What do you NOT miss about the states?

I lived in Atlanta for a number of years that is why I am following this discussion and I would just like to say that only Americans could be so polite in their discussions…my biggest impression of Americans is that you are always so positive and friendly…and there Are issues but you Re generally great!

I was not responding to your post about gun violence, I posted to the original question, not as a response to anyone...there were people who claimed that they feel much safer in France so I could have been responding to that...

I didn't say anything about you being a Democrat or Republican and it makes zero difference to me! I was responding to your assertion that you don't consider yourself leftist because you liked Sarkozy better...I was merely pointing out that depending on whether or not you are talking leftist in France or leftist in the States there is a much different meaning...so while your appreciation of Sarkozy may but you firmly snuggled in with the Conservatives in France it most likely would not put you in with the people in the States who identify themselves as such.

I am not doing any selective interpretation...I am responding exactly to the words written.

Katherine,

Tell me how I should interpret your remark about Corsica when you used it as an answer to my comment about U.S. gun violence?

I agree I missed the fact that you consider tea bagger negative but not racist. Sorry. I meant it to be negative after the antics that group has put the country through.

What difference is it to you whether I am a Democrat or a Republican?

Selective interpretation is just that and you are as guilty as the next.

I never said anything about Corsica as an example of gun violence...I merely pointed out that France "owns" the murder capital of Europe...

As for the term tea bagger...I never said it was racist, just a very negative and honestly offensive term to call one's fellow Americans in response to being told that my post was "negative".

One final point, in American terms, Sarkozy is about as "conservative" or "right-leaning" as New York's Chris Gibson...you may not consider yourself leftist in FRANCE...but I'm guessing that you would be much more likely to vote for a candidate from the Democrat party in the States, right?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2013/02/21/national_journal_scorecard_who_is_the_most_liberal_republican_in_congress.html

The unofficial title of Most Liberal Republican went to New York's Chris Gibson, who turned in a more liberal voting record than ten Democrats.

I see there is a lot of selective reading and interpretation going on here...thus I doubt it is worth my time to continue to clarify or refute. So, I'll just go back to work! Good day all!

Catherine, I too feel that our past President Mr Sarkozy was doing a better job, even if he had the habit of getting involved in everything; the article you found on gun policies and deaths speaks for itself, in Corsica 17 people have died from gun since January 1st 2013.

I do not consider myself a leftist, in fact I think Sarkozy had a better handle on how to move France forward than Hollande.

I have not buried my head in sand concerning France’s problems, that wasn’t the question.

I hardly consider tea bagger a racist remark, the Tea Party deserves much worse after its $24 billion tantrum because the Affordable Care Act is a law upheld by the Supreme Court.

As for using Corsica as an example regarding gun control, try to wrap your brain around this:

http://www.cfr.org/society-and-culture/us-gun-policy-global-comparisons/p29735

By American standards Antibes-Juan les Pins isn't a big city never the less it has a population of 75 500 that swells to 220 000 in the summer!!!!

My initial response never stated or implied that the things I personally don't miss as "atrocious things that only exist in America" - not sure where you got that from. I was only responding to the discussion topic - no more, no less, as everyone else has done - end of discussion. Have a nice day!

I would not consider Antibes a big city, at least not by American standards, and I lived under a syndic there. But the point of my post was that in fact, in France there is a similar thing to an HOA and it is called a syndic.

Of course if you live in a single family home with no shared resources in the middle of nowhere in any country you are unlikely to find any type of HOA or a Syndic.

I've been living in France for over twenty years and my first reaction to Holly's question was the same as her's. I can't think of one thing that I dont miss about the States. My second reaction, after following this thread, was to see that the "States" that I miss doesn't exist anymore. My conclusion is that I will never be able to go back to the home that I remember and that I should get used to the idea that France is my home now.

I'm sorry, but when you say you don't miss the racism in the States you are implying that in fact it does not exist here...or is that too much of a jump in logic? What about the extreme racism in France against the Romas? I must assume that you think this is ok then (because it's not black/white)?

I find it interesting that you are so fluent and interact so regularly and yet don't seem to think that the French are racist at all...lucky you to have never seen or experienced this I suppose!

My post focused on negativity...huh? The people calling fellow Americans "tea baggers" is not negative? Really?

