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I'm an American who recently moved to Brussels. The quality of life here is so much better. Nice, dense neighborhoods, good public transit, very little signs of poverty, well paid workers, polite manners, sensible laws about guns, much lower rate of violent crime - the list goes on. If only America wasn't infested with ignorant republican yahoos, it too could enjoy the full benefits of being a western democracy. It's such a shame the non Yankee element keeps America from reaching it's potential.
I'm an American who recently moved to Brussels. The quality of life here is so much better. Nice, dense neighborhoods, good public transit, very little signs of poverty, well paid workers, polite manners, sensible laws about guns, much lower rate of violent crime - the list goes on. If only America wasn't infested with ignorant republican yahoos, it too could enjoy the full benefits of being a western democracy. It's such a shame the non Yankee element keeps America from reaching it's potential.
Really, you live in an upper class neighborhood in Brussels and think that is equivilant to the rest of Europe.
US has an average income of 56,340 and an unemployment rate of 5.8%
How about Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece who has PPP incomes of 34,824, 34,561, 25,503, 23,688 dollars respectively. And their unemployment rates are 23.7, 12.6, 13.1 and 25.9. Are they not part of Europe? If not, shouldn't I exclude states such as Mississippi and New Mexico?
But even if you don't look at the terrible countries in Europe, France and Germany is stagnating. France still got 11% unemployment. Belgium unemployment rate has stayed fixed on 8,5%. Eurozone has an average unemployment of 11.5% and an average youth unemployment rate of 23.3%. Eurozone GDP per capita is still at 2006 levels.
Really, you live in an upper class neighborhood in Brussels and think that is equivilant to the rest of Europe.
US has an average income of 56,340 and an unemployment rate of 5.8%
How about Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece who has PPP incomes of 34,824, 34,561, 25,503, 23,688 dollars respectively. And their unemployment rates are 23.7, 12.6, 13.1 and 25.9. Are they not part of Europe? If not, shouldn't I exclude states such as Mississippi and New Mexico?
But even if you don't look at the terrible countries in Europe, France and Germany is stagnating. France still got 11% unemployment. Belgium unemployment rate has stayed fixed on 8,5%. Eurozone has an average unemployment of 11.5% and an average youth unemployment rate of 23.3%. Eurozone GDP per capita is still at 2006 levels.
And I find it funny when you mention dense neighborhoods. Have you ever asked yourself the question why? I think this may explain it
Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been to any of those countries that you mentioned?
Really, you live in an upper class neighborhood in Brussels and think that is equivilant to the rest of Europe.
US has an average income of 56,340 and an unemployment rate of 5.8%
How about Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece who has PPP incomes of 34,824, 34,561, 25,503, 23,688 dollars respectively. And their unemployment rates are 23.7, 12.6, 13.1 and 25.9. Are they not part of Europe? If not, shouldn't I exclude states such as Mississippi and New Mexico?
But even if you don't look at the terrible countries in Europe, France and Germany is stagnating. France still got 11% unemployment. Belgium unemployment rate has stayed fixed on 8,5%. Eurozone has an average unemployment of 11.5% and an average youth unemployment rate of 23.3%. Eurozone GDP per capita is still at 2006 levels.
And I find it funny when you mention dense neighborhoods. Have you ever asked yourself the question why? I think this may explain it
But I just heard in FOX 'news' that US economy is terrible, and everything else is terrible too, and getting worse.
Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been to any of those countries that you mentioned?
I have been to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Switzerland, Iceland and Austria. I have lived in Norway and Denmark.
Is that enough, or do I need to visit even more countries to be qualified to speak?
I've lived and worked in Europe and I hated it and I never ever want to go back. I'm glad the OP is happy there. My generalization is that Europeans are rude and arrogant and by the OP's comments, he probably fits in quite well. I'm currently working in Peru and love it a million times better than anywhere in Europe...I was offered $250K/yr to go back to Europe and passed....ya'll can keep it. Just make sure you keep making the Beemers I like , that's pretty much all I want from Europe...well maybe some of the French cheeses. I even find the Chilean wines to be superior to the overpriced French wines.
