In my opinion, that is . . .
Plenty of my fellow citizens are enjoying what has turned out to be a historic opportunity to talk about everything that’s wrong with our country. It’s THEM! Uh, okay, that isn’t what this is about. After almost a year and a half of living abroad, here are some things I think that the United States does quite a good job at.
- Entertainment options. Okay, there is an argument about bread and circuses, but please don’t comment about that. The quality of the entertainment is what I’m writing about, and, frankly, the US puts out some truly excellent stuff. Something for everyone? I believe so. Any one thing for everyone? Heaven’s no! Maybe you don’t like country music, or pop, or Marvel Universe Movies? Fine, why should you? There are books, movies, and streaming programs of every conceivable genre available 24/7. Don’t get me wrong: there are some great programs produced in Europe, too. I like French police procedurals, but there are only so many of them, and they tend to be compared to American productions. Yes, Capitaine Marlow does owe something to Columbo, it even says so in the blurb for the program. But remember who came up with Columbo, and it wasn’t a French producer.
- Maintenance of Public Conveniences. I’m mostly writing here about elevators and escalators, moving sidewalks, things commonly found in airports and such places. Sometimes these things break down in the US, and sometimes it takes a few days for them to be repaired. Consider, though, that in the spring of 2022 the elevator in a parking garage adjacent to the Poitiers train station was out of service, and it was still out of service in the spring of 2023, and that it still out of service to this day! Also at Poitiers, one of the escalators leading to the old city from the train station was down last time I was there. At Charles de Gaulle airport there is always at least one moving sidewalk out of commission. It’s at least a quarter mile from where International flights drop you to the train station, at least. France is proud of it’s history of innovative and genius-level inventors and mechanical engineers. They put high-tech satellites into orbit using French designed and built rockets, short story, they do have the talent and ability to keep everything running sharp, but, alas, everything runneth not sharp. Americans are pretty intolerant of inoperable technology, mainly because it’s rare to encounter much of it. Nice job, America!
- Bureaucracy. What? Am I kidding? It’s enough to smother you! Not really, compared to what you find in other countries. I applied for my residence permit in April, had my interview for it in July, and should receive my permit in November, I hope, as my visa expired in May. I’m not sure why I don’t have my insurance card. I have a number, I can get reimbursement for medical expenses, but I have no card, after many months. I should be getting a number that will let me take the online drivers’ test at the post office any day now. Will I? Who knows? Other countries endure similar bureaucratic fun. No, friends, the United States has one of the most transparent and easily navigated bureaucratic structures amongst developed countries. We have it easy, please believe that.
Well, that will do for now. I do think that there are things that France does better than the US, but to a remarkable extent, those things are being discussed in connection with the Presidential election, so I’ll just refer you to that ongoing flurry of discussion for more. This blog is actually about moving to France, so next time I’ll be writing about some things about France that I find a mite peculiar.
Ciao!