Comments on: 5 Ways Europeans Live Better than Americans

By: DivaDivine

DivaDivine — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:06:16 +0000

It’s funny that now that I’m preparing for a long trip to Lisbon, I’m considering packing a bikini after reading this. I’ll be at my healthy goal weight by then and think my body looks great. I wouldn’t dare strut my stuff on a beach here but in Europe….

By: ART

ART — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:16:16 +0000

I also came across this blog by accident. I’m so glad I did. I now live and work in Dubai, after having lived in the US for a long time. As I grew up in the US I found its culture to be more and more immature and whiny. This coincided with the feminist/socialist takeover of the educational system in the late 70s. Radical feminists believe that the government should provide everything and that no one should have to do anything unpleasant, or be compared to others, or be judged in any way. So, for 30 years the US has been turning into a preschool culture in which teachers can’t talk about right and wrong, or about nutrition, or exercise, or attitude problems, or earning things through hard work. Teachers, unlike when I was a child, can’t discipline students–other than giving them a ‘time out’–and therefore don’t have any control over their students; just ask any inner city teacher in the US. Making money in the US has become paramount, even to the point of ignoring the well fare of its children. Since for 30 years children have been receiving a less and less rigorous education, devoid of not only sound fundamentals like reading, writing, and ‘rithmatic, but also life skills training, they now, as adults, lack not only the academic skills needed to compete effectively in the global market, but also the basic life skills that allow citizens to follow mentally and physically healthy lifestyles. In short, Americans are generally becoming fat and stupid. And there is no sign that this will end any time soon, primarily because socialism and feminism have effectively brainwashed Americans into a state of stupor, one in which they cannot even see what they indeed are doing to themselves and worse yet their children. Another way to look at it is that Americans now have their priorities completely in the reverse order. For Americans it’s material things, wealth, power, and vanity–and then a vacation once a year where they pay enormous amounts of money to enjoy a quiet moment or two. For Europeans it’s family, friends, balance, and enjoying the small moments that happen each day. Europe has a balanced culture and happier people because that’s the way they want it, which means, I’m sorry to say, that Americans have the rotting and festering culture that they stupidly allowed members of their own culture to foist
upon them. A quiet afternoon sipping coffee in an Italian cafe is worth much more than living in the rat race of New York City where a coffee costs you $5, it’s substandard, and you don’t have time to enjoy it. I know, I used to live there. When I moved to NYC in the early 80s it was dirty, but very livable. Now it is sanitized, very expensive, and very unhappy–just like many other places in the US. As the current American generation spawns an even more physically and mentally incapable progeny, it is almost impossible to imagine the US going on as a sovereign nation for more than about 50 more years. The Romans are a perfect example: After 1000 years of almost complete domination, they became fat,lazy, and drunk–thinking that they’d always be number ‘one’. Sound familiar?

By: Maggie

Maggie — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:41:31 +0000

I am an American who has lived in Europe for the past 3.5 years. You have summed it up nicely. I still haven’t fully adjusted to the shops only being open from 10am to 5pm, but somehow I’m still alive! (that’s sarcasm, by the way. We don’t often NEED the things we think we need and can go very long without them!) I lived here for 2 years without a car at all. I biked everywhere, including to work in the rain. I have a huge culture shock when I come back to the states. But everywhere has their positive points. The space and nature in the US is fantastic (i’m from Seattle originally). Nature that is not planned by humans is hard to find over here. A lot of the beaches have sand shipped in. The mountains have streams that have been redirected or built up to protect the land. We have something special in the states…wilderness. Let’s protect it.

By: Travis

Travis — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:55:03 +0000

Reading this really makes me want to visit Europe that much more…

I think this whole “more is better” attitude IS exactly what’s killing Americans. What’s even funnier is, I’m at a normal healthy weight, yet everyone constantly feels the need to tell me how “skinny” I am…..

…Folks, wake up, I’m not skinny, most of you are just overweight!

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:56:12 +0000

I lived in Belgium for a little over a year and a half and planned on living there longer but for various reasons had to return to the states.

Loved it but also loved that fact that the position – my status allowed me to avoid paying the 21% VAT on everything you buy over there.

I’m sure American’s wouldn’t be want to have to pay that in the US. I’d be happy to pay it, if I thought the money was going to something worthwhile. Like taking care of the elderly, I think about this more and more as I pass 50.

As for better healthcare – certainly an arguable point – not that I think the US’s is good. I just know, if you are a regular citizen – you have to wait or pay for it yourself.

I’m not talking hours or days but months. I have a friend whose father died before ever getting to his appointment – if he’d gone private – they could have seen him the next day. But that was the UK so maybe the continent is different.

There are good and bad reasons for living in US and in Europe.
During the cold war, the US had the job of protecting the free world.

