Reply #21: what keeps me from moving there

[RainDog]

is that I got married one year too late. The year before I got married, Belgium stopped automatic citizenship for spouses. My kids can live there and their dad is still a resident alien. but I'm no longer married. I have asked some of my ex's friends to marry me if things get really creepy here - don't really want to get to that, of course.

Immigration enforcement isn't the only issue, however. Lots of EU countries had big immigrant populations because they brought in "guest workers" from Turkey or Morocco, etc. - and their histories of empire mean they have immigrants from those areas they had previously occupied. This creates tensions, but, again, the biggest reason, imo, that quality of life is better for all people in those nations is because of strong unions.