I have been to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Switzerland, Iceland and Austria. I have lived in Norway and Denmark.
Is that enough, or do I need to visit even more countries to be qualified to speak?
I would have been satisfied with 1 or 2 tbh. I just notice that there is a trend of people bashing places that they have never visited on these forums is all.
I think a lot of Europe is better than the U.S., but that is mostly because I find the History of the region more enticing. Overall, the standards of living and care in either region are similar.
I am skeptical that those representing Europe who post on this forum are the norm of visitors and locals who live on the continent. Europe is not to be compared with US. It's old world charm. You appreciate Europe by letting go of the expectation that good = spaciousness, speedy conveniences, compliance with American standards. You let go of that and you find all the things Europe offers that we don't have an equivalent for in the US, such as 11th century architecture, cultures of an older time that are not pointless just because they aren't in style anymore, fine art that no money today can produce, and urban street design, language diversity, fresh soil for growing the ripest fruits and veggies you will ever eat because we don't have a climate zone in the US like Europe's on the volcanic enriched Mediterranean soil, and politics that is much less black and white.
Last edited by Ericthebean; 11-15-2014 at 11:14 AM..
Really, you live in an upper class neighborhood in Brussels and think that is equivilant to the rest of Europe.
US has an average income of 56,340 and an unemployment rate of 5.8%
How about Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece who has PPP incomes of 34,824, 34,561, 25,503, 23,688 dollars respectively. And their unemployment rates are 23.7, 12.6, 13.1 and 25.9. Are they not part of Europe? If not, shouldn't I exclude states such as Mississippi and New Mexico?
But even if you don't look at the terrible countries in Europe, France and Germany is stagnating. France still got 11% unemployment. Belgium unemployment rate has stayed fixed on 8,5%. Eurozone has an average unemployment of 11.5% and an average youth unemployment rate of 23.3%. Eurozone GDP per capita is still at 2006 levels.
And I find it funny when you mention dense neighborhoods. Have you ever asked yourself the question why? I think this may explain it
I don't think the neighborhood I live in is representative of all of Europe. I freely admit I'm still pretty ignorant about Europe. I've only been here for a few weeks. To be honest, what has surprised me most so far is how similar this is to many parts of the US. It just has minor tweaks that make it better. People drive all over Brussels. It's a car culture -- but wait, they also manage to have good bike infrastructure and public transit. How do they do this? Well, they have narrower lanes with wide sidewalks and bike paths -- it's not all about the car. They take into consideration that there are other modes of transit. We could easily replicate this in America. We just choose to cut every possible corner when it comes to investment in public spaces in the US for some reason.
Recycling -- it's a pain over here. It's pretty complicated to sort your trash. But guess what? When every one does it (by compulsion) it leads to a greener, cleaner country. In America, we have Walmart. Here, they have Carrefour -- pretty similar stores, but again with some minor tweaks. At the Carrefour, the parking lot is on the roof. It's just as sprawling and ugly as the typical Walmart parking lot, but it's out of sight and doesn't lead to a big empty dead space. Sure, it probably cost the corporation that owns Carrefour a lot more to build a parking lot on the roof, but oh well ... they'll get over it if they want to do business here. In America, we roll out the red carpet for Walmart. Yes masah! Whatever you want! Just give us some of those slave wage jobs!
I've traveled throughout Belgium -- well outside of my neighborhood and into Wallonia. The poverty just ins't there. That's probably because wages are so much higher. Yes, it cost 17 Euro for a haircut here -- about 22 US dollars -- but the hair dresser is well dressed and well mannered. He doesn't have the hint of desperation you'll find from a typical US hair dresser who is barely making minimum wage. The US obviously has a much stronger economy than Belgium, but the more equitable distribution of income here makes it a nicer place for everyone. It really does.
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