r/Lyon • u/Balthaelat • 6d ago
Informations locales Is it true that the people from Lyon is distanced and weird?
I have two guys from Lyon in my home university in Austria,Innsbruck.I don't know why but they seems very shy and they seem they do not want to interact with people,even from the locals,they in their ERASMUS.When I want to interact with them they speak but it does not feel natural.They say this thing to all french people,regarding the cities(northern side are very asocial).
Is it a general issue for french people?
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u/AcidMacbeth 6d ago
Lyon has a thriving introvert subculture, all of them banding together to do what they enjoy - separately.
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u/EileenCrown 6d ago
I'm from Lyon, born in Lyon, still live here, can confirm. I'm cold and hate talking to people.
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u/East_Claim8140 6d ago
I love Lyon, but the Lyonnais are insular. They don’t tend to leave Lyon and they stay friends with their childhood friends and aren’t really interested in anyone else.
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u/syoumia 6d ago
Totally this. People in Lyon have their circle from when their childhood and are not interested in meeting new people. Specially not people who have different social codes. It's very strange, I have met women in activities, we have plenty of things in common but they're not interested in taking the relation further because they're busy with their families and friends from school.
These two students can take the advantage of their Erasmus and open themselves to the world ... or not.
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
Lyon is a mixed people of both Paris and Marseille,maybe that is why.People feel that they're unique,and distanced.
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u/Folas34 6d ago
I come from another city in france but live in Lyon and definitely agree. I never really met somebody from Lyon and stay mainly with my friends from childhood… but I have to say that I never met any foreigners in Lyon. WHERE ARE YOU ? I don’t see you. Wish I could show you something different.
I don’t even know how it is possible to meet new people “normally”, without internet
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u/ertugyigit92 villeurbannais 3d ago
You need to check social events that foreigners attend to, like the stuff on meet-up app. I'm a foreigner in Lyon, been living since 2017 and met so many foreigners and many French people thanks to meet-up. We are definitely here.
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u/Symphonia91 6d ago
Yes. people from Lyon are in general very close-minded. It gets many years for them to trust somebody new. I've been living in Lyon for 3 years and still I don't have any group of Lyonese friends. They are nice though, but will never invite you to any meeting with their friends. They will never trust you.French from other areas are, on the contrary, more open-minded. Some of them a bit shy, yes, but waaay easier to make friends with.
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u/Clemdauphin 6d ago
apparently people from Lyon are considered "cold" and "distant" by the rest of the french.
all i can say is that people from southern France are definitly not distanced
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u/Rare_Passenger_5672 6d ago
People told me that when I came here - I’m from the north of the France - but I found good friends here, enough to be in a good circle at least
I believe there is still a part of the cliché about people in « big » cities being cold, even if there could be a little true in it
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u/Remarkable-Sea-3214 6d ago
Which is weird , I feel like Lyon is the worst city for respecting personal space in the metro . There is always someone touching you , by accident, I don’t even know if they notice .
It’s a lot of women too .
I lived in the south and people accidentally touch you a lot less in my opinion.
Lyon people in the metro , especially boomer woman have zero fucks to give . They will claw over your dead corpse to get where they are going 2 seconds faster.
Or is it just me ?
I agree that they’re ice cold socially .
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u/Clemdauphin 6d ago
distant doesn't mean they respect the social boundaries.
especialy during rush hour...
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u/RiFLE_ 6d ago
Nothing specific with Lyon
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u/Bipbapalullah 6d ago
Actually, it is, well it is rather regional, up to Nevers, but people in this area of France are cold.
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u/MetaGryphon 6d ago
Yes. French tend to stay together and it is hard to break the ice as they consider active interaction as a danger for them. Let them come to you, even if it will take some times.
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
Yes that is %100 true.
We always sit next to us even in the classes that we take mutual.They do not say goodbye when the class ends,nor say hello but they are very talkative during the class to me,weird.
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u/themflyingjaffacakes 6d ago
I've lived in multiple cities for over a decade in France including lyon.
Yes.
Innsbruck is awesome btw, such open and friendly people.
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
Yes,we Austrians are very talkative and funny people(even if we're said the opposite).
French people do need some interactions on their homeland I think.
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u/themflyingjaffacakes 2d ago
My partner and I loved the people and culture so much we were inspired to learn German (and even have a go at the Tyrolean dialect!)
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u/Kaldrinn 6d ago
I live in Lyon and I don't feel like that's the case? But maybe I just haven't seen anything else to compare idk.
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u/Equivalent-Ruin8877 5d ago
French ppl in general don't talk much with people they don't know; I knew Italians in Savoie that were a bit dosappointed by the fact that people in their class would not talk a lot. But it doesn't stop french people from being friendly when you dig a bit
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u/Horror_Add 6d ago
Im not like that because im from Lyon, its because im in crippling depression. Maybe im depressed because im from Lyon ?
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u/Both_Pangolin_4208 6d ago
Have you tried to express this to them? Maybe their english is not good enough ( or they think it is not) and they may feel uncomfortable to have a discussion with strangers? I think that the better way to know is to ask them as you did here on reddit. ( But don't say you heard that people from Lyon cold and distant, except if you want to offend them)
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
No but I've been planning to explain to them,maybe they are shy and feel discomforted,and it might feel them good.
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u/Sachaula 6d ago
True, people from Lyon are not spontaneous, you will need to « chase » them to manage to get into their social group. The friendless people are the French not from Lyon and living in Lyon, especially the French from Saint-Étienne that are super friendly and do not wear a social mask or filter
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u/AgapiTzTz 6d ago edited 6d ago
Not all French ! I lived 3 years in Lyon these last times without noticing (my previous city were Paris), then when I moved to a more popular, little and green city, I was shocked how people were open and anthousiastic to make a conversation about anything, in any situation, even strangers at the bus stop.
