Why it's good living in France

In a word, it's not only the great food, rich history, etc. Yes, France is "very rich" in history and every bit of that history left its mark. But, France can be interpreted - like any country - in different ways. (First of all, note that living in the EU is more expensive than the US.)

So, I did find it worthwhile to read here, from a Yank living in France. Yes, it's a woman's view and that's just fine! It's important to underscore the differences between the US and Europe.

My Point: I'm not the only Yank living in France who acknowledges the benefit of a modern healthcare system that covers everybody for very, very low cost (compared to the rip-off in the US.). And, it seems to me, so does the lady who wrote this (from her own Web-site.)

Site here: Pros and cons of living in France that matter most to me

Notably this quote from her site:

The comparative cost world-wide (and including the US) can be see in an OECD pdf-chart here. Just open the document and scroll down to page four.

If you are thinking about moving to Europe, this opinion referenced above can give you a good idea of what and how it likely will be for you, which is always a key factor amongst differing options. Each country is of course different. (And I will not get into that matter presently because it is amazingly complex!)

I've lived around Europe and if mentalities are particularly different (from north to south and south-to-north*) it's worthwhile reading. Particularly if you have had even idle thoughts about moving to Europe ...

*But is that factor really different from the US?

 

I wouldn't know, I've never lived in France.

I know France doesn't recognise minorities and ergo, doesn't have rights to protect minorities under French law.
They're a republic based on the rights of the majority, which to me sounds like giving the mob with a pitch fork the right over the minority targeted by the mob;
a value not shared across the Channel or by our American cousins 'brothers and sisters' whom have the rights of the minority probably copied from common English law way back when when the US was formed out of British colonies on the East Coast.

So to me, it's like 'minority rights' Vs. 'majority rights' in cultures, and, I'm a fan of minority rights giving them protection and the right to be because I feel minorities may need protecting from the majority, but France feels like the majority needs to be protected from the minority.

 

Like 'the right not to be offended Vs. the right to not be offensive for being' or 'the right to be' as I see in the right of the minority, not found in France.
Some would argue that woman who wear burqas are a minority within a minority, and France banned the burqa in public because it covered the face, however, because of Covid, everyone must wear face covering but a woman still cannot wear a burqa because it covers her face.
Being France's neighbour...
A lot of wars back and fourth; from rivals to solidarity to trade agreement buddies to Brexit and fish war sabre rattling.

I had a French friend in London when she lived in London, Living in South London and East Lonon but seeing each other in Central (a lot of Londoners do this). She was from Martinique, France which is like saying she was from Gibraltar, England because the French rolled like that, making people around the world from France... And one night in London she and her friend from work, a waitress she worked with, also from France, but from 'somewhere in Africa, France'; and I, because my friend was also a Parisian, since Martinque had a volcano erupt and a lot of people had to evacuate the island; she came to Paris, France as a child and grew up in Paris; so me and my friend from France and her work friend also from France and myself, in Soho where I was working at, one night, just enjoyed the environment and had a good night; a night I doubt I would have had had I have been in Southend-on-Sea, Essex (random place in England I've visited as a child on day outs with the family); Me and my friend around Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road, eventually singing Shaggy's Mr. Bombastic by the time we got to Denmark Street; where we relaxed. It was Christmas and my French friend's French friend was going back to France for the holidays and was a mother it turned out who had a family looking after her child in Paris who she was going home to see, and we spoke about baby gifts from high street shops or something, but I had to ask, since these were 2 Parisians, and my friend was my friend because her ex 'my ebony Lesbian crew days, Thank you God)... (My crew, this girl was my 'sister's ex' (my good friend who told everyone I was her brother and became a good sister to me, even closer than some of my actual ones, we were close enough, and she came from a broken family so, sure, why can't I be this girl's brother, was great)... So we were cool and said hi when we ran into each other, but that night we just hung out - so I asked, being from London never having maybe seen France at that time, I had to ask these 2 Parisians (my first time partying with the French maybe); What was Paris like, what is there to do in Paris if you lived in France)...
What happened next I'd never forget.

Both of these ladies, my friend and her friend, both proud Parisians did something I never saw coming...
Both, in unison, did a motion of a roller coaster with their hands, and said
'Wooooosh!'
together.
I was amazed, asked them what they meant, and they just repeated it'
'Wooooosh!'
doing roller coaster motions.
Then they levelled with me that Disneyland, Paris was their favourite attraction in Paris; saying that all the museums and monuments were all touristy and locals didn't really do those in Paris; which is the same everywhere, so I get it, I just never expected that answer, but loved its honesty and even how they said it together like that, that was cool, and unexpected, but cool.

