Quality of living,

[Ford Anglia]

France comes TOP, with the poor old UK down in 37th, beaten by Panama and Bulgaria.:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=431775&in_page_id=1770

[hastobe]

Thing is though Britain came out much higher economically - so the Brits can afford to have a home in both countries whilst the French can barely afford to exist in France....at least that's how it is in our hameau....

Kathie

[Bugsy]

[quote user="hastobe"]- so the Brits can afford to have a home in both countries whilst the French can barely afford to exist in France....

[/quote]

I think you meant to say that 'some' Brits can afford...............................

We certainly couldn't,

[Bob T]

I couln't afford a home in each either. But there again, having lived here for a couple of years now I see that the majority of Brits are much more materialistic than most French people.

[Bob T]

[quote user="hastobe"]Thing is though Britain came out much higher economically [/quote]

And that proves my point, who needs more money than they can live on? I love people who tell me that I should look for truffles in my oak woods, when I ask why, they tell me that they are worth a fortune. I have enough to keep me going so why would I want a fortune?

[Teamedup]

A survey done by a magasine I have never heard of never mind seen should do what exactly in my life.

I find these things pathetic.

[Dick Smith]

Well, there's crap; complete and utter crap and then there's the stuff they print in the Daily Mail...

[Will]

I saw something similar on a US web site recently, they were very upset that France was top and USA was about 5th. France seemed to get there because it was top for health, and had the lowest cost of living, about 167th out of about 200 countries checked, way lower than GB. Not sure how they worked that one out. Ireland usually comes top of these surveys, again for an unaccountable reason, though it's a nice enough place. It, like GB, was nowhere in this one.

[RumziGal]

[quote user="Bob T"]the majority of Brits are much more materialistic than most French people.
[/quote]

It's because they have more money, Bob, it's nothing more profound than that.

In the more "affluent" areas, you'll find that French people are just like British people - huge, flat-screen TVs, big cars, all the usual trappings.  

Credit isn't easily available in France, but if it was, you can bet they'd lap it up!  [:)]

[PossumGirl]

This is just my opinion, mind, but sometimes I think when we compare attitudes in France with those in the UK or the States, that we are actually comparing the difference in rural vs. city life.  My feeling is that most of us who live here in rural settings came from urban areas.  Therefore, what we're used to are attitudes that people would have in a city compared to the country.  I wonder if we compared living in a French small town to one in Britain or America, if we wouldn't find that the atitudes are quite similar?   I never lived anywhere but in a city before coming here, but I bet that some of the things that I think of as "French" are really more "rural" than anything else.

PB

[Patf]

Rumzigal and PG - that's a good point. When I was looking to buy a piano on ebay I went into several "middle class" homes in Bordeaux and Toulouse to look at a piano and as you say they were well equipped with materialistc goods, stylish furnishings etc. Quite an eye-opener after the homes of the local paysans. But we're glad to be out of city life with less material worries. Apart from vehicles, but that's another story. Pat.

[Bob T]

If you compare living in a little village in the UK to living in one in France there is one big diifference, Coucil tax. Even if you live on the top of a mountain in mid Wales, you will pay a fortune, here in rural France you won't. That may not be the experience of everyone but I love only paying a quarter of what I paid in the UK.

[WJT]

Yes, I agree with PG, very good point. The difference between some of the homes and farms here are huge for example the local farmer's house versus the Parisian couple that have a holiday home and the couple from NE France that have settled here. The latter have very beautiful homes with beautiful antiques and all of the mod cons etc..

Rural areas perhaps not as much in the UK because it is much smaller and more populated but particularly America are very different than that of the large cities. For a very small example, just visit some small rural towns in Virginia, the Blue Mountains in North Carolina, the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. You will find many in these areas living very simple non materialistic lifestyles [:)].

[LanguedocGal2]

[quote user="Patf"]Rumzigal and PG - that's a good point. When I was looking to buy a piano on ebay I went into several "middle class" homes in Bordeaux and Toulouse to look at a piano and as you say they were well equipped with materialistc goods, stylish furnishings etc. Quite an eye-opener after the homes of the local paysans. But we're glad to be out of city life with less material worries. Apart from vehicles, but that's another story. Pat.
[/quote]

Patf, if your paysans had the means and knowledge of the ‘’middle class’ people you came across, are you sure they would not have had the well-equipped homes? Often, people do not have things like computers, Dvds etc because they simply don’t know anything about them nor have the means.

