7 Major Reverse Culture Shocks Returning to France from Australia
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- Опубліковано 9 лип 2024
- After living in Australia for a while, coming back to France was a bit of a shocker! Here are the 7 biggest reverse culture shocks I faced when I returned home 🇫🇷 from Australia 🇦🇺. From food cravings to everyday quirks, it's been quite an adjustment. I’ll share my personal experiences and some laughs along the way.
If you’ve ever gone back home after being abroad and found yourself feeling lost in your own country, or you're just curious about these cultural contrasts, this video is for you. Sit back, relax, and I hope you'll enjoy this video.
#CultureShock #ReverseCultureShock #France #Australia #Travel
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----------------------- -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ❀:
⇢ Q: how old are you ? A: 25
⇢ Q: where do you live? A: Australia (originally from France)
⇢ Q: what is your ethnicity? A: Mauritian and Tunisian (born and raised in Paris)
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Lovely video. Loved walking around Paris with you.
Thank you so much, I truly appreciate 😊
❤❤❤❤
I was born in France and moved to Oz when young and have lived there since. I return to France to catch up with rellies every couple of years. I like France for the food, culture, history, architecture etc but after 3 weeks I get homesick for Oz, something about the freedom and wide open spaces and weather that always draws me back home. if i was rich I would have a home in both countries.
Same. Spring/Summer in each country. Bliss.
hehe rellies, yep you have been here for a while.
I couldn't agree more. I love the wide open spaces in Australia. And the weather as well. (Although the sun is very damaging). I'd say it would be ideal to have a chance to live in both, in the best times of the year. 😇
I live in Sydney beautiful Eastern suburbs , return to France every couple of years
increasingly , I feel sad , dealing with administration is an obstacle course , people are tense
you walk through the most beautiful part of Paris , that's not what ordinary French live
As a kid growing up in Melbourne there was the Paris end of Collins St The first time I went to Paris it felt like being in Melbourne. Melbourne lost a lot when those buildings where replaced.
Everywhere you go has pros and cons. Nowhere is perfect. It depends on what you value and move in life. France is like home to me, and I'm British living in Australia. When I first mived here over 20 years ago, people asked me what I miss about the UK. My answer was always... "France"!
Well done. As an expatriate I share a lot of the same feelings when I spend time in Paris. Nice to visit, but it is always good to come back to Australia with the clean air, open spaces and sunny days.
Absolutely, couldn't agree more! Thank you for sharing this with me. And thank you for your feedback!
Australia has a terrible public transport system- when I was in a country I didn’t know the language I could still work out where to go. Even little Adelaide was confusing and useless. Thanks for the walk about, looking forward to the pastries😊
Well, I do agree it isn't always the best. Unless you are right in one of the major cities. I am hopeful that it is just a matter of time before Australia expands its network. (It's already improved so much since I first came 10 years ago)
But anyways, thank you very much for your kind words. I can't wait to share more about Paris in that next video, especially food 😉
It's funny hearing a Parisian sounding like a tourist in her own city :)
Daylight duration depends a lot on where you live in Australia. In Brisbane it's sunset early even in summer, both due to the subtropical nature and the mountains directly to the west blocking off the sun fading in the West. Sydney has the same problem, so that might be more representive of where you lived in Australia.
Sunsets in Perth, at a similar latitude to Sydney are long drawn out affairs due to the ocean and no landscape based obstructions.
Melbourne and Adelaide do not. Sunset is just before 9pm mid summer and with the latitude they have long twilights, well past 10pm, but with mountain ranges to the east, late morning starts and sudden sunrises. Yet at almost 10pm it is still fairly light at the peak of summer. Hobart stretches that out even further (Astronomical twilight begins after 11pm and ends just after 3am). So 10pm external dining without lighting is easy.
Effectively your shortest night times in Hobart are 4 hours and 3 minutes. And you regularly get to see the Aurora Australis (southern lights) all year around for extra lighting.
The greater the latitude the longer the diurnal duration in summer.
The joys of being continent sized.
Agree- in Melbourne, which is further west than Syd, sun doesn't set til 8:45pm during summer. With last light continuing on for about 30 mins after that.
Excellent reply I live in Melbourne and agree. Summer Daylight Saving Time in the southern states extends the daylight. Queensland and WA and NT don't have it.
It used to be the case that nearly all Japanese women who moved to Australia rapidly became too Australian to move back to Japan. My understanding is it is no longer quite such a one way trip. I hadn't considered that it would be so difficult to return to France after living in Australia.
Here is how I responded to her 9 points in the video:
Point 1) In Australia, you have a choice between 'acceptible/mid-range' food quality and 'high-end/high quality' food for a higher price, usually in the same shop, or at least next door/on the same street. It's likely you were shopping exclusively at Coles and Woolworths instead of smaller 'Providore' type stores with far higher quality food options, and you were likely shopping at Coles and Woolworths because your job didn't pay enough to shop exclusively for 'French-level' groceries - this video also gives the vibes that you were living in a slightly rural part of Australia, so your choices were limited. However, France also has mid-level grocery options just like Australia, it's just that you know how to avoid them in France - perhaps you simply didn't have that knowledge while living in Australia. As for your comments on freshness, the vast majority of Australia's food is sourced locally and is incredibly fresh, unlike large swathes of Europe where two thirds of your food stocks are shipped from entirely different continents such as South America as they just do not grow those foods in high enough quantities in Europe to stock your shelves reliably.
Point 2) As for your comments on the comparitive expensiveness of France versus Australia, well, the 2023 Food Security Index puts Australia as having the world's cheapest food once local salaries and local currency purchasing power are taken into consideration. France isn't even in the top 10, so yeah, French people are fucked if they want the high quality food you say is 'better' than in Australia.
Point 3) Your opinion around architectural differences between Australia and France is nothing more than subjective comparisons based on your own idea of architecture and nature's beauty. You may also want to remember that Australia was entirely dirt roads and shacks just 200 years ago... What Australia has been able to achieve architecurally and infrastructure-wise in just over 150 years is nothing short of incredible. We are a country full of world-leading cities, and we've done it in less time than Europe's infrastructure expansion timelines. Nowadays, Australia surpasses the vast majority of Europe with regard to city-level infrastructure.
Point 4) Your point comparing the Paris metro to any of Australia's metro lines is pointless, as the greater metropolitan area of Paris has 11.2 million people, which is almost half of Australia's entire population... It's not hard to have a train running down the same line every 180 seconds when you have many millions of people using the service. Though, having now checked my own train line here in Melbourne, it runs every 8-12 minutes during the week, and every 20 minutes (and 24hrs) on weekends, so, not bad for a city with only half the greater metropolitan population of Paris.
Point 5) As for needing a driver's licence - hmmm - it sounds like you were not primarily living in a larger Australian city, because if you were, you would not have needed a car. Or, you were living in the outer suburbs. And I've seen public transport maps of European major cities, and the public transport situation 40+ kilometers from Paris and Berlin and London is not really any better than it is when you're 40km from Melbourne and Sydney CBD's.
Point 6) Cleanliness, yeah, Australia is one of the cleanest societies in the world. The only places I know that are cleaner than Australian cities is Singapore and Tokyo... When we are children, we participate in 'Clean Up Australia Day', and all of the primary school children are given gloves and rubbish bags and supervised by teachers as they go around the block that surrounds their school, cleaning up ALL rubbish they can find, if there is any at all... This instills a sense of duty to your country's cleanliness, and even the most redneck bogans I know in Australia will scream at someone they catch littering... Oh, and cigarettes here cost $30-50 per packet, so hardly anyone smokes, and those who do, butt out their cigarettes into a designated cigarette bin that is separate from the normal bins to prevent binfires.
Point 7) Walking culture is almost as high in Melbourne and Sydney as it is in Paris. The only people in our major cities who still drive all live in the outer suburbs 30+ kilometers from the city centre. People living 30-40km from Paris would also likely have a car...
