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Don't you realise that not all people in a country are the same? there are arrogant people in every country. Your "arrogancy" stereotypes is the old same rubbish ideas taken from the anti-french british tabloids...
Im afraid this is just about the only 'stereotype' on here that is based in truth! OK I admit I can't speak for certain about other countries but the French stick their noses up towards Britain and the British in just about every way imaginable! I have been to France and the arrogance just oozes from every Frenchman / woman ive met. On the other hand I have found just about every German Ive met to be very pleasant.
Im afraid this is just about the only 'stereotype' on here that is based in truth! OK I admit I can't speak for certain about other countries but the French stick their noses up towards Britain and the British in just about every way imaginable! I have been to France and the arrogance just oozes from every Frenchman / woman ive met. On the other hand I have found just about every German Ive met to be very pleasant.
Switzerland, Norway, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, and Denmark all have a higher average per capita income than Germany. They mostly have more income equality, and lower unemployment rate. Most of these countries, including France, probably have even better job security, and life-work balance than overly competitive Germany.
There is actually conflicting sources of information for unemployment rate in Germany, and France, and depends on exact region. Some website links, sources of information say the unemployment rate is more similar than expected for France, Germany: Unemployment Rates Around The World - shows its in the 8.3% to 8.8% range in both countries.
Northeastern regions Germany, especially in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has a much higher unemployment rate compared to other areas of Germany, and actually up to 10.7% in this state of Germany: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Either way, this is not reason enough for someone preferring a country just for economy, and its just a small part of the picture.
There is so much more being important, relevant, and valuable in life.
05-31-2013, 05:50 PM
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What country would you prefer to visit for a holiday? I select France easily without hesitation for a vacation. However, Germany is nice for visiting too, just preferring France much more.
What country would you prefer to live in? France for plenty of reasons. However, Germany is also beneficial, and inviting for living in too.
Which urban area in each would you live in? France: Paris, Lyon, Nice, Marseille, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Lille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Perpignan, Montpellier.
Which rural area in each would you live in? France: Chamonix, Cannes, Bonifacio, Piana, Ajaccio, Bastia, Lourdes, Menton, Toulon, and also somewhere in the overseas territories of France, especially in Reunion, New Caledonia, or Tahiti Polynesia.
For regions in mainland France with rural areas: Provence Cote d’Azur, Rhone-Alpes, Corsica, Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Germany: Somewhere in Bavaria, especially near the castles.
Which has better quality of life? France or an equal tie overall.
Which has better natural scenery? France
Which has better cities? Depends on what someone finds important for a city. I personally prefer French cities more compared to German cities.
Which has better architecture? France
Which culture do you prefer? France overall
Which cuisine do you prefer? France for traditional cuisine and for having more variety in cosmopolitan ethnic food scene.
France and Germany became very cosmopolitan, embracing for most forms of ethnic diversity, very worldly, including for food scene/cuisine/restaurants/supermarkets, and plenty of activities in life. Some people forget to realize this important information and observation.
Which people do you prefer? I rank both countries very high for people scene. However, France is in top 5, while Germany is around 21st to 25th place.
What appeals to you about each country the most? What are the main drawbacks of each country?
France:
+ Balanced and impressive variety in regions, scenery, and cities, towns all over the country.
+Culturally wealthy
+Sophistication, Glamour, Minimal to no corruption in most places, easygoing, relaxing, peaceful
+Soulful, Intellectually, Emotionally, Spiritually stimulating, just like for most of my other favorite countries.
+Quality of Life in most areas of France
+The Life-Work balance and work to live. Not overly workaholic.
+Endless entertainment
-+Some people view the country being arrogant, pretentious. I don’t agree with this false stereotype. The people became modest, and humble compared to the past.
-+A few people think the economy is not doing well, but this is also another false stereotype. The economy based on international standards is doing pretty well in France.
- I prefer if there was at least 1 other city with the same population size as Paris. However, there continues to be impressive variety of cities/towns.
Germany:
+ This is also a country to like, appreciate, and respect. Ranks relatively high internationally in modern times, at least in top 15 to top 25.
+ People are usually friendlier than expected.
+One of the best geographic locations near the central of Europe, and close proximity to most of Europe.
+Magical castles in Bavaria.
+More cosmopolitan, and worldly than expected.
+Easy to find Contentment, Stable in Modern times, and mostly very Efficient.
+Nightlife related entertainment, bar scene, music scene is impressive and offering an exciting scene.
-+Not sure how I feel about the language anymore. There is probably some charm in the language and not just the negative false stereotypes. I would even want to learn German for practical use of language and being popular with French, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin Chinese.
-Economy is overrated in Germany and its not really doing quite as well as some people’s false stereotypical views for Germany’s economy. A noticeable amount of European countries have a higher per capita income than Germany, the same or even lower unemployment, more income equality/less of a divide, and not trying to monopolize or cause any damage to European Union’s economy.
-Too much focus on economy to the point of making it sterile/mediocre/boring/too competitive. This is not reason enough to admire a country. Look at Luxembourg, Qatar, Bahrain, Liechtenstein for one example. I am always upper middle class and don’t need to worry or obsess about economy too much.
-Forget the history of Germany. It is better to focus on modern times instead for Germany.
-The weather is kind of mediocre annually in some areas of Germany. Thank goodness weather probably does not really matter to me anymore.
-Not enough coastline and mountainous scenery.
-The Café Bar wifi scene appears disappointing in Germany and not meeting expectations. France, Austria, and maybe Spain, and Italy are better than Germany for this important quality too.
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Originally Posted by easthome
Just saying the way it is :-)
’s posts and similar posts from plenty of other people is saying the way it is and the truth, and reality with perfectly crafted words of wisdom, accurate specific information, and based on observations, experience.
Definitely not the other way around for the opposite opinions.
People are entitled to their opinions if they are justified, so agree to disagree, and move on, including for France vs. uk, or France vs. Germany. To see a very specific, well organized, and accurate summary for France vs Germany, go to a few posts above this one.
Why would you say Germany's economy is overrated? I agree that it is far from being the "best", but it's hard to deny that Germany's economy is still growing, unemployment is falling and wages are rising. Much different compared to the vast majority of Europe.
The other countries you mentioned are comparatively small and some fill in economic niches not feasible for larger countries, so I don't think it's fair to compare them to Germany.
Germany ranks 5th in HDI, which I personally think is a better way to compare countries than GDP per capita. Overall though, I think the differences within Western Europe are rather small, with the exception of some countries.
PS: There have been at least 2 France vs. Germany threads on here in the last couple of years...
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