London, France, or Italy?? Just a few questions?

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Rillifane

The Italians are, with the possible exception of the Dutch, the friendliest people in Western Europe. The claim that they are rude us utter nonsense. I can only shudder to think what an absolute jackass you would have to be to be treated (or imagine you are being treated) rudely by an Italian.

The French tend to be a bit reserved and this can be taken for unpleasantness if you're not culturally sensitive. The British can be very warm and friendly but its also easy to run afoul of the the intricacies of the British class system. Again cultural sensitivity is required.

London is certainly more expensive than most cities in either France or italy. Not, of course, simply because the pound is worth more than the dollar. After all, when I was a child, the pound was worth FIVE American dollars and London, in those days, was cheaper to live in than New York. True the dollar has fallen against the pound in the last year but then London was more expensive than most places in the USA before the current depreciation of the dollar. Its just become even more expensive (as has every destination in Western Europe).

At the moment, London is more expensive than Paris which is slightly more expensive than Rome according to the International Civil Service Commission.

At the very top levels of education, the UK, France and Italy all have excellant univerisities so I would have to know what your actual available choices are before making any meaningful comparison.

On a day to day basis, France is the safest of the three countries. Crime in Europe hs been increasing at an alarming rate and today, London is more dangerous than New York City. Crime in France has also been increasing but the geographic distribution is different and Paris, for example, is relatively safe in the center with violent crime being almost exclusively confined to the suburbs.

If you plan to study abroad as part of a cooperative program with your local college where there will be provision made for the fact that you are not a native speaker of the local language then choose France.

If you're simply going to apply to a European university on your own and will be taking a normal course of study then you should consider whether your language skills are up to studying in a language which is not your native tongue. i.e Are you genuinely fluent in either French or Italian (assuming you are an Anglophone).

Sodem O

If you do decide on going to the UK, I should avoid London. Choose one of the other cities, like Manchester - much friendlier, more dynamic young population and very much cheaper to live.

But on the whole, France is nicer to live. Italy is fun too (depending on where you are).

By "college" I take it you mean the first couple of years of University. In that case, avoid France where the universities are under-financed and overcrowded. I've heard some bad stories about Italian universities too.

monsieurchipotle, esquier

go to france. going to london is easy, the only thing challenging about it is trying to understand what the chavs are saying. italians go out of their way just to be rude to people. plus, learning italian will help you in no way whatsoever, unless you plan on living in italy, and nowhere else the rest of your life. france is perfect. better food, much better wine, better people.

best schooling would probably be pretty close between france and england.

cheapest living would be italy. you're going to have to take out a second mortgage to go to the U.K. its just not reasonable, they're money is worth twice ours. so you pay twice as much for the same thing here.

as for the safest, you cant really say this country is safe and this one is not. its just not realistic. there are good and bad places everywhere, just as there are in each city.

Jane D

London is horrible. Birmingham and Bristol are nicer cities. But I would avoid the UK altogether! It's very (very) crowded and there is soooo much traffic and litter.

France and Italy are both stunning - in terms of architecture and countryside. I prefer France as I find the Italians a little too 'in your face'.

But, on balance, I think if I had to choose to spend ONE year in ONE of them - maybe it would be Italy. (Although, in fact, in Europe, it would be Denmark! Thats the nicest place!)

Peanut

I have been to all three places and I was fortunate enough to live in Italy for a year. Without a doubt Italy has the most beautiful architecture, museums, and quaint cities. Once you visit Italy no other country lives up to it. I did not study in Italy but if you are thinking of studying the arts that would be the place to go.

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