ARGeezer:

And were Paul 27 today I suspect he would chose a different path.

I am in a very small minority among my immediate coworkers riding the tram to work. Most drive, some of them up to 30 miles (in heavy traffic, so lots of pollution). And the development model I see in the outskirts in Madrid is just like California's suburban sprawl. Outdoor malls with fast food restaurants, pillbox shopping and entertainment centres, the lot.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma