The Subtle Differences Between Paris and San Francisco

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These two cities are actually quite different. There are many direct comparisons on the Internet, and I can’t provide any new information. I have lived in Paris for almost a year. As a resident, I have the opportunity to feel some subtleties, so I will make a few thoughts here.

  1. law and order. I searched the Internet and found information about poor security in Paris, which really cannot be compared with East Asia. But at least, Parisians don’t have guns, and I basically feel safe when I walk on the road. At most, I can prevent thieves. Besides, there are so many people on the streets of Paris. Even if you go out in the middle of the night, many places are brightly lit, unlike the dead silence after sunset in San Francisco. Dress in a low-key way, such as wearing a basic Uniqlo style with a school bag or canvas bag, which is basically not eye-catching. In comparison, the chaos in San Francisco still scares me.
  2. health. Although Paris is considered dirty among European cities, it is still clean compared to San Francisco… Sigh, I have become numb to the point where I don’t see people defecating indiscriminately on the street and think it’s pretty clean.
  3. transportation. This is probably the weakness of most cities in the United States. The city of Paris is densely packed with subways, buses and trains, and the shortest way to travel is by public bicycle. Compared with driving or taking a car when you go out in San Francisco, it is so much better.
  4. retail. Complementary to population density and convenient transportation is a well-developed retail industry. There are restaurants, supermarkets and various shops everywhere, so I basically don’t hoard too much food in the refrigerator. The apartment I live in only has a mini-refrigerator (just like the half-person-high small refrigerator in the hotel mini bar), but I don’t think it affects the quality of meals. Although San Francisco is a city, it often takes a little planning to go shopping, unlike Paris, where you can think of shopping at any time. The advantage of the concentration of supermarkets and fresh food stores is naturally that you will eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. If it is not a coincidence that the delicious bakeries in Paris are also densely packed, I don’t think I will gain weight…
  5. Labor costs. The high cost of labor in San Francisco is really incomprehensible, after all, the cost of living is there. I remember that cleaning an apartment at that time was basically a three-digit jump. The rent in Paris is about half that in San Francisco, and the cost of cleaning an apartment is about half that. The manpower price for haircuts and express delivery is almost half. The development of the service industry in Paris is also inseparable from the relatively cheap labor costs.
  6. Evaluate people by their clothes. Everyone in San Francisco dresses very casually, and occasionally seeing an Asian girl dressed up is quite unusual. Paris, on the other hand, will be judged unknowingly. If you wear too bright clothes, you will be treated as a shop assistant and ask questions. This is exactly the same feeling as before in London. I don’t care about it later, as long as it doesn’t affect my life anyway, it’s your business that you like to gossip behind.
  7. Poor service attitude. It is amazing that although the labor cost in Paris is low, their service attitude is uneven, and sometimes it is so bad that people can’t help complaining. I once ordered at a relatively expensive restaurant and I said no nuts because I’m allergic. Then there is a gorgeous layer of sliced ​​almonds on the plate. The manager of the restaurant actually came over to scold me, saying that almonds are not considered nuts, but I didn’t make it clear. At that time, my friends and I were shocked. We have never seen such a horizontal restaurant… If there is a serious accident after eating, you will close the door, right? American tipping culture makes people complain, but regardless of the price, I have never encountered a restaurant and service staff who are so indifferent to food allergies. The same is true in many shops in Paris, even if I speak French sometimes their attitude is still very bad, as if French is naturally offensive…
  8. Tech apathy. Maybe outside of San Francisco, outside of my small circle, most people in the world are not that enthusiastic about technology. Of course, there may be reasons why electronic products in Paris are particularly expensive, after all, the tax is high.
  9. Proud to be French. If you ask the French what is French to them, the answer is not blood but French. Compared with their British neighbors, the French probably still resent the glory days when they had vast overseas colonies. Their contempt for English in their bones has also become a shackle to some extent. In comparison, San Francisco is very tolerant of language.
  10. Rights protection. The stubbornness and laziness in the French’s bones made the strike a wonderful sight. In comparison, people in San Francisco who occasionally stand-up and go on the news are really weak. But people in the United States are very practical, so why bother with money? Is freedom more important than making money… After all, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France.
  11. critical thinking. The people I met in Paris were very critical, making it seem as if they were not as easily brainwashed as Americans. On the one hand, this is related to education (see the previous log), and on the other hand, it is also related to the richer information they have access to. The prosperity of culture still helps people to mature their minds.
  12. Culture flourishes. It is said that there are more than 300 museums in Paris, and I probably went to less than one-fifth of them. Newsstands at intersections can be seen everywhere in Paris. I haven’t seen this thing in the United States for several years. There are also many bookstores and libraries in Paris. Of course, this may be related to the dense concentration of universities in the Latin Quarter. There are still many performances, exhibitions, and grand events in Paris. Just look at the advertisements updated from time to time in the subway stations to know what cultural activities are coming to Paris. After coming to Paris, I seldom have the opportunity to be bored enough to go to the shopping website to buy and buy to pass the time, largely because of my spiritual abundance. San Francisco, forget about the size of the city is not the same, no comparison.
  13. buckle. Parisians are relatively stingy, um, it means stingy. Anyway, I never have any expectations for their gifts, just don’t expect them to return the gift at the same price. Hey, with the low income and high tax rates in Europe, it is indeed hard to find money.
  14. slow. Although it is a painful thing to deal with government departments in any country, there are not many people like France. Their neighbors Spain and Italy are better than here. Hey, always remind yourself, don’t compare with China’s efficiency, the higher the expectation, the more painful it will be.
  15. Underpinning. The poor in Paris have universal medical care and public education. Overall, I think they are happier than the poor in San Francisco. At least there is still hope, right?

Write it here first, and add it later when I think about it.

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