English in France

No it isnt fair Jayne, and I think you will see I did state there are those taking advantage of the system...but I maintain, its better ot err on the side of care rather than not to care. As far as the troops are concerned, I worked in sight loss and that included many troops who lost their vision. There is a lot of discussion at the moment about the amount of compensation paid to injured soldiers. Sadly I would suggest its not so different here for troops unable to carry on as soldiers...the army in the Uk redeploy many soldiers who are too badly injured to be deployed.

The title says English in France, but that's a misnomer, surely that's the like classic Americanism where the UK is called England. Akin to the "Queen of England", of course there is no such person.

Anyway, nuff said, work beckons, happy days all!!

I agree with you Andrew 100%, time to bow out and get some work done. Happy days to all!!

Thats always been the case Jayne i'm afraid not the fault of the services they do look after their own as much as they can its the jumped up little office workers that if you dont tick the correct box 's you get nothing and an ex serviceman is very proud to have done his bit most dont harbour regrets just bitterness at their treatment by the establishment so many times have i heard they knew what they were getting into, yes they did but they stood between you and the enemy whoever he was but we digress i can only say its a subject close to my heart

Common name, went to school in London. No, the blog says English in France, not Welsh or...

As I have said elsewhere on the thread, those that complain how bad the UK is and have left may have had their own bad experiences of the UK which have influenced their opinion.

I live in the Isle of Man, have a few grumbles about the UK, mostly when I think the UK government is being harsh and unfair to us on the IoM, but by and large, I still love the UK and for that matter France where our holiday home is.

Surely it's not necessarily a case of one or the other country. Both have their good and bad points, but enjoy yourself in both, too much negativity on here just now.

Catharine, this thread is turning into not "Survive France Network", but "How I didn't Survive the UK".

Hey, the sun is shining even in the IoM this morning, so be happy, you're a long time dead!!

Well put Carol.

Yes Chris, but without knowing a person's circumstances, the person may be disabled, single mother/father etc etc etc, yet have a lot to contribute to the new country. I would agree if the person turned out to be a 'scrounger', but how are we to know.

Sorry, disagree Carol. Our own troops are stuck in a pokey flat on the 7th floor (true story, from East London) after losing limbs from the war. Somebody from abroad turning up with 6 kids - given large expensive house and we pay their rent and they don;t work. That's fair?

And Chris, yes, of course they do. In areas where foreigners take over areas its exactly the same. As I said its balance.

Well said Brian, from a happily fully integrated immigrant who sees the good and bad things of both countries and who pulled out of this and various other discussions for the reasons you've given. Life's too short, France doesn't work for everyone, it works better for me than the UK, still have problems like all French people but this is home. Good luck to those who wish/need to make a change or go elsewhere.

Brian, I think you are using the 'Scot' card a little much, you too are a Brit abroad like it or not. You are confusing English abroad with British abroad, which is a little unfair. It's not just the English who speak English in France and to blame it on the English is a little ungracious.

I am English born, raised there for 18 years, lived in Scotland for 6 years at University, now the Isle of Man working until retirement for the past 35 years.

It seems that a lot of folk on here who complain of there being too many 'English' in France and avoid them like the plague have there own hangups regarding the 'old country', perhaps why they moved away to France in the first place, so will not have many a good word to say about the UK.

So, in conclusion, surely we are all Europeans living and playing in one country or another, each having it's good and it's bad points, to which we have our own preferences.

PS - on a lighter note, Brian, did you say you had family in Dundee? My wife remembers a Brian Milne from her school days at Dundee High School?

I asked this yesterday and was told...having long lunches, meals together, having a coffee when you have things to do and not worrying about being late....nothing too difficult in that list...

Here, here very well put.

I am very aware the Brits are the only nationality that constantly harps on about other Brits...locally I hear rude comments from those expats sitting in cafe's about British tourists..how they look, how predictable etc...well those tourists are bringing money to the local businesses and they are very happy to have them. You dont hear French, Germans or Italians saying how awful their fellow nationals are....its ridiculous. Its like saying all of one nationality are awful or great.....

