Do I love living here more than in America

Hello all;
I am back from the grandparent-a-looza tour 2008 with Eileen. We had a splendid time. But, time and again the question was turned to me: did I like living in the Netherlands more than in the US. I must say that I treat this question the same way my husband treats the "do I look fat in this" question: gingerly!

The truth is that there are some things that I love here. I love that we leave the back door open to visitors and neighbors when we are home and awake. I love that there are horses and cows and chickens and goats and a petting farm all on my usual walk with Eileen. I will admit that at least some of those things could be had in any rural location -- even in the states. I love the opportunity to learn a new culture (again, if I moved to the right location in the US, I might have that opportunity). I love that the bathrooms are usually clean here. I love that people are pretty hard working. I love that coffee is the national libation of choice (though of course miss having decaf as an option...Eileen stays awake when I imbibe too much real coffee). I love that the fritte are better on average than in the states and that they are a side dish with even pasta meals (yes, I am still a carb addict). I love that it is vividly green here, even on days with snow. I love the bicycles and the flatness. I love that my neighbors respond to questions with "it's no problem..." and really mean it.

I am not quite sold on the idea that groceries are closed on Sundays. I am equally uncomfortable with the fact that at least one of the people who asked the question was unable to wear his kippa (Jewish skull cap) in public without a baseball cap to cover it because of local anti-Semitism.

I had promised some further asides to the "You know you are an American living in the Netherlands if..." post:

you keep looking for good chocolate based on the idea that the Dutch learned to process cocoa. (Good chocolate is born in Vienna or Belgium)

you are surprised that the best beers are either 1) imported from Belgium or 2) available in the US (Hoegarten, Groelsch, Heineken (okay, so at least one of those is the Bud of the Netherlands)).

you think that bottomless drinks would be a revolutionary option here (where drinks are about 2 Euro and about .2 Liters in size).