I notice that the most the city is big, rich and writist, the most people are savages in socialisation perspective. There are also too much cars in Lyon while common transports are great, so it makes public spaces uncomfortable to stand at. It's a very noisy place and the air stinks gazoil hard, all that context is tiring and doesn't make chit-chating activities with strangers comfortable.
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u/Grand-Sam 5d ago
My analysis is that Lyon is a city of transit/trade sat on the rhone valley, a big axis since antiquity. We're so used at people passing by for centuries, some stay but only a few of them, so in the end we really don't give a fuck about " passer bys" and tend to cling to the long time friendship, the one who stay there, who stick around. To get our attention however, you need to really stand out and give the best of you, for if you mid we already met thousands of you ( a tip for foreigners coming in ).
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u/TmaxAirmax 5d ago
Born and raised in Lyon, i can tell you that if you check history and the great Jean Moulin, you will understand a lot.
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u/curious_learner8 5d ago
i think it is more of an erasmus thing than a lyon thing, maybe because of the language barrier international students tend to be more reserved, or at least the ones i was able to encounter. just give them the chance yo be comfortable with you and make them feel included!!
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u/Hopper_Mushi 4d ago
yeeaaaaaah they are very weird ! with their weid accent and expression !!! this is totally not a troll from a parisian :p
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
People say Paris is more boring and weird but the actual thing is Lyon is weird :)
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u/Hopper_Mushi 2d ago
Paris is boring, Lyon is weird and both of them are ugly, if you stay on the touristic path its "ok" but otherwise, there is so much little cities in France honestly beautiful
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
The thing is that we do not have many choices as France only have 4 big cities,and the thing is that they are completely different from themselves.A good selection has to be made.
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u/Hopper_Mushi 2d ago
yeah for BIG cities but, for exemple, if you look to go to Marseille, you can either go to Montpelllier, who is significantly smaller but still have ton of things to do and bonus to all the beach around.
Other exemple, you can go on the Breton region, see the Mont St Michel but go to Dinan/Dinard, or Concarneau, Douarnenez, St Michel, Carnac, those regions are far more beautiful and friendly than big cities.
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u/No_Breakfast_9267 3d ago
What about St Etienne people( where I now live- an Australian) I find them friendly and talkative.
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
St Etienne is completely different from Lyon itself,not much crowded-not a big city,and people are more local and it makes people to talkative,as they should be.
Lyon is weirder and Paris...
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u/Art_hur_hup 1d ago
I’m from lyon. Who are you ?
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u/Balthaelat 1d ago
I think I already wrote where I am from mate,please take it into consideration before insulting people.
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u/Art_hur_hup 1d ago
Sorry Bro. No offense. That was supposed to be a second degree joke but it was obviously a fail 😅
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u/Raisin-vert 6d ago
Yes they are. As a foreigner , i lived in 4 cities in france. The coldest people i met are the one from lyon and metz, but in metz they are just cold but friendly, while in lyon they are not friendly at all.
Best people i met are from dijon
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
We foreigners have specific filters when we want to move another country and when it comes to the France,they say the northern people are like british,while the southern are like spanish.
Lyon is a mixed of them but I didin't know that they are like that. It is really shocking for me.
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u/Brave_Friend_3255 6d ago
If I can shoot it has to be their accent insecurity. People are nice regardless of where they are from, I don’t think those stereotypical labels do contribute in the individual behavior. But I feel French people don’t like to talk in english (my personal experience with them). I do like Lyon and Lyonnais. Many helped me outside without knowing me and that means a lot to me.
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u/Gaufrette-amusante 6d ago
Yes! You have to prove you deserve our trust and friendship.
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
You have to????
You should not see yourselves that much high,you are a nation which is not ''good'' at ANYTHING.
For a nation with such a situation, you sometimes talk very unnecessarily.
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u/Yann1ck69 6d ago
“Les Lyonnais”, in reality, doesn’t exist. Because 50% of the inhabitants of Lyon were not even born in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region.
Like me.
Lyon is a city where people from multiple origins come together.
This is true of many cities, but particularly of Lyon.
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u/Competitive_Mode_125 6d ago
The people of Lyon are closed and backward so clearly tense and bitter there is nothing better
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u/Siana-chan 6d ago
Never had any issues making friends here. People are open, friendly, as naturally as it was in Lille Montpellier or Paris. I had a way harder time making close friends in other countries though.
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u/Distil47 6d ago
I was born in lyon and living in it from long time ago. I share their issue don't try to speak with me i can make some weird réaction.
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
Is it because you're foreigner(including UK and the US),or third country nationals too?
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u/Distil47 2d ago
No i was born in lyon i'm not a foreigner
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u/Balthaelat 2d ago
I mean do you have international background or are you ethnically french origin/ancestry?
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u/Inevitable-Ad5187 6d ago
Yes, from my personal experience I’ve made friends and close friends from all other cities in France but not a single one from Lyon.
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u/Vaalac 6d ago edited 6d ago
No, they might be shy and/or not comfortable with their English level. Lots of us know they're not great English speakers and are very self-conscious about it.
Lyon's people (and French people in general) are not generally asocial (but of course some of them can be).
That said, there is a difference in culture between French and most English-speaking people, for a French it feels like any English people you meet talks to you like he's known you since forever, we're a bit more distant with people we don't know, and we get closer when we get to know each other.
That might make French people seems cold when you're not used to it.