Offer to swap your home and lifestyle with your local 'paysans' and see how materialistic they really are.[:D]

[cooperlola]

I agree, PG, you have to compare like for like.  In rural areas in the UK (like the one I moved from!) people who can afford inflated house prices, big cars, and all the trappings of a good lifestyle which a healthy salary brings certainly have a good life in rural Great Britain, but it's not true for those who can only find work on a minimum wage.  For them it is boring (they can't afford to go out much), expensive, and hard to move around in or get out of as public transport is either non-existant or phoneminally expensive.  Same here in France.  For us, life is great - no mortgate; don't have to work any more; can still afford holidays, decent cars etc - but for those living close to the poverty line it's not fun at all.  And it isn't any fun anywhere in the world to be poor, let's face it.

[Lori]

[quote user="WJT"]

Yes, I agree with PG, very good point. The difference between some of the homes and farms here are huge for example the local farmer's house versus the Parisian couple that have a holiday home and the couple from NE France that have settled here. The latter have very beautiful homes with beautiful antiques and all of the mod cons etc..

Rural areas perhaps not as much in the UK because it is much smaller and more populated but particularly America are very different than that of the large cities. For a very small example, just visit some small rural towns in Virginia, the Blue Mountains in North Carolina, the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. You will find many in these areas living very simple non materialistic lifestyles [:)].

[/quote]

Ain't that the truth WJT.  I was born and raised in North Carolina.  Lived in both rural areas and larger cities.  The areas you mentioned, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Smokey Mountains, are no where near the rural life we experience here in France.  I won't go into all the wild differences.  Granted, I know each area of France can be different too, but the two Southern U.S.A. areas you mentioned are like worlds of their own, even in the U.S.A.

[LanguedocGal2]

[quote user="cooperlola"]  For us, life is great - no mortgate; don't have to work any more; can still afford holidays, decent cars etc - but for those living close to the poverty line it's not fun at all.  And it isn't any fun anywhere in the world to be poor, let's face it.[/quote]

Exactly!  And for all those who wax lyrical about how life is cheap in rural France, remember Cooperlola's words.

Your French neighbours many not see the disney land existence you describe. However, you may need to be able to really communicate with them to understand this.[:(]

[WJT]

[quote user="Lori"]

Ain't that the truth WJT.  I was born and raised in North Carolina.  Lived in both rural areas and larger cities.  The areas you mentioned, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Smokey Mountains, are no where near the rural life we experience here in France.  I won't go into all the wild differences.  Granted, I know each area of France can be different too, but the two Southern U.S.A. areas you mentioned are like worlds of their own, even in the U.S.A.

[/quote]

I know.  What about Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Montana or even Kansas! All are about the same size as the UK geographically. Can you imagine squeezing the UK population into one of those states [:-))]!

[Lori]

Oh Arkansas !  Like another planet all on its own.

 

[KathyC]

[quote user="Dick Smith"]Well, there's crap; complete and utter crap and then there's the stuff they print in the Daily Mail...
[/quote]

Ah yes Dick, but there are good uses for the Daily Mail when it comes to the question of crap!

[WJT]

[quote user="Lori"]

Oh Arkansas !  Like another planet all on its own.

 

[/quote]

Lori, I forgot to mention, that I think the area you are from is very beautiful! As far as cities go, I think Charlotte is a very lovely town. What an experience from the Blue Ridge mountains to the Vaucluse, as I mentioned before, one of my favourite areas of France [:)].

[Lori]

WJT - went to Jr. High and High School in Charlotte.

To keep on post, one major difference between the Soutern U.S.A. rural areas and the French rural area where I currently live is education and interest in the world.  I know there are many farmers who did not get much of an education here in France, but the level of rural Southern U.S. (not ALL, but much) education is sad at best.  My daughter tells me of some classmates (here in France) whose farmer parents tell their children they don't have to do their homework as it is a waste of their time.  I think that happens for many different reasons.  In the deep rural South (U.S.A.), too often the children aren't even in school.  I love to watch the local farmers gather at the market and chatter over politics, agriculture, youth, etc.  Try finding that in the deep U.S. South.

[WJT]

Yes Lori, I agree with you again. But I think the reason for the difference is the vastness of the States. I know France is a big country geographically speaking, particularly compared to the UK and other countries in Europe. But it is about the same size of Texas if not a bit smaller.  In my opinion there are many parts of the states that are very insulated because of the incredible vastness of the country.

I think your comment says a lot, in my opinion many Europeans are so unaware of how geographically big the states are and how many areas are so sparsely populated and remote because there are no comparisons in Europe. Even those that have visited because many times it is just the bigger cities or areas such as LA, New York, Las Vegas or perhaps Florida or Arizona.

Therefore, you being an American making that comparison between the French farmers in the Vaucluse that are surrounded by tourists and different cultures from around the world including Americans and Internationals owning homes there and the deep south of America says a lot. Obviously no offence because it is a very interesting observation but one can certainly see how many Europeans particularly Brits would never be able to comprehend or understand the difference.

[Lori]

WJT - PM'd you.

[WJT]

PM'd you back [:)].