My Honest Review of Emily in Paris as an Expat of 15 Years

OUTFIT DETAILS: STRIPE BUTTON UP (OLD, SIMILAR BUTTON DOWN) | CARDIGAN | DARK WASH JEANS | LOAFERS | STRAW BASKET BAG (ALSO LOVE THIS STRAW BAG) | SUNGLASSES | WATCH

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ll know that the recently released Netflix series Emily in Paris has caused quite a stir in the digital world. It seems to be a show you either love or hate (not going to lie I binged the series in 2 days).

After hearing so many others sharing their opinion I thought it might be interesting for you to hear the perspective of someone who not only works in Marketing but was an expat on and off for 15 years and is also a dual citizen (Italy + US).

Is Emily in Paris actually worth watching? Is it realistic? What did they get wrong? Keep reading to find out.

WARNING: It’s a text-heavy post, but I try to give a lot of in-depth info from an expat perspective.

MY HONEST REVIEW OF EMILY IN PARIS

MY BACKGROUND

If you’re thinking who is she to give her opinion on this show then let me tell you a little bit about myself.

If you stumbled upon this post because it’s about Emily in Paris, my name is Cristina and I have lived a unique lifestyle. I’m a dual citizen (American mother and Italian father) so have been travelling the world since before I could talk.

I finally moved back to my hometown of Dallas in 2019 after living as an expat on and off for 15 years. I started my life abroad as a pre-teen until I was a working adult.

While I’ve never lived in France (only England and Switzerland and am very familiar with life in Italy) I feel like I have a unique perspective on the expat experience that we see Emily go through for the first time.

If you’re curious about any of my previous blog posts on the reality of expat life click here.

WHAT DID EMILY IN PARIS GET RIGHT

Everyday Life:

Living the expat lifestyle can look incredibly glamorous to friends and family back home, but there are a lot of uncomfortable moments; especially when you live somewhere you don’t speak the language. Even the simplest things like dealing with a plumber to fix your shower (scene from the show) can be a nightmare.

Often every way you were taught to do things has been turned on it its head from paying bills to going to the doctor’s office (I have so many stories about that) to dealing with your apartment management company as in Europe many don’t own homes.

You often feel like a fish out of water, which we see Emily experience throughout the show.

Language:

I’ve heard a lot of people giving Emily a hard time for not speaking French and relying on the fact that many Europeans can speak either some English or are bilingual.

I hate to say it…but this is actually a reality. Most Americans (and English speaking people in general) won’t become fluent in the language of the country they move to.

I have seen time and time again in my own expat experience that people will take classes, but will still use English as a default. Yes, Emily should try to learn French; at least enough to get around as it makes life much easier.

But it’s a lot harder than you might think to learn another language so different to your own and that’s coming from someone who has lived in a German-speaking country lol. 

Friendships:

Emily makes quick friends with fellow expat, Mindy. This is 100% accurate! When you find another expat you often form friendships quickly as you share this unique experience and it’s comforting to meet someone else who knows what it’s like to be far away from home and feel like an outsider.

In the expat lifestyle, people commonly come and go quickly. You never know when someone may leave so friendships tend to go from 0 to 100 in a shorter timeline than if you were home.

The fact that she’s made local friends so quickly is the unrealistic part, but we’ll go over what the show got wrong next…

WHAT DID EMILY IN PARIS GET WRONG

Fashion:

Simply looking at the trailer of Emily in Paris it’s easy to see the fashion is unrealistic for her budget and everyday life.

People often envision Europeans as stylish and many are. You would rarely leave your home in workout clothes or with wet hair like I’ve seen often in the US…even to go grocery shopping.

Her style is over the top for France where women believe less is more. French women are chic because they don’t try too hard and ignore trends. As we can see, Emily is all about trends.

Also wearing Christian Louboutin heels on cobblestone streets all day is not realistic. Those streets kill your shoes and I have lost many a good pair over the years.

As someone who is in their late 20’s working in Marketing, I can tell you we cannot afford to wear endless amounts of Chanel and Christian Louboutin – two brands she wears in every episode. I wish though!

Career:

The fact that Emily even got this assignment to live in Paris for a year to provide an American perspective in the French agency is unrealistic. Someone at Emily’s level would never be entrusted with such a large responsibility.

I could see her working with the French team remotely via regular emails and video calls and she might even visit once a year with her boss. But she would have no need to be in Paris for a year at such a large expense to her company.

As someone who works in digital marketing (which seems to be the majority of Emily’s job), you wouldn’t want to create a campaign for a French audience from an American perspective as that wouldn’t resonate.

Before I get into too much marketing lingo here, for the best campaigns you want it to be targeted so it can speak to each audience not appeal to the masses.

Unless you’re an infamous worldwide brand like a Louis Vuitton where your reputation speaks for itself this idea would not be realistic.

Influencer Life:

Don’t get me started on this one!

Emily in Paris shows how little the influencer world is understood as she posts random photos eating a pan au chocolat and zooms in at other people’s food in restaurants. Somehow she gets 20,000 followers overnight.

I’m shaking my head if you didn’t know. 

Growing an audience on Instagram is actually difficult today from the tricky algorithms to the enormous competition in this space. Behind every post are hours of work many don’t see. It’s styling outfits, choosing locations,  taking 500 photos to only like 2, editing, creating a caption, choosing relevant hashtags, and engaging with your audience.

I’m sure her content is more interesting with Paris as a backdrop but that would never happen!

Assimilation:

The fact that Emily has so many French friends already is highly unrealistic.

First, the French are notorious for speaking very little English (if at all) so the fact that every French person she meets happens to be fluent is kind of comical. Emily is an expat and on a short assignment so she would likely not make many local friends.

Unfortunately, Europeans have a negative view of Americans when abroad so I couldn’t see them accepting her knowing how cliche American Emily is portrayed in the show and knowing she doesn’t have the intention of being in their country long.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE SHOW…

Anybody who says not to watch the show because it’s unrealistic is taking the show too seriously. Within the first few minutes of watching it’s obvious that it’s unrealistic and over the top from her clothes to the fact she even gets this opportunity so I don’t think the creators were trying for realistic.

With that said:

The fashion is fun, Paris is beautiful as always, and it’s lighthearted. After 2020 being such a difficult year, these are things I really needed from a show. I needed to turn my brain off and be taken out of reality even just for a little bit.

Yes, it’s incredibly cliche and yes Emily exemplifies every trait of an American abroad. But if you love Sex and the City or Gossip Girl you will enjoy this show.

Like I said at the beginning I finished the show in 2 days and will definitely be watching season 2 when it’s released!

These are my thoughts on the new hit show Emily in Paris. Have you watched the show yet? If so, feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below! I would love to know.