Point 8) As for the friendliness of everyday people, well, yeah, Australians are paid very well and we get almost French and German levels of paid holidays etc, as such, we are not high-strung and stressed out, so we have time to be friendly. The French (and MANY other central and western Europeans) are poorly paid and under a lot of stress to keep surviving everyday life, and this has the knock-on effect of making people sour. The French are no worse than the Germans in this regard, and when you go to London, it's the same story; a bunch of high-strung, stressed out people who have no time for chit-chat and curiosity about the people they meet. Related to this topic is the fact Europeans like to brag about their crazy amount of paid vacation time in their work contracts, but they hope you ignore the fact many of them are too poor to even leave the European continent for a vacation. The Germans even have a word for this called "Balkonien". The only vacationing Europeans you see in North America and Australia are the middle-class (and richer) Europeans with highly respected university degrees and well-paid jobs, whereas even a cleaner in Australia can afford to travel to Europe once a year for a month-long vacation. It means that a WAAAAY larger portion of the Australian population can chill the fk out, compared to that of the Europeans like the French.
Point 9) Late opening hours in France is because the shop owner is able to afford the wages of their staff for far longer opening hours due to the fact French wages for a retail or hospitality worker are absolutely shit compared to Australia, where we pay people $23hr MINIMUM wage, and likely more than that if they're over 21 and have a few extra skills. My sister works in a basic patisserie with NO cafe function (only takeaway coffee) and they pay her $28hr. So yeah, owning a shop/restaurant in Australia is expensive as we pay our people a LIVING WAGE, unlike in France (or most of Europe, with Switzerland being the only exception). This opinion from you, by the way, is even more evidence that you didn't live in Melbourne or Sydney, because at least in Melbourne, our cafes and restaurants are open often until close to midnight, and our kebab joints are open until WELL after midnight.
Point 10) AHA!! The fact you said it's pitch black at 7pm almost all year round tells me you lived in Queenland, one of the LEAST culturally diverse and least exciting parts of Australia... Great weather, and that's it. Nooooooow a lot of the above points you've raised make sense - Because you lived in the (objectively) shit part of Australia if you value European-style living. If you were in Melbourne, our summer evening sunlight lasts until almost 10pm, our restaurants are open SUPER late, the food is off the charts incredible, there's 100 European languages being spoken around you as you walk the streets, the public transport runs until very late and quote often. Blah blah blah, you know the rest as it's highlighted in the above 9 points...
I first travelled to Paris at the turn of the century. I was struck by its beauty and its soul. It’s one of those places I only need to think about, and it makes me feel good. Thank you for this video, Helena.
I love this. People from Aus have told me they didn’t like Paris as much as they thought they would. Probably cause they were tourists so I really appreciate a local’s perspective of her home. Everything you showed looked so pretty and majestic. The weeping willow was cool to see, they’re banned here in Queensland.
My cousin honeymooned in France. He hated every single second of it! He and his wife said it was so dirty! He grew up in Mt Druitt, so that's saying something!
Aussie here, lived in four states. Paris is my favourite city in the world, but it must be about ten years since I've been there. Sounds like I wouldn't be able to afford it again though.
I lived in France for six months and Paris was nice but León was twice as nice and the evening life along the river was unforgettable, also Saint Malo I found better than Paris .
I think the rent issue in France is surely location as Paris would surely be popular thus pushing up rent .
I'm Australian and lived in Paris for 3 years and I loved it there! I loved how easy it was to meet up with friends and that there was so much to do, from daytime to nighttime. You don't have to plan too much in advance to see friends. Here in Oz, you have to drive to get anywhere, so meeting up with friends takes longer, you have to plan more and all that makes you feel lazy about going out. I'm also less fit here because I drive everywhere. I prefer the groceries, boulangeries and food markets in Paris, the quality is so much better. My skin was also a lot better in Paris, probably from the quality of the food and from the amount of walking I did everyday.
I guess it depends on where you live in Australia. Some cities in Australia have great public transport. Plus we have some great food markets but they are very rare. The food market in Adelaide is world class. We need one in every Australian city.
I was in Paris 20 years ago, it was raining alot of times, dog shit every where. The metro smell like urine. The food was great, the baguette with ham and pate was amazing. Everything was close by and convenient.
Thank you for sharing your experience, in this case not all positive as to be expected. But I'm happy you enjoyed some aspects of it 😇
Cigarettes are disgusting 🤮 I'm glad we are clean in Australia but we can still learn from the nice things in France such as the beauty in the architecture
Nope you can't learn history and culture
We still knock down old buildings in Australia and put up modern buildings so our cities and towns will never be like those in Europe.
Australia doesn’t have a tenth of the history of France to draw from , we are one of the youngest countries so how on earth could you try and compare?
@@johnryan1386 the problem with Australia is that we often knock down the good old architecture that we had to put up glass and concrete insults to the eye. Eg all the old art nouveau/deco movie theatres that have been knocked down and replaced with office buildings or cinema complexes.
As an Australian who visited France (the eastern side, Grenoble etc) for the first time a month ago, your observations are exactly right. I found France to be dirty, the food and supermarkets to be amazing, and the buildings far more interesting then Australia.
Thanks for sharing! I'm glad that you found my points of quite accurate. At the same time I hope I was able yo to express myself the way I really wanted to. By no mean I ever want to offend anyone. So thank you 🙏
Here is how I responded to her 9 points in the video:
Point 1) In Australia, you have a choice between 'acceptible/mid-range' food quality and 'high-end/high quality' food for a higher price, usually in the same shop, or at least next door/on the same street. It's likely you were shopping exclusively at Coles and Woolworths instead of smaller 'Providore' type stores with far higher quality food options, and you were likely shopping at Coles and Woolworths because your job didn't pay enough to shop exclusively for 'French-level' groceries - this video also gives the vibes that you were living in a slightly rural part of Australia, so your choices were limited. However, France also has mid-level grocery options just like Australia, it's just that you know how to avoid them in France - perhaps you simply didn't have that knowledge while living in Australia. As for your comments on freshness, the vast majority of Australia's food is sourced locally and is incredibly fresh, unlike large swathes of Europe where two thirds of your food stocks are shipped from entirely different continents such as South America as they just do not grow those foods in high enough quantities in Europe to stock your shelves reliably.
Point 2) As for your comments on the comparitive expensiveness of France versus Australia, well, the 2023 Food Security Index puts Australia as having the world's cheapest food once local salaries and local currency purchasing power are taken into consideration. France isn't even in the top 10, so yeah, French people are fucked if they want the high quality food you say is 'better' than in Australia.
Point 3) Your opinion around architectural differences between Australia and France is nothing more than subjective comparisons based on your own idea of architecture and nature's beauty. You may also want to remember that Australia was entirely dirt roads and shacks just 200 years ago... What Australia has been able to achieve architecurally and infrastructure-wise in just over 150 years is nothing short of incredible. We are a country full of world-leading cities, and we've done it in less time than Europe's infrastructure expansion timelines. Nowadays, Australia surpasses the vast majority of Europe with regard to city-level infrastructure.
Point 4) Your point comparing the Paris metro to any of Australia's metro lines is pointless, as the greater metropolitan area of Paris has 11.2 million people, which is almost half of Australia's entire population... It's not hard to have a train running down the same line every 180 seconds when you have many millions of people using the service. Though, having now checked my own train line here in Melbourne, it runs every 8-12 minutes during the week, and every 20 minutes (and 24hrs) on weekends, so, not bad for a city with only half the greater metropolitan population of Paris.
Point 5) As for needing a driver's licence - hmmm - it sounds like you were not primarily living in a larger Australian city, because if you were, you would not have needed a car. Or, you were living in the outer suburbs. And I've seen public transport maps of European major cities, and the public transport situation 40+ kilometers from Paris and Berlin and London is not really any better than it is when you're 40km from Melbourne and Sydney CBD's.
