Luxembourg Loving

Yesterday I woke up to a call from Mdm M asking me if I wanted to join her and Mdm N to drive up to Brussels for a day trip of shopping and food. Who could say no to that? So off we went, and I had a gorgeous time.

Now this is one of the things I love about living in Luxembourg. It's so near to everywhere! Every single time you feel that you are about to die of boredom in this little country, you can just zip off somewhere for a day or a quick weekend, and then everything's okay again. Trier (Germany) is 45 minutes away by train, Paris is 2 hours away by train, Metz (France) is 20 minutes away by car, Brussels (Belgium) is 2 hours away by car and 3 hours away by train, London is less than 2 hours away by flight, Amsterdam is 1 hour away by flight... the list goes on.

It's also especially helpful to travel outside of Luxembourg if not just to realize sometimes how good living is in Luxembourg. No (or at least very low) crime. Spotless streets. Orderly citizens. Quiet neighborhoods. Multi-lingual people from all over the world. We who do live here are of course prone to complaining about how 'boring' life is, how stiff the Luxembourgers are, how expensive stuff is, how rigid the rules seem to be, but that's just the way life is, isn't it? The grass is always greener on the other side. But I think we all know deep down how good life is here. And today, I'd just like to pay homage to this very tiny country I now call home and am learning to love.

You can leave your car unlocked, with your laptop in full view and you'll come back to everything just as it is (of course, it's better not to tempt fate, especially if you park your car in a slightly dodgy area like the Gare). You can walk in the streets alone and not feel the need to hold on to a pepper spray in case somebody decides to spring on you.

Social benefits are wonderful too. And these benefits apply to every single person living in Luxembourg, not just citizens. Medical and dental fees are fully subsidized. I love that. And if you have a child, you get 400euro per month. Two children, 650euro. Public schools are free and great, which is evident in the fact that the normal Luxembourger speaks (very fluently) at least 5 languages (Luxembourgish, French, German, English and Italian/Spanish). I tell you, this is a perfect place to have a family and bring up kids. I think everyone realises that, which is why the entire city is teeming with children.

The mix of people living here is incredibly interesting as well. The city's inhabitants are 50% expat, and at dinners or gatherings, it's likely that a table of 10 people will have at least 7 different nationalities. This makes for very fun and lively conversations, with everyone making self-deprecating jokes about their own countries. A sidenote: almost every single time I tell people I come from Malaysia, the response is: truly asiaaaaaa. :-/

It's also a very peaceful place, and I think places have vibrations and can affect how you behave. When I was living in KL and Shanghai, I was prone to violent/ aggressive outbursts. Busy capitals do that to you. Here, I get lonely and depressed when I miss home and the people I love, but on a daily basis, I don't burn with rage the way I used to. (My improved temper might also have something to do with the fact that I don't have a stressful job anymore, but for today's post I'll attribute it to Luxembourg :p )

Anyway, enough la. Tired dy. The weather is hot again. I know I complained about the cold before, but the heat is somehow worse. I will conclude by saying that I know myself well enough to know that there will be whining posts about Luxembourg in time. But just for the record, today, I love it!