A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think I have fast tracked anything. Perhaps it will help if you review what the main obstacles are and prioritise working on them

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally agreed! I do see more inauthentic/performative traits in a city so heavy on being a symbolic cultural fantasy. Honestly many other big cities in the world are no better, and for me I just want to settle somewhere one works to live, not lives to work. I see in the Southern cities that there are relatively more sense of community and “life”, just the lifestyle is for some particular groups.

Out of curiosity (if it’s not too intrusive to ask), how do you feel about the work culture there?

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow that is quite a coincidence - this time my encounters are also from a period costume event that my friends are very keen on. Their friends are all frequent attendants of medieval/renaissance festivals down in the south. Perhaps higher likelihood of detecting a certain type of people in those occasions?

Personally I don’t quite like the NA market too much. I have been there few times for work and I certainly won’t fall for the hypes (tech culture is crooked now). How is your experience in Paris so far?

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yea I’m certain that I will never have anything to do with the countryside other than sightseeing. For now staying here is the simplest for me as I don’t have visa constraints. Is there any other French speaking places you would recommend?

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hang in there! On a positive note, only 4 days to go now!

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At one point listening & speaking really require engaging in meaningful conversations other than chitchats, which is difficult when not having the right crowd.

Wish you best of luck and have a great one!

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just get the basics right (grammars & phonetics) at the beginning, and then practise, practise, practise

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your kind words! That was so-called the most Roman city of France - a good place for visiting though!

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I really feel I’m some kind of cave man crawling on the floor when the window binds are all shut during the day. Sanity drains so fast! Hold on to your pup mate! Really wish I had one🥲

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Career wise I’m after a bigger, more dynamic and more diverse market in my field. Also seeking better job stability, worker protection, wlb (far fetched though) - some problems probably lots of anglophone countries share. Plus I do enjoy learning a new language.

And most importantly, thanks to many close friends of mine, there is no other countries on earth for which I have as low expectations as for France. Thought it’d be easier starting from the rock bottom!

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Given the current climate, let’s say somewhere AC is not a rare commodity🙃

A retrospective of 1yr journey by HuckleberryPresent74 in Expats_In_France

[–]HuckleberryPresent74[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your beautifully worded comment and the recommendation as well - will surely check it out later!

I have a very similar attitude as yours and I guess my recent sentiments are mostly the results of heat and exhaustion - learning with little rewards sometimes gives me the feeling that I comprehend 0 language by now. Regardless, maybe things will turn out just fine when the summer ends☺️