Point 6) Cleanliness, yeah, Australia is one of the cleanest societies in the world. The only places I know that are cleaner than Australian cities is Singapore and Tokyo... When we are children, we participate in 'Clean Up Australia Day', and all of the primary school children are given gloves and rubbish bags and supervised by teachers as they go around the block that surrounds their school, cleaning up ALL rubbish they can find, if there is any at all... This instills a sense of duty to your country's cleanliness, and even the most redneck bogans I know in Australia will scream at someone they catch littering... Oh, and cigarettes here cost $30-50 per packet, so hardly anyone smokes, and those who do, butt out their cigarettes into a designated cigarette bin that is separate from the normal bins to prevent binfires.
Point 7) Walking culture is almost as high in Melbourne and Sydney as it is in Paris. The only people in our major cities who still drive all live in the outer suburbs 30+ kilometers from the city centre. People living 30-40km from Paris would also likely have a car...
Point 8) As for the friendliness of everyday people, well, yeah, Australians are paid very well and we get almost French and German levels of paid holidays etc, as such, we are not high-strung and stressed out, so we have time to be friendly. The French (and MANY other central and western Europeans) are poorly paid and under a lot of stress to keep surviving everyday life, and this has the knock-on effect of making people sour. The French are no worse than the Germans in this regard, and when you go to London, it's the same story; a bunch of high-strung, stressed out people who have no time for chit-chat and curiosity about the people they meet. Related to this topic is the fact Europeans like to brag about their crazy amount of paid vacation time in their work contracts, but they hope you ignore the fact many of them are too poor to even leave the European continent for a vacation. The Germans even have a word for this called "Balkonien". The only vacationing Europeans you see in North America and Australia are the middle-class (and richer) Europeans with highly respected university degrees and well-paid jobs, whereas even a cleaner in Australia can afford to travel to Europe once a year for a month-long vacation. It means that a WAAAAY larger portion of the Australian population can chill the fk out, compared to that of the Europeans like the French.
Point 9) Late opening hours in France is because the shop owner is able to afford the wages of their staff for far longer opening hours due to the fact French wages for a retail or hospitality worker are absolutely shit compared to Australia, where we pay people $23hr MINIMUM wage, and likely more than that if they're over 21 and have a few extra skills. My sister works in a basic patisserie with NO cafe function (only takeaway coffee) and they pay her $28hr. So yeah, owning a shop/restaurant in Australia is expensive as we pay our people a LIVING WAGE, unlike in France (or most of Europe, with Switzerland being the only exception). This opinion from you, by the way, is even more evidence that you didn't live in Melbourne or Sydney, because at least in Melbourne, our cafes and restaurants are open often until close to midnight, and our kebab joints are open until WELL after midnight.
Point 10) AHA!! The fact you said it's pitch black at 7pm almost all year round tells me you lived in Queenland, one of the LEAST culturally diverse and least exciting parts of Australia... Great weather, and that's it. Nooooooow a lot of the above points you've raised make sense - Because you lived in the (objectively) shit part of Australia if you value European-style living. If you were in Melbourne, our summer evening sunlight lasts until almost 10pm, our restaurants are open SUPER late, the food is off the charts incredible, there's 100 European languages being spoken around you as you walk the streets, the public transport runs until very late and quote often. Blah blah blah, you know the rest as it's highlighted in the above 9 points...
In my journey through life I have found everything is a trade-off.
No country is perfect.
Me too, I've live in 5 countries, Australia, particularly Brisbane is my favourite, no where is perfect but Australia does get a lot right.
I miss few things from the French life style, but after 18 years in Australia I can cop with the French everyday life anymore. France is a golden cage but a cage still.
Australia is clean? It depends what you're used to. We just had 4 weeks in Spain, France, and Italy and all were dirtier than Australia but we've also been to Singapore and Dubai. In both of those places you could eat off the street. On our last night in Rome, we had dinner at a restaurant and my wife commented how dirty the place was (the city, not the restaurant). We got talking to the waiter who said he was from Cairo. I've been there but my wife hasn't and I said to her after he took our order and walked away, "You think Rome is dirty, he thinks it's clean".
Regarding your comments about food. Im from Sydney & have travelled to France extensively over the last 20 years. Naturally France is going to have great French cuisine but I do miss the diversity that we get in Sydney due to how multicultural our city is.
I felt just the same as an aussie touring europe, it seemed like a medieval fairytale to me, I was in total awe of the old old buildings, it was like going back in time, such amazing history. Australia is so young & modern, we dont have this ancient architecture, our treasure is our beautiful country, nature & animals & while I might love to visit other countries, my own beautiful country has my heart.
I have a similar experience with food! I'm an Australian who moved to South Korea. My skin has improved soooo much!! My skin is now so smooth and soft now!! I didn't think Australian food was that bad before I left Australia. Now I realise that it's not so good. I knew Australian food quality had really taken a dive over the last 30 years, but it really brings it home when you see your skin improve so remarkably over the space of only a year or so by simply living and eating in another country, let alone may years. Now I know why Korean people have such beautiful flawless skin!! As much as they are famous for surgeries etc, its the Korean FOOD that makes their skin so smooth and soft!!
Never thought it might be due to the sun exposure, from the UV rays from the hole in the Ozone layer? Hence why you're now further away from it?
@@Manawatu_Al2844 I didn't spend much time in the sun, spending most of my time indoors (my time outdoors mostly consisted of walking a couple meters to my car - in fact I lacked vitamin D for a while without realising it), and my skin improved hugely over the space of a year. It wasn't the sun.
If you actually move to another country, you might discover better food too. Australian food has lowered in quality over the years.
While I've been to France and Europe what I love about Australia is the culturally FRESH and FRIENDLY approach to life and living. Australia is becoming a way-shower to the world.
I took my kids to France last year and the big shock for them was the amount of people smoking in the street compared to Australia and cigarette butts like you point out. But also a lot more dog poo than we were expecting, we’re so used to people cleaning it up in Aus in a city.
Loved this! Totally agree with the pleasure of walking everywhere or quick trips on metro, finding markets or historical sites , so good. And then there’s the food and wine, this was my experience so long ago but still fresh in my mind, some 30 years later!
I absolutely loved reading your comment. Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I'm glad everything was well understood and I hope everyone understood how much I love Australia as well. 😊
Merci Helena.
As an Aussie my only time in Paris was in 2009 and I loved it. While I saw most of the main attractions I am planning to go back to see Versailles and Mont Saint Michel to mention a few. Have a great trip. 😎
Thank you so much for sharing! Versailles and Mont Saint Michel are definitely a must! I'm planning on going there in August. Mont saint michel is just magical, I loved it as a child. Thank you again. Wish you the best for your future trips. ✨️😊
@@HELENAMNR. Thanks Helena … you take care. 😎
As an Australian who is considering moving to France, I'm glad that I came across this video
Thank you very much for sharing this. I'm glad if it gave you some sort of an insight 😇
I remember the first time I stepped out of Gare du Nord and the beauty of Paris took my breath away. I was shocked that the French people were so much friendlier and helpful than people say. Can’t wait to visit again (about my 4th) as we like taking our time and as you say the train system is fabulous. Just wish Australia was a few hours closer 🤦🏼♀️
So lovely to read the positives of this extraordinary city with a like-minded Aussie. I do hope you return soon ( yes the distance is a pain). May I suggest, if you’ve not been to The Luberon, do go on your next journey. Gorgeous doesn’t come close!
@@carolcox302 Thank you. We have done that area . Fabulous. Next trip I’d like to do Brittany, down the west coast including Bordeaux area through the Pyrenees into Spain. (Only done the Barcelona area). ps the face of French people when I try to say a few words in my strong Australian accent 😂
@@allanahquinn7277 Blast. Started a reply and promptly lost it. Laughed at the facial expression of the French trying to comprehend your Oz accented French😂 I’m sure they don’t mind at all, and appreciate the effort made where so many tourists don’t even try. I loved Brittany, but like so many places, it has changed and I’m reliably informed the wonderful creperies so typical of the area have all but disappeared replaced by “cheap eats”. The vulgarisation of the world. I recall Dinan a delightful village. Loved the architecture and the lace curtains. No doubt you will pass through the Dordogne en-route to Spain. A detour worth taking is to the tiny village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie.
