Southern France Questions

>>1287979
>Do people there really don't speak any english?
Most don't.
>Do camping ground staff speak english?
Most speak some.
>Will I be robbed?
Probably not.
>Are people open and friendly?
Depends.

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>>1287979

>Do people there really don't speak any english?

Which city? Marseille? Not many speak proficient English outside of Paris and many French who can speak a little English might feel too embarrassed to attempt a conversation with you. If possible learn basic French before going, it will help you build rapport.

>Do camping ground staff speak English?

More likely than the general population, yeah

>will I be robbed?

Avoid the bad / minority neighborhoods and keep your things on you at all times, don't leave your things on a table or in your back pocket and you will be fine. I've lived in France for 2 years and have never been robbed.

>Are people open and friendly?

Depends like >>1287996 said. France is a large country and you will find both nice and douchebag people just like any other country.

ask me any questions about southern France if you like, I have experience specifically with PACA region (Provence / south east France)

>>1288042
Not OP, but where are you from?

>>1288284

USA originally but I live in France on and off

>>1288286
I'm thinking of moving to france too
How is the life in france compared to US?

>>1287979

I'm French ask anything if you want. I live in Lyon, great place to visit with a lot of history.
Most young people here speak english since it is taught in school. I've been robbed once but only because I didn't properly look at my stuff. Keep most of your things with you and you're good to go.

Do as >>1288042 said. No back pocket and left nothing without surveillance.

>>1288289

Thats a pretty vague question anon, any aspect of life in particular you are curious about?

Imo standard of living is higher, work life balance is better, food is better, culture and history is everywhere, but taxes are higher and the bureaucracy is horrendous.

Let me know if you want to know anything in more detail. Ive lived in both the south ( provence ) and north ( nord pas de calais ) regions of France and will be returning back in one week.

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>>1287979
I know one man in french who speack english correctly but........... hum its pretty embarassing because this is the king of normies

>>1288323

*France....... welp

>>1288314
Considering all the various factors, which country do you prefer?
what is your occupation?

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>>1288329

I like both for different reasons but I prefer living in France. Universal healthcare and socialism is more of my jam and I like how going to school there doesnt bankrupt me into debt like it would in USA. Culture and history are big factors for me as well and France has USA beat in both regards. French women are sexy and the language is quite pleasing to the ears. Another big draw is how close everything is in EU - when you are in France you are easily able to visit any other country in western / central and possible even eastern europe for cheap and normally no passport / visa controls (inside EU or shengen zone)

As for occupation I am an english teacher but I am starting a 2 yr master program in France this september so that I can be more employable / be able to be a professor in a university. Trying to get citizenship eventually so I can have dual nationality. You should definitely visit sometime and see how you like the country, France has a lot to offer!

>>1288428
Don't visit other countries with a French license plate on your car though. French cars suffer the most in other EU-countries.

>>1288439

Why's that anon? anti french sentiment in EU?

>>1288313
>Most young people here speak english since it is taught in school

Moi je suis etranger et personne veut/sait parler en anglais, c'est quoi cette merde? J'espere que c'est seulement les timides qui font ca

Been in Bezier this weekstart
It was very like the Carnaval of Salvador in Brazil

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>>1289168
I'm from Béziers, well from a small town 20km away actually.
>It was very like the Carnaval of Salvador in Brazil
Were you at the Féria ?s

If anyone has questions about Languedoc-Roussillon I'll help, I know my region quite well

>>1289138
Our English classes are shit, most of it is about reading and writing so students barely speak and end up with a shitty accent that dissuades them from talking. That and they don't give a fuck, everything is dubbed and despite how big tourism is in France most people don't need a second language to work

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Bumperino

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>>1288323
God he's so, Mmmm! :)

>>1288313
What is there to do for fun in Lyon?
Its looks like a pretty nice place to live because of the architecture and because its near water.

>>1291612
>>1291612
Glad I came back to read. Didn't expected an answer 8 days later.
If you can handle Alcohol definitly go near Saint Jean / Saint Paul, it's the Old Lyon and it's really a fun place to drink. There is a lot of pub and people speaking english.

