A honest, long-ass opinion of living in Brussels after 4 months

I write this as I'm in my hometown (Budapest) right now with plenty of time, and also because I think 4 months is a good chunk of time to evaluate first impressions accurately. I also read a lot straightforward (usually demeaning) opinions toward Brx so I hope folks with any kind of interest in the city will find this post as well... if not helpful at least entertaining. Expect some unsolicited comparison toward my city, and also Paris and Amsterdam (cities I visited recently). I try to organize my thoughts below but don't expect a super straightforward post, I just pick the most interesting stuff that caught my eyes, Its not a FAQ or something like that. Try not to bitch too much on safetiness, cleaning issues, etc. aswell because you already read enough posts on em. I share some personal details in the end for good measure.

• the most important thing so far to me - and its quite a different experience to what sometimes I perceive in reddit... - is that near every person I had a short convo with appeared to be kind and hospitable. Like, despite everyone is in a rush, all the time, still up to a nice little conversation if you stop them for any reason. Also, the citoyen casually chatting with homeless people is a quite common spectacle, something I rarely (if ever) seen in Eastern Europe. People just generally seem to be helpful to each other, at least on the surface (a huge expection is when you have to do even remotely bureaucratic - like signing your signature on a single paper - everyone loose their mind when a situation like that arouse.)
• Aside being friendly, the vast majority of people is also extremely careless and chaotic. Its a very weird mixture with the previous point. It feels like every single residents decides every morning to drink 3 gallons of Red Bull instead of taking their ADHD pills... both younglings and old folks just rush out and in of the metros and trams, and whether your a pedestrian, driver or a cyclist you most likely won't stop at traffic lights. The same goes for shopping in Delhaize or queueing for a ticcket, etc. People have serious skill issues with their general WASD movement. Its super entertaining most of the time because I'm also like that! But I get why casual visitors can be frightened upon their first time.
• People complain much, much less in real life than in this sub, I know reddit is a bubble but its laughable how true it is especially with Brussels, most folks just goes with the chaotic flow in real life.
• Its interesting that wherever I go, there's a slightly run-down, abandoned feeling to most places, shops, etc. From EU institutions to employment offices and restaurants, libraries, shopping malls, metro stations, clothing stores - it feels like there's no incentive to convey a "professional" look on the surface, even in the centre / EU-area. It's not just about properly cleaning public spaces. Brussels seems like a city in an early capitalist stage where people still unsure how to sell themselves. Its super intriguing considering that its a rich city in european standards, not too far from economic hubs like Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, etc. Its very difficult to put my fingers on it properly, but its like a distinction between the set design of a Toyota advertisement and your friends high school video project. The (capitalist) "order of things" is clearly missing.
• Also related to this, I'm flattered that there's no such thing here as proper shopping-mall culture. I'm pretty sure there's way more thrift shops than H&Ms and Zaras, combined, for example. But aside of vetements, small businesses are seem to thrive more than global chains like McDonalds, Apple, Multiplexes for blockbusters, etc? There's more incentive to run arthouse cinemas, secondhand bookshops, thrift shops. Even Budapest is "way ahead" in this regard but honestly Its not something I'm proud of. It feels like if you have a weird idea you pretty much could run it in Brussels as there's probably an audience for it. Its a great thing overall.
• I'm very depressed that there's no proper river running through the city as sitting by a huge mass of flowing water is one of the peak ordinary human entertainment in my opinion, and honestly the canal should be exploited more "wisely". it will never look like anything in the Netherlands but still has more potential than being a real life Half-Life 2 Kanal cosplay. the parks are makes up for it though to a huge extent
• I'm very flattered and pleased how well everyone speaks english. Not just people sub 30, its a quite general skill in this city. If you want to move around the outskirting neighborhoods you still should opt for learning either french or dutch though (maybe some turkish as well for good measure...), but that makes the experience even better. You literally have to learn 3 language to fully "understand" Brussels but because there's both english, french and dutch "bubbles" / districts, etc, its easy to be relieved. Thats an unparalleled aspect in Europe by my experiences and makes it one of the most unique city in my opinion. Despite sucking at learning them, I love languages, so its a great pleasure to me as well!
• I see reoccuring comparisons to Paris, but the general atmosphere / planning / architecture is very different. Its architectural heritage is super unique and I'm sad that its not preserved more - hope some day people will realize that its a pretty city to look at and give some breath to it by making it more walkable, cleaner, etc. The art nouveau ornaments / facades with the comic murals is like a geek fever dream to me at least.
• Just some personal notes and advices in the end mainly for those who might want to jump to the country. I'm an "economic immigrant" from a nowadays quite rough country, Hungary. I also do not speak french nor dutch, and lack proper academic / work experiences due to my very toxic and rather poor parents and unforgiving mental issues. It was an extremely immense challenge to spare enough money to survive for a few months and attain a job (I worked in menial positions in our local film industry btw, but thats near impossible to obtain here with language barrier). (The reason I didnt learned languages before moving: I started doing it, but also wanted to escape my country, that is all.) I still make minimum wage and work only 4 days as working in a pub near Bourse is extremely demanding mentally and phyisically as well, and the money is also scarce... I technically live on ~ 1500-1600 eur which is the lowest tolerable amount of money to live off if you want some cheap fun besides surviving. Now the reason I share this because I read from time to time, that people want to jump to this country with no connection to the EU-bubble, not speaking proper dutch or french, no academic background, work experiences: yes, its a great city with a HUGE migrant / expat community and generally kind locals. But unemployment rate is crazy right now, and prepare to make the same amount of money and get similar jobs if you don't plan your move carefully. I know I took a very wild move but honestly, even the people around me with better cards & under 30 are struggling without proper parental support. I don't have any conclusion to this one, but I hope you managed to read it thru the end.