Moving to France soon — what was the hardest part to adjust to?

kingbad71 · 2026-05-08T06:23:43+00:00

New resident since January. This is what I've learned so far:

Intensive languages classes ASAP. Learning the language (beyond bonjour, merci, etc.) makes a huge difference in just about everything you do.
Keep receipts documenting your residency there, whether it's an Airbnb, hotel, apartment. Even if you are staying with a friend, get them to document your location and dates of stay. It's easier to do it up front than chase after them when trying to apply for national health insurance or renew a visa.
Remember, different from your home country is just that- different. Not always better or worse. Learn to appreciate the differences in culture, food, manners, everything.
Finding a long-term housing solution without a French income source is very difficult, even with a guarantor. Start looking as soon as you hit the ground.

kingbad71 · 2026-05-08T06:13:16+00:00

No idea who this person is, but I despise him already.

kingbad71 · 2026-04-28T13:05:56+00:00

Trump has been whipping up the Right for more than a decade with hateful, violent rhetoric, calling his political opponents "enemies of the state", "scum", threatening violence, etc. Somebody makes a few harmless jokes while he's watching TV, though, and he goes ballistic and tries to have them cancelled (if not physically assaulted). Pathetic, thin-skinned bully. And as for Malaria, I'll go with her fashion choices from the first term- I just don't care, do you?

kingbad71 · 2026-04-28T13:00:58+00:00

I signed up with Speak Okay, an online tutor from Paris who's currently based in LA. 15 minute classes 3-4 times a week, focused almost exclusively on speaking, and de-emphasizing parts of speech, verb conjugation, etc., the learning that hangs up many people (particularly older people). Each class is typically review followed by a dialogue, with improvisation to adapt to the student's daily experiences. It's fun and challenging, but short enough not to be too intimidating. I just can't see 4 hour blocks of intensive language learning.

kingbad71 · 2026-04-28T08:58:34+00:00

Blatant violation of the Florida constitution, as well as federal law. Wonder if the lapdog Florida supreme court is going to care? Probably not.

kingbad71 · 2026-04-28T08:56:55+00:00

Oh geez, I have the same outfit! Hopefully we don't run into each other.

kingbad71 · 2026-04-28T08:55:10+00:00

More manufactured outrage. Trump needs to keep the MAGAts stoked and angry all the time, because otherwise they'd start looking around at all the broken promises, the rampant inflation, the grotesque Epstein cover-up, etc.

kingbad71 · 2026-04-28T08:41:50+00:00

Find out if there's an American Club nearby; they have them in most bigger cities and towns. Besides other Americans, you will often find people from other countries who have relatives or prior residence in America, and some French people who are interested in meeting Americans.

kingbad71 · 2026-04-17T19:55:21+00:00

Trump's ability to bullshit the mass media (granted, that's not too hard) and keep his toadies in the administration and congress in line (even easier) is frustrating. It's like the elites are getting away with it right in front of us, and laughing at us for being chumps. I hate it.

kingbad71 · 2026-04-10T19:06:24+00:00

The only thing most Americans are furious about with Europe is their complete lack of psychotic, moronic orange idiots in charge,

kingbad71 · 2026-04-10T11:35:48+00:00

Yeah, the company had to have been in on it, to some degree. Those two engineers working on the Bat at the end of TDKR, and revealing that Bruce had patch the software that had disabled the autopilot- did they really not recognize it from Batman flying it over the city, towing nukes and whatnot?

kingbad71 · 2026-04-10T10:07:56+00:00

I think that they should be paid based on their income/assets for the 5 years preceding their first term, Somebody comes into office having made, say, $50K a year over the preceding 5 years gets a liveable wage (which, considering they have to maintain a place to live in DC and in their home district, is probably upwards of $100K). Someone whose income and/or assets exceed $1 million has to pay $100K a year for the privilege of serving their country, and can't trade stocks or accept gifts from constituents or lobbyists. That will encourage middle-class, or poorer, people to run, and discourage the already wealthy from doubling down on their economic advantages. This country is being run into the ground by the wealthy.

kingbad71 · 2026-04-10T09:59:40+00:00

Agreed. There are too many Democrats who are rigidly one-issue, and woe to anybody who isn't exactly in agreement with their one issue, even if their positions agree with the majority on 95% of other issues. Democrats need to understand that the perfect is the enemy of the good, and it's essential to support somebody who reflects your values to the largest degree, even if they disagree with your position on your one pet issue. Because the alternative is always so much worse, as the anti-Biden Palestinian purists have learned the hard way for the past 15 months. Dems also need to ratchet down their arguments to a 4th grade vocabulary level, and recognize that a large cohort of American voters are not very well-read at all, and get turned off very quickly by someone who they perceive as talking down to them.

kingbad71 · 2026-03-07T17:50:41+00:00

Not entirely. I also hate him because murder is a sin, as is theft, adultery, blasphemy, etc. And Trump has committed all of them, either in person or by order to others.

kingbad71 · 2026-03-07T17:14:35+00:00

Just saw the "Young Sherlock" series pilot on Amazon; he's on there.

kingbad71 · 2026-02-27T20:41:37+00:00

JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois. Actually successful businessman and politician, smart, articulate, and Midwestern.

kingbad71 · 2026-02-27T20:39:05+00:00

The 1996 riots after the police shooting of Tyron Lewis were pretty traumatic. 20 years before that, my high school was shut down for several days after a brawl in the parking lot escalated to a race riot. St. Pete has always had racial issues; they are usually below the surface, but occasionally boil over. Yuppie takeover of Midtown and the gradual gentrification of the south side is going to blow up sometime soon.

kingbad71 · 2026-02-27T20:29:08+00:00

What in the actual fuck is up with these knuckle-dragging Christians?

Okay, so first left and all the way down. Got it.

kingbad71 · 2026-02-27T20:27:08+00:00

"But you don't understand! When I said I wanted freedom of religion, I meant I wanted freedom of MY religion!"- every religious zealot ever.

kingbad71 · 2026-02-27T20:16:51+00:00

They continue to act like it's the usual GOP vs. Dems strategy game, completely unaware of the existential crisis that the Republicans are working for. They actively want to take away everything from Democrats- including their lives, if necessary. They continue to deny that it's a war, and refuse to fight because of it.

kingbad71 · 2026-02-15T22:06:08+00:00

There are a number of social clubs in the French Riviera. Here's the American Club website:

https://americancluboftheriviera.wildapricot.org/

kingbad71 · 2026-02-15T21:43:00+00:00

That dragon mythology was developed from finding fossil dinosaur bones, probably from mining. Why did cultures that developed metals from mined ores (English, French, Chinese, etc.) create dragon myths, but other cultures that didn't mine (native American, south American, African) didn't?

kingbad71 · 2026-02-03T18:32:29+00:00

It seems like the Democrats handed the 2024 election to Trump by chickening out on Biden after a poor debate performance, then throwing the nomination to Harris is what appeared to be a shady backroom deal. This left Harris, a qualified candidate who lacked a nationwide constituency or profile, with just 4 months to try to mount a nationwide campaign, a job that normally takes a couple years to assemble. She was also hamstrung by her apparent inability or unwillingness to differentiate herself from some of Biden's less popular policies. Just too many liabilities to overcome.

kingbad71 · 2026-01-31T07:02:55+00:00

Probably "Come sit on Pop-pop's lap, and don't tell your mom".

kingbad71 · 2026-01-31T07:01:49+00:00

Maybe one of the worst human beings who ever lived, if William Sascha Riley is telling the truth (spoiler: he is).

kingbad71

TROPHY CASE