Living in Europe as I do, I have to say that the north European, rule-bound mindset, and it's almost universal acceptance of government, makes it a more soulles

Living in Europe as I do, I have to say that the north European, rule-bound mindset, and it's almost universal acceptance of government, makes it a more soulless place to be. The things I like, wonky streets, eccentricities, unsanctioned alternative thinking and living, are mostly being legislated and engineered out of the picture, apart from a few heritage examples. The individuality that made things interesting has been bounded and contained. In a general sense, I think European culture is homogenising itself into oblivion. The spontaneity of life is not here. (Of course, I'm speaking in ludicrously general terms!)