From time to time, important news gets overshadowed by other headlines, even though it could have a profound impact on our (online) world. To most of us, few things are more bothersome than the dreaded cookie banners. On countless websites, you’re confronted with a pesky pop-up urging you to agree to something. You end up consenting without really knowing what it is. If you try to figure out what’s going on, you quickly get lost among the often hundreds of “partners” who want access to your personal data. Even if you do give your consent, it’s questionable whether you truly understand what you’re agreeing to.

  • Harvey656@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Random side note: how is Belgium to live in and what would it look like to live there right now? Asking for a friend.

    • utopiah@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      how is Belgium to live in and what would it look like to live there right now?

      It’s literally between France, Germany and the Netherlands, I mean geographically yes but roughly culturally too. Arguably Brussels is a mix of all that and other cities again match where they are.

      So… it’s a Western European country with good quality of life despite having one of the very highest taxes rate. You don’t have to be a socialist to be here but if you want to become a rich entrepreneur it’s going to be challenging.

      Source : immigrated there from France ~10 years ago.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 month ago

        it’s a Western European country with good quality of life despite having one of the very highest taxes rate.

        “Despite”? Try, “because”

        • doctorschlotkin@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          I think they’re actually right about this one, taxes tend to cover things that give you high standard of living more than quality of life.

          • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            1 month ago

            Curious what the distinction between “standard of living” and “quality of life” here is… I’m sure there are subtle differences, but surely taxes contribute to both (which themselves are interrelated).

    • Brumefey@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      We have better access to healthcare than France, generally good work-life balance, access to education is cheap (1000 eur for one year at a good university ). People are welcoming but also reserved. It’s raining a lot and we spend a lot of time complaining about it.

      • voidspace@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        I have friends who live there, and they report the same. They visited us for the first time here in London recently, and were quite shocked by the stark differences.

      • MaggiWuerze@feddit.org
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        1 month ago

        It’s raining a lot and we spend a lot of time complaining about it.

        Hey, that’s our brand!

        Sincerely, a dude from Hamburg