Wally Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 I was about to start viewing properties in France when a friend told me that they had lived in France for a year and found the French very stand offish and unfriendly. Can anyone give their opinions on this please. Is it a good place to live? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 14 viewable yet no-one has commented. Does this mean my friend was clorrect and you all don't want to publicly admit you agree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betise Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherbanana Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 wally, your friend has misled you; by and large the French are friendly and helpful though of course there are those who are not as you would expect in any country. If you make the effort to speak French and try to get involved in the local community then you will find a great welcome. But standoffish Brits will get short shrift! 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnM Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 I'm only a holiday home chap but in my chosen area the people are great. I try to speak French and they try to help me, so we get on just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
menthe Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 It might help with answers, Wally, if you are a bit more specific about where you are looking. For example, what areas, what setting such as out in the wilds, little hamlet, village, towns etc. The French, as people elsewhere, could be friendly, full of gaiety, morose, reserved, gregarious etc. Under the skin, as it were, we are all individuals. There are French families and groups who might be difficult to get to know and there are Brits in France who are cliquey and look at all newcomers askance. I do find that, joining a group with similar interests to yourself, is a wonderful icebreaker. You are immediately on "tu" terms just by reason of doing the same activity together. In my OH's case, table tennis and a history society and in mine, keep-fit and nordic walking. Can't tell you more than my own experience so perhaps you just need to go and find out for yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherbanana Posted August 31, 2023 Share Posted August 31, 2023 I often wondered where the term morose code came from, minterooni, now I know😂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
menthe Posted September 1, 2023 Share Posted September 1, 2023 Yes, poor old Morse and his code. Nowadays, it's not so much morose as" mental health issues"; glottal stop and th-sound optional😕 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lehaut Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 We had a couple in our village in Normandy. She was French and he was British. The came across from the UK to live in France. The neighbours lined the road in the old place in the UK waving when they moved as they were so glad to see them go. The were almost as popular in Normandy! They made the same mistakes in our village and got the same reaction. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggers Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 Funny that the OP hasn’t returned to see the responses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveLister Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 59 minutes ago, Riggers said: Funny that the OP hasn’t returned to see the responses Maybe he found us too 'stand offish and unfriendly' 😉 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssomon Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 1 hour ago, Riggers said: Funny that the OP hasn’t returned to see the responses Maybe he was a real wally 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Posted September 2, 2023 Author Share Posted September 2, 2023 19 minutes ago, ssomon said: Maybe he was a real wally On 30/08/2023 at 12:43, Wally said: I was about to start viewing properties in France when a friend told me that they had lived in France for a year and found the French very stand offish and unfriendly. Can anyone give their opinions on this please. Is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betise Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 Or maybe no one rose to the bait 😈 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Posted September 2, 2023 Author Share Posted September 2, 2023 Well as I have other things to do I don't spend all my time waiting for a response. In fact I have read all the responses though the concensus seems to be that the French are mostly friendly and welcoming though one has to make some effort. I suppose I am a real Wally, after all it's my name and I don't find the use of it offensive. Derogatory innuendo is unnecessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveLister Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 You'll have to forgive the understandable scepticism Wally. You asked an incredibly open question then came back within three hours to complain that no one had replied. Like you most people have other things to do and don't spend all their time on here waiting to answer questions from new members. When you later received some considered responses you didn't come back so it was natural to assume you were a troll. FWIW I would advise you decide what area of France you want to live in and rent for a while. It will give you an idea of what life is like outside of the 'holiday bubble'. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 Wally - Based on your comments here on this thread, I would not recommend settling in France. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlebitfrench Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 I think Wally is Ken’s mother in law. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wally Posted September 5, 2023 Author Share Posted September 5, 2023 I've lived in Spain for 10 years and the locals are warm and friendly. A lot of the expats are as well though there are a few who don't want to integrate and complain about the Spanish lifestyle being different to what they were used to in the UK. The person who warned me about the French locals is Spanish and had spent a year living in France partly in the South and also in the North West. I have been very happy in Spain living in a small village where very little English is spoken and whilst I've enjoyed the lifestyle I miss the seasons! Hence the plan of moving further north. Thank you to those of you who have made helpful comments and to those who have made assumptions and are judgemental - get a life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loiseau Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 Well, all that extra information sheds a completely different light on your original question… The French used to be a bit snooty about the Spanish, certainly back in the 1960s and 70s, when many Spanish had come to France as cheap labour, so maybe that is why your informant met with unfriendliness. My experience of the north of France is that the British are popular, and we share quite a sense of humour with the Cht'is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alittlebitfrench Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 4 hours ago, Wally said: I've lived in Spain for 10 years and the locals are warm and friendly. A lot of the expats are as well though there are a few who don't want to integrate and complain about the Spanish lifestyle being different to what they were used to in the UK. The person who warned me about the French locals is Spanish and had spent a year living in France partly in the South and also in the North West. I have been very happy in Spain living in a small village where very little English is spoken and whilst I've enjoyed the lifestyle I miss the seasons! Hence the plan of moving further north. Thank you to those of you who have made helpful comments and to those who have made assumptions and are judgemental - get a life! Wally my dearest fellow. Peeps are the same the world over. If people want to like you they will like you. France/French changes nothing. Country changes nothing. I have been with my French wife and her very large French family for 28 years. I can tell you they are as much of a pain in the arsé as any family worlwide. But on a serious note, the majority of French are the same as the British. They just like eating disgusting food. Unlike us. I think that is the only difference I have come up with so far. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now