Weather and Claustrophobia

I have discovered that Brussels is not any colder than South Carolina. There have been colder temperatures in Carolina for the past week than there have been here in Belgium (although Belgium has been a lot more rainy). However, I never wore scarves and gloves back home. I have decide that this is because people in Carolina usually don't go outside as often or for as long a time as people here in Brussels. All day, people are walking everywhere. Public transportation is also a lot more common here than I have ever seen back in the South. Sometimes it can get really cold as you sit and wait for the tram or the metro. One of the trams that we take around the city is shown below.
Another thing I've noticed about Brussels, and I wonder if it's true for Europe in general, is that everything is more narrow. This is especially true for passages: the doors to the tram, the aisles in grocery stores, the staircases in houses, etc. I'm pretty sure that it's because people in general are thinner here. I think Europeans probably eat healthier and a majority of the population smokes, causing them to keep a lower weight. It makes me a bit claustrophobic sometimes to have to maneuver in these places that are smaller than I'm used to.