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I lived in France for about seven months last year. I was an English assistant in a small town in Southeast France, tucked between Provence and the Alpine foothills. Overall it was an amazing experience and the downsides were pretty minimal. For me, the hardest part was adapting to the rigid and sometimes unspoken rules that govern French life.L’administration (bureaucracy)The French state is a massive and occasionally benevolent octopus that reaches its tentacles into every aspect of human existence. Every state function is meticulously categorized and organized from the top down, yet the bureaucracy still manages to be comically inefficient.Of course this doesn’t have much effect on you if you’re on a tourist visa. But if you’re a citizen or permanent resident and work in France, dealing with the administration is a part-time job in and of itself. Doing anything requires stacks of documents and endless photocopies (for some reason the French state loves photocopies) sent by registered mail. The bureaucracy frequently loses or misplaces your file or rejects it for no reason, leaving you to wonder what on earth happened. Even though they may lose or burn your dossier, you are still responsible for getting your paperwork done on time and the civil servants have zero sympathy. And no, in most cases you cannot apply for your residency permit (or health insurance, or housing assistance) online. This fondness for paperwork extends into private sector tasks too, such as opening a bank account or getting a library card.In his American-in-Paris story Paris to the Moon, Adam Gopnik claims that dealing with the administration is the French equivalent of grueling gym workouts,“Every French man and woman is engaged in a constant entanglement with one ministry or another, and I have come to realize that these entanglements are what take the place of going to a gym where people actually work out. Three or four days a week you’re given something to do that is time-consuming, takes you out of yourself, is mildly painful, forces you into close proximity with strangers, and ends, usually, with a surprising rush of exhilaration: ‘Hey, I did it.’”I can definitely speak to that rush of exhilaration when you finally get a long-awaited document in the mail!Customer serviceContrary to popular opinion, customer service is not bad in France. Most employees take their jobs very seriously and are unfailingly polite. However, they are usually not willing to make any exceptions to rules or go “above and beyond” the way American service workers will. They do their job and nothing more, and do not particularly care if you are satisfied with their service or not. Also, service workers don’t usually consider it part of their job description to smile or make small talk (though sometimes they do at American companies like Starbucks and McDonalds).Last winter, I was returning home from a weekend in Spain and found that the only SNCF (train) kiosk at the airport was out of service. No problem, I thought, I’ll just ask the man at the ticket window to print it out for me. I explained the problem to him in my most polite French.Non, he shrugged, he couldn’t do anything but I should talk to the bus driver. So when I boarded the bus, I again explained about the broken kiosk and showed the driver my bus ticket on my phone.Non, he said disinterestedly, il faut payer (you have to pay). When I argued, he suggested I buy a ticket and contact SNCF for a refund later. I agreed, bought a ticket, and printed out my original ticket when we got to the train station. The next day I went in to my local train station, waited in line and once again told my story.Non, sniffed the woman behind the counter, it wasn’t her job to handle refunds for other stations and the person who did handle them wasn’t there. I started to get frustrated and asked her what I was supposed to do. She handed me a card with the SNCF website on it and called the next person in line.On the SNCF website, I had to fill out an application with a detailed description of the problem. I also had to scan and upload supporting documents. Altogether, I spend about an hour trying to get my 9 Euros back (it was a matter of principle, and also, I was a broke assistant). The SNCF representative who e-mailed me several weeks later was extremely courteous and gave me my money back without any apology.In France, an out-of-service kiosk was my problem. In the US, it would have been considered the company’s problem. That’s the difference between American and French customer service.Café food is kind of disappointing**Having heard all my life that French food is the best in the world, I was pretty let down by my meals in French cafés/brasseries. The food was often bland, portions small and prices high. More and more French restaurants use processed or packaged rather than fresh food. This is especially true in touristy areas, but I found it to be the case in local neighborhoods as well.A typical café plat du jour might be a small piece of roast chicken or chewy steak, mixed vegetables and a bit of artfully arranged carbohydrate (with salad before and dessert after, if you spring for the full menu). It’s a little higher quality than the food at a typical American family restaurant, but I often left feeling hungry.I remember going out to lunch