My French friend was a woman of colour and proud Parisian and was very Islamophobic when I asked her about Burqas and France and stuff (not that night but in general); but I just put that down to her being French and me being British; but I thought she was attractive as she was very smart, healthy and clean to a point of germophobe almost (before it was cool/Covid) who wanted more out of people with potential but was fun and smart herself, she was one of those kind of people, but I liked her, she was cool.

I've have seen France since that night once or twice going through Northern France on the way to Amsterdam and back from London by road.

If I ever make it to Paris; I'd love to do all that touristy stuff (because, hey, I'd be a tourist there most likely), but I might heed their warning on the long queues/lines and stuff and wonder, would I have more honest to God fun at Disneyland riding the roller coaster like the locals instead, so a day in Disneyland if I ever saw Paris for a week would be cool, and something I learned from two proud Parisians this one time in London.

 

I lived in France for several years for my PhD, I speak fluent French, visit the country from time to time, and have good French friends there (I always tended to interact more with the locals than with expats). I used the French healthcare system both as a patient and as a medical provider (simultaneously to my PhD studies I did practice there under some equivalence provisions that were allowed at the time, provided that a licensed French doctor supervised my work - which was more an on-paper thing than a real one, as my supposed supervisor rapidly realized that I was as competent as he was and was in no need of supervision). This was possible for me thanks to other details - I do hold European Union citizenship; I'm a dual citizen so I could legally work in France. So living AND working in France, just like any French person, I have a unique insider view of the country.

France does have its downsides like any other country (e.g., it's a VERY racist society), but overall I'd say that France beats the United States in several quality-of-life indicators. France's healthcare system is, no doubt, far superior to the American one. By far, very far.

Still, I love the United States and I don't regret that I moved back here once I finished my studies in France. We also have our ups and downs. But yes, unlike the bad rap that France gets here in America, France is a great, great country, with an interesting combination of technological and economic development, with a vibrant culture and a hedonistic population. Not to forget, the country is extremely beautiful, with all the historical buildings and diverse micro-regions (the Provence is so profoundly different than the Alpes or Bretagne, etc.), not to forget all the fabulous food and wine and the pretty and sexy women.

 

I should add to the above: while France easily beats the United States in the matter of healthcare coverage for its citizens, free superior education, retirement support for the citizenry, etc., one needs to realize that there is no free lunch. France achieves all that by imposing very high tax brackets on its population. Someone needs to pay for all that the welfare state has to offer, there. Still, most French citizens (at least the ones I befriended at the time) were quite content with the system. They felt that paying high taxes was the price to pay for all the peace of mind that came with not having to worry about healthcare bills, about pushing their kids through college, and about preparing for retirement.

 

When you can see your tax dollars hard at work in your own life (healthcare, education funding, retirement assistance), high taxes are acceptable.

 

When you see your hard earned money used to stuff politicians' pockets high taxes are not so acceptable. What's wrong with you anyway? You must be one of them. Are you thinking about running for public office?

 

Isn't that what started the yellow vest movement?
High fuel taxes (or something)?

 

Sounds like you are referring to the American way - I was commenting upon taxation in other countries, where tax money is spent on the population.

 

So politicians in parts of the world don't get ultra-rich off of taxing people to death? Where does this naturally occur? The Clintons, the Obamas? Both were dirt poor before they made it in the political world. Millionaires now though.

 

You've taken a detour from my post, but you're doing your level best to prove my point about taxation in the US.

 

When your salary comes from taxes and your kid needs braces you tend to vote for increasing taxes. It's a life affirming thing when you think about it. Parents providing tor their offspring and all.

 

A detour into the unknown. I ask you why are all liberal idols rich people when there are so many poor people in the world? Bernie Sanders owns three top tier mansions for Christ's sake! And he's an avowed socialist. And I bet Bill Gates has those anti-tramp sleeper benches in front of his headquarters bldg.

 

And one outstanding factor of France's beauty is ... its women. When combined with a post-secondary degree it brings one to wonder, "Why in hell aren't they running the country?"

"Patience, mon ami", an inner voice tells me. Patience ...

 

Yes, Marine Le Pen would be soon president .

 

Well OK, we don't want Marine Le Pen...