You can definitly go shopping but it can be really expensive. Try eating an ice cream at Nardonne, or Terra délice. Go wander at the Place Bellecour, walk from Perrache to Terreaux.

If you like museums you can try the Musée des Confluences.

>>1291612

the weather is terrible in lyon, it's extremely hot in summer and the lack of wind make it unbreathable. and in winter it's just grey and cold.

honestly you are all talking about south of france, if you really want to enjoy the south stay close to the sea or about 50KM maximum from the coast of mediteranean, so you'll enjoy about 300 days of sun each year, mediteranean food and culture.

athlantic coast is aslo really nice too, south west have better temperature than the rest of the athlantic coast. But the whole coast is beatufull from north to south, the norther you go the more it look like england obviously.


there are literaly tons of litle village you can choose to live in, or just go to marseille, everyone i know that went to marseill to work, first cried and talked shit about the city and how shity it is, and after 6 month they enjoy it, and after a year they just stay there until there death, because of how pleasant it is to live here

also op, i would say a third of the youth speak english, yea camping staff speak english dummy, never got robbed since it's not third world, no we are not friendly fuck off

>>1291676
Marseille looks nice, its a port city.

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>>1291676
>honestly you are all talking about south of france, if you really want to enjoy the south stay close to the sea or about 50KM maximum from the coast of mediteranean, so you'll enjoy about 300 days of sun each year, mediteranean food and culture.

I really disagree with, the coast is great but the so are the mountains a bit furter from the sea.
No need to mention the Alps and Pyrenees but I mostly mean the ranges of the Massif Central, such as the Cévennes, Causses, Espinouse...
Let's not forget Auvergne is a southern region, yet it has nothing to to do with the Mediterranean neither in landscapes nor climate and is still full of comfy villages and castles to visit

>>1287979
>Are people open and friendly?
It depends on you act. Be respectful at all time.

A foreign friend of mine noticed that we French tend to be very sensitive if they're not considered as a "person", especially at work.

To explain it more clearly, it means that if you go to see a cashier or a hotel attendant, talk to them as you would talk to someone in the street, very politely and almost apologetic. Not as a representative of the business.
Don't lash out if the service is bad or slow, don't make demands because "the customer is king" and this kind of shit, because they will just shut you off as you'll be considered a dick.
And we don't really care of the consequences : you don't come back ? Whoop-fucking-diddly-doo.

Also, complain with them. As in :
> the weather is bad
> I don't want to bother you too much, your boss doesn't seem too nice.
> woo, traffic is a bit tough, you didn't have any problem ?
For some reason, French people love complaining about shit, it makes us bond. I do that all the time while on public transport and it really fucking works. I did in the States and clearly, they don't like downers overthere. It's a French thing.

>inb4 other French anons complaining that we don't really complain that much

Parisians (and I am one) are cunts, don't expect them to be nice.

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>>1291738
The spleen is real

>>1287979
What is the best place in france to live?

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>>1291993
I'm gonna have to ask you what you are into (cities, countryside, sea, mountain, climate...) to answer that properly, because the country is pretty diverse for its size and despite the memes it's not shit everywhere just yet

>>1292123
French countryside and the sea.

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>>1292965
If you prefer the countryside you should avoid the Mediterranean shore
By that I don't mean all of it, but the shoreline itself, the flat strip of land is very crowded, isn't countryside. However it is surrounded by 3 mountain range with pretty gud countryside within a rather short drive of the sea. For instance try in the Pyrénées-Orientales, it has beaches but is also very rural due to the Pyrenees. Rather poor (for France) but very comfy. Also look up the Haut-Languedoc (in Hérault and Aude). Once again it is rather sparsely populated mountains (smaller than Pyrenees) and rural countryside setting but within 1h of the sea
Consider the Cévennes as well, among the prettiest places here, a mountain range not far from the sea with a Med climate influence and very forested, rural

Same for Provence: Mountains in the back that provide tranquillity and more "authentic" feeling but the sea is still at hand. However the Alps aren't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking French countryside, I suppose
Lozère also: a more "austere" kind of countryside, where Dordogne is lush. Made of mountains, river gorges and plateaux, it's the least densily populated place of the country. Beautiful sights, very rural, very cold during winter, some people even spot wolves in their backyards. A bit further from the sea but not really.

