Is Paris/France as Great as it has been made out to be?

[strawberry milkshakes]

All I ever hear is people of all ages, having lived in the U.S. for a substantial amount of time, raving about how much they enjoy Paris and parts of France but is it really that much fire? It really seems too good to be true if you let the books, travelogues and magazines tell it.

I'd like to get some firsthand young people's accounts if possible, on the women, traveling, metro,food, goons, nightlife, etc

 

[gconquer]

my girl is dying to go there man. i would like to know too.

 

[cdunk]

In one word:  Yes.  Paris is like NYC except with much more culture and architecture.  It's awesome; from the food, to the museums, to the nightlife.  It's just a fun city to visit.  I was only there for three days and just went to the tourist spots and such, but it was definitely still amazing.

 

[yngsimba.sneakershoebox]

I'd like to go as well, so I'd like to here also 

But I did here it was pretty dirty over there.. not sure if true.

 

[scott frost]

Been to the south of France, enjoyed every minute of it.

 

[shoehead117]

Originally Posted by yngSIMBA

I'd like to go as well, so I'd like to here also 

But I did here it was pretty dirty over there.. not sure if true.

Yeah the city is a bit dirty and not as well kept as it in here in the U.S.


I wouldn't say its overrated (I thought London was vastly overrated and expensive) but its def a city you have to visit when you're in Europe. During peak season it tends to get overcrowded with tourist which sometimes isn't the greatest thing. The architecture is beautiful all over. Best time to visit the Eiffel tower is at night when all the lights come on.

Oh yeah, french people have bad body odor.

 

[calibeebee]

Far greater than you can even imagine. It is really all that people talk about it. Paris as a city can be really dirty, there are cats everywhere, and it can stink at times. but no other city in the world compares.

 

[ravagebx]

Nice place to visit, wouldn't want to live there. Plenty of wonderful things to see but the people suck. I'm not a fan of the food either.

 

[boys noize]

I spent four days in Paris during December 2010. I would move there in a heartbeat. I'll worry about learning French afterwards.

 

[noskey]

Originally Posted by calibeebee

Far greater than you can even imagine. It is really all that people talk about it. Paris as a city can be really dirty, there are cats everywhere, and it can stink at times. but no other city in the world compares.

All of this + the kids (like 10 yr olds) on the trains and busses are gully as %@#@. Tried robbing my grandmother in broad daylight like it's nothing

Never turn your back to them or your wallet's gone.

 

[timbo109]

Paris is an awesome city. It's expensive, but definitely worth it. There's a huge amount to see and experience as a tourist, but it's all very cultural so you don't feel like a sell-out tourist. Even though it's expensive, you don't feel like you're wasting your money on needless consumer items. Food is great but expensive.
Nightlife was decent, but I probably didn't fully experience.
Women were good, but nothing to phone home about i.e. they didn't seem much better than those here in NY. I'd go to Spain from what I hear for European women (never bee myself). Italy's quite nice as well.
Public transit in Paris is good, but watch out for pickpockets (srs) on the train. They are relentless.
Goons -Paris seemed to be lacking of goons at least in the city center where you'd be going. The way the urban planning worked out, the low-income "ghettoes" for lack of a better word are confined to the outskirts/surburbs of the city. If you're trying to avoid goons, avoid these areas (and vice versa). Crime and safety wise: pick pockets are a force to be reckoned with. Also, you will run into a fair amount of scammer types who prey on clear tourists. Ignore them and you'll be fine.
Any more specific question, I'd be happy to answer to the best of my abilities.

 

[Pathos]

Originally Posted by Scott Frost

Been to the south of France, enjoyed every minute of it.

i am salty

 

[oo the roc oo]

I spent a week in Paris.  I liked it, but my expectations were too high.

 

[jordanhead718212]

Heard the racism is OD and out in the open over there. I would still like to go.

 

[mk25tolife]

It's great, you just gotta experience it for yourself.

 

[nawlinsjunkie]

Originally Posted by JordanHead718212

Heard the racism is OD and out in the open over there. I would still like to go.

