Paris is Paris, and I have a dozens of stories of rudeness, but you do find politeness here too. It's usually the rude people who leave a lasting impression.

To try and sum up British culture like that in a paragraph, is as ridiculous as summing up the French.

Nobody is making you watch "Chav TV" and if you think it's bad in the UK, ALL these programmes exist in France - they've copied just about every tacky British program going, and most here are worse.
"Chavs" and a drinking culture exist in France, though perhaps not to the same universal degree - it depends where you live. Drinking and driving is probably more common in France - I've seen many a driver wobbling all over the roads.

You can find quaint places with friendly neighbours, and I'm sure those who have discovered a little haven will speak well for the whole of France. There are those who have found terrible French neighbours and their life has become a living hell. That would surely taint anybody's view of an entire country.

The grass isn't greener here, just a different shade. Some character traits will annoy you equally as much as the British.
It's nice not having a "Nanny" state, but France can be quite archaic (often not in a good way), and bureaucracy here can grind you down.
It's all swings and roundabouts really.

dennerlymum:

I don't know what you mean by "the whiff of wacky baccy..." -- c'est quoi ça?

Hi,
Unless you've got a private income, what sort of work would you hope to be doing in this French paradise?
You've done French A-levels, but there are millions of French jobseekers who have their Bac (which includes English) and, as mentioned on other posts, many who have Masters Degrees (Bac+5) but have to accept inferior jobs in order to earn a living. All is not a bed of roses here, esp. with the present economic crisis. For example, the Languedoc-Roussillon Region has an unemployment rate of almost 20%...
And there are countless French people moving to the UK where they find work more easily, so it can't be THAT bad there!

"the whiff of wacky baccy..." Love it! (The saying, not the leaves)!

Cannabis, Which is pretty much the Midi Pyrenees biggest problem. Down here life is very eco driven and this area of France is attracting more than it's fair share of Alternative/New Age persons due France's very relaxed approach to law enforcement. Dog Poo is a pretty BIG problem as well, Here so much so they had to buy a snap fangled Poop'er scooper motor bike. Good gainful employment in driving around hovering up dog poo. Ariege is a department with a population of about 148,568 people and 444,704 Dogs plus 18 odd free roaming bears that are working down the dog population.

Yes, British people can't even spell 'Britain' right.

Well spotted that; quite a boob really.

My current pet hate with spelling on forums lately is 'of' for 'have' as in

'They should of known better' or 'I would of come'

It was why I had put wikipedia links in post twelve, Discretion being the better part of valour and all that.

I've got to admit I dont really agree with many Britain bashers. I lived there a long time, still have a home there, and I dont see a lot of what people say about people not being polite etc.

Ive been to France many times, and I've found many French people to be rude and arrogant, but it doesnt make me hate France.

I find rude people in Spain as well, but most are friendly and helpful

I guess it's often a case of "the grass is greener on the other side" Until you reside in a place full time you just don't know what its really like

I'm English, I lived in France, in China and now in Spain and as I found many good and bad points in each country, I realise that the grass is definitely NOT greener on the other side (I've tried enough sides!!). Excuse my "French" but, ...same s*&t, different language...
You should be proud of where you are from. At the end of the day, you can live in as many places as you want for as long as you want, but you will never really fit in. There will always be something marking you as different.
Home is not great, but that is who you are and what made you. I'm from Wolverhampton (#groan#...) and those who are from there know it's nothing particularly special, but it's home and going there always puts my itchy feet back down to earth and reminds me of whats important and of who I am and of who I was brought up to be.
Those who are so bitter and uncaring about their own country are those who allow bad things to happen. After all, who else will change it if we don't??? It's the collection of many small voices that make one large voice in order to make a difference.
I'm not patriotic, I'm having a great time abroad, studying and travelling, but no matter how bad the chavs are, I'm not ashamed to say that home is home.

Also, Briton??? I think you mean Britain...

I've just discovered this thread. How I love the rantings of the terminally mis-informed first thing in the morning!

(Clearly the education system is failing in Britain, spelling especially so)