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>>1292965
>>1293243
When you say the sea I'll suppose you include the Atlantic so:

Basque country is definitely a yes. The coast is gorgeous, an Irishman built a castle there because it reminded him of home, in the XVIIIth century. As expected it can get quite crowded during summer and once again the shore itself isn't really countryside material. But again, real countryside is a bit further inland as you start to reach the Pyrenees, the green slopes and farms are a delight. The area is also still very white if it's a criteria for you

If you are willing leave the sea a little (but still have it within say a 2h drive) then definitely Dordogne. Perfect countryside. It's heavily forested, not very densily populated, has tons of cute villages and old castles, god tier food, great climate...

Brittany has a top tier coast line as well. It's less sunny and swimming-friendly than the south but certainly beautiful and outside of the cities the whole region is full countryside. Same with Normandy I think, but I won't comment much on those places since I know more about the south and don't want to give bad advice

>>1293243
>Lozère also: a more "austere" kind of countryside, where Dordogne is lush.

Disregard the "where Dordogne is lush", I fucked up when splitting my post into two

>tfw france threads always have to be bumped

>>1291738
I (burger) visited Cambodia a few years ago and ended up on a tour bus filled with French people, they just could not stop complaining about everything in the world. It was like some sort of contest to determine who hated life the most. We ended up going out to dinner and the restaurant staff brought us some free drinks to be nice and the French all complained about how bad the free drinks were.

I'm not saying people should be blind to the bad things in life, but focusing only on the negative aspects of a situation seems like such a shitty way to live.

>>1294751
>I'm not saying people should be blind to the bad things in life, but focusing only on the negative aspects of a situation seems like such a shitty way to live.
That's just how we are. It's not even considered a downer attitude, it's just white noise like talking about the weather.
Comparatively, if someone is constantly raving about everything being wonderful, he'll be categorized as a naive childish fool annoying everyone. Like, get back on Earth.

I always found that Americans were powered by their undying optimism, making the world better. While the French are powered by general depression and self-hate, trying to make their life slightly less shitty.

Cultural differences, my clapistani friend.

>>1294771
Indeed, I respect our differences. Also it provides easy comedy for both cultures to make fun of each other. When I lived in South Korea I was having drinks with a Korean girl who had a French boyfriend and she was telling me how depressing he was. I made her laugh by doing my impression of a Frenchman living in Korea- I took a drag from an invisible cigarette and said "You know, in France we do not have kimchi. But if we did... it would be better."

>>1294777
>"You know, in France we do not have kimchi. But if we did... it would be better."
Fucking on point, made me lol.

You have no idea how bad it can get during the national day at the embassy. It's like a promotion party for Prozac.

>>1294777
S-Stop stealing our girls with superior American joy of life, Anon

American learning French here. I really dig your language and I want to pick up a third language so I went with one I liked. I'm still not comfrotable speaking it, but what do you French anons think my poor French will be received if I try speaking to your countrymen in my travels with my weak French?

I still got four months to keep learning before I travel again so there's still time to get better

>>1294857
We prefer broken French to no French at all.
People who try, or at least greet us in French before asking if they can switch to English will receive a warmer welcome I think, we don't like it when people immediatly assume we speak English.
They might switch to English then, but it will be to acomodate you, not to imply you are shit at speaking French. Well, your French might actually be shit, but the point being you should try

>>1294857
Worry not, French take well when Americans make the effort to learn the language, especially if it's beyond the basics.

But, to be brutally honest, don't expect applause and congratulations (like you would have with an Asian language). It would be like you as an American praising an Italian how well he speaks English. It's good but not that uncommon, and we need to deserve the reputation of dissatisfied arrogant cunts at some point.

If nobody makes any remarks, it means you nailed it and you can be proud of yourself.

Keep up the good work !

>>1294866
>>1294872
Good tips and no, not looking for compliments just want to be fluid with a new language. I'll keep learning!

>>1287979
Everyone speaks English in Nice.
If you visit southern France in the summer it'll be full of tourists and you won't have trouble being understood in english at all.
t. live in Toulon (shithole) and study in Nice.