Are We Happier in France? An Expat Explains

The latest news from the Bruni-Sarkozy here in Paris household is that the French might start officially measuring more than just the GDP, but will begin accounting for, well, happiness.

So I began thinking about how happy I am living in France. Well, we earn a lot less salary-wise, but my child is in a great public school, we have great health care, live near free parks, museums, and the pollution level is down. When we lived (briefly) in L.A. a few years ago, I also placed my daughter in a public school, supposedly one of the best in the city. But she would come home and say, "Mommy, I can't concentrate. The kids don't listen to the teacher and get up and make noise all the time". Our idea of fun went from a day at the City of Science la Villette in Paris to the latest news about High School Musical. There were no more architectural wonders, and a lot of strip malls.

In France we live with no television...ever. In L.A. there were not only televisions everywhere, there was relentless advertising. I could do my best to "control" the atmosphere, but the fact was, it was simply a lot more work to attain the same level of quality of life we have here in Paris. And we live here with much less, yet our days are full of history, good food, overlapping languages and cultures (as a ten year old my daughter studies not only French but Italian and English during school hours). I have little idea of what my friends here do for a living whereas in the US, the first thing people asked was "What do you do?".

When the financial crisis hit, it eventually reached France as well. But we were not frightened of losing our homes, schools, standard of living, health insurance. There was a cushion. And we pay high taxes for it. But life is frankly, pretty damn good. It reminds me more of the '70s when I grew up and nobody knew whose parents were rich or not...that hit in the '80s and '90s. In the 70s things seemed more relaxed.

Tonight we attended a birthday dinner for a 13-year-old neighborhood girl. Her parents made the dinner, from scratch, themselves, and adults and children mixed, drank some organic wine and juices and the most expensive present was a book on the Beatles. The birthday girl was thrilled to say the least. In LA, a 13 year old once received a Segway as a gift at a parry I attended. I grew up in Texas and was in high school in the '80s, and it was weird, people hired 747s to take seniors to New Orleans for a prom dinner, but even then we sort of knew that was an exaggeration. But hey, it was Texas.

Things definitely got out of hand. The rich became richer and the poor dropped off the map, (let us never forget those images and people of New Orleans). It ruined us as a country in some ways. Because we used to be the dream for people in France, and other places around the world. Now, we have the President who was to bring us Hope. But what we really need, is for him to lead the way is bringing us back home again to what America really is deep down.

So, yes, I would say I am happy living in France...very happy actually. But mostly what I would say, is that I am able to offer my daughter, and myself, a life here in France, that I once knew to be reality in America. Where is my country? Who would have thought I would find it far from "home"? We need to invest in ourselves and our nation again. Stop the bickering and complaining and get down to the hard work of recapturing the United States from greed and inequality. We are not about that.

Let's set our own happiness index in the U.S.A., and may it include not only "liberty and justice for all", but also a sense of solidarity. When we see that person who is out of work, or worried about how to feed their children , or educate them, let us know that, "There but for the grace of God go I". An America which is not united, and where we do not come together to help one another, is not the country is was meant to be.

 

Follow Vivian Norris de Montaigu on Twitter: www.twitter.com/vivigive

Comments

[calciati]

L.A. is not a good representative of the US.
Not sure crime is lower in France, many people just don't report it because they know the system will do nothing, in fact the police will likely tell you"...you can report it if you want, but we can't do anything".
There are good things about the best places to live in France, but there are dangerous public schools here too....
I pray that people in both countries wake up and spend more time and effort making things better rather than trying to get ahead just for themselves­..... United we stand, Divided we hang. As true now as in the past

[Holly Niemela]

Nice post. I've been living in France for 20 years. Since I left the states I never looked back. Living, working and raising a family here has been such a pleasure! Why? I feel a personal liberty and easiness here that I never felt in the USA. In France one is not judged (as much, let's say) by how much you make, what SUV or 4x4 you have, or what's going on in your personal life. The simple pleasures of life are valued and respected. We pay alot in taxes but look at what we got (healthcare, great public schools) and isn't one's health and that of one's family a big priority? I wonder why americans liken Obama's healthcare plan to big scary socialism??? I understand socialism is a dirty word in the states but here I have never questioned it nor thought of myself living in none other than a democratic society. France isn't perfect but I am sure as heck happy to be living here!

[Jolimont]

Life in France (4 years now) has been good for us, but adjusting was rough. Smaller house, smaller car, quiet life-style. Health care is FANTASTIC, public schools good, little crime, weather is lovely, good friends, it's a lot more satisfying overall. I am speechless when we visit the US to see how much money Americans require in the pursuit of things. Nobody needs all that stuff, I'd rather have peace of mind.

[knett54]

I've heard so many good things from expats about how good life is living in Canada, Australia, France and other European countries (e.g. Scandinavian countries) that have good social welfare system. It seems too good to be true and I asked my aunt who lived 6 years in austria and frequently visited france about her experience living in Europe and she told me Europe is as perfect as everyone says it is and she even doubts if the social welfare system will last. I admit life in the U.S is not as good as it used to be and this country faces many challenges but I still believe that we have a good system. I've visited my friends living in Nice last summer and got a taste of france, maybe it is not paris but I honestly could not live there. I loved the place but hated the people.

