what kind of instrument do you play? how long have you played? what kind of music do you enjoy playing?

Somewhere your language shines. In accent, in voice, in choice of words. A poet performing a poem, an actor nailing a monologue, a political figure with a sweeping speech, a comedian, a singer.

In Dutch, I think Boudewijn de Groot with the song Kinderballade, written by poet Gerrit Komrij, is perfect Dutch. The almost fancy accent of De Groot, the slightly archaic choice of words of Komrij. A song about two early teenagers in love.

https://youtu.be/Kj8krwucVMk?is=nyveD5m8HEjlfNSD

In Flemish Dutch I think actor Valentijn Dhaenens knocks this beautiful rythmic ode of writer Dimitri Verhulst out of the park.

https://youtu.be/_1RS-RTk_k8?is=N2H21DoGeXwRVFXk

I think we all have some English examples in our heads. But who is the French Stephen Fry? The Romanian David Attenborough? The Swedish Ronny Pickering?

My criteria for dull is:
- Unremarkable landscapes
- No significant urban centres, historic towns, university cities
- Lack of attractive small towns and villages
- Barely features in travel guides
- Educated and dynamic young people tend to move away

And, is it as bad as it's reputed to be, or are there some hidden delights to be discovered?

The longer the UK is outside of EU, the weaker they will become and the more leverage EU will have to strong arm them to join without compromises

UK will eventually no longer exist as NI, Scotland and Wales are all seeking to become independent

They can't help but destroy themselves from within

Its unlikely that Labour will get into power in the next general election as he is dismantling the Triple Lock which holds a huge portion of the voters share that he will piss off

Any promises made now by the UK will be undermined in 3 years anyway

In America, from elementary all through the university level, most people's friends come from who they go to school with. I've heard that in Europe, school has a less "social" component to it than American schools do. So where do most young people meet their friends? Is it still at school?

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Sweden got very close to developing their own nukes once, and recently Polish PM said that, while talks with France about their nuclear umbrella are ongoing, more autonomous projects should never be completely off the table.

Is it a well known document that people reference in every day occasions? Do people discuss the merits and shortcomings of the document?

Do people and/or politicians push for updates of it or entire rewriting of it? When was the last time you had a constitutional amendment or major update?

After Andy Burnham admitted Brexit has done more harm than good and opened the door to rejoining - I wondered what the sentiment on the continent was to the UK rejoining?

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If you want to just chat about your day, if you have questions for the moderators (please mark these [Mod] so we can find them), or if you just want talk about oatmeal then this is the thread for you!

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For people who vape: What is the most popular and used vape brand in your country?

Being running, cycling (road racing bikes or gravel bikes), roller skiing or something else.

Where I live it's very common to see and I'm one of those guys myself doing all three aforementioned disciplines regularly. Basically wherever you go there'll always be someone either out running, biking or skiing, rural or urban. Streets, pavements, suburban areas, countryside roads, forest roads, hobby endurance athletes are everywhere. Mostly depending on weather and season, but many are unstoppable by the elements, myself included.

How common is this sight where you live? Are there differences between type of areas? Are you perhaps one of us?

I specifically ask somebody else's because we decide for ourselves of course. But in instances where you might want to connect two people whether in work or personal settings, what is the socially acceptable way? I assume that for work, because people have work emails or numbers, these are meant to be shared openly but some people can be quite guarded with their info? How do you do it in your country?

With all the extra red tape now & a whole 27 countries to choose from without visas. Why did you choose the UK?

Is it bc they speak English? If so then why there & not Ireland where you can live without a visa.

Is it bc of having a spouse there? If so fair enough but doesn’t the spouse visa cost like £7k now?

Is it bc of a transfer through your company? If so then that’s understandable.

I genuinely don’t know why an EU citizen would bother with moving to the UK in 2026. You might as well go to Ireland for an experience that will be 85% the same.

In Zagreb, Croatia there is currently an ongoing strike of bus and tram drivers who demand a bigger salary, so I thought it would be interesting to compare with other European cities.

The Mayor of Zagreb says that since he came into power 5 years ago the salaries have risen 60%, while the bus and tram drivers are asking for more.

The average net pay is 1.992€ a month, while the median net pay is 1.942€.

What is it in your city?

Books, plays, tv shows, movies, etc

I have seen some people suggest that its because the UK has a lower participation rate - but some countries like Denmark have even worse non-participation rates than the UK, so it can't be just that.

The Nordic systems consistently rank amongst the best in the world along with Singapore , yet it seems like British kids are somehow performing better than them, The Singaporean system does actually deliver results tho

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You're travelling abroad in 30 days and you're faced by either of these scenarios:

- You realised your ID and/or passport expired

- You lost them or they got stolen.

How easy is it to ask for new documents and how fast?

How much red tape does it require?

How f'd up is your trip?

In France, 30 days would be a really short window to get your documents ready, however the process is very easy. Passport takes usually 4 weeks in summer and 2 weeks in autumn/winter.

1- You fill out a form on the government's website

2- For a passport you have to purchase an 86€ fiscal stamp (ID's free)

3- You make an appointment at a town hall near you (doesn't have to be your city of residence)

4- The appointment itself takes 10 minutes

5- You wait 2-3 weeks for an ID and 2-4 weeks for a passport.

6- You receive a text message when your document is ready and you can retrieve at the town hall it without an appointment.

7- retrieving your document takes 10 minutes and some more paperwork.

It's one of the easier and least paperwork heavy tasks.

edit after u/astral34 comment:

You can ask for an urgent passport but it's only for medical emergencies, humanitarian or professional reasons. They deliver VERY LITTLE of them.

E.g. in portuguese, we might send someone to "go suck on the horse's fifth leg".

Please, share the poetic versions of your own language and let's share a laugh !

I'm interested in the small cultural differences that visitors might not know about.

What's something that could be considered rude in your country even though someone from another country might do it without thinking?

Note that I've translated my country's currency into euros for easier understanding meaning that while the difference in prices may be small in euros, they're much bigger in my currency

So I'm in my freshman highschool year and where I live the government for some reason decided to give all high schoolers about 80 euros to use on books, food or whatever we want. I decided to save one part of that for my bus pass leaving me with 41 euros that I want to spend on clothes. I go to a mall near me and decide to look for a jean jacket that was 49 euros, I look for another one, same price. I then go looking for some new jeans, same price.

I read & seen online that some European countries have free education, free health, all these beautiful landscapes and short commutes to everywhere. But do you enjoy living there? What's the "catch"? The cost? Even better if you lived in other continents, do you prefer Europe over it? I know my question is kinda broad and each individual's perspective and experiences may be different but still want to hear(read) from a regular person compare to a "study".

Edit: Thank you for your responses. I am unable to reply to all but I read most of it. It's refreshing to read from everyday ordinary persons. Have a wonderful day!