Foreign Perspectives

They say the grass is always greener but, of course, it never really is because sometimes there’s a whole lot of moss in amongst it.

Take for instance the off and on popularity of Brits moving to France….

The majority do it because they are trying to get away from the bad things in British life these days. They don’t like the rising crime and the bad schools and the too fast pace of life. So, they look towards France and it seems like the UK was maybe 30 years ago.

It is, but would you really have wanted to go back to the UK of 30 years ago?

Yes, there’s not that much crime in the areas in which Brits habitually move but then there’s not much crime in the UK countryside either. The schools are certainly more book based, but is that any better. Perhaps the best example for a Brit considering such a move is that the English teachers in France can barely speak English because of their own schooling ie it’s largely bookwork rather than the conversational skills which are mainly required.

The pace of life is certainly slower. However, the question to ask yourself is: can I stand waiting in a supermarket queue for 45 minutes every day when I’d not put up with that in Tesco?

It does suit some people for sure but many give up through frustration at the dreadfully slow pace of things like that supermarket queue (and 45 minutes is probably the minimum time if you do your shopping at 4pm as many families do).

So, yes, it is greener but don’t forget about the moss that you find amongst all that grass!