Good to hear TOW...yes, forgot to mention, food is great too...
J-man, cost of living is a bit less than USA but only by about 10-20%. We're officially in the EU now so the availability of products & services is the same as in the west. English is the no. 1 second language, so no problems communicating either. Crime is also lower than in US cities of the same size.
People generally don't work as hard as Americans yet when you tell them that they get offended. If you see a construction site for example you'll see one guy working and 5 guys standing around watching. If you go to a shopping mall during a regular business day you'll see hundreds of people who supposedly should be working. In America, go to any shopping mall at 2 in the afternoon on a business day and you'll pretty much only see retired folks, young mothers with babies, and people who's job it is to be there. At least this is my experience.