As somebody who has referred to as France house since 2012, I’ve had a great deal of time over time to mirror on my life right here and the life I left behind within the U.S. I’ve shared lots of these reflections right here on the weblog, however one thing I haven’t touched on is what I miss essentially the most. I’ve loads to say on this subject, so let’s go!
Once you develop up in a single place and change into accustomed to how issues are carried out and what you discover there, it’s solely regular to overlook sure issues if you depart and go some other place. I surprisingly by no means skilled intense homesickness after transferring to France, however there are issues I completely miss about life in the USA.
First, nothing I point out beneath is a matter of life or demise. Nothing retains me from getting away from bed within the morning or actually weighs on me (besides the very last thing on my listing, at instances). However there are particular features of my outdated American life that I actually did take pleasure in and stay up for once I return and go to.
Make no mistake, France has all the things that you must reside a nice life, so a lot of the issues I point out right here don’t issue into my every day ideas. However once I return to the US and are available throughout one among this stuff, I rediscover how a lot I truly do miss having it in my on a regular basis life in France.
Additionally, lots of what I discuss beneath has sentimental worth. The issues I grew up with are comforting, like a heat blanket on a chilly night time. They’re acquainted, simple, and signify just a little piece of me and the place I come from.
Within the early days in France, a few of the issues I missed jogged my memory I used to be a fish out of water. The issues I point out in my listing aren’t essentially these superb, spectacular issues, however they signify(ed) consolation and ease to me indirectly.
One other level I wish to stress upfront is that simply because I miss issues from the U.S. doesn’t imply I wish to transfer again. You’ll be able to take pleasure in your life in France whereas additionally acknowledging that there are issues from your property nation that you just miss. Two issues can exist and be true on the similar time.
I additionally acknowledge the privilege that’s inherent in the truth that I’ve been capable of transfer to France by alternative and expertise life right here.
It additionally doesn’t imply that simply because I miss issues within the U.S. that I ought to return to the U.S. Issues are totally different in France however it doesn’t imply I dislike them sufficient (or in any respect!) to really choose up and depart. Not all the things in France is ideal (neither is it within the US).
Lastly, in case you’re new right here, I didn’t depart the U.S. due to politics or being fed up with life there or something like that. I moved to France so I might begin a life with my French husband, Tom, and I’ve no plans to maneuver again.
Whereas life within the U.S. is way from excellent, I’m additionally not going say I’d by no means transfer again there due to the issues I dislike about it. Dwelling overseas provides you a brand new lens that permits you to view your property nation with a special, extra vital, set of eyes.
I’ll all the time be glad about that perspective because it’s not one I’d have if I had stayed within the U.S. Dwelling overseas in France is positively not simple, however it’s been price it 100%. I don’t reside with remorse.
If residing overseas for a decade has taught me something, it’s that life is extremely nuanced, so with that, right here we go:
11 Issues I miss from the U.S. after residing in France:
1. Wonderful pizza and Mexican meals.
Fellow NYers, I do know you’re feeling me on this. The meals scene is one thing I majorly miss. New York Metropolis has a few of the greatest pizza on the planet and I used to be spoiled by it. I might come out of my condominium and seize a slice every time I needed. Mexican meals was one other favourite of mine.
In France, you’ll discover pizza and Mexican meals, however it’s not the identical!
2. Grocery shops like Sprouts, Complete Meals, and Dealer Joe’s.
I’ve been going to Complete Meals and Dealer Joe’s for years, however Sprouts was new to me as of 2021 and I adore it! They opened up a retailer close to my dad’s home in Florida and the produce choice and general high quality of the shop is high notch. I can’t get sufficient of the Sprouts model waffles and all the opposite yummy issues I often purchase once I go to.
These three shops are all the time a pleasure to buy in, and as somebody who loves grocery buying, I stay up for selecting up what we want from these supermarkets once I’m again within the U.S. (once I’m not going to Publix, that’s).
France has lots of superb grocery store chains as effectively and I’ve carried out excursions on my YouTube channel and grocery retailer content material so you possibly can see for your self. There are well being meals shops in France like Biocoop and Naturalia, however they don’t have the identical choice because the three above and are usually tremendous costly. They’re positively not a stand-in for Sprouts, Complete Meals, and Dealer Joe’s!