I saw MANY black dudes with fine @#$ white girls when I was there. They HATE English speakers though. Even though they know English, they won't respond to you on purpose because they're too proud of being French. It was a pain in the @#$ getting directions over there; the only people who typically helped us get around were American/British/Asian transplants who had lived there for a while. Also, I've never seen so many @#$@%@ cigarette butts on the streets in any other city I've been to, and this is including the slums of Calcutta.
The Metro is one of the best public transportation systems I've ever been on. Although they're extremely crowded, trains come literally every couple of minutes and are fast as hell. The Champs de Elysee is nice if you're into shopping and @#$%, and make sure to visit the Louvre. I went with my fam so I can't really speak on clubbing/bar hopping 

As for goons, somehow my hotel was located straight in the middle of the hood 

 there were tons of African dudes swarming the streets but besides trying to sell you @#$%, they were pretty nice. Alot friendlier than the typical Parisian 

Besides the language thing and the dirtiness, I still liked the city as a whole though. It's like NYC if NYC actually looked good (no hate intended, NYC is one of my favorite cities)

 

[ham city]

Originally Posted by Scott Frost

Been to the south of France, enjoyed every minute of it.

It was very very nice. I still remember riding along the Mediterranean going

the whole time.

I flew in and out of Paris but didn't get to spend anytime there unfortunately.

Barcelona is slightly ahead of Paris on my list of European cities I want to visit but they're definitely 1a/1b.

 

[thenewjs23]

Originally Posted by nawlinsjunkie

Originally Posted by JordanHead718212

Heard the racism is OD and out in the open over there. I would still like to go.

I saw MANY black dudes with fine @#$ white girls when I was there. They HATE English speakers though. Even though they know English, they won't respond to you on purpose because they're too proud of being French. It was a pain in the @#$ getting directions over there; the only people who typically helped us get around were American/British/Asian transplants who had lived there for a while. Also, I've never seen so many @#$@%@ cigarette butts on the streets in any other city I've been to, and this is including the slums of Calcutta.
The Metro is one of the best public transportation systems I've ever been on. Although they're extremely crowded, trains come literally every couple of minutes and are fast as hell. The Champs de Elysee is nice if you're into shopping and @#$%, and make sure to visit the Louvre. I went with my fam so I can't really speak on clubbing/bar hopping 

As for goons, somehow my hotel was located straight in the middle of the hood 

 there were tons of African dudes swarming the streets but besides trying to sell you @#$%, they were pretty nice. Alot friendlier than the typical Parisian 

During my time in the Navy and visiting foreign nations I learned that if you just a little of the local language ( customary greetings) it went a long way. To be honest I would purposely butcher them and the locals would laugh and tell me the right way to say it. They really appreciated the effort.

 

[danzinreallife]

Originally Posted by nawlinsjunkie

Originally Posted by JordanHead718212

Heard the racism is OD and out in the open over there. I would still like to go.

I saw MANY black dudes with fine @#$ white girls when I was there. [color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]They HATE English speakers though. Even though they know English, they won't respond to you on purpose because they're too proud of being French. It was a pain in the @#$ getting directions over there;[/color] the only people who typically helped us get around were American/British/Asian transplants who had lived there for a while. Also, I've never seen so many @#$@%@ cigarette butts on the streets in any other city I've been to, and this is including the slums of Calcutta.
The Metro is one of the best public transportation systems I've ever been on. Although they're extremely crowded, trains come literally every couple of minutes and are fast as hell. The Champs de Elysee is nice if you're into shopping and @#$%, and make sure to visit the Louvre. I went with my fam so I can't really speak on clubbing/bar hopping 

As for goons, somehow my hotel was located straight in the middle of the hood 

 there were tons of African dudes swarming the streets but besides trying to sell you @#$%, they were pretty nice. Alot friendlier than the typical Parisian 

Besides the language thing and the dirtiness, I still liked the city as a whole though. It's like NYC if NYC actually looked good (no hate intended, NYC is one of my favorite cities)

Was hoping that it wasn't still like this. My parents went just after I was born and the people were absolute #!+%@%+% to them. They couldn't even get a taxi because the driver wouldn't speak English or at least try to understand where they wanted to go. They still enjoyed it but if the people weren't like they were, they would have enjoyed it a whole hell of a lot more.

I'd still like to go, just for a day or two.

 

[nawlinsjunkie]

Originally Posted by thenewjs23

Originally Posted by nawlinsjunkie

Originally Posted by JordanHead718212

Heard the racism is OD and out in the open over there. I would still like to go.

