Some things I love about living in Europe...

In no particular order, here are some things I love about it over here:

Food, wine, beer. 'Nuff said! :-) Each country has its own style of cuisine and beverages. From the baguettes here in France, to the sauerkraut and sausages in Germany, to the pasta and caffe lattes in Italy, the variety is amazing. Not to mention the fantastic fresh veggies. And it's really fun to discover new things. Until we lived in the UK, I had no idea what chutney was--now I'm addicted!

The people. It's so nice to meet people from all over the world and get their perspectives on life, etc. And to learn about how people have arrived here in the South of France, etc. Everyone has a different, and usually interesting, story. And especially on those days where you say to yourself, "What the f*** am I doing over here? Could this be any more difficult?" you've got someone who has already been through it and can help you.

A more relaxed outlook on life. There is also a vibe that many Europeans have, hard to put into words, but it's sort of an underlying mellowness. Like, "Yeah, we've been here for centuries. Been there, done that. Where's the wine?" It's hard to explain. (of course, there are some real nutters here as well, but that's just international I think...) But looking at the US from the outside, you can see how immature we are as a nation and sometimes how messed up our collective priorities are. (And, I'm sorry to say, the American stereotypes of most - not all - travelers over here is true.) But I'm glad now that since I've lived over here, I can help to educate my fellow Americans about life in Europe and the people! We've also spent a lot more time "hanging out" with friends after work, on weekends, etc. and you realize how "busy" we are in the US and don't really focus on spending time together.

Daily life. Yes, some of it is wacky, but it's really interesting to learn how other places do things. Not just administrative stuff, how do you get an apartment etc., but what people do in their free time, what are their priorities in life, how do they feel about the world, etc. Just because something is done differently to what you're used to doesn't mean it's wrong. Sometimes, you can actually learn something.

The old stuff. For me, personally, I have a very strong connection to the past and I feel so grounded here. Probably the presence of all the stone and brick. I think that's just me. But it is really amazing to see these sights and think that they've been around for as long as they have. And the architecture as well. I think sometimes as "modern" people, we think our ways are so much better, more advanced, etc. But it's quite easy to be impressed by a cathedral or castle that has been here for nearly a thousand years and was built with nothing but rudimentary tools and hard labor. (leaving aside all the political/religious/forced labor stuff for a moment...)

The human scale. Everything here is smaller. The houses, the cars, the juice cartons in the market...I could go on. When we first moved to the UK, and I found that we could buy 500g of sugar (which is about 1lb, I think), I nearly fell over. In the US, it's rare to see sugar in less than 5lb bags. It's more intimate and you really see how wasteful we can be in the US. We've learned to live with a lot less "stuff" and our lives have been better off for it.

The languages. At the moment, I hear mostly French, of course, but I also get a fare smattering of Italian, Spanish, and German. It irritates me that I can't communicate better in all languages, but at least I've been able to pick up some French while I've been here. And it really drives home the point that if you want to really learn a language, you have to go and be with people who speak it. The way you learn to speak in a classroom is completely different from how people really talk in daily life. And most people over here speak a minimum of 2, sometimes 3, languages. It's quite humbling.

Not having a car. It's so nice to be able to walk everywhere and not have to worry about parking, etc. Although, to be fair, when it's raining, you really don't want to walk in the rain! Also, when we feel the need to get out and about, we have to rent a car, which involves more planning ahead. We can't be as spontaneous as we'd like sometimes. Where we live here in France, the city-wide bus network is fantastic. Most of the major cities we've been to also have very good transportation: metro, bus, tram, train, etc. It only seems like when you get out of the major cities it becomes more difficult to get around.

The eyeglasses. They have way more cool styles over here. The Italians take it completely over the top with crazy colored frames. And that's just the men!

The feeling of security I get from the health care. I know that if something major happens, we won't lose our house over it. And I don't mind paying the higher taxes for it. It's not a perfect system by any means, you still need a private insurance to cover a lot of the costs, but I know that I will get care.

The variety of cultures within such a short distance (relatively). It's pretty cool to be able to get on a plane or train and be in a totally different environment, culture, language, etc. within a few hours.

That's all I can think of at the moment, but I'm sure there are more!