I am considering moving to France, could someone tell me about the good, bad and ugly of Paris and the Basque?

Question

areas? What the culture and politics are like and the people?

Answer 1

What is good or bad may be a matter of one's point of view.

Somethings that most people would probably agree are good would be:

1. The first rate medical system and a well run system of government regulated universal health insurance.

2.  A very high standard of cuisine which reflects an appreciation for freshness, respect for seasonal consonance, and the unique quality of the terroir.

3. A well thought out system of public transportation

4. A generally high level of intellectual discourse and an emphasis on logical analysis rather than emotionalism.

5. A healthy skepticism about the value of materialism.

Some things that most people would regard as bad would include:

1. High unemployment

2. A bureaucracy that tends to be rigid, officious, and petty.

3. A tax system that makes the French the most heavily taxed people in Europe, an area not known for low taxes.

4. Government centalization which all but forbids local initiative, experimentation, or consideration of regional needs.

5. A tendency to value security to the point of stunting individual initiative. A survey of French college students revealed that the number one career choice was "Government employee."

From checking you questions and answers its possible that you would not appreciate the relentless secularism of France and the generally irreligous nature of the French.

While a majority are nominally  Christians the sort open display of religiousity that is common in the USA  and the use of religous arguments (by either the left or right)  is not much appreciated by the French.

While a generally liberal country in American terms, there are many aspects of American liberalism that are not found in France.

Perhaps the most obvious is the American celebration of "diversity" and the politics of victimization and group entitlement. The French government refuses to compile statistics on race and religion and insists that all French citizens are simply "French." The good side of this is that no official recoginition of race or religion sends a positive message about assimilation. The bad side is that, as a practical matter, people of color are routinely discriminated against, have wildly higher unemployment rates, are far more likely to live in poverty than whites, and are routinely harassed by the police.

Answer 2

Paris is a lovely place and is very nice to live in.  Of course though it is expensive...in order to live there on any sort of budget, you'll probably end up somewhere on the outskirts and have to commute if you're working in Paris.  This can take a while too because of the heavy traffic.  If you're going to live in Paris, it's best not to have a car unless you'll be travelling outside of Paris a lot.  Most people don't own cars as the public transportation is very efficient - on the main lines there are metros every 2 or 3 minutes and the road traffic is very congested.

In the French part of the Basque country, you actually don't notice much difference.  They still speak French and there isn't as much conflict.  The Spanish part of the Basque country is completely different.  It has its own culture and its own language and in some areas they can be a bit hostile towards foreigners.  I don't like stereotyping but that was definitely my experience.  No one in the Spanish controlled Basque country spoke English and some even refused to speak Spanish.  In the town I was in, and neighbouring towns, people were very unfriendly and hostile towards us.  Maybe it's because it was a small town and they're not used to seeing tourists but just telling of my experience!

In the French part however, you don't notice much of a change from the rest of France.  They speak French and many people will speak English to you.  The culture is still mainly French rather than Basque.

The south of France is quite different to the north in that it's more casual and laidback.  They don't use as formal French (we're usually taught Parisian French, and when we use it in the south, they think we're being very posh!) and their accents are a lot thicker.

Hopefully that helps a little, I can't really think of anything else that might be relevant at the minute!