According to the BBC, Utrecht is #4 of the 5 happiest cities to live in! Check out the article here. 
(Note: the Utrecht section continues onto Page 3).

It goes without saying that a huge part of my study abroad experience is the "study" aspect. I am enrolled in two courses for the first half of the semester, and begin two new courses on November 11th. I wish I could say that my studies in the Netherlands are so different and interesting compared to attending a university in California. But I can't say that, because aside from a few small details it doesn't seem very different.
I have fewer hours of class and subjects to stress about because I take only two subjects at a time. This is a big fat pro in the pro list. 
There is also a huge improvement here in the quality of the discussion. UCD forces (usually) untalented TAs to run a discussion that they are neither interested in nor prepared to do. The professor manages everything in the class - there's no disorganized lack of communication between students, TAs and professors. At UCD, the professors and the TAs have different responsibilities in every single class dynamic, and honestly, it only takes away from the students' education. I've never felt a discussion section that hasn't been a waste of time because they are usually unorganized, unproductive, and irrelevant to the class subject. At UU, however, it's just students and professors, and the professors seem to take a very active role. In the discussion times, we actually discuss! Who knew! Sarcasm aside, the professor expects students to have come to class prepared with answers to reading questions (yes, I've actually had to do my reading assignments), and she/he actively engages students and [forces] a response from everyone. It can be very intimidating, but I feel like I learn a lot from this because 1) I was forced to actually do most of the reading so that I don't sound like the "dumb American" people expect me to be, and 2) it's so much easier to absorb the information when it's not said into a microphone one hundred feet away, but students are forced to listen and think critically (in the fear that you get called on to speak next).
Although it's difficult for me because I sometimes get nervous speaking up in class, generally it is a very useful environment to the study process. It's too bad UCD hasn't gotten it right.