A French woman who lived in Australia for more than a decade has revealed the three things she misses most after moving back to Europe.
‘As a French person that has lived in Australia for the past 12 years, that is now living in France again, I just remembered three things about Paris,’ she said in a TikTok.
The first thing that jogged her memory about Australian life was when she was walking the streets in Paris.
‘I’ve just been standing at a light stop for maybe, like, three good minutes, which is like a lifetime, just because I forgot that the lights do not make any sound so you actually have to pay attention and look when it’s going green so you can cross the road,’ she said.
But the most surprising difference between Aussie and French cultures was what was acceptable dress attire on public transport.
‘I forgot that it is completely forbidden for women to show any type of skin when they’re taking public transports at the risk of being completely harassed,’ she said.
And the third thing she missed about Australia was the friendly nature of the people.
‘Third of all (in Paris) do not ask anyone how they are,’ she said.
A French woman who lived in Australia for more than a decade has revealed the three things she misses most after moving back to Europe
Many TikTokkers questioned why French women shouldn’t show skin on public transport.
‘Because a lot of men are creeps here and will either look at you in a very perv way or will full on say something to you,’ the woman said.
‘Just men in general will say something sometimes inappropriate if they don’t stop you.’
Others wanted to know what would happen if you asked how people were going.
‘They will think you’re mad if you go “hey how are you?” because why would you want to know?’ she said.
An Aussie online said they experienced the same thing the first time they went to Europe.
‘No one says how are you, just a greeting, “hello, good morning and good afternoon”. Never be too friendly or they’ll think you’re joking with them or taking advantage of them,’ they said.
The vast majority of Aussies online pleaded with the woman to come back to Australia.
She said women could show a little skin on public transport in Australia, but not in Paris
She said she would ‘when they give me a visa’, explaining she originally was sponsored to study in Australia before getting a work visa after graduating.
‘It’s heartbreaking, my whole life is out there, all my friends, my job, everything I have built and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on just to be pretty much kicked out in the end,’ she said.
The French woman said she intended to try and come back to Australia in ‘a couple of years’.
