The other side of the Luxembourger postcard

The Luxembourg Post Card is very simple:

Things you like

Things you wish were different

How is that different from any other country (including home)?

Hello Vectra32,

I think that there is a little misunderstanding here, in fact Julien is actually asking members to talk about their good and bad experiences that they faced in Luxembourg ( the two sides of the Luxembourger postcard).

As i see in your profile that you are also an expat, i think that it would be nice if you can share both your negative and positive experiences with us on the forum.

Thank you,

Priscilla
Expat.com team

Hi Priscilla,

Opinions of Luxembourg tend to be a bit like Marmite:

You either love it or hate it.

The only way to find out if you like Marmite is to try it.

The forum is an excellent way of sharing information.

So here's mine:

Good:
Small and quick to get around, kind of cosy and in that sense more personal than big cities. Quite pretty and scenic, close to Germany/France/Belgium - all a 20 minute drive. Surprisingly self-standing considering it is surrounded by big countries. A big plus - people here don't think they know everything better/that their way is better (as they largely do in Belgium) - they are aware Lux is small. Perhaps special, but still not an empire by any stretch of imagination. Ppl can be friendly and kind.

Bad:
Average person seems quite unhappy and closed, there's no big smiles or any of the southern European open hearted cordiality - a very grumpy feel overall (due to expensive housing?). Too small to offer much variety in many areas - if you don't happen to be impressed by the whole Luxembourg-rich-place-clout, it starts to look fairly ordinary. Don't try to find a swimming pool that suits you - there's only two or three of them in the whole country! Kind of in the middle of things - but then far enough to be away from any real action in Paris or London or similar. Housing is pretty average by any standards, but costs as if it's all luxurious (and no, fast internet, wooden floor and a bath do not constitute luxury, just a nice place). Very limited job market. Too many pretentious people (I'd think expats - most probably have not seen real glamour or affluence so keep imagining how Luxembourg is somehow 'it', whereas in reality there are many other much richer places one can see and be in). It seems to be the deprived person's paradise - but then if you are not deprived, you'll quickly realise there's many other richer places one can be (where luxury is marble floors and golden taps and glass ceilings or walls with ocean views and that sort of thing).
Deprived and isolated would sum it up - perhaps less so today, but history of deprivation and isolation is both still visible and well documented (Lux museum had an exhibition on this two years ago).