We always believe that the grass is greener elsewhere but, for these thousands of French people installed abroad, it is not always joy. There is even a neighbor of Europe in which they have great difficulty in integration.
With nearly 2.5 million French people who live abroad according to data from France diplomacy, The experience of expatriation seems to be successful. Many have left France for professional or financial needs but also to flee the current social and political context … with sometimes disappointments at the key.
This is what the language learning platform noted Babbel which reveals the results of a study by One Poll last April, on a sample of 1,000 people living in France and having lived at least 3 months abroad. Thus, the difficulty of adaptation can be felt quickly, resulting in the famous blues of exile. This is the case for example for people who go to live in Canada. Indeed, the French feel the most alone here at 35% and have the most trouble in the country at 30%.
However, there is a country in Europe where the French have the most difficulty in integration: Germany. Among our neighbors across the Rhine, there are several obstacles to good integration into local life. For 43% of French people, they feel the most difficulties of adaptation to the local language and “This can be explained by the type of sentence construction as well as by determinants and verbs, quite far from the French language“. This linguistic barrier is judged by 35% of French people as preventing from establishing friendships or social interactions. Without a good practice of German, living in the land of Wurst can therefore be difficult and create a feeling of isolation; However, a good part of the population speaks English and this can bring together.
Conversely, some countries like New Zealand – a very popular destination for years with backpackers who are gradually abandoning Australia – offer transformative experience, with 50 % of French expatriates declaring having lived a real personal change there .
