bank fees are higher in France compared to the United States where banks are more financed by repayments of much more numerous and less restrictive loans.

Good

Oyster does not deserve to be there, otherwise I agree😂

Why is not having steel-cut oats a problem? I don't even know what they are. Surely there are more important things in life to worry about.

Why is customizing your bank card important? I had never thought about such a thing. It is like why do we need customized car licence plates? Some things in the U.S. seem so trivial. Yes, they give you free water in a restaurant in the U.S. but then they also pressure you to leave a tip because they don't earn a living wage.

I am your mirrored self, i am French and i have lived two decades in the Usa. I completely disagree with your comment on customer service in Usa. Maybe you've been out of the country for too long. I cannot think of any place in the entire world where customer service is more apaling, unpredictable, unreliable and prone to go wrong than in the Usa (and i will get into many examples). What you described as a good customer service from a pet store in the usa is not customer service it is self entitlement and privileged service (no, not what you think) which americans have a bad habit to demand. We French are social and customer service is something that every customer can expect with no effort, no pushing, no pressurizing the store required that Americans are used to. Your definition of customer service based on what you just presented in this video is to be treated better than others. That is not customer service. And you are right this is how Usa functions you constantly have to push, pressure (threaten if needed) to get american employee to do something that they should do for everybody. Then when they overcompensate and sent you flowers, that is privilege and bad customer service. I hate having to pressure others to do something they ought to do when i am a customer. This is why in France as a civilized country customer service is reliable, predictable and you do not need to get all hyped and rehearse a complaint to get things done as in USa. I cannot count how many times i was badly served in Usa and had to battle and push to get things corrected. Then yes they overcompensate (sometimes) but that is STILL bad customer service. For example i have owned many new car brands in usa and the regularity at which the dealership service departments messed up my cars or damage it, from scratches, greasy interior, stripped screws, bent mechanical part, is mind boggling. Especially when they know it is in area of the car that 90% of customers won't be able to check. Same thing in any usa restaurant, like you, they confuse privilege and self entitlement with customer service. I don't need a waiter to be pushy and slide into my day like someone i must talk to and hear their superficial talk. Honestly the only place i had had surprisingly good customer service is with the departments of state. Because there they follow a script to the line and it does not deviate from person to person. I do not like self entitled americans who don't understand what customer service is. If it is not something they readily do for all customers then it is not good customer service. In France you rarely have to push a corporation to treat you right because their operatus modi is well defined and set for all, that is why they will always do it right for all, and if you ask something they do not do, they will tell you "ce n"est pas possilble:" And that is the correct stress free reliable, predictable customer experience. Not this bartending pressuring, stressing american way where you have to claim priviledge (and hope they'll overdo it and overcompensate you) that is going on in the Usa. You madam deserves a big lesson in life and maybe return to the usa while I have been strongly thinking to return to Europe.

7/7 !!!!!!

5/5!!!!!!!

I'm with you on virtually all of those delicacies. Andouillette is by far at the top of the hate list. Ma belle famille find it hilarious. While I don't detest fois gras, I do find it horridly tasteless and much prefer pate de campagne to that. And while I don't find Nutella repulsive, I do enjoy it in small doses about once every decade. I do, however, enjoy your videos immensely. 🥰

I took a lot of pleasure watching this video. So funny to discover how expressions seeming so natural to us french can confuse our visitors. I never thought about that before, and it will be useful for me if i meet an english speaker. Thanks for your work! Maybe i could also mention funny things like "c'est pas mauvais" or "c'est pas mal" witch should be "ce n'est pas XXX" in formal language and meaning actually "it's excellent" "and "it's really good" 😄 That is called une litote (an understatement) and is very common.

bonjour, globalement tout ceci est bien proche de la réalité. merci pour ces vidéos très intéressantes et sans polémiques.

There is many american living in France, that make me proud to be a french, i couldn't live in the US, cause it s too stress for me. French life style it s for me ...

Couldn't agree more. We are about to move back to France (been living in the U.S for 20 years), and I'm now refraining myself from talking about it. SO MANY ASSUMPTIONS! People think you think you are better than them.

I am a little late here, but I remember having to pay 10 cents to use a toilet in 1946 in Seattle, WA. There were many canals in the Northeastern USA back in the 1800s. I wonder where they went?

I don't live in France but in Portugal. I would never go back to the U.S. but there are a few things that I do miss. Since I am an avid reader I do miss the public library system, that most states have. Since Portugal is not big on public libraries, especially in small towns, and the few books found here are rarely in English I have been forced to buy tons of books on Amazon or when I travel outside the country. Another thing I miss is the abundance of Mexican restaurants, especially in California. Portuguese food is quite good but I do miss my tamales and enchiladas.

Vous venez en France : dites "bonjour" "s il vous plaît" "merci beaucoup" "au revoir". Tentez qq mots en français.. avec le sourire. Vous verrez comment les locaux vous accueilleront, voure ils vous paieront un verre. Parlez sans dire bonjour... On vous tournera le dos !!!

Sometimes there is bread in the toilet. This is put by "soupeurs" or "croutenards". Their kink is to go get the bread at the end of the day and make "soupe". And its not a legend.

A retenir : quand vous etes invites a manger dans une famille française et que la maitresse de maison vous dit "ah vous aimez mon plat?" Et que vous repondez "oui"par politesse : attention elle vous reremplira votre assiette et vous avez intérêt à finir !!! Et si elle dit "vous en revoulez ?" "Non merci" "c est pas bon ???" 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Vive la France. Et oui nous sommes en nuance car le Français est la langue de la Diplomatie.

Ceux qui pissent dand la rue sont des porcs. Le seul endroit toléré c est dans les bois à l abris des regards

I'm from England and 'kind of' have some of those same preconceptions. We travel to France a bit and I want to do much more, so am learning French, so it's very useful to know that a lot of these stereotypes are totally false. It will give me confidence to try and speak French to them. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

About the interracial couples, back in the nineties I used to watch many American films or series whether on TV or cinema, I was struck by the fact that in the stories Blacks only ever dated Blacks, which was surprising since statistically a person from a minority should have many more chances to date someone from the majority than from the same group as they. Nowadays it seems different with all the regulations about political correctness and all.

I’m an American who has lived in France for the past 7+ years. I enjoy your videos. I work about 18 weeks/year in the USA (semi retired surgeon 😊). Overwhelmingly people are favorable about my choice to live in France. I do occasionally hear, “don’t you like the USA?” I answer, “of course!” This is just the best place for me right now! Thank you for your interesting videos😊

bonjour. big fan of all your videos. based on my experience, customer service in France is very professional but not friendly at large shops. However, when I go to smaller shops, especially in smaller towns where the owner is the one helping you, they are very personable and helpful. Of course, it could change if I tried to return something. Regarding changing careers and applying for jobs not exactly aligned with your CV, as a hiring manager, I am excited to see a CV/candidate with alternative skills. They frequently bring fresh ideas to the team/function.