Den aktuellen Zustand des Rests der Welt sehen. Ich habe meine Meinung geändert: Ich hasse das Leben in Belgien und bin jetzt dankbar dafür. Wofür seid ihr alle in Belgien dankbar?

Belgium has always ranked in the top 10 on most positive stats.

We are both some of the wealthiest and most equal in wealth people on earth.

This place was never bad to begin with, we all just live in a bubble where we don’t realise how good we have it here.

Lol, civil war… i think you watch too much media.

But thankful? I’ve got a feeling this won’t age well seen the current financial state of this country. It doesn’t look good, not for us, not for western europe.

I enjoy that I can complain about our politicians without getting put in a hole somewhere

As a trans women… Being alive and not jailed or killed to exist is enough 🙂

I’ve lived in Belgium for 30 years, and it’s home now. Ja, ik heb Nederlands geleerd. The schools are excellent, the food is great, and the healthcare is outstanding. We own a large, paid-off home—something I couldn’t have imagined as a young person in the U.S. I also appreciate the Flemish sense of humor, especially their ability to laugh at themselves.

the usa is not at the brink of a civil war. lol.

Im only here for the food and cause many belgians love dogs (and cats), a few weeks ago I saw a big dog running alone in the streets. It was not friendly so too big of a risk to catch it in my car. I parked somewhere and asked an owner of a store if she knew who it belonged to. She immediately started making calls. Meanwhile every single car, including a Lijn bus, stopped near us and warned us a dog was in the streets and if it was ours or if we would call someone.

Clean running water, hot and cold. Heating. Warm clothes. Bombs not falling on my head. Enough access to food. Strict regulations on food making it safer to eat and also tasty. Access to abortion. Access to healthcare. Despite being disabled and relying on the government for an income, which isn’t a lot, I’m still better off than about 95% of disabled people in other parts of the world. I’m still mad at the government for how they do things though in regards to that because it means I can’t, yet, receive all the support I need. So I’m grateful ànd mad about that. Both can be true at the same time. Some of the support I receive I feel very grateful for because it’s amazing.
I’m free to express my opinion. We have police that is fairly allright even though fatal mistakes happen too often (Jonathan Jakob, Chovanez, etc).
Been able to study even though I came from a poor family.
I’m not forced into marriage. I can speak in public. I can wear the clothes I like as long as I’m not publically nude. I have. There’s access to euthanasia even for psychological suffering. I’m allowed to believe what I want. I was allowed to go to school in the first place. Climate is such that we can grow our own food in most of the year. Access to internet and thus: knowledge.

There’s a lot to be grateful for simply for living in Belgium. I didn’t grow up in a good situation but there’s always worse. I’m disabled but there’s also a lot things I don’t have, like parkinson, MS or cancer. I don’t have a lot of money but I can still afford to eat and have clothes on my back. I can go on and on. We have serious problems in Belgium too. But all countries have serious problems. We just have less of them than most other countries.

Our social security system and food regulations/checks

Belgium is a heaven in disguise

I like it here. Some things bother me but that will be the case everywhere on this planet. There’s a lot of good things about this country. Good food, good drinks, lots of cultural stuff, relatively affordable houses compared to most countries and especially neighboring ones.

I will soon begin a medical treatment, and thanks to our excellent healthcare system, I will only pay 16 euros per session. Although not all treatments or medications are covered, making it challenging for those with other conditions, this support for my treatment is invaluable. In comparison, the same treatment costs 500 euros in Spain and 700 euros in the US. It’s truly a blessing to have such affordable care here!

Kunnen vertrouwen op medische zorg. Goede infrastructuur. Super kunst, cultuur & mode van eigen bodem. Prachtige steden om een dagje door te brengen. Mooie natuur op een boogscheut verwijderd. Makkelijk en snel reizen naar een heleboel andere landen… Veel voordelen 🙂 

Our education system is, as far as I can tell, unrivaled even in Europe. I have expressed myself negatively about foreign students coming here for their higher education, but I understand why they do it. If I am not mistaken, we are pretty unique in offering access to education on all levels to all people alike.

This means people can live the real American dream here and go from a life as a menial worker who had to spend their free time sustainability farming, to living a middle class life and affort multiple foreign holidays per year, in two generations. Or one, depending on how you call it when your parent is the menial worker and you are the middle class person.

I know this is not true for everyone but it is attainable if you are born with a good hand of cards in terms of health, intelligence and a stable family life with at least one steadily employed parent.

Then there is the indexation of wages and benefits, which really makes a difference for those are in the lower income tier.

And with all its flaws, our public transport system is pretty performant and our road / traffic infrastructure is, in general, reasonably maintained and well designed and made. Emphasis on ‘in general’.

And finally, there is our health system. Pedro Brugada performed surgery on our king and then went on to the next patient, retired 69 year old part time seamstress Godelieve Knockelmans from Zulzeke, with the same level of care, skill, expertise and equipment.

I know a relative small amount of people is footing the bill to provide this for all of us. But I’m semihappy to be among them, because it’s being used to make so much possible for so many people. Even if a most of that doesn’t seem to benefit me directly, a lot of it I will never need, and a small portion of it is even used for things I actively oppose, I firmly believe I will have a better life when both me and my neighbours are doing well than when it’s just me living it up and everyone around me struggling.

In conclusion: education, social mobility, accessible high quality healthcare, infrastructure and ‘welvaartsvaste uitkeringen en lonen’ something so unique there isn’t even an English term for it, make me feel very privileged and grateful.

FYI : The world has never been safer than it is now. It may not seem like it, because everything gets more media attention these days, and everything is more visible because of internet and social media, but it’s true.

Less crime, less wars, less diseases, less car accidents, etc etc.