I moved to the UK after 15 years in France, AMA

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In case anyone is interested in making the leap either way!

Is renting in France as difficult as it is in UK? I mean in terms of actually finding somewhere and not having to offer before you've even seen it, which is the situation some people have found themselves in here.
Are standard rental contracts for a year? Asking about Paris particularly.

How come you left? (In either direction)

Do you have kids at school? Are the schools strict? What's your view on how they compare with UK schools?

Are you coping with the lack of style here in the UK?

Which part of France?

What did French people say about the UK / British people?

Paris is insane, I've lived there and in four other big cities as well as the countryside. In Paris I moved into a friend's apartment so didn't have ro experience it myself, but I've heard stories of places being put on the market and being gone that same evening, London is probably the same (?).

Renting an apartment is pretty challenging in France compared to the UK in my experience: they want you to put together a "dossier" showing what an amazing, stable, solvent person you are, like in the UK but ten times more draconian. This is for a good reason though, because once you're in its really bloody hard to get you out, so they want to be sure. You can find one year lets, these are called "meublé" (furnished).
One of the most challenging things is how the CDI is king: a permanent work contract. They are much less amenable to "atypical" profiles, although I have always had good places to live by putting together a solid dossier and writing a personalised letter plus offering references if necessary, despite not having the coveted CDI.

I missed my family.
I missed a more outgoing/positive outlook in wider society.
I missed pubs.

No kids so can't compare, hopefully someone reading this thread will be able to answer. From speaking to other anglos over there though, from what I gathered its a much, much tougher system for kids with learning disabilities and neuro divergence, but also the kids aren't as scary in terms of attitude (seems like french kids maybe stay kids for longer)

Whisper it, but I kind of found it a bit samey after a while. There's a big culture of being paranoid about what people will think of your clothes so people tend to dress neatly and boringly. Having said that I have also lived in some backwaters where people looked a state, although I have never seen anyone in a supermarket in their pyjamas which I have actually seen back here!

Paris, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, in the cities and also thr countryside around some of them.

If you had a medical emergency- let’s say emergency care required within the next 12 hrs but not life threatening at the moment. Ie required A&E but not an ambulance ride.
Would you rather be in the UK or France?

I worked in a school in France a while ago. I would definitely agree with Op’s narrative that I didn’t witness any major behavioural issues and the kids were always lovely to me.

Retaking years seemed to be a bigger thing than it is in the UK, if you fail a year.

They wear non-uniform, and no politics or religion is discussed, and pupils aren’t allowed to wear religious attire.

Staff were relaxed and drank wine in the staffroom at lunchtime.

I also lived in Lille OP! What did you make of it?

One thing i missed in France was Boots.

What do you miss about France?

Did you find it easy to make friends?

Yay!!! Ça va biloute ? 🤣

Lille was where I felt most conflicted. On the one hand, it didn't have that sexy, glamorous, airy french vibe that I went to France for, and I resented that!
On the other hand, Paris, London, Amsterdam and Brussels are all right there at your fingertips just a short train ride away, and honestly I know this is the french cliché about the people but: the people there genuinely were a hell of a lot more chilled and friendlier than anywhere else I'd lived.
So really on balance, when I inevitably move back for France, I think I'll be going there!

How did you feel about Lille?

I miss casually buying really good cheese without really thinking about it from the supermarket, and the bakeries.
I miss the terraces, one thing about the UK is when you sit outside with a drink you aren't doing the whole kicking back and watching the world go by thing in the same way.
Even though it cost a lot, I miss having a health system where I would get referred to specialists at the drop of a hat, and could make appointments quickly on a slick app.

The friends thing is a funny one. I'm bilingual and made a lot of french friends as well as expat friends, yet for some reason none of them quite hit the same spot as the friends I made in the UK (and its not because the latter were childhood friends or anything). Not sure I fully understand why that is.

That is so helpful, thank you!

It pains me to say because I have a lot of admiration for the thinking behind the NHS, but I would rather be in France for any kind of medical issue, from emergency to superficial.
You do pay for it though.
As a self employed person by way of example, I paid income tax and national insurance, but in addition to that I also paid for a combined "mutuelle + prévoyance" package. I'm not sure how that translates, but everybody (apart from unemployed) has to have a mutuelle, normally its paid by your employer and you can look at it as a kind of health insurance system in a way. Prévoyance (as a self employed person) is another type of insurance that means your earnings are maintained in the event of sickness or disability (or paid to a loved one in the event you die).
In total, my mutuelle and prévoyance package was an extra €150 per month on top of my tax and NI (although it was tax deductible too).

Am in Paris on 4 day holiday for the first time . To tell any fellow travellers with kids, for the navigo easy card, for the tube and train, it's not children under 12 that go half price, but under 9. Over 9, they pay full price. I told the guy I had 2 children in the metro aged 11 and 12 and the twat gave me the half price tickets and I got fined 70 euro yesterday as they were travelling on the wrong fare. Who cares if I’m a tourist and don’t speak fluent French.