9 Shocking variations between French and American supermarkets >>
3. Can-do angle
Say what you need about People, however one simple fact about us is that typically talking, American society has a can-do angle. It’s laced with a nice optimism that’s not likely seen in France in the identical approach.
From customer support insurance policies that make returns simple and free for the shopper to individuals’s common demeanor and even how enterprise is carried out, there’s this pleasant and enthusiastic angle within the U.S. that I miss.
Some might say that is superficial, however I don’t suppose that’s all the time the case. And pay attention, I’m not over-the-top smiley Pollyanna, for the document, and I HATE poisonous positivity, however the American spirit is one thing I miss.
In France, persons are extra cautious and important. The French language even has a damaging slant at instances. For instance, if you wish to say one thing is fairly good, you’d say it’s pas mal, actually not unhealthy…. which suggests you prefer it. The French are additionally recognized to be complainers (and there are causes for that). It’s simply…. a special vibe.
That problematic “in case you don’t prefer it, depart!” angle >>
4. Inexpensive electronics
Electronics are likely to value extra in France and there are fewer gross sales. Objects like TVs, computer systems, telephones, and even home equipment usually are not low cost. Every time potential, I look forward to les soldes or purchase issues utilized in France. For small objects, I attempt to purchase them on sale across the holidays if I’m within the U.S. I like saving cash, what can I say?
Credit score: depositphotos.com/ belchonock 166394616
5. Screened home windows
I virtually acquired clocked within the head the opposite day when a neighbor’s child threw a toy out the window on the actual second I used to be passing by on the sidewalk exterior. In France (and plenty of elements of Europe and elsewhere), home windows don’t have screens, so toys, cats, vegetation, infants, and so on. can all fall out of a window (or in your head in case you’re not cautious).
Security and jokes apart, there’s an excellent larger purpose why I miss window screens in France. It’s due to the bugs. I’m tremendous delicate to mosquito bites and might’t stand them buzzing round my head at night time ready to pounce. We’ve a internet that goes round our mattress, however it’s not foolproof.
We’ve additionally gotten big spiders that waltz on in making our partitions their new favourite hangout. I’ve been bitten by spiders and have ended up on antibiotics a number of instances when the bites have gotten contaminated.
Anyway, that’s all to say that I hate bugs and want there was a simple option to set up screens. Our home windows open vertically and DIY options you see on the ironmongery store don’t actually make a wonderfully sealed off window. Belief me, we’ve tried.
Laborious water in France and what I’m doing about it at my home >>
6. Central a/c.
Fortunately, my space of France doesn’t get uncomfortably scorching apart from a few weeks in the summertime. You realize the form of warmth I’m speaking about… the place you sweat in case you do something however sit and it’s onerous to sleep since you simply preserve sweating.
I held out for so long as I might earlier than getting a conveyable air conditioner, however man, I’d be mendacity if I stated there weren’t nights that I spent dreaming of central air con and a pleasant cool bed room.
Folks joke that the French are afraid of air con, and whereas it’s most a joke, it’s true {that a}/c isn’t fairly as mainstream in France as it’s within the U.S. In most locations, it’s simply not wanted for the overwhelming majority of the yr like it could be in South Florida. Homes aren’t constructed with central air con in France and other people depend on les volets to maintain their houses cool.
7. The Jersey Shore
No foolish, not the TV present, the place! Anybody who doesn’t agree that NJ is gorgeous hasn’t spent sufficient time there! My house state is one I didn’t totally admire till I used to be effectively into maturity. I grew up in Somerset County which is stuffed with stunning nature — the bushes within the fall had been all the time beautiful — and summers had been spent in Monmouth County on the seashore.
Being close to the ocean has all the time felt calming and restorative for me and I cherish my childhood reminiscences of the Jersey Shore with household. I feel it’s a part of why I’m drawn to Brittany right here in France… as a result of it jogs my memory of house.
This one holds lots of sentimental worth for me and I take each likelihood I get to go to my house state, which admittedly isn’t very ceaselessly since my household now lives in Florida.
8. Goal
Goal is an excellent place. It’s a one-stop store for all the things you possibly can presumably want, and when you have a Tremendous Goal close by, it’s even higher. There’s no French equal of Goal. Positive, there are hypermarchés which have a bunch of issues however there’s one thing particular in regards to the Goal expertise that doesn’t fairly exist in France.
