I wanted to share with you this interview I had with Julie R. Butler this past winter about my life in France published in the magazine Escape from America. She and her colleagues have done a lot of research of Americans who have moved abroad. There is a lot of invaluable information about the current situation around the world, how to make the move, fit in with the locals and tap into the expat community. They even tell how to buy property and enroll your kids in school. Julie herself is an excellent writer who has documented her own experience in South America and is the author of several insightful guidebooks. Please check them out. They are well worth the read.
Expats Living in France
As one of the largest countries in Europe, France features a rich and diverse history, culture, and geography. While the French are famously defensive about maintaining their “French identity,” it is not at all singular. Influences range from Ionic Greek in what is today Marseilles; to Celtic rein over ancient Gaul; to Roman conquest of southern France and the eventual spreading of Roman cultural influences throughout the country; to incursions by various Germanic tribes, most notably the Franks, from east of the Rhine; to Celtic Briton settlement of Brittany in the northwest. Figures such as Charlemagne, Joan of Arc, Cardinal Richelieu, The Sun King Louis XIV, and Napoleon Bonaparte stand as icons of a storied French history, and the Eiffel Tower stands out among the world’s most recognizable symbols, representing all of the vibrancy and romance of Paris, the City of Lights.
The geography of France holds as much diversity as the culture does. The posh Riviera in the south, the stark limestone cliffs of Normandy in the north, and the lovely Atlantic beaches of the southwestern coast offer beach-going experiences that seem worlds apart. In the southeast, the Alps and the Massif Central mountain ranges are cut through by the Rhone River Valley. Whereas this river flows west out of Switzerland and then south to the Mediterranean, the Seine, the Loire, and the Garonne Rivers feed the rich agricultural landscapes throughout the rest of France, with the different regions producing the many varieties of wines, cheeses, and other gastronomical wonders that enrich the refined French palate. In the southwest, the Pyrenees divide France from Spain, while the northeast is an economic and cultural crossroads with strong German influences as well as connections with Belgium and Luxembourg.
Metz, Lorraine, Northeastern France
The region of Lorraine is in the northeast, with the city of Metz as its administrative capital. This city’s history dates back 3,000 years. Julius Cesar identified it as Divodurum, the walled fortress that served as the capital of the Celtic tribe known as the Mediomatrici of Gaul. It became a major center of wealth and power under Roman occupation, then of the Frankish Empire, followed by centuries of contention between what we would today call French and German influences.
Today’s Metz remains a major cultural and economic center, not only for Lorraine, but also for the SaarLorLux Euroregion, a transnational cooperative structure that takes advantage of the region’s centralized location, despite national boundaries. An ambitious urban renaissance is currently underway that includes a high-tech park specializing in information technology, an impressive new museum of modern and contemporary art that is a branch of the Pompidou Center in Paris, and high-speed rail connections. Metz is also known as The Green City due to the large amount of green space that has been designed into the city’s history-filled framework.
Rontay is an expat from the United States who has been living in Metz. He offers an interesting perspective of expat life in France with his thoughtful answers to this familiar set of questions about living abroad, and you can read more about his life in France at his blog, Floating in France.
J.R.B. Where did you come from originally?
I’m originally from Cincinnati, Ohio
J.R.B. Why did you choose to live in France?
Since childhood I had always dreamed about Europe, its history, its architecture, its beauty and the way of life here. I was interested pretty much in every country, but especially France, Spain and Italy. This led me to study abroad and take longer and longer trips. When I learned of an opportunity to teach in France for two years, I jumped at the opportunity. It was a dream come true for me, and I ended up staying. I’ve been here for twelve years now.
J.R.B. What do you like about it?
In America I developed an aversion to the rat race culture. I was a bit of a slave to my datebook. I had to think months in advance to book a lunch with a friend. In December I was planning July, and in July December. This is not to mention all the driving around every day. In France we don’t have this lifestyle. We live day to day. Life is more spontaneous. On a beautiful day people make time to have a croissant with coffee at a sidewalk café, take a walk in the park, meet friends, or go to an art exhibition. They take advantage of each moment and have an eye for detail. How to make tonight’s dinner party perfect? What wines to choose? What vegetable goes best with the roast? And never forget the dessert! Or the flowers for the center piece! So many examples come to mind. Savoir-faire is priceless. I’m not sure I could do without it now. It’s become a part of me.
J.R.B. What don’t you like about it?
Well, I think it’s the flipside of what I love about France. It’s a country entrenched in tradition. We live in such a beautiful place, are privileged to art, cuisine, philosophies and ideas centuries old that have withstood even terrible wars, cultural revolutions and social upheavals. By nature, France is resistant, even allergic to change. Being American I have a tendency to want to change things, evolve as a person, see a progression to something different, better, greater or at least step back and look at the big picture. This is all lacking in France. Sometimes I feel like I’m a prisoner of what I love about France. If I were from Los Angeles I might find life here so monotonous. Case in point, spending the day in Paris (two hours away) is exceptional here whereas for Americans it just might be a daily commute! Likewise, the goal of the weekly meeting at work is the meeting itself since everyone knows beforehand no issue will be addressed directly, let alone resolve J.R.B. What has been the most difficult aspect of life in France for you to adjust to?
One word: bureaucracy, a French word after all, translated literally as “busy work at a desk”. I would compare this to the scavenger hunt. It works like this: you are told by X person that for your wish/need to be granted you have to prepare a dossier and to submit it to a committee of experts (all of these French words too!). There are about ten items on the given list to include in your file, yet soon it becomes apparent that each of the items actually constitutes another dossier in itself. They can include affidavits with stamps and signatures that are impossible to come by. And all of that can be to do the most simple of things.
J.R.B. What has surprised you about France?
I suppose this could be an essay on its own. Every day there are marvelous little surprises reminding me how much I love France mixed sometimes with setbacks and crazy little issues that have to be solved yet prove surprisingly daunting. There would certainly be fewer of both in the United States. Or else the concerns would be different. One of the most surprising aspects of my life in France has been a resurgence of my American identity. This is shared among most expats I know. Before coming to France I never deeply identified with America and could certainly never have been confused with a patriot. Nowadays it’s different. I have dual nationality and am as Frenchified as I will ever get. My French is fluent and even French people can be surprised I wasn’t born here. Yet, I feel more American each day. Most of core of who I am is directly related to my origins. I have great pride in being American, and the joy I feel when I go back to Cincinnati is indescribable. Now really that is the biggest surprise of them all.
About the author: Julie R Butler is a traveler, blogger, writer, and editor who has authored several books, self-published as eBooks, including Nine Months In Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info). Julie presently lives in the sunny wine country of Argentina, where she co-edits and writes for Expat Daily News and Expat Daily News Latin America.
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