What’s it really like, living in France?
I get a lot of e-mails from people considering a life in France. Some have visited, others haven't. Some are married to French nationals, and others come alone or with their non-French spouse. They want to know what life is really like in France, what I like or dislike the most, how hard it will be to get a job or find a home or get along with the French.
I actually try to answer these questions, but they're really quite complicated and I end up writing half a novel before I've made any point. So first off, check the sites and recommended books from the first article I wrote on Moving to France.
Don't read tourism guides. Don't read anything by someone who hasn't actually lived here (yes, some people don't think you need to actually live here to write about it). Try and avoid sappy films. There's so much gushing about life in France that you really need to take a close look at the criticism (and once you're here more than a year, you realize it never changes, everyone complains about the same things...).
Here's a short list of the major complaints by expats:
Crime and police inefficiency This was a huge issue with the French voters in the last presidential election (which is why the nationalist/racist LePen, who campaigned for tougher crime laws, was able to do so well).
Bureaucracy Everything and anything you do will require three forms, officially translated, signed by an approved notary, turned in at the office which is only open for two hours every third Tuesday, where you'll find lines stretching out the door, only to find you didn't have the correct forms of ID nor the requisite 3 passport photos (and the photo booth in the government building is always jammed or you have no change and no one will give you any). Any given procedure that would take an afternoon to do in the US takes about two months from start to finish in France, and the final "papers" or whatever it is you need will arrive six months later.
Rudeness There are certain things the French do which are not considered rude in France, only to foreigners (like not smiling); but "incivilité" (un-civilised behavior) is bad manners even to other French people. This includes the way they drive, the way they cut in line, the way no one seated on the Metro gets up for the elderly or parents with babies, etc. It's not a "French" thing, but it's become very common, especially in the big cities.
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