But yes, they are so pretty! I remember my last visit to Aix-en-Provence. It was high summer. I checked into my hotel and went for a walk... and everywhere, by the hundreds, I'd bump into stunning babes all over the place. I think I've never seen such a concentration of pretty women in just one relatively small town... And they are not just pretty. They are extremely sexy but in a very classy way (not vulgar at all), well-dressed, good-smelling (as France is also the land of high fashion and perfumes), and flirtatious. It was high summer, and they were showing a lot of skin, with a beautiful tan, courtesy of Provence's soleil...

I also remember a vacation in Saint-Malo. I went to the beach with my wife and my daughter. Well, there were gorgeous women everywhere, topless. My wife who is pretty too and very self-confident didn't mind my staring at those beauties... My daughter however, as a young teenager, was ashamed of the parents like they all are at this age, so she said, "dad, stop staring!" I said, "sorry, daughter, I'm a healthy heterosexual male, there is just no way I can divert my eyes. It's just too much!" My daughter was annoyed but my wife was laughing out loud... saying, "let him be, daughter; the poor guy can't get the same eyeful back in the States. I understand."

I can't show pictures here, they'd be violations of the terms of service, but if people want to get a sense of what this kind of scene looks like, watch an old movie called L'Année des Méduses (Year of the Jellyfish).

 

What about Charles-Henri Gallois, do France want him less than Marine Le Pen (or even Macron now)? - Does France even want Macron anymore?

Who/What does France want?

 

I don't think there is a clear majority for anyone. Macron managed to get in power simply because people didn't wanted Marine Le Pen.

I don't have a very optimistic on the future of the country,

 

This is a very French look, and a good representative of the beauty of French women (her name is Emmanuelle Beart):

 

No way, José!

Yes, and what is most difficult to understand is that France is not "purely French" in nature. That is, Spain is more Spanish than France is French. People like to move here, and with all the historic warfare in Europe, it is no great surprise.

Even the British squatted here for many a decade before being "booted home"!

It is indeed a nice place to live, with a fine Medical Service and of course excellent cuisine. It's not purely hunkey-dorey as a country, but fortunately it has a "fun-ethic" that is far more prevalent than America's "work-ethic".

And I cant even imagine how many times I've heard the French tell Yanks precisely that! The French think we work too much!

(D'ailleurs, avec le plein de tout qui est nécessaire que voudraient le peuple de plus? Je me demande incessamment ... ;^)

 

Eh bien oui, les français veulent du plaisir, et ils ont les plus longues vacances du monde! [Well, yes, the French want pleasure, and they have the longest vacations on Earth!]

Yes, there is a mix of origins in France (Algérie, Italie, Angleterre, etc.) so, I think that often, women of mixed race are the prettiest.

 

Elsas, German, hihihihihi

 

Quit drooling Center Field, you will need pamper instead of a face mask.

 

I imagine the French have it so good because their tax revenues aren't poured into a pork barrel and from there poured down the bottomless maw of a Military-Industrial Complex. How sweet for them.

 

I was rather glad to get back into the German insurance system several years ago.
I was kicked out as a late 20, because I lived and worked abroad for over 5 years. There were limits for that. Getting long in the tooth, which means for a none US citizens, 65, you loose your insurance, or it gets so ridicules expensive that one can not afford it.
The thing is, you pay all the social security and Medicare taxes, but as a none citizens you can not draw. With 65 I could get $1200 SSI, plus Medicare, 70 $1700, plus Medicare, that's how much I have payed in.
It troubled me a lot, but than I found a way to get back into the German system. It took a lot of research, my brother who is a CPA and a lawyer to hammer out the facts, how I could get back. Luckily I had never given up my German residence, you have to register for that, I could do that because of the double taxation agreement, earn money in the US, pay taxes in the US and than file a Taxreturn in Germany. Luckily I had payed more than 10 years into the health insurance system. Started with 16 with my first full time job. 10 years is minimum.
Getting the documents was rather easy, just call the German IRS and SSI and than you receive a accounting by mail which you send to the non profit insurance company you were insured by. You have 10 years plus 1 day and they have to insure you, again. No matter how old you are or in what ever condition you are in.
It took 3 weeks after submitting my papers and I had this wonderful chip card health insurance card on my desk in CO.
I pay $325 per month, 100% insured, only a 11 hour flight away if the crap hits the fan.
Since I aged out in the US, I have a share plan, works ok, covers my Covid vaccination for example and minor things, too, or a diagnostic.

But man was I relieved when I got that chip card.

When I retire, I will go to Europe, because of the quality it provides for the rest of mind.
You do not get left behind, pay happily what ever taxes and enjoy the rest of my live, without worry.