with the English teachers on my first day of school. I was famished after my 3-hour train ride from Paris that morning. I ordered chicken biryani, expecting a fragrant and spicy dish with tons of rice, meat and vegetables. I got a small mound of rice shaped into a disk with a few pieces of unseasoned chicken set on top. I devoured it in three bites and found it tasteless and deeply unsatisfying. It cost 17 Euros.Also, you can’t just show up at a café and expect to be served anytime you please. Most places keep strict lunch and dinner hours (typically 12–2 pm for lunch and 7–9/10 pm for dinner). But that doesn’t mean you can turn up for lunch at 1:30 and expect to be fed—if they don’t have any free tables they will turn you away instead of having you wait. The advantage of this is when you do make it on time to get a table, you’re free to linger as long as you like. However, when visiting a new city you really have to be proactive about finding a place to eat lunch and getting there by 1 pm. Otherwise you’ll find yourself chowing down on kebabs or MacDo in the middle of the afternoon.**I do want to add that my complaint about French food only extends to midrange cafés and brasseries. The meals I was invited to in French homes were lovely. The French food I cooked myself (like tartiflette and pot au feu) was delicious. I love French cheese, baguettes, crepes, coffee and pastries. And I’m sure the food at really high-end French restaurants lives up to the hype, but I couldn’t afford to eat at those places as a poor assistant.**Villages and small towns are extremely sleepyYoung people usually migrate to big cities for university and then stay in the cities to work. Villages and smaller towns (like the one where I lived) are comprised mostly of families and retirees. They don’t have enough jobs to attract many young professionals. This is not a problem exclusive to France, of course, but it made it hard for me to meet French twentysomethings.Somewhat related—small towns tend to be dead after 5 or 6 pm, except perhaps in summertime. Families increasingly prefer to live in spacious and comfortable housing at the edge of town rather than cramped apartments in the centre-ville (old city center).Some things I expected to be downsides that were not:Anti-Americanism: Granted, I speak decent French, but I experienced almost zero anti-Americanism during my 7 months in France. And this was in late 2016/early 2017, right in the middle of the US Presidential election and the early months of the Trump administration (both of which were all over the French news). My students loved American music, movies, TV shows, fast food restaurants, clothing stores and even books. It’s pretty hard to be anti-American when you’re immersed in American culture.Grumpy/rude/unsmiling people: I was really surprised how frequently French people laugh, joke and smile. I never tried to hold in my American grin, and nobody minded. Also, people were usually quite willing to help with directions or other questions (yes, even in Paris).Stinky people: In my experience, France has no more smelly people per capita than the United States. There’s always that one random dude who hasn’t showered and really should, but he’s the exception that proves the rule because he exists in every country!

I try and be short for a change with my answer and not to sound too cynical or bitter. I’ll have lived in this country 50 years later this year. When I came (married and English lass) my qualifications weren’t recognised and I took a job labouring (semi-skilled machine operator).That job drove me crackers after a few years and I applied for re-training (Government Skill centres as they were in the 70’s). I told them that as a foreigner my qualifications weren’t accepted and I couldn’t get a job in my field and luckily they sympathised - different times then and real people, not civil robots. I was lucky and they made an exception for me because the rule was that only unemployed people could qualify, with the proviso that I had to live and work for at least 5 years in this country.Yes you’ve read it correctly - only for unemployed people (of whom there were so many that the government had training schools all over) but at same time you could walk into any company and start work the day after. In fact they used to pay us 2 weeks wages if we could introduce new workers. Of course the wages were crap (unless you worked 60 hr week) as they still are in the UK and many people didn’t want to work then as now for peanuts.So I did re-train to get my British qualifications and this year, still working, I will clock 50 years of working and the country which I thought was my home has told me now that I’m a foreigner and possibly need to apply for settled status.Quickly - in those 50 years I was out of work for 6 months 10 years ago and again for 10 months the year after (when I turned 60). In both cases I didn't get a penny in benefit, so where these benefit tales come from baffles me. I know like you I hear the same tales and see the same people with fags and beer in hand lounging about.As an aside when my sons became unemployed due to being screwed by the youth employment schemes, they had to fight to get the bare minimum, so much so for England being a paradise.I have always done everything to the book, so when I arrived I didn’t start work till I received my work