Focusing on the negatives you perceive in the States is exactly what you did when posting to this topic!! The fact that you responded to it with your list of "terrible and atrocious things that only exist in America and you are well-done to have rid yourself of by moving to France" is far more negative than anything I said.

Katherine, the syndic is mostly in big cities.

Yes, Katherine - unfortunately, racism (overt and covert) exists everywhere, no doubt about it, and I was referring to the black/white racial issues that exist in the States with regard to the topic discussion. To correct your judgmental way of thinking: I am a fluent speaker of French, having been a French teacher in the Atlanta area (a big city with a large black population). I also live (and worked) in a big city in France and interact with native French people of all races, color, and creed. Every country has its pros and cons - no place is perfect - it's about making the most of the positives. Too bad your post focused on negativity and judgment about posts in this discussion.

It's funny how so many people are incapable of sticking to the subject at hand. The topic here is about what we would not miss about the States, not what we don't like in France. I don't believe that the initial intention was to engage in the bashing of one country but rather to point out some of the silly things that we are glad to have left behind... There are obviously tons of things that we miss but there are a few that we are happy that we don't have to deal with anymore.

Good Lord!

Not sure what to even say to this!

I admit when I go I am always on vacation and don't have a chance to see or pay attention to such things!

I think I'll deal with lizards in this case and the homeowners associations too!

Oh, and the Frnch use their forks and knives religiously…but they also urinate anywhere in public without a second thought and let their dogs crap all over the sidewalks without picking it up…I guess I would personally rather bad table manners!
I’ve seen plenty of mothers holding their 2-10 year old child up in a public park while they defecated into the grass/bushes…this is not an “emergency” thing, this is a "it’s a punlic park and I am the public and therefore I should not be inconvienanced by having to find a public bathroom for my child to use!

(In all fairness, a public bathroom here is likely the closest thing to what you would find in a gay bar in New Orleans during Mardi Gras…minus some dude offering you free “coke”…and yes, I speak from experience.)

Ok…hate to be the bearer of more bad news but the French will actually stop their car in the middle of the street, throw on the hazards, exit the car and go into a shop if there is no parking immediatley available…they will also park ANYWHERE with no regard for whether it is illegal or blocking other people’s ingress/egress! The parking authority will rarely ever enforce any fo the laws and you can only call a tow truck if you are being blocked from exiting…e.g. If you come home from work with your exhausted & starving 2 year old and some idiot has blocked the entrance to our driveway and there is nowhere else to park within a .5km radius (even if you are willing to pay for it), you can’t call to have the car towed. It is likley that the police would take pity on you if you called and when they showed up 45-60 minutes later they might try to find the owner and have the car moved…but don’t count on it!

Yikssss!

I did not know that!

But here is another one: I will not miss how lazy we are in Florida as we circle the parking lot up to 10 times looking for the closest parking spot as people in Florida hate to walk! LOL

How about if you actually use your fork and knife at the table you are being looked at like you are not normal!

How about the lizards running around like flies? yiksss I will not miss that one for sure!

At first I was somewhat shocked at the number of people who commented that they wouldn’t miss what I would consider “conservative” or “Right-leaning” thoughts/ideas, but it really shoudln’t surprise me that people who would voluntarily move to France would be somehwat “leftist”.
To the lady who said she wouldn’t miss the black/white racism…I have to believe that you either live in a very remote part of France where there are no black people (and therefore no opportunity to ever experience it frist hand)and/or you don’t speak/understand the language well enough to grasp some of the very overt racism here (it’s quite common knowledge actually that the French are almost embarrassingly racist…and proud of it!)
I also wonder how much of these things people are saying are so terrible in the States (and therefore ostensibly do not exist in France) are because you can simply ignore it so much more easily when you are not a native speaker and don’t interact on a daiy basis with a lot of native French people? For example if you retire here and aren’t enterng an office daily and/or entering into commerce situations daily with the French people, one could be very “insulated” from so much of the daily thoughts/feelings/ideals of those native French people around you.
Interesting tidbit…Corsica (France) is the murder capital of the EU!
Also, the traffic where I live/work is worse than most big cities in the States…45 minutes to travel 8 km is commonplace…!
Just some of my observaions of the conversation…