[research]

Holland is great, so is German, Sweden, Denmark, Spain....

[sonoffestus]

Excellent Post!

My wife and I found our American Dream in Canada. We have found the same lifestyle and living conditions you describe. We have both lived in Europe and have travelled the world. The US is not what it pretends to be.

I applaud you for the concern you have for your daughter. Her future will be well served by growing up overseas.

[Kuhlfrog]

I agree with most of what was said. I lived in France for 12 years, until 2004, was a single mom with 3 kids for about 6 of those. I couldn't afford to move back to the US when my kids were smaller...­I really relied on the healthcare, afterschool care and lunches charged on a sliding scale. Housing is much smaller than in the US but everyone else lives that way so you adjust. About the job market-- losing your job in France can be dramatic since the job security in the system leads to fewer jobs on the market. Definitely nice not to be defined by your job..on the other hand, in the job market, you are defined by the college you attended. Even with 30 years of career behind you, the college where you got your degree is still important. ...It is sadly often, who you are and not what you have accomplished that gets you ahead in France. I was lucky to have solid employment but I was also limited with a foreign degree (UC Berkeley and UT Austin) and not having local connections.
What do I miss the most? The school system! Taking time to cook, healthcare, pharamacies, not all those guns on the streets
What do I miss the least? The gloomy weather (I live in CA now), the court system that an American friend described as "there to protect the institutions, not the individual"

[MajorKong]

I've had the good fortune to spend a lot of time in France because of my job and I would seriously consider living there if the opportunity arose.

[weatherwaxx]

You're probably preaching to the choir, because the folks who need to hear this won't (can't?) even try to imagine that there are other and possibly better ways to live. The US has hit that point in its adolescence where it has to either grow up or fall apart. I'm hoping there are enough sane people left to keep the cart on the rails.

[Dosadi]

Great article. I lived in the UK during 2004 as an ex-pat. I was amazed at the truth I discovered about Europe. I never realized that I had been raised on lies until I saw for myself what it is to live in a country that is concerned about the lives of its citizens. The health care system in the UK beat what we have in the USA hands down. The way of life and the ability of the people to realax made me envious. Now I am back in the US and am thinking about leaving again. The racists have reared their ugly heads too far this time and it seems the mentally healthy people have no stomach for cleaning up the mess we are in. Our politicians are on a quest to guarantee every dollar we earn goes to some corporation. In Europe I discovered the people work to live while in the US we live to work. We messed up.

[Pavane]

Good post!

[SaltySaltillo]

I want to live in France!!! Where do I sign up?

[Kuhlfrog]

if you have French ancestry you might be able to become a citizen...­just need all the docs.
You could also live there if you can manage to get Irish citizenship since Ireland is part of the EU..
Ireland will accept Irish ancestry too, from what I hear

[TheBlackCat]

I have lived and traveled all over, but the longest I lived abroad was in the Netherlands- but my visa expired and I couldn't get it renewed. I experienced about everything you describe. I dind't know what almost anyone did for a living unless they were a store owner or bartender. It was considered rude to ask someone what they did for a living, because people just don't define themselves by their jobs or social class.

People didn't have as much money, but they also didn't have the financial stress that even middle class parents worry about here- paying for college, paying for health care, having to pay for a private school beause the public school is just no good.

There were no ghettos, and the infrastructure and public transportation was just amazing. Almost no litter, no potholes, no cracking streets. Buildings, parks, and streets just impecably maintained, even in non afluent neighborhoods. The trains were always spotless and right on time to the minute.

The quality of life was just unreal. It's not like the Netherlands is Utopia. It's not. But it still was at a level that made my husband say; "I didn't know that people could live so well."

[TheBlackCat]

Though my one big complaint- dog poop! They are great about picking up their garbage, but for whatever reason, those Nederlanders sure hate cleaning up after their dogs!

[weatherwaxx]

You walked around any parks in the US lately?

[violettefemme]

A very pertinent article, thank you.

My daughter graduates high school in June, 2012, and by September of 2012, I plan to be in France or the UK considering what area to make my new home. If I could take her there right now I would, but her father is a righty, so I have to wait, and hope that I can make up her education down the road, because it's truly shameful, what we call a public school education these days.

But I will be gone, am already making my plan, even though Obama won---he has no fight in him, and it is patently obvious that nothing here is really going to change in my lifetime..­..nor am I willing to wait for 3 years for health care, or a trigger.

I was raised a patriot, and the most patriotic thing I can now do is simply leave. So I am.

[hellifiknow]

I traveled to France for the first time this year and the difference in true quality of life was amazing. After a week of fabulous wine, cheese, great food, friends and I must admit, shopping, coming back to the U.S. was like returning to an alternate universe. I hope to try to recapture the simpler yet more human life I briefly experienced in France, but mass media and people's preoccupation with it make it challenging. But it's certainly worth trying for. Thank you for the article that reminded me what I need to prioritize­....

[ajwriter]

Agree 100%!