I would rather belong to a country that takes in those from abroad and provides if they need help, than leaving double amputees begging on the street, which you see plenty of in big cities in other European countries. Having been a nurse and social worker, and having worked in a homeless hostel I think the UK is a country with a morality, that is missing in many places. Of course there are plenty taking advantage, and its a case of weeding out those who dont deserve...but rather that, than leaving those truly in need out in the cold. Call me soft...I call it being human.

I am sorry but to me the first reason for our moving from the UK to France was not to see what I could get from the government here.

Just adding confirmation that perhaps Britain is not the only country that attracts those who think first of the benefits available or that it is not just johnny foreigner who thinks first of benefits - the Brits do it as well and overseas.

This discussion is getting pernickety and I find it rather sad. Why that is in that this began as ‘English in France’ three days ago and has turned into a lamentation or defence of everything French. I am excluded, of course, as a Scot. Thank heavens. But I do think some people must unravel the knots of resentment about everything they find wrong and think about what might be wrong about them. Was the decision to come here wrong? Were ambitions or expectations set too high? Now I am going to bore some or perhaps most of you to death by being scientific about this.

As a postgraduate my work began as a study of internal migration in Peru. That it underwent metamorphosis to a thesis on street children and youth does not remove from my background the amount of migration theory I had to look at. Beginning with Ravenstein in the 19th century through to Lee, Todaro and so on in the second half of the 20th century I had to look at the likes of equilibrium and push-pull models of migration, which basically see migration as the outcome of spatial differentials between the origin and destination areas. When those are seen in dichotomous terms, they are generally inconsistent with much more complex empirically observed migration patterns and also tend to undervalue migrants’ agency, insights and ambitions. Luckily, there have been attempts by human geographers, demographers, sociologists, anthropologists and, more recently, economists that go beyond concepts that assume there is a a linear, static link between migration and opportunity differentials, but which instead try to model how migration and broader processes are commonly related, and how the character of migration might change in the course of the process itself. That is to say that somebody thinks life will improve by moving to France. They do not speak French (or know little), consider much that does not conform with their way of seeing things as essentially wrong or foreign and cannot work out the dynamics of a different way of life sufficiently to change themselves to conform with that which is around them. The consequence is that the migration fails, in that after a while they return to their place of origin or remain where they are but are extremely unhappy and consistently at odds with all that surrounds them.

There should be simpler solutions to this than sitting here being bitter or angry as some people obviously are. Having left England you have made a choice that perhaps you are not living up to rather than it not living up to what you expected. Some of you are well enough off to sustain the present economic crisis which means a considerable loss is likely get shot of your house, which will probably mean you cannot afford to go home. Part of that process might mean waiting several years, if ever, before somebody buys your house. Others might be too badly off to begin with to consider going, thus are trapped here. In that period you will be unhappily here. However, I question whether that allows you, in the sociological sense, agency to criticise everything. It is wrong and you cannot possibly be. Yet other people are expressing their contentment which largely appears either to be ignored or be retorted by those who try to tell happy migrants why they should be miserable (like them). This is, consequently, no longer to the original point or an objective discussion and is probably simply creating an interrelationship between discontented people who are the ones who do not want to integrate. That creates a minority within the majority which is precisely the thing that those who decry immigration into their precious and perfect England often believe, except that it is not their case because it cannot be since they are English. It all becomes totally convoluted, nonsense and all objectivity here rendered impossible.

Absolutely Phil...the truth is, the Brits and other Europeans have regenerated a lot of old properties that were left to fall down; a lot of artisans have enjoyed the work doing up these properties; the town I live in would have many businesses go out of business if the foreigners moved out..our neighbours who own the two local spars are aware of how much the town has grown and become wealthy because of the incomers. If we all left.....France would not benefit and there are many people here...French people who would not have jobs.

I would say that that would seem fair enough Chris, the comment being 'to which she was entitled' as a European citizen?

And?