Is the true expat experience anything like Emily's?

Where there are challenges, high emotions, confusing situations and careers on the line, there is drama. That said, the expat experience should never be dull, should be full of colorful stories and is likely to be amazing fodder for making a movie or TV series! Oh, and by the way, someone realized this long before I started writing this post — whether you are an expat now, were one in the past, are planning to become one in the near future or are just simply interested in the expat drama, try one of these "10 Great Movies About Expats Living Abroad."

But thanks to Netflix, there is a newer "kid on the block" titled "Emily in Paris." OK, I am going to admit that it is pretty light, fun and exactly what I needed to step away from so many of the negative stressful events that are continuing to linger on from 2020.  That said, it did seem to be lacking a bit of realism on many "true to life" expatriate experiences.  I soon came to find that there are a lot more articles about where this Netflix show gets things right versus what they get wrong. 

A few things the show gets right:

1. Often, expats take the assignment seeking career opportunity, personal development and adventure.
2. How there are often very challenging situations to understand and navigate in a new culture and office environment where everyone else may not be so happy of your arrival and may actually have some level of resentment about you being there.
3. How expats in Paris often meet and befriend other expats.

A few things the show gets wrong:

1. It has a slightly unrealistic setting. Per the article below, "Emily's visuals are distorted by their upscale selectivity." There is more to Paris than Tourist Paris, and most expats live (and work) in more modest districts, where as in the case of the show, Emily "lives in a gingerbread apartment building in Ye Olde Paris."  So, per this expat's take, "the setting of Emily is more Disneyland Paris than the real city where we expats struggle to survive, loving every minute (when we don’t loathe every minute). Our downscale Paris is sometimes yucky, but at least it isn’t icky."
2.  While French colleagues may get "mean," those in the show are definitely hamming it up to create exaggerated caricatures, so this may play out as a bit "over the top."
3.  Despite there likely being more people in France speaking English than ever before, the lack of language abilities would make her role much more difficult than it comes off in the show.

I am certain there are additional things that the show gets right or wrong about the true expat experience, but let's hear from all of you expats out there about where you think the show taps into the "true expat experience" versus what it gets completely wrong!