Hope you do it all safely and happily.
Thank you much for sharing. I'm also so happy you have had such a positive experience. Not all French people are rude and unfriendly, thankfully. 😇 sometimes it's just a matter of being at the wrong place at the wrong time...
There is so much to see in France. The Brittany region is absolutely stunning, one of my favourites, specially food wise. I also LOVE Provence. It is very special. 🥰🌞
I live in Sydney and Paris is my favourite destination, and I think this is such a fair assessment! I miss the produce, the Metro/RER, the long days, the architecture and the easy access to culture there. But I also appreciate what we have here, especially the harbour, the bright light and the wide open spaces (even quite near the city). Wish I could live half here and half there 😅
I only disagreed on two points, and maybe that’s more to do with where I live in Sydney? Because I don’t find Paris more expensive than here, and I find the Parisiennes to be friendlier than Sydneysiders ❤
I’m Australian. I had the opportunity to travel to France for a very brief few days (2 days in Lyon, and 3 in Paris) back in 2005. Not nearly long enough. Most of the time i was there, I just spent walking around appreciating the sights. Those cities were beautiful and so picturesque. Every angle was like a postcard, and you may disagree, but I did see a lot of people who fit the stereotypical images of French people, but that was really nice as it rang true with the presentation of France we see in other countries.
I agree with most of the points you made. Although there are a couple that I wanted to comment on:
1. Agree with you about the cleanliness aspect - The Champs Élysées was so clean to walk about on, but go a block or two in either direction and there was so much dog poop squashed and drying on the footpaths (and yes, gum) that you had to weave around to avoid treading in it. It was unbelievable for such an important Global city.
2. I understand that in Europe, the higher latitude gives longer days through the summer. In Australia, the daylight hours (at least at Sydney’s latitude) range between around 7.30am to 4.30pm in the depths of winter, and 5.30am to 8.30pm at the height of summer - That’s inclusive of twilight, and of course Daylight Savings time. It will not be pitch black at 7pm (as you suggested) anytime between November through to March.
3. The rudeness of the French is a world renowned stereotype, which I had prepared myself for. However I found the opposite to be true. I met so many French people who went out of their way to assist me. They were so friendly and polite. Perhaps because i was clearly a tourist, but nevertheless I was greatly impressed by the good nature of the French back on that trip.
Anyway, thanks for the video - I really enjoyed it. I wish you great joy and happiness as you reconnect with your beautiful homeland.
I’ve just come back after living three months in France - Paris and many towns outside. I speak some but poor French and must have spoken to several hundred people - I found one rude person. If tourist just don’t go up to people and expect them to immediately click into the English language it will be fine and many will appreciate you trying to speak their language. Many will speak English especially in Paris in the tourist industry but outside of that many don’t speak English or are embarrassed that they don’t speak it well. Say bonjour when you meet somebody and things will be fine.
@@11235but Yes exactly, I would always say “Excusez moi - Je ne parle Francais’ (Excuse me, I do not speak French). And they would be more than happy to help. The fact that you have paid them enough respect not to EXPECT them to know your language shows humility to the fact that you are guest in their country. A good rule of thumb no matter where you travel.
I loved you video. I was in Paris staying there in winter. I remember the short days, and as the winter continued, the overwhelming sense of depression in the subways as people jammed on trains in peak hours. It is a beautiful city but I don’t know if I’d replace my quality of life and the beach and sun for the life Paris has to offer.
Thank you very much Rick! I couldn't agree more, and I've experienced it myself as a child growing up.. I absolutely love Paris, but it wouldn't be where I'd want to live if I had to go back to France. I love the south. 😇
Bonjour Helena, Australia has fluoride in our drinking water, I don't think France does. So maybe that's why your skin has improved darlin'. Paris was bloody expensive. The Australian Dollar was worth 54 euro cents when I lived there between 2005-2006. I then moved to Antwerp, but rotated between Antwerp and Paris for several more years. The Tuileries garden was one of my favourite places, I remember being there one very hot summers day, high 30's. People were splashing around in the fountain and sun baking all around it. Then in the winter with not a leaf insight and a covering of snow and a bitterly cold wind. Paris is my favourite European city, and my favourite European country. It is so diverse in landscapes. I fell in love with the Ardèche region of France, I was there for three Tour de France. I lived in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on Rue Saint Dominique, close to the Eiffel Tower. The streets in the 7th arrondissement, were pressure washed every night back then, they were spotless. I remember being awaken in the middle of the night, when I looked out of my bedroom window I saw Tom Hanks, he and a large crew were filming a segment for the Dan Brown movie 'The Da Vinci Code'. When you talk about hours of daylight in Summer, I also remember the lack of daylight hours in the European winter. You have bought back so many wonderful memories. Merci beaucoup Helena.💙
Loved reading this. Thanks Laurence👍
Thank you so so much for this beautiful and insightful comment. You made me go back in time with you. That was very nice to read and imagine. You are very right, Ardèche is such a beautiful region. Have you ever been to Bretagne? And Provence. My two favourites, that's for sure. 😍 (although I absolutely adore Paris). And yes, I could probably do a whole other video about winter, it's another story 😄
Thank YOU. Living in the 7th must have been incredible. And witnessing a movie set, even more. I hope you will be back. 💛
@@HELENAMNR. The Brittany region is wonderful, all those Charming old villages, and port towns, so much great sea food in quaint little restaurants. All that Celtic history, Mont Saint-Michel, the ancient house built between two massive rock faces, (I cannot remember its name), Saint Malo, La Roche,
Arh Provence, (I loved saying 'Provence', (the only time I ever sounded French) the South East of France, yes I had some great times in that region, Marseille, Toulon the French riviera, all the old Roman stuff, the coastal Mountains, It's a really old region that dates back many thousands of years, so much to see, just like the other regions discussed.
How I love France. I had a long stay visa for France, but the government banned me from working in France so I had to move on. But I did see so much of this beautiful and amazingly old country.
So many memories, thanks for the reminders darlin'.
As an Aussie who lived overseas in a busy city that stayed open late, I came home and found things closing to be frustrating at first. But over time I reclaimed the understanding that shutting early and not having these long days working left so much time for family, hobbies and other activities. I think one of the prominent work/life stances here is that even if we love our work, we work to live and not live to work and so we have become accustomed to managing our lives around these narrow hours.
Id also say that during our summer here in WA specifically we don’t have daylight savings, but its bright from 5:30am - 8pmish throughout the summer and shoulder months which truly is long enough for most to get out and enjoy the most the day, its just winter that seems very short.
Enjoyed watching this, French architecture and culture is a stand out in Europe, so it was nice to experience your thoughts on your home city.
I have a feeling this lass never made it further south than Sydney, when she speaks of the length of the days! Anyhoo, I think it’s wonderful to have an opportunity to live in different countries, it really opens your eyes to the things you appreciate about your home country. It’s sweet to see her strolling though her old home base, still a bit in love with it.
It's always interesting to hear a foreigners opinion about Australia, because lately I've been watching Americans and English people's opinions on Australia and they spoke so highly of my country for obvious reasons 😅 but I'm glad I was finally able to hear a more of a grounded opinion about my country 😊 But yeah your definitely right about lack of public transport 🤣 compared to Europe 😅
Fascinating to hear about your reverse culture shocks. I'm glad you can see the good and bad about both countries. As for daylight, here in Melbourne it's still light until at least 8.30pm during summer, thanks to daylight saving and being further from the equator than Brisbane & Sydney. We also have pretty good 19th century architecture and culture (at least by Australian standards!) Maybe you should move down here 😊
Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I'm happy you understood where I was coming from. Yes, I am very sorry, I averaged a little bit the daylight saving in Australia because the country is so vast. I actually didn't know it could be bright that late if I'm being honest. I love Australia very much. There's so much to see. I should definitely give Melbourne another try. My time there was too short to experience it fully.. Thank you again. 😇
@@HELENAMNR. I'm from Melbourne too and I'd say in summer it can be light for quite a bit later than that even, until 9.30pm at least. Sunset is around 8.45 in mid summer, but there is a long twilight so you can still go for a walk and have good lighting after the official sunset time.
