> > > > >Jom"wanna-visit-Europe-to-see-how-GOOD-(some)-things-work-here?"meke
> > > >
> > > > Yes; no
> > >
> > > I imagine there are SOME things that work much better in Europe than in N.America, but what are they, in general?
> > >
> > > My vote for stuff that works well SOMEtimes in Europe:
> > >
> > > 1. The international telephone connections.
> > > 2. The Internet (see 1.)
> >
> > Gee, this is a hard one, the only things i know of N.America is the stuff i see on tv, read in books or magazines, but i never saw it with my own eyes. I read an intresting book about the US, but it was more a touristic-information book.
> >
> > Here's my idea.
> > Telephone and cable-tv are very common here. But thats because of the smaller base we live in here. Its easy to have a good network in a smaller country.
> > In Americe its possible to drive for hours, without seeing a person; Here you have to drive for hours to find a spot without a person, lol
> >
> > I think our social insurance works pretty good, although some countries in Europe have the same free insurance as the US, but we have an obligated social insurance, we all pay taxes for it, and we all have benifits from it, like cheaper medicins, and so on... Unemployed people can easily survive without having to be a beggar.
> >
> > What else works good over here? Our roadsystem is pretty good too, although we have traffic-probs too in the rush hours, but you can easily get to any place, without having to drive through the fields, or something like that (the smaller base is involved here too of course....)
> > All our roads are lightened all night, also the ones not located in town. I heard a story that there are some things you can see at night from your spaceship orbitting the earth: the chinese wall, the pyramids, ... and the belgian roadsystem, lol... and that all with our tax-money!
> >
> > Jommeke
> I too would like to visit Belgium. The most beautiful people in the world are from Belgium (and Ohio).
> Ross

Yep. Belgium is high on my list, too. One of the things that works better in Europe is public transportation. Years ago, I could get on a bus and ride into Knoxville, 25 miles away. No more. The bus station is now a cafe'. There is a railroad track running through our town, but can I go anywhere by train? Nooooooooooo. There are no passenger trains. Taxi? There is one, but it may not be available when you need it. So how can I get to Knoxville, or Chattanooga? Drive. That's it. I suppose I could ride a scooter, but in this country there are very few scooters and drivers may not notice you until it's too late. In Europe, with motor scooters everywhere, driver are used to dodging them.
Let's face it. Cars may be convenient, but they are not very effecient for moving large numbers of people from point A to point B.
Howard