Why it's so sweet to come home after work in France

Everywhere is good where we are not. But as soon as we go somewhere, it turns out that not everything is so rosy. Although Kutuzov spoke of “one eye”, France, for example, is not so close to idyllic. We have an IT specialist in touch who has “lived” and now can safely tell us about it. Frenchness.

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Being fully convinced that our IT student lives happily and serenely in Nice, it was absolutely amazing to meet him on the street and learn that he returned to his homeland more than a year ago and is quite happy about this. Editorial "Site" I couldn’t help but ask him why this happened. Living in France is like living in paradise.

“Aha, keep your pocket wide!” I thought so too when I chose a country to live in. My income allows me to undertake such an adventure. Prices in the capital for housing and groceries can be compared to the prices of cities like Nice. Therefore, if you work well in IT and can do it remotely, then there are no problems.



I originally planned to live in Barcelona, but I didn’t like it. large number of migrants and the overall crime situation. At one point, a black teenager in cheek tried to take my phone away. They may be with the Europeans, but not with us. I, of course, weighed him a noble slap, it cooled him down, but in general, such situations do not inspire me at all.



I decided to master France, for a week I was looking at Paris. I realized that this is exactly the same problem with migrants, only with a Muslim bias. Quite a speedy standard of living, dirty. Everything I tried to avoid at home. Anyway, I really liked Nice. Excellent climate, chic sea and mostly respectable contingent.



And that's where I started to think about our standard stereotypes that many of my countrymen share: life is poorThe state does not care about us, laws are not for people, but for power. And a mandatory mantra about what everything is advanced in Europe, and we still have the Middle Ages.

Living in Nice cost me two years of domestic hell. Neither the sea, nor the great climate, nor the local food helped. Tourists do not notice anything, but when you start to face the state apparatus, you can really sweat from condosity and the literal “stupidity” of answers.

But that's not even the point. There is no electronic service, and government They work in a very strange mode: several hours a day on certain days of the week. Let’s say Tuesday from ten to twelve and Thursday from three to five. There is no other way to talk to the right person.



Who says there are no queues in France? There they are! Until you have to take a seat at six in the morning. Otherwise, you just won't get where you want to go. In general, here you really need to bow to local officials, and in different parts of the city: you may need several certificates. The reference here is nowhere more real.

In France, they don’t seem to know anything about the database. If it takes 10 minutes to get a driver’s license, and all the data is filled in on the site, then you need to tune in for a few weeks. Each department is responsible only for itself, and all requests are sent almost in writing. What is characteristic, to complain about the work of departments is not accepted here.



I understood why the French smile so often. If you show an official your dissatisfaction, wait for a “turnover” – he will stain you for a million years just because you did not smile in time. If you don't want any trouble, smile. It seems that only here you can come to the official and kick him on his head, and he will have to listen carefully to you.

The banks are interesting. To get a bank card, you need to prepare a lot of documents. The bank will want to find out the place of residence, the level of income, look into the tax return and check with the original check for utility. The check must be paid by you, and a French bank account is required to pay it. This is a vicious circle.



Be prepared to have an individual limit on the card. Like 1,000 euros. Paying for a purchase above this limit, you can suddenly find out that the bank has blocked the card and now wants to know how you earned this money. What do we got? Filled out the application and after 15 minutes already received the card in the neighboring branch of the selected bank.

The plumber will arrive at his convenience

A few words about the Internet. Since I am an IT specialist, the Internet is of paramount importance to me. Here I paid for 500 megabits something in the region of 10 euros per month, in France 180 euros for 30 megabits. It's not boring to live. Household questions: we just call the master, at a convenient time for you he is in place, the service costs an average of 10-20 euros.

In France, a plumber will arrive when it is convenient for him and for the same service will knock 150-200 euros. How about that? Speaking of food and shopping. Most of them work until 17:00. Those who do not have time are late, no one cares about your problems. If you want to eat, wait till tomorrow. Or go to the restaurant. Weekends at shops, like everyone else - Saturday and Sunday. The only salvation is a gas station where you can buy a lifesaving sandwich or something.



Two years later, I returned to my hometown and felt great. As if there were windows in the concrete wall, you can open them and at once a lot of air. I don’t think I’ll be thinking about moving to Europe and living there again. We're well fed here!

Share your impressions of how you feel Frenchness! It’s great to be able to compare stereotypes and real life. Share the article with others, and then read our next article about what other stereotypes exist about France. Thank you for staying with us!

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