permit and residence booklet which in those days took about 4 months to be completed. The conditions were converted to permanent residence with no conditions attached (except channel islands and working in Northern Ireland and Isle of Man).I have printed the Welcome to GOV.UK Settled and pre-settled status for EU citizen and their families. To be honest it’s as clear as mud and yes I’ve sat my English O level and A level English language, so understand written English quite well and I’m coincidentally the only person in my family who can pass the Britishness tests.The Welcome to GOV.UK document tells me in one breath I have to apply and in the next one I’m exempt. It’s written in such a way that the applicant is always on a loser depending how the Home Office civil servant will interpret the same document. On a lucky day you’ll have no problems but on the other hand you could be out if it takes their whim to do so.To answer the question - I’ll stay of course as all my family are British born and bred but I won’t apply for settlement status, even if it’s free from paying a fee for someone like me. I feel shit on that it has come this far.As a EU citizen you’ll be on the electoral roll even if you’re not allowed to vote as it’s compulsory (with a fine of 1000) to list everybody in the household/address with their nationality on the form your local council sends to you. As a worker (payee or self employed) you pay tax and are registered with HMRC. This government knows where everybody is, they’re just playing politics with peoples livelihoods with no scruples whatsoever, no integrity, no honesty, no Britishness.There’s no excuse for this government to scaremonger all EU citizens and threaten them with re-patriation. I feel no different than a Scotsman or Irishman and they wouldn’t send all them back, would they?Whatever next? Do like China and send citizens back to their hometowns? London is overcrowded - Home Office solution? Send all Yorkshire people back to where they come from - problem solved.As an EU citizen I feel badly let down and it’s ruined my years of perception of the British a welcoming and open society. It’s more of a bitter society because the British have been screwed by their own so-called “elite” but have taken hook, line and sinker all the propaganda by UKIP and the right wing press, but refuse to see it plainly can’t see it.It’s been quiet for a while but now that Brexit is at a crucial stage, my facebook is full again with anti-immigration news and cartoons pushed by right wing fanatics and passed on by people who see immigrants as a threat and there’re an awful lot of them.Of course I could de-friend them but that would be fooling myself as it would hide to me what my “friends” really think in their hearts, so it’s sometimes better to be angry/annoyed and know than happy and gullible and of course they wouldn’t understand my reaction as to them I’m one of them and look at me in amazement as it “doesn’t apply” to me. That’ the irony of it all and it applies thousands of times all over to all EU citizens.Try and tell that to the despicable politicians who’ve created this mess.UPDATED 11 June 2019I feel I owe an update. Since I wrote my first reply a lot has happened and there was no longer a fee to pay which was my main stumbling block. My grandchildren were worried that I would have to leave at some point even when their parents are total oblivious to the fact as these new rules “don’t apply to me”. Since this is a new ruling which won’t go away regardless of outcome of Brexit I decided to apply for the settlement status as I didn’t want to become a cropper come June 2020 and I have or had no wish to become either martyr or hero and keep granddaughters happy at same time.I applied after 31 March but the application rules weren’t very clear, reference applying by form or mobile. I downloaded the app but misunderstood so still finished up doing is the traditional way. Even when I have had national insurance number and HMRC registration for 50 years the Home Office still wanted my passport. Send it off and then received and email stating that they couldn’t find evidence of me having Indefinite Leave to Remain and wanted more information before deciding, being passport of the day (no chance of course) or the certificate.I had this information ( old residence permit, cancelled and letters from the then home office and indefinite leave to remain), which I send off by return of email. To be fair I received an answer within an hour that the new updated “settled status” had been approved.However the accompanying letter only states it’s valid under current EU and UK law. To me that means that if we do leave it could be rendered useless by any future government. Don’t think it’ll happen but still not confidence inspiring and it doesn’t make me feel proud to have it now and my feelings as stated originally haven’t changed.Funny thing, whereas in 1971 it took 1/2 an A4 page to state Indefinite leave to remain, this time it covered 4 pages of jargon with the notice saying the letter saying I was awarded “residence status” was not proof of indefinite leave to remain as the only proof will be on their website and you’ll have to log in with your details to see it. Sign of the times, we’ll have to carry internet access with us to proof our rights. Pity those who don’t have a pc or mobile phone.