Come back to Aussie after Olympic Games France is a romantic country we love the history it brings that’s why we have tourists flocking to France in summer
I'm planning on coming back after the games indeed. I had forgotten about the tourists, but I was also one of them 😉
So happy to see your joy at returning home, but equally putting together a fair and balanced comparison of the pros and cons of both countries.
The only point of disagreement I have is that you talk about the joy of a late setting sun, but you neglect to mention the cold bleakness of winter as a counterpoint. This also impacts the mood of people making the unfriendliness worse at that time of year.
I miss the markets of Europe and Paris too. We have nothing like them here in Australia.
But there I will stop comparing because it is like comparing apples and armadillos. The differences are too great, but both are wonderful.
Very interesting contrast. It must be great to be back in France after so long, I can see the attraction. Daylight is very different because Paris is around 48 degrees latitude, while Hobart is 42. So to be in the equivalent area in the southern hemisphere, Paris would be in the Southern Ocean (very cold in winter).
The architectures in Paris is the best in the world, as a tourist (many times in Paris and around France) I walked for hours and was delighted. The food is outstanding and the baguettes and pastries memorable. Bookshops and all such a pleasure. However, I would not live in Paris way too crowded.
So many lovely regions in France to visit and enjoy. By the way days are very long during the Australien summer if you live in the south of the country it is light till 9pm or so.
It was very nice reading your perspective on it. I do agree that it's quite hard to beat the beauty of the architecture there. I do agree as well that is it way too crowded. It's very overwhelming quickly. Specially coming from Australia. But like you mentioned, there is so much more to see in France. So many incredibly stunning cities like Nice, Toulouse, Nantes, Trouville etc. So much to see. Thank you again for sharing. 😊
I really enjoyed watching this and your perspective about our differences which I always facinating. Merci beaucoup!
It's cleaned up all the time in Paris too but the population density is 20K+ people/ km² plus the 50 million tourists and yes that's the game changer. Tourists are the main source of waste in Paris. Cleaning crews pass several times a day but it's not enough to counter the so many people.
Good video , interesting to see another country from an old ozzy thats never been out of Australia.
As an old geezer , and ex trucky , I think you can find food places open in the big city’s at all hours if you know where to look.
But one thing about Australia, the place is so god damned big , you really could travel your whole life and not see everything, another thing about Australia is , even though it is one huge country , when you move from state to state, you find subtle differences in the way people speak , the accent, the way people interact , the life styles can be quite different too.
If you move from Melbourne to Queensland just have a chat to some one randomly like in a supermarket or something , it’s not a huge difference but it is noticeable.
As a Melburniun for most of my life that has been in every state except tassie( Tasmania , it’s on my bucket list 😊) and worked in WA for a while , the country really is a land of variety , even the weather, if you like 30 Celsius and mostly sunny all year around, it’s there , if like extremes of weather from beautiful to floods , drought , to nasty tropical weather , it’s there , if you like somewhere in the middle it’s there , alternatively you can go down south and have very much what you would expect having 4 normal seasons of the year , with bloody cold in winter to fairly warm or hot in summer , some would jokingly say Melbourne can be prone to 4 seasons in one day 😊 , and on the very odd occasion it probably can be , but I think generally those sayings are greatly over exaggerated .
On the architecture thing , yes we are pretty young in that area and are no match for some of the amazing architecture over the pond .
I’d love to see france , and some other countries, but I really don’t like planes , it was good to see you walk around France though and get a look at the place.
Thanks for sharing.
I’m Australian born and raised in Melbourne, I love my hometown but my time in Paris was special, absolutely love that city and everything about it, just truly amazing place
Hello, Thank you for sharing this! I'm glad you enjoyed my city despite its flaws. It's very good to hear it was special. I hope you got the chance to see more of France as well 😇
Thank you for taking us around lovely Paris. I agree that our architecture has become pretty dire; developers chasing money so beauty and taking time goes out the window. I adored the food in France. I look forward to the next video.
I'm very happy you enjoyed walking around Paris. You couldn't have said it better.. it's very unfortunate that money comes first in most instance.. but it's the sad reality.. thankfully the landscapes will remain breathtaking in Australia. 🌞
Hi Helena! Imagine a 7 year old's eyes lighting up and heart aglow when they first visit Disneyland, USA. I had that same experience on my first trip to Paris. It really is a city of great atmosphere and inspiration... one to embrace and overflow all the senses.
I'm an Aussie, and was based in Switzerland early '90s. Have been to Paris a few times. Glad l got to experience it during what I would now imagine to be better times.
I generally run screaming back to nature after spending 15 minutes in any city, but Paris has that certain charm and allure which reaches out and welcomes visitors.
Thanks for sharing this video ❤. I hope you will post more to show the local sights, art, culture, food, and street entertainment... also more travel tips for those yet to visit France.
Btw... have you been to Pigalle lately? Just wondering if it has retained its old charm on the hill.
Cheers! 🇦🇺❤🇫🇷
(🤫Don't mention submarines)
It's was the harsh sun in Australia that made your skin worse, even in winter aussie sun is so strong!
You are probably right, although I kinda believe it might be the water somehow. But the sun in Australia definitely doesn't help 🫣
@@HELENAMNR. Actually, sunlight on the skin is great for pimples...I suggest you take Beta carotene or a daily dose of vitamin A 5000mg - just make sure you put on a lot of sunblock. My girlfriend is French. It makes me nervous that she won't want to settle here. It's a huge risk for me....
@@HELENAMNR.yes the water has chemicals added that affect us
16:37 as an Aussie I am good from 3 deg C to 40 deg C . It can get higher or lower but I don't complain.
I love those beautiful old stone buildings
Love them so much as well!
Big difference between france and Paris .
The French Mediterranean to the northern cities to the vast wild interior.
Most big cities have problems but Sidney is definitely clean almost as if it was designed to be clean like Canadian cities .
I think the French Mediterranean is probably one of the nicest place on earth and I’m talking about the small villages away from big centres especially western med .
My opinion only and to each their own .
Great video - very interesting to hear your perspective! I’m Aussie (Syd) and just got back from a week in Paris. Unfortunately, out of all the places we went on our trip, I think it was our least favourite 🙁 We found Paris to be dirty, smelly (all the smoking!), unsafe and so insanely expensive! We also found the public transport really difficult and hard to get tickets. And despite booking for every single tourist attraction, we still had to queue for 1-2 hours for security checks! But we did love the beautiful history and architecture that you mentioned, and we did eat some yummy food (like the best croissant ever!). And the extra daylight hours was great. Definitely still thankful that we got to go, but not sure I’d go back anytime soon. It did however make me appreciate my country even more! 😊
Thank you so much for sharing this with me. It was very interesting to hear, although I'm sorry to didn't get the best time. However, I'm glad you were able to appreciate what was there to be enjoyed 😁 I would recommend you going again if ever get the chance, there is so much to see. And I find it interesting that public transport was difficult to navigate, I ve always thought that it was actually very well explained (regardless of the Language you speak). It's number and colour coded for most of it. But I can understand that I times you need to know the direction of the metro line otherwise might end up somewhere completely opposite.. 😞 will always love Australia.
I always see rubbish every where in Melbourne, including public transport Melbourne cbd stinks of urine. This is coming from someone who was born in Melbourne. I went to France for the first time last year and im obsessed.
