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> Don't forget that should you succeed you'd be regarded with jalousy and hatred. While the rest of your article may have some exaggerations, that's true and t
by guylhem 14y ago
> Don't forget that should you succeed you'd be regarded with jalousy and hatred.
While the rest of your article may have some exaggerations, that's true and that's what is shaping my decision. I can live with some insecurity, I can live with deadbeat companies trying to avoid paying their bills and laws preventing me from hiring - I'll just go solo and focus on foreign clients.
But if on top of that I'm hated and discriminated against (that's common when your name doesn't sound french) sorry but that's just too much.
BTW for the people who do not know France let me precise what the "military" mentioned by this poster is : there are squads or 3 to 5 soldiers, in full uniform with machine guns in their hand patrolling in some places. I don't know if it's supposed to make me feel safe or not. And you can be asked "your papers" by policemen for no reason that not looking exactly like what they expect. (I once took the train to work every day - when they did that for the 4th time straight, I just said I had forgotten them (I had!) and suggested they arrest me. they ducked out. That's just plain intimidation)
And BTW to those who say it's anecdotal evidence, just go live there! Try it for yourself. Vote with your feet. When it is in the media and your family is attacked and you see people being attacked too, all the while being hated for being successful maybe you'll sing a different tune.
I'm happy to be on the right side of the atlantic, in the FWI where making money is well regarded, people start business, and you generally feel safe. The population is quite diverse in the Caribbean, and - for now it's working just fine! There's not so much hate!
We certainly have unemployment and some stupid french laws to deal with, but with different tax brackets, and overall it's IHMHO not a bad choice.
PS: to those who downvote my original article, I tried to be factual and fully honest. You can hate the truth, but it remains the truth.
- rodelrod 14y agoI live there, just next to the train station that you describe as being in a war state, and while there are worrying incidents in the outskirts and suspicious neighbourhoods, center Paris is by far the safest city I've ever lived in, and the only one where my women friends feel safe enough to walk alone at 3am. If we're playing the anedoctal evidence game, the only place I was ever seriously threatened ("I will kill you", at gunpoint and with evil eyes) was in your beloved Caribbean, in the beautiful island of Saint Lucia.
- guylhem 14y agoPlease enlighten me. Were you living in the Caribbean, or just a tourist? What were you doing? By any chance, were you going to the friday night? (St Lucia is right next to my island - been there too, there is some unsafety but nothing too worrying) There is not so much hate- we have people from all shapes and colors, and all creeds too. But FYI, in some places, including in the FWI, you should know tourist are not very welcome. They look for the sun, booze, girls but also for trouble. They hold sightseeing tours on the most poverty stricken areas and are arrogant. Many of them see local as dummies from the 3rd world. So we don't really like them - personally I don't. We are not a bordello or a zoo, but just normal places were people work and live.
- rodelrod 14y agoI was in the docks, arriving by boat from another island. Like everyone in that boat, we were held up for many hours waiting to get our passport stamped and a bunch of young locals started harassing our girlfriends (we were 6). We were the last to leave the passport check because officers didn't know what to do with people from my country (apparently we were the first ones there, so the passports were held). When we got out, these guys were waiting for us in a pickup truck outside and I walked up to them to have a chat before things got out of control, and while we were still next to the customs office. It's an open world we're living in. I realize many tourists can be unpleasant and disrespectful, but hating tourists is just as stupid as hating immigrants. If you don't like their actions, put rules in place to avoid them.
- estebank 14y agoI'm wondering where else you have lived, just to correctly frame your comment.
- digitalengineer 14y agoI've met the militairy police in Paris as well. I was obviously not French (way too tall for the average French guy, can't talk the language and not wearing French-looking clothes). Intimidating bunch. One even flipped open his holster holding his pistol before talking to me in front of the subway. Couldn't understand a word he said and he wasn't really willing to talk English. Let me go on my way again. I kept thinking 'what are you going to do with a machine gun in a crowded subway? Shoot everybody?'
- deodorel 14y agoThe nerve on that police guy ... he wasn't willing to speak English ... like if he was in your beloved US of A everyone will be chatting around with him in French. Start learning a few foreign languages before snubbing around people for not speaking "your" language.
- digitalengineer 14y agoFunny. I talk Dutch, German, English, Frisian and a little -just a little- French. But if they talk really fast I can't understand.