This is because the narrative in the news doesn’t match the reality. That there’s no such thing as an actual labor shortage, at least not in modern history. Every shortage has been manufactured by the one who claimed it exists, or is the result of significant external factors that can’t be overcome.You also have to question who is saying the message, and why. Every organization, individual, special interest group, etc. may have an ulterior motive of some sort. Particularly if the message reads more like an advertisement or opinion piece than a statement of fact.Advertisements technically have to tell the truth, but are often free to emphasize the good while downplaying the bad, or perhaps not telling the entire truth, when the additional facts could substantially change the perception.Sometimes, a “labor shortage” is manufactured even when one doesn’t exist. For some unscrupulous organizations, this can offer advantages for them. Examples include government grants for training programs to reduce their operating expenses, the for-profit education sector, and because foreign worker visas are typically sponsored by an employer, this permits them to exercise more control over the employee as a form of indentured servitude. To push the worker into longer hours or less pay under threat of deportation.I’ll explain a few examples of this in action, in real life.Requirements That Are Impossible To MeetSometimes, a job advertisement calls for requirements that are literally impossible to meet. The other day, I job for a combination network administrator, systems administrator, and desktop support that had a stated salary of $70K and called for 10 years of experience with Windows 10. Except that Windows 10 was released in ‘15. I saw this job posting on Craigslist, so it could have been written incorrectly. Or perhaps, it was on purpose. Also, that if someone really had over a decade of professional, full-time experience with Systems, Network, and Windows support he’s likely to ask for much more than $70K, at least in any large metro area.Other examples might be less obvious and require more digging.In these cases, there will obviously be a lack of suitable applicants.The requirements would then change for the foreign workers to be those that are possible to meet.Engineering A Lack Of ApplicantsOur esteemed President of the U.S. (as of this writing) owns Maralago, a country club in Florida. Like any country club, it requires a staff to operate, and it might be seasonal. Also, every occupation in the hospitality industry of any sort is staffed by a majority of American citizens, although some employees may not be. Either way, from time to time, Maralago may post job postings to solicit applications. The duties listed and most requirements weren’t really noted, but the compensation package included a salary that was basically the equivalent of minimum wage, along with free room and board. This is very unusual for jobs in the U.S. It sounds a lot like a job situation designed for migrant workers, doesn’t it? Especially if the salary is too low to live independently without welfare benefits.The job posting was in a single printed publication (I forget which one) that individuals who are likely to be interested in this kind of work are unlikely to read. It seemed like they didn’t actually want many applicants. Posting on Indeed or Craigslist is likely to yield a lot more applicants for hospitality jobs than posting something in Harper’s Bazaar or the Wall Street Journal, for example.Then perhaps most curiously, the posting only offered one way to apply, and likely the most inconvenient.. by faxing in the application materials. Faxing! You couldn’t e-mail, mail in anything, apply in person on a paper application, or utilize an online job application. Faxing has largely been superseded by e-mail, and wasn’t given enough time to become really popular for home use. As a result, most households never had a fax machine, and the ones that did have one, have likely disposed of them by now.So to apply to this low salary hospitality job, you had to fax it in. For most potential applicants, they will have to make a special trip to Kinko’s, or maybe the local library. If some don’t have regular access to a motor vehicle, going to that place will be a challenge and likely require a special trip. This is a big deal for someone of limited means. Either way, such potential applicants, if they even know about the job (remember, posted in a publication where they’re unlikely to read it), will likely pass on applying, decided to apply to other employers with a considerably easier application process.Despite these roadblocks, nevertheless they received 2 applications for something like several dozen jobs. This is an engineered shortage of applicants. Then they used this as evidence of a need for migrant worker visas.Sometimes, The Job Just Doesn’t Pay EnoughAwhile back I read about a coffee shop that ceased operations because they simply couldn’t find anyone willing to work there. The owner offered $15/hr. His financial situation didn’t permit him to really pay any more than that. But at $15, isn’t that a pretty decent wage for someone only with high school, if even that? Or for someone still in high school? Lot of jobs out there that pay less than that, and those jobs get applicants. How could he be unable to find anyone? Sounds impossible on the surface.Okay, I’ll add one more detail. This coffee shop was in a San Francisco city neighborhood. Of course he can’t find anyone. When an apartment in Stockton, CA, a city that would be a 2 hour daily commute from San Francisco has rents around $1,600 for a 1 bedroom unit, $15/hr. doesn’t cut it. Not unless you’re homeless.While this is a more extreme situation, similar types of situations exist out there. I won’t commute 1 hour every day for something that pays only $12/hr. Would you?But if a company can still get enough qualified applicants, they might decide to just keep offering the low rate of pay. Especially if the training period is short and easy to understand, standards are low, and just about anyone who’s a warm body can do the job. They might not care if the turnover is sky high.-Completely free markets will adjust to how much abuse individuals are willing to take. If everyone is only looking out for #1, this amount of abuse is potentially very high. This is why countries have governmental regulations and programs to prevent this. To preserve the free market aspects that are widely regarded as good (freedom to choose and pursue your own desires and inclinations) while minimizing the negative aspects of severe abuse and exploitation.