I'm thinking of moving the France - how is it different than America?

My dad used to live in Bordeaux as a child. It is pretty nice there, depending on really where you live. I think that Paris is very pretty, but the people aren't too friendly. Apartments are fairly expensive in that particular area, but it is quite worth it. There are beautiful beaches in Saint Tropez. It just depends really on what you are looking for though. The French government take care of their people, as does most every other European government. You see they will pay for health care, college (if you have the grades), etc, but taxes are through the nose. Tax rates are around 30%, but you won't be able to tell when you are buying items because it's all included in the price there. They actually aren't that obsessed with religion. They don't have a democracy, they have a prime minister that is appointed by a president. Also, to get in you will need some sort of purpose... they won't just let you in. You can get a green card, but you will have to do quite a bit of persuading. You asked about unemployment... in France, it's about 8.5%. Lastly, (I should have put this up near the top, but here it is... hehe) to get around, you will need to learn a bit of French. You won't have to be fluent, just you need to know enough to order lunch, pay bills and taxes, and talk to cops you you get pulled over, etc. Make sure you learn properly! French is harder than Spanish to learn, but in the longrun, it's not all that hard. You can't just phonetically sound out words though, for example, the way they use the letter x in the word faux, fake. Yeah... Good Luck ;)