I remember France closes down for a few hours in the middle of the day just as I wanted lunch and I couldnt find anywhere to have a hot breakfast. But anyway, as a European born Aussie I totally resonate with your reverse culture shocks :-)
Thank you first time viewing from Aussie France has so much history and older country we are still having infant history I like living. Here so much space but country’s like yours we go to experience and take the best from you and learn hopefully for the better future
"Infant history" 😄 I guess it kinda is when you compare to centuries. But Australia still has so much to offer. I love it as it is as well, but things will take time. I'm glad you enjoyed France. 😊
A good balanced account of the differences. I’ve lived for six months in France over three trips and many decades in Australia. Unsurprisingly both countries have advantages and disadvantages.
Merci bien pour cette video Helena!
With regards to the daylight, remember that Sydney and Brisbane are quite east for its time zone, which means on average earlier sunrises and earlier sunsets every day. France, as well as Spain, Netherlands and Belgium are quite west for its time zone, which means on average later sunrises and later sunsets. One could argue that these countries should go to the British time zone. In Europe, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary are quite easterly for its time zone. Back in Oz, Melbourne is more on the westerly side. Early to bed early to rise culture isn't as strong in Melbourne as in Sydney; but in return we get longer summer twilights, just like Paris.
I live in Melbourne (from Perth) and can tell you people often board the train before you have a chance to get out. One of my pet peeves.
Omg I couldn't agree more 😔
Excellent and informative video. Ty! Something I found shocking when I visited Paris a few years ago was the graffiti on the monuments. I was absolutely shocked. It seemed so disrespectful to such a beautiful city.
Yes, absolutely it is disrespectful.. thank you so much for your feedback and taking the time to share your opinion. 🙏
❤ Great information.
Glad you think so! 🙏
Love your honesty. And seeing my old hunting ground of rue de Rivoli ! There used to be so many spots in Melbourne that felt French.
Thank you, I really appreciate 😇 I have heard that a lot, I'd probably need to go back because I didn't really sense it when I visited. But I also wasn't there long enough for it..
Cool vid there, doing your comparison between Oz and Paris. A lot of things you said echoed with me too, though I only visited Australia. There's nothing like UA-cam to sharpen the observational skills! Bienvenue en France - j'espère que garderas un regard positif sur le pays, tout en remarquant ses quelques lacunes...
Thank you Aida for your feedback. That was very interesting for me to read. I promise that i have kept a positive outlook overall. I've just always been very honest and as fair as I can be, some facts are just facts 🤷 😁 thank you again.
I’m Australian and a Francophile. Last in Paris June last year, and, contrary to many opinions, found most people polite, helpful and pleasant. I think the French have a very old fashioned code of manners, misinterpreted as rudeness. Sadly, my French is rather limited but I find “Bonjour” can be sufficient for friendly assistance. Such a joy to walk around Paris with you, revisiting my favourite city. Oh yes, yes, those Hausmannian buildings, the colour of the stone. The light. The difference between the North and Southern Hemispheres.
The food. Aaaah. The cheeses. I visited rue Mouffetard, for the 4th or 5th time on a Sunday with the market full of such deliciousness, cafés heaving, musicians entertaining all, including dancing in a square next to the church to the accordionist whom I first encountered 17 years ago. Same song sheets handed out, singing along to the familiar Trenet, Piaf, Aznavour.
The one thing I loathe about the French, the complaining. Mon dieu! It never stops. So tiresome. Had the good fortune late last year to voyage on a French ship. Mostly Oz passengers, and 8 French who kept to themselves, made no attempt to mingle and were disliked by the French crew! Highly amused by the fact that the French don’t like the French😁
Gawd, didn’t intend for this to be a novelette, so I shall attempt to wind up now. Hang on, just thought of something. Was in the Tuileries on my penultimate day, near a couple embracing. Thought they were two girls, but discovered they were pretty long haired boys. The shocked expressions from numerous passersby astounded me. Clearly homophobia is alive and well there. No one would give a bugger in Sydney. Here endeth the lesson.🇦🇺🇫🇷
People were more likely shocked because they were "on the way" not because they were two boys. The Tuileries is a passage way with many tourists by the way. Kissing in some places and context is fine and nobody cares even for same sex people, but in the middle of a busy passage is just weird and can be a nuisance depending on where they were standing.
@@puccaland They were seated, as was I.
@@carolcox302 Do you mean the garden or the arcade? If that's the galerie that's what I meant by passage way. Although you have terraces there it's not an appropriate location to kiss, apparently for a long time since so many passerby had the time to see them. Neither is the garden but there is more space and they don't have to be on too many "people's face".
Next time if you look carefully you'll see that unless they are tourists trying to enact the "city if love" caricature, or people who aren't very respectful of the people around them, you don't see couples kissing passionately in busy places. Because 1 that's bad manners by standard French etiquette, 2 that's considered a nuisance for the others around.
Usually couples either kiss quickly and nothing too passionate or they do it where and when there aren't too many people around.
People who don't respect that will for sure get the weird look.
@@puccaland Garden. Enough of this, don’t you think?
@@carolcox302 Enough of what? Of not understanding a context then making broad conclusions out of isolated anecdotes? That won't stop I am afraid.
Nice video, agree french food is incredible
Am Australian but so want to live in France. Too old now. Enjoy.
Boutique foods common in france would be expensive though as it would be anywhere, when you bring out the big supermarkets and processed foods while the quality goes down the prices do too.
So lovely to see another video from you.
You’ve given a great explanation of Paris. Your footage looks really nice too.
Did you film it with the new Sony camera?
Over 12K views. Your most popular video.
I'm at the beach planning a trip to the beach smoking some sand and looking forward to next beach holiday. France and europe are super nice. Australia is the best country on earth - don't change a thing. Fantastic government in Australia.
A nice video, thanks for walking around Paris! I returned back for a holiday to Melbourne (my home) after living a couple years in Paris, you hit the nail on the head for a lot of things I experienced.
- The daylight hours as well are much more appreciated here but that's because the winters are worse I think. Mid week catch up drink and a dinner is great in Spring and Summer. In Melbourne on week nights, we go to our suburban homes. Not as fun!
-The food quality and appreciation in France is incredible and one of my favorite things about living here. You notice a big difference in the food in Australia, reminds a bit of the United States
- Yep, the public transit. Although it is quite good in inner Melbourne, I always found myself waiting 7-15 mins. Even on the transilien and RER lines here, I always find myself on a train pretty quickly.
Sure, I miss my home city but I love France, it's a wonderful place to live
Obsessed with Paris! I live in Australia but really want to live in France, your vlog made me rethink this idea 😢❤
Point 1) In Australia, you have a choice between 'acceptible/mid-range' food quality and 'high-end/high quality' food for a higher price, usually in the same shop, or at least next door/on the same street. It's likely you were shopping exclusively at Coles and Woolworths instead of smaller 'Providore' type stores with far higher quality food options, and you were likely shopping at Coles and Woolworths because your job didn't pay enough to shop exclusively for 'French-level' groceries - this video also gives the vibes that you were living in a slightly rural part of Australia, so your choices were limited. However, France also has mid-level grocery options just like Australia, it's just that you know how to avoid them in France - perhaps you simply didn't have that knowledge while living in Australia. As for your comments on freshness, the vast majority of Australia's food is sourced locally and is incredibly fresh, unlike large swathes of Europe where two thirds of your food stocks are shipped from entirely different continents such as South America as they just do not grow those foods in high enough quantities in Europe to stock your shelves reliably.
Point 2) As for your comments on the comparitive expensiveness of France versus Australia, well, the 2023 Food Security Index puts Australia as having the world's cheapest food once local salaries and local currency purchasing power are taken into consideration. France isn't even in the top 10, so yeah, French people are fucked if they want the high quality food you say is 'better' than in Australia.