I saw MANY black dudes with fine @#$ white girls when I was there. They HATE English speakers though. Even though they know English, they won't respond to you on purpose because they're too proud of being French. It was a pain in the @#$ getting directions over there; the only people who typically helped us get around were American/British/Asian transplants who had lived there for a while. Also, I've never seen so many @#$@%@ cigarette butts on the streets in any other city I've been to, and this is including the slums of Calcutta.
The Metro is one of the best public transportation systems I've ever been on. Although they're extremely crowded, trains come literally every couple of minutes and are fast as hell. The Champs de Elysee is nice if you're into shopping and @#$%, and make sure to visit the Louvre. I went with my fam so I can't really speak on clubbing/bar hopping 

As for goons, somehow my hotel was located straight in the middle of the hood 

 there were tons of African dudes swarming the streets but besides trying to sell you @#$%, they were pretty nice. Alot friendlier than the typical Parisian 

During my time in the Navy and visiting foreign nations I learned that if you just a little of the local language ( customary greetings) it went a long way. To be honest I would purposely butcher them and the locals would laugh and tell me the right way to say it. They really appreciated the effort.

Yea, it was just that I didn't even know one phrase of French. Still, in most countries people will at least try to help you even if they don't know English. An Indian dude who had lived there for some time said that the French are fluent in English, but just want to be a @#$% about it since they hate the British 

 

[nbirn2103]

I lived in Paris for 3 months. It was the most fun I've ever had in my life.

The language barrier can be too steep if you don't any french however.

 

[4318michaeljohnson4318]

you most smoke a lot of weed if you use the word fire

 

[buggz05]

Was going to make this exact thread today.

I want to move there for a couple months to a year and push some of my music, as well as try to get some film work.

My questions:

Cost of living? Easy to find work as an American?

Natural food markets and pricing.. For anybody that lives in Paris, what is the food market like? I'm really big on natural and organic food. I'm convinced I can't survive without it. Will this be a problem for me? Are farmers markets abundant?

Weather/seasons? What times of the year would be better to live there?

I'm seriously thinking about spending a very big portion of 2013 in Paris.

 

[nawlinsjunkie]

Originally Posted by DanzInRealLife

Originally Posted by nawlinsjunkie

Originally Posted by JordanHead718212

Heard the racism is OD and out in the open over there. I would still like to go.

I saw MANY black dudes with fine @#$ white girls when I was there. [color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]They HATE English speakers though. Even though they know English, they won't respond to you on purpose because they're too proud of being French. It was a pain in the @#$ getting directions over there;[/color] the only people who typically helped us get around were American/British/Asian transplants who had lived there for a while. Also, I've never seen so many @#$@%@ cigarette butts on the streets in any other city I've been to, and this is including the slums of Calcutta.
The Metro is one of the best public transportation systems I've ever been on. Although they're extremely crowded, trains come literally every couple of minutes and are fast as hell. The Champs de Elysee is nice if you're into shopping and @#$%, and make sure to visit the Louvre. I went with my fam so I can't really speak on clubbing/bar hopping 

As for goons, somehow my hotel was located straight in the middle of the hood 

 there were tons of African dudes swarming the streets but besides trying to sell you @#$%, they were pretty nice. Alot friendlier than the typical Parisian 

Besides the language thing and the dirtiness, I still liked the city as a whole though. It's like NYC if NYC actually looked good (no hate intended, NYC is one of my favorite cities)

Was hoping that it wasn't still like this. My parents went just after I was born and the people were absolute #!+%@%+% to them. They couldn't even get a taxi because the driver wouldn't speak English or at least try to understand where they wanted to go. They still enjoyed it but if the people weren't like they were, they would have enjoyed it a whole hell of a lot more.

I'd still like to go, just for a day or two.

Taxis weren't an issue when I went ($ talks 

) but finding places after getting off the Metro was a different story.

 

[caleekicks]

To whoever said London was wack...... theyre right. Overpriced as hell.

Paris on the other hand is worth every euro if spent outside the tourist traps.

Prepare to drop some big chip on dinner, but you won't regret it. Breakfast/Lunch on the other hand is cheap and tasty, as long as you stay away from the bourgeois.
PS: watch out for the gypsies in the parks. Those busters will make having a picnic a goddamn headache sometimes.