i visited the netherlands and its cities are bizarre. it's a country-sized theme park for tourists instead of a normal liveable place. cars are third class citizens. it only sounds good if you don't know what it means. > need to buy groceries and clothes normal country: go in a car. drive 15 minutes to a massive supermarket/mall. buy everything. come back in 15 minutes with car's trunk full of goods. netherlands: > go on a bike > ride 15 minutes to a small shop with groceries > buy stuff for 3 days because more won't fit into the basket > go back > ride a bike to some small shop with clothes 20 minutes away > be forced to buy something from a very small selection > go back spending hours on a simple task > have to ride a bike again in a few days to buy again if you use a car you will take even more time, because the speed limit is 30 and you have to give way to bikes every single time. there's also no parking space. i was never in a place that forces people to waste their lives so much. it's like a forced throwback to 19th century. it's only fun when you're a tourist with infinite time. horrendous to live like that forever. even absolute dumps like houston are better to actually live in. housing density is extremely low. they have a feminine sentimentality to old buildings. 'this building was built in 1623' like it's a good thing. the proper course of action is to demolish it and build a skyscraper. instead people live in a tiny apartments like people used to in the past, with 10 person families living in two rooms. leave several buildings in the city center for sentimentality reasons, destroy the rest and build something with 21th century standards. progress inherently requires giving up the past.
United Arab Emirates