Point 3) Your opinion around architectural differences between Australia and France is nothing more than subjective comparisons based on your own idea of architecture and nature's beauty. You may also want to remember that Australia was entirely dirt roads and shacks just 200 years ago... What Australia has been able to achieve architecurally and infrastructure-wise in just over 150 years is nothing short of incredible. We are a country full of world-leading cities, and we've done it in less time than Europe's infrastructure expansion timelines. Nowadays, Australia surpasses the vast majority of Europe with regard to city-level infrastructure.
Point 4) Your point comparing the Paris metro to any of Australia's metro lines is pointless, as the greater metropolitan area of Paris has 11.2 million people, which is almost half of Australia's entire population... It's not hard to have a train running down the same line every 180 seconds when you have many millions of people using the service. Though, having now checked my own train line here in Melbourne, it runs every 8-12 minutes during the week, and every 20 minutes (and 24hrs) on weekends, so, not bad for a city with only half the greater metropolitan population of Paris.
Point 5) As for needing a driver's licence - hmmm - it sounds like you were not primarily living in a larger Australian city, because if you were, you would not have needed a car. Or, you were living in the outer suburbs. And I've seen public transport maps of European major cities, and the public transport situation 40+ kilometers from Paris and Berlin and London is not really any better than it is when you're 40km from Melbourne and Sydney CBD's.
Point 6) Cleanliness, yeah, Australia is one of the cleanest societies in the world. The only places I know that are cleaner than Australian cities is Singapore and Tokyo... When we are children, we participate in 'Clean Up Australia Day', and all of the primary school children are given gloves and rubbish bags and supervised by teachers as they go around the block that surrounds their school, cleaning up ALL rubbish they can find, if there is any at all... This instills a sense of duty to your country's cleanliness, and even the most redneck bogans I know in Australia will scream at someone they catch littering... Oh, and cigarettes here cost $30-50 per packet, so hardly anyone smokes, and those who do, butt out their cigarettes into a designated cigarette bin that is separate from the normal bins to prevent binfires.
Point 7) Walking culture is almost as high in Melbourne and Sydney as it is in Paris. The only people in our major cities who still drive all live in the outer suburbs 30+ kilometers from the city centre. People living 30-40km from Paris would also likely have a car...
Point 8) As for the friendliness of everyday people, well, yeah, Australians are paid very well and we get almost French and German levels of paid holidays etc, as such, we are not high-strung and stressed out, so we have time to be friendly. The French (and MANY other central and western Europeans) are poorly paid and under a lot of stress to keep surviving everyday life, and this has the knock-on effect of making people sour. The French are no worse than the Germans in this regard, and when you go to London, it's the same story; a bunch of high-strung, stressed out people who have no time for chit-chat and curiosity about the people they meet. Related to this topic is the fact Europeans like to brag about their crazy amount of paid vacation time in their work contracts, but they hope you ignore the fact many of them are too poor to even leave the European continent for a vacation. The Germans even have a word for this called "Balkonien". The only vacationing Europeans you see in North America and Australia are the middle-class (and richer) Europeans with highly respected university degrees and well-paid jobs, whereas even a cleaner in Australia can afford to travel to Europe once a year for a month-long vacation. It means that a WAAAAY larger portion of the Australian population can chill the fk out, compared to that of the Europeans like the French.
Point 9) Late opening hours in France is because the shop owner is able to afford the wages of their staff for far longer opening hours due to the fact French wages for a retail or hospitality worker are absolutely shit compared to Australia, where we pay people $23hr MINIMUM wage, and likely more than that if they're over 21 and have a few extra skills. My sister works in a basic patisserie with NO cafe function (only takeaway coffee) and they pay her $28hr. So yeah, owning a shop/restaurant in Australia is expensive as we pay our people a LIVING WAGE, unlike in France (or most of Europe, with Switzerland being the only exception). This opinion from you, by the way, is even more evidence that you didn't live in Melbourne or Sydney, because at least in Melbourne, our cafes and restaurants are open often until close to midnight, and our kebab joints are open until WELL after midnight.
Point 10) AHA!! The fact you said it's pitch black at 7pm almost all year round tells me you lived in Queenland, one of the LEAST culturally diverse and least exciting parts of Australia... Great weather, and that's it. Nooooooow a lot of the above points you've raised make sense - Because you lived in the (objectively) shit part of Australia if you value European-style living. If you were in Melbourne, our summer evening sunlight lasts until almost 10pm, our restaurants are open SUPER late, the food is off the charts incredible, there's 100 European languages being spoken around you as you walk the streets, the public transport runs until very late and quote often. Blah blah blah, you know the rest as it's highlighted in the above 9 points...
I live within 20kms of Melbourne CBD and almost everyone drives where i live.
Maybe there's a couple of pockets in the inner north where not many people drive but most people in most suburbs of Melbourne do. (Unfortunately many drive those huge SUVs.)
@@ramblyk1 I live in Elwood near the beach and don't have any trams or trains nearby, just buses. Despite this, I still see no need to own a car.
If you live about 20km from the Melbourne CBD, the experience varies greatly depending on the direction. To the north in a straight line, you're almost in Epping; to the west in a straight line, you're well past Laverton. However, 20km to the east or southeast keeps you in the thick of suburbia, surrounded by public transport options. This is because the majority of Melbourne's population resides in the eastern and southeastern parts of the city.
Whenever I've heard people say "ohhh, I live too far from the city to get PT", I then look at their address and find that the lazy fker is within a 15-minute walk of a fucken train station.
The unfortunate reality is that EXACTLY like the septic tank yanks, many Australians would use their car just to check their letterbox at the end of their suburban driveway. I've lost count of the number of Aussies I've encountered who drive their car to the local corner store 500m down the road to buy milk...
:D I've spent too little time in France. I'd love to spend more. What a wonderful country and culture.
I went back to Greece from Sydney last year and your spot on about everything,but I too was shocked with prices, unbelievably expensive at supermarkets and general food!❤❤🇦🇺🇬🇷🇦🇺🇬🇷🇦🇺🇬🇷🌹
Thank you for sharing this. It's very interesting to hear. Greece looks incredible. I've only been to Rhodos, but it was 2 years ago. Prices there were a little bit more reasonable, but still, above what I expected as well. Take care 😁💙
Were you in Sydney? I believe it does close down early, but Melbourne has plenty of places open late. I’m coming to Paris (for the third time) in September. I can’t wait to have a proper baguette again!
Lovely video
Thank you for your video. However, you have made me appreciate Oz so much more 🥰
Great video. I agree with most of the things you have said except on 2 points. It does not get dark at 6pm all year round, in summer it is light until about 8.30pm in Melbourne. Also all food places are not shut early, you can easily get a full meal late in the evenings and even up to about 4am. Admittedly, you'll have to know the areas to look. I found that the breads in France is more than a class above what you get in Australia, absolutely fantastic!!
I didn't know daytime was so short in Australia since it has this image of perpetual sunlight. In Summer in Paris it is light until 10 pm.
Are the short days a problem for the crops or their quality in Australia?
@@puccaland Sunrise is about 6am in summer. Not a problem for crops. Australia produces a lot of crops. In winter sunrise is about 7.30am and sunset about 5.30pm in Melbourne.
@@larsgibbon3327 OK thanks. I asked because Sweden gets 24h sunlight part of the Summer and they produce very high quality crops, for instance one of the best wheat in the world, and they get huge vegetables, usually to be seen only around active ash volcanos. While Sweden has an image of long winters and cold. When I asked why they explained it's because of the extra sun they get despite the extra dark they also get in Winter. 6 am to 6 pm is quite short, that's the normal thing in winter overhere. But maybe the UV light is stronger in Australia.
Both a pleasure and a painful experience to see beautiful Paris. I lived and studied in France and still miss it immensely! Un jour bientot ma belle France!! 🥰
13:03 A bloke today he was on crutches . I stood aside and let him pass. It is what we do.
