Quote:
|
Originally Posted by me283
I love France, and will defend the people as much as I can; those that say the French are unfriendly are usually those whose experience of the country stops at Calais.
|
Couldn't agree more. I lived for several years in different parts of France and my in-laws are French. I've always found the French, as a nation, to be extremely welcoming, friendly, interested by others' cultures, polite, generous... the list goes on and on. Parisians are maybe the least friendly, but that's usually cause they're always busy buzzing around -
metro, boulot, dodo. Calais is virtually an extension to Dover and is more English than French
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by me283
But I am under no illusions that visiting is not the same as living somewhere, or being brought up somewhere. For a start, I cannot compare education in these countries, but I can see how well-educated the people are (or aren't). On the other hand, I can guage, for example, the atmosphere in a busy town centre on a Saturday night at about midnight. I can compare the road system and the price of a pint of beer, as well as the level of service you get in shops. These things would be no different if I were there for an hour or a year.
|
Spot on
I spent quite some time in Copenhagen when I was younger. There are silly things like Copenhagen city centre (like Amsterdam) has cycles freely available for renting to ride around the streets. It would cost hardly anything to unlock the bike (20Kr iirc) and this was refunded when you returned the bike. I asked a Danish friend if they had problems with people stealing the bikes or dumping them instead of returning them. He just looked at me like I was from another planet. Nobody would do such a thing in Denmark.
Drinking in a bar in France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark, etc... is not like the UK. Being outside a bar when it closes in any other European country is completely different to being outside a UK pub at 11pm. I wish the Brits could just go for a drink without having to get completely legless and violent.
If you're wondering why I choose to live in the UK, none of the countries I've lived/worked in can provide the financial security I get from working in the UK. French employers have all the power in France (despite the constant strikes!) and my salary was roughly 50% of my UK salary. French taxes aren't really that high when you compare them to Belgian (55%) or Danish (59%) taxes
For the time being, it's better for my family and myself to be in the UK.
Blimey, that turned into quite a rant