I doubt the USSR would have been too frightened of Western Europe not to roll over it if they felt the need – the reason I believe the reason they didn’t is they didn’t want to face down the US. I’m sure we didn’t want to face them down either (USSR).

OK, you can all flame me now.

I’m in the US now, but would love to go back to Belgium and maybe spend the rest of my life there – at least the area where I was – Mon’s about 20 minutes from the French border.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:16:09 +0000

this article is spot on, well done!

By: Psychologist

Psychologist — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:30:45 +0000

They also have a better health care system than the US

By: Pema

Pema — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:54:42 +0000

Thank you Wendy for such a nice blog!!! I like and I really really love it. Now I have some idea about how the life is like in the US and one day i would like to come there but its so big I dont really know which place to visit I mean 50 states??? Yeah life is kind of easy here I mean everything is so cheap, in India for a bread it cost 10 Rupee compared to a One pound twenty nine pence and the traffic; its so smooth here.

By: Mo

Mo — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:06:29 +0000

I have to add to my commnet. I wanted to comment on some of the other responders that think it’s so nice and convenient the American way where everyone can go to the huge stores always get their stuff like groceries pack their fridge and then stay home for months on end. Where as Europeans to it the right way where they buy smaller items and portions such as in their grocery stores and Europe is more built on communication than just go get stuff and stay home. The U.S. has gotten so use to the idea that everything we need we need a lot of it and that way we can pack our houses full of crap and food and then don’t need to talk to anyone and stay in our own little worlds or our own houses. Where as Europeans use the grocery store, resuatrants, coffee shops/coffee houses and pubs to get out, meet people have conversations. In Europe it’s mostly always an “experience” where as here in the U.S. where not built on experiences where built on rushing where one just needs to get get stuff and then rush back to theri work or home. I absoltuely love the European way to get out have a great conversation meet people while you shop, eat and relax. The U.S. hustle and bustle way is so not the way to go. I wish the “big box” stores would go away and we would turn to smaller type shops and grocery stores. Also I hope with this economy that SUV’s, hummers and big pickups trucks go Bye Bye and people use their heads and go smaller. We don’t need big stuff. Go SMALLER GO EUROPEAN!!

By: Mo

Mo — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:42:49 +0000

Yes I completely agree with this article as I have been all over both Western and Eastern Europe. It is so refreshing not to have to always depend on your own vehicle and practically anyone can get around in cities and the country on either trains or buses. What I still want to know though is like in major cities like Budapest or Bratislava, Slovakia does one need a vehicle to get around in like what we call in the U.S. “suburbs”? I have been to a friend’s house in Bratislava Slovakia and also have been to Budapest and seem like obviously in some places one does need a vehicle. But yet at the same time it seems so walking and biker friendly that if one didn’t have a vehicle and lived in their “suburbs” you could still get around with a bike or easy public transportation. Plus it’s convenient to have a vehicle when one does not want to always depend on the trains or busses.

But on the other hand Europe has such good modes of public transportation that a person does not have to wait very long for the trains or busses. Where as in the U.S. reliability on public transportation sucks because the U.S. depends so much on people driving their own vehicles. I love Europe where almost all towns and cities are so much more accessible by foot, train or bus and almost everything is almost always within walking distance. The streets are narrow and much closer together than the U.S. I am just so sick of how the U.S. a person almost always has to drive to where they need to go it’s so pathetic that our public transportation is so poor. Even with our public transportation one mostly has to either hail a cab, or some kind of vehicle because the U.S. is not built for walking.

Also I have always wondered how construction people work in Europe vs. the U.S. Like here in the U.S. we have the big box stores of Lowes and Home Depot. Do Europeans have stores similar to ours? Obviously Europeans also have a lot smaller truck or pickups than the U.S. but was just curious as how European lumber yards work.

I find it also so fascinating where Europeans can go to the rural areas by train or busses even pretty remote areas and not depend so much on vehicles. One can go to farms by way of train or bus visit the farm, catch the train to a small town and such it’s so convenient.

I also really like how coffee shops/coffee houses, pubs and restaurants are so comunication friendly, relaxed and people actually talk and have conversations. Here in the U.S. it’s turned into just get your coffee, food, or even sometimes beer and go. Here in the U,S, we are so built on we must always be working and even after working hours in coffee shops, restaurants, bars people have their damn laptops, get their coffee, food, beer and continue to work. I think coffee shops/coffee houses should either put a limit time on how long a person can work on a computer in a coffee shop/coffee house, restaurant or bar or ban laptops for certain times in coffee shops/coffee, restaurants, bars so people here in the U.S. can turn into more a European relaxed feel and actually have conversations. In Europe it’s so relaxed that anyone that goes can start some kind of conversation, get to know someone, get to know about the area. Then when the coffee shops, stores are shut for their time away go visit places or stuff and then in the evening one goes back to the coffee shops/pubs and or restaurants and has a good decent conversation with the locals and travelers.