Re: the late sunlight: It reminds me of a trip to New Zealand in the summer. It was 10pm and still light outside, it was very disorienting for me as someone from Sydney. I am used to using the Sun going down as my cue to eat dinner (I eat about 6pm like most Australians) and going to bed at 10.
You made me smile you have no idea. That was relatable!! I didn't even know it could get bright so late in NZ. But I guess it's a lot more south than Australia so it makes sense. Can you imagine, I'm currently in Sweden and the sun barely sets... 🫣
Summer in Melbourne is similar, helped a little by daylight saving, with sunset closer to 9pm.
I agree with most of what you said in this video. I’ve been to France, stayed in Paris & travelled through Spain & parts of Italy. The only point I question is the time the sun sets. In summer in Australia that time varies depending on where you live. The hot northern areas don’t have daylight savings,that would be too uncomfortable. Sydney NSW the sun sets at approx. 8pm., so not too early in comparison to Paris in summer.
I always enjoy my travels in Europe but really enjoy coming home to the less populated, open spaces & clean air of Australia ✌🏼
In summer at 6pm the sun is still out, so not sure why you said it's always dark in Australia at 6pm...If you need bread after 6pm, you just head to Coles or Woollies, they have their own bakery & the chocolate eclairs at Coles are just as nice as what I can get at a patisserie. When you arrive back in Sydney, head to Ladoree Patisserie - they have amazing croissants there. There's a French Restaurant at Balmain if you are missing French Food
Hello, I was saying 7pm in the video, and it was just a saying to say the sun sets early on average, I wasn't very accurate because Australia is so wide and it's difficult to speak for the whole country. But I do agree at 6pm is still bright in summer. But not at 10 or 11pm 😉 yes, supermarkets are opened late in Australia, but not shops and artisans. But I agree, you can head to the shop and buy some bread, just not as fresh. 😊
Australia is essentially a beer culture compared to France with its 1000 year history with beautiful architecture ad fantastic food there is absolutely no comparison
Ahaha, I mean, Australia is an incredible country as well, every country is unique. 😁
It's clean in Australia "even in Brisbane" 🤣
I know it wasn't meant like that but as someone who was born and lives in Brisbane again after spending my teenage years in Sydney I have to laugh.
Ahaha, no sorry, it was meant in any way. It was just cause I was thinking of the places I had been to, so I was like "even in Brisbane etc". 😄 it's my French way of saying things at times
11:15 In Australia I work every day to pay the bills. I don't get time to enjoy the Sunlight and freedom.
Interesting video. I’m a Sydney born Aussie who loves France!! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been, def over 10 times. I’m surprised by your comments about the cost. I was in Paris last June and didn’t find it that much more than Sydney prices. Granted we were doing groceries. Are you comparing it to what it used to be?
I'm Australian. I went to Paris for 4 days about 9 years ago (wow), and I really liked it. I remember going out to an "Australian" bar because it was Australia Day. I decided to speak English, and the bar wench decided she hated me and was a total bitch. Anyway I was able to get smokes, beer and a kebab at about 1am on a Wednesday, so yes I liked my time in Paris :D
Awesome video and agree with it all, the challenge is always a view of n=one and our own life experiences. My wife and I live in Sydney and are lucky to live on the harbour and visit Paris regularly (our favourite city), we want ultimately to split time between the two. Hausmann is a national treasure that many Parisians could never understand, the mandate on architecture is amazing, and no modern city anywhere will ever match it. Transport is an interesting one, because Sydney now with many new undergrounds is rapidly catching up, but the great "outdoors" of Australia requires you to be out of Sydney / Melbourne / Brisbane. Smoking is far less, and Australia is probably cleaner, I think that is purely a numbers thing, the Bakeries in Paris are to die for, you need to be lucky in Sydney to find a good Boulanger in Paris, you have to be unlucky to find a bad one. Hours of the day, sadly is a distance to the equator thing, certainly in Sydney and Melbourne you have light to after 8pm in summer (nearly 9 in Melbourne) but QLD and WA dont have summer time adjustment which is crazy, but it also means more light in winter. The trade off is warmer winters, but less ski fields...... Paris like London are truly unique cities, so comparing to Australia as a whole is tough. Comparing Nice to the Gold Coast for example both are very different to Paris. Great video, we are excited to be back in Paris in a little under 4 weeks for the Olympics, fingers cross it all goes well, we have our list of croissant and canke shops well planned.
The closest thing to Australian cities in France is actually outside of France (Luxembourg)
In Perth, in the height of Summer, the sun sets at 8pm (non-Daylight Saving) W.A.S.T.
Pitch black at 7pm ALL year round?? In Australia?
You’re kidding right 😂
You realise Australia is comparable to the size of Europe so sunrise and sunsets vary greatly.
Tip: those countries on or near to the equator have a 7am to 7pm day 12 months of the year. The further you get from the equator the more these times vary depending upon the seasons.
Did you move back permanently?
17:59 6am to 4pm Aussie slave. I don't get to enjoy life until I am 70.
enjoy life at 4.10pm
I liked your fair comparison. I wonder where you were living in Australia as daylight saving states have daylight until about 8:30pm in summer. Closer to 9pm in Tasmania.
The opening hours of businesses in Australia is severely affected by the high wages. A lot of business just cant afford to open later than 6-7pm but with Summer in Australia-it does stay daylight till 8:30pm so plenty to do.
Weeping Willows are a noxious weed in Australia 🦘🌏
It's something that really surprised me to hear. It's such a staple in Paris. 😁
Chiming in from Perth. We just came back from 6 weeks tripping around Europe by Train. The Euro Train network is amazing (although not cheap at all). We travelled France and enjoyed the smaller villages but boy or boy when get into the major cities like Geneva, Lyon and especially Paris everything is expensive and it is dirty & super busy. I can't understand with Paris being such an iconic tourist attraction why it is not kept clean. People don;t seem to care. Rubbish, cigarette buts, ripped garbage bags, chewing gum, bird & dog crap everywhere, it is such a shame. Tourist accomodation even midle line budget is not cheap. As you say if you lived and worked as a local your wages are low compared to Aust but your living costs are high and to buy property is super expensive especially if you wanted a house with garage and a yard you have to be wealthy otherwise your living in a tiny apartment with parking out on the street - no thanks
Yes!! Wow we definitely understood each other. That's exactly how I felt. Although I have to say that apartment living is very common in France, specially compared to Oz. And we like that life of convenience. But I agree, extremely expensive per square meter.. and you do need to be wealthy.. France is big, there are so many other areas that are stunning and a little bit more affordable. It all depends on what you value for your lifestyle. But I do with people cared more about keeping our country clean..
Australia only had Europeans occupying it for the last 200 years and we don’t have all your historical buildings but we have some that resemble the English buildings . I love Martin Place in Sydney because they have old styled buildings . We have kebab places near my house that are opened quite late Thanks for your lovely video .
p.s. Can’t help myself. The anti-smokers are going to come out of the woodwork, but as an ex-smoker of some 30 years, the one thing I miss in France is the smell of Gauloises!
Paris is way more expansive than elsewhere in France
I've lived in Brisbane since age 12 in 1968 and holidayed in France in 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2019. The first time Paris and Loire valley and the last three times mainly in the cote d'Azur. France is awesome for food, ancient buildings and beautiful countryside. You do need to watch for dog shit if you're pulling a wheelie travel bag.
6:17 You are the deer that cannot be detained. Good on you girl.
I've watched a few videos of people eating in Paris and it seems that that restaurant food there is cheaper and tastier than Australia. Honestly, restaurant food in Australia is really a hit or miss, but one thing is for sure, it's not cheap. Nothing worse than spending $20+ on a small and sloppily made burger for lunch...
I mean I do agree with this, sometimes you can find cheap "lunch deals" that we call "formule du midi". But it's not everywhere and it's certainly not always cheap. But again, quality is top notch so, I also can understand where the price comes from sometimes. 😊