9. Ice in drinks
It’s no secret that drinks chockfull of ice aren’t the norm in France. Ice exists and you may definitely ask for it, however more often than not, drinks are served with little or no, if any, ice.
I went to the films a couple of weeks in the past and requested if my iced tea fountain drink can be served with ice and the girl advised me no, that they don’t have ice. So I handed on the drink. Fountain drinks style higher with ice!
I don’t desire a cup stuffed with ice, however some good ice cubes are by no means a nasty factor in my e-book. In scorching climates like once I go to household in Florida, ice cubes are a lot appreciated.
13 Issues vacationers try this get unusual seems to be from the French >>
10. Giant parking areas and parking garages that don’t make you’re feeling claustrophobic
Regardless that I’ve lived in France a very long time and have a small automobile, I’m nonetheless not used to the very small, slender, and low-ceiling parking garages which are generally present in France. I’ve gotten used to the slender parking areas normally, however the parking garages, ohhhhhh mannnn. Let’s simply say I’m glad Tom does the driving.
Every time I’m in a single, I all the time surprise what individuals with large vehicles do. Whereas most individuals in France are likely to have smaller vehicles than we do within the U.S., you possibly can nonetheless purchase an enormous sedan or SUV right here even when they aren’t fairly as widespread. Even with a small automobile, you continue to have to concentrate so that you don’t clip your bumper or mirror on one thing.
Automobiles are smaller in France so it is sensible that roads and parking areas and garages are smaller too. You’ll see all types of paint marks and scrapes on the storage partitions and posts so not everybody is ready to navigate them with ease.
A household image in Corsica
11. Buddies & household
I’ve saved a very powerful one for final. Family and friends are who I miss most, fingers down, throughout the board.
Ever since transferring to France, I’ve all the time missed my family and friends and Facetime has been a lifeline. I don’t suppose I might have moved overseas again within the day earlier than expertise like video calls had been invented. However seeing somebody on video isn’t the identical as giving them an enormous hug in particular person and seeing them head to head.
At some factors, life right here distracted me, however at different instances, my household and buddies had been all the time on my thoughts.
The time this was essentially the most tough was through the pandemic when the restrictions made it not possible for me to depart France, which after all was the time I wanted to depart France essentially the most. My mother was dying of most cancers and I desperately wanted to be there for my household.
Fortunately, I used to be capable of get out of France and be by my mother’s aspect, however after experiencing a number of further losses in 2021-2022, I’ve felt the pull from household and buddies much more. It’s not them guilting me in any respect, however extra of an inner dialog I’ve with myself.
They settle for the truth that I reside overseas so the pull is extra from the gap and the way onerous it’s to be away as circumstances change. You see family members’ children become older on video and miss events and occasions. You consider what life may be like in case you by no means left.
This sense has gotten worse over time and that’s simply one thing we’ve got to handle if we reside overseas. What helps mitigate this for me is to go to as typically as I can!
***
In closing, I wish to share how the French convey the sentiment of “lacking” somebody. It’s truly fairly neat.
The sentence “I miss you” is fashioned in a approach that’s the reverse of what you may anticipate. The topic isn’t “I” however as an alternative the factor/particular person you’re lacking. Tu me manques is the way you’d say “I miss you.” The French sentence construction actually interprets to “you’re lacking from me.” Likewise, je te manque means “you miss me.”
I feel it’s fairly touching how the French specific the concept of “lacking” somebody or one thing. It’s not that we miss one thing, it’s that one thing is lacking from us. As if this stuff make us complete and never having them leaves us missing indirectly. That hits deep.
Additionally, earlier than I shut this one out, I wish to reiterate that I’m sharing my private ideas primarily based on my lived expertise. All of us do the residing overseas factor in a different way.
I’m in no way saying this stuff ought to come to France or that life in a single nation is inherently higher than the opposite.
Once you transfer someplace new, you see how issues are carried out and adapt to what life is like there, and at this level, I definitely have. I don’t like each single factor about France, however I settle for and respect how issues are right here. And it’s OK to overlook issues from one other life.
It’s humorous what you miss if you’re away awhile.
Thanks for studying! What are belongings you miss most from your property nation? When you’re from the U.S, what issues from the U.S. do you miss essentially the most now that you just reside overseas?
PIN my issues I miss from the US put up:
