If you're an American exploring a move to the Netherlands, check out our 15-page moving guide. It includes all of the stuff we learned along the way and links and contact info for everything you'll need from immigration to buying furniture when you arrive. buncharted.gumroad.com/l/help-me-move-to-the-netherlands
I moved from the US to the netherlands some time ago. I mostly learned dutch by trying to read dutch language comic books with the help of a dutch/english dictionary. The pictures help to understand whats going on. I can really recommend this method to anyone.
"There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." Germans like this proverb too. Yes, definitely learn Dutch if you want to live here. You'll miss so much if you don't know the language, it's part of the culture. "Naaktslakken are snails without their little homes" is absolutely spot on as in Dutch the shells are called 'huisjes'.
People do not realise that the Netherlands and Western Europe is a LOT further up North than mainland USA. My brothers wife is from New Brunswick in Canada, where it Freezes -30 celcius in Winter, but their town is 700 kilometers to the south of Paris (!). The fact that Northern Europe has such a temperate climate is mainly because of the warm gulfstream that transports warmth from the caribean towards Western Europe...
And its a coastal country, so the sea's heat does indeed make the climate warm and mild. Go inland a bit more into Germany, and you are back to heavy snow and strict winters.
And no irradiation. US/Canada has snow and Sunshine able to make everything warmer and light. Action is the answer to everything79 cents for a tiny box with fabric net and sticky back velcro door version a bit more, so bug screens aren't much of an issue Aluminium or stainless steel fabric cloth are rare and expensive, but plastic are to be found in any DIY supplies chain store.
I saw a video yesterday about an American couple who were going to move to France. Once there they were busy with everything etc etc...but they didn't make contact with the residents of the village where they lived and they didn't learn French because they were busy busy busy with there own stuff.........they went back to the USA because they didn't like it anymore. It's their own fault. So explore the village/town in between, take your time and try to master the language wherever you are in the world then you get a lot further and people know you more and more, so they are more inclined to help a newcomer.
I saw the same. These people had not realy considered that you can not take your home country with you in your back pocket. Life is going to be different and you must be willing to change your life. And yes you are going to be lonely. But you have to make that choice! And yes it will take quite some time before you have found your own niche. But you never, ever will become Dutch. And that is okay! But realise this before you get going. And also, it is not for everybody to make drastic changes.
@@Marianneduetjejust consider one does it the opposite way. You go to the USA and you just use your home language. No contact, just work on line. You tell the first policeman you meet “Het spijt me ik spreek geen engels” see what happens.
@@sjakrijnen hang er vanaf welke huidskleur je hebt. US hebben geen officiele taal en zijn meertalig, waardoor ook Spaans veel wordt gebruikt, ook door politie in sommige staten?
Really, really helpful information, you guys! I remember on our first visit to the Netherlands (summer) we were actually caught off guard by how late the sun stayed up in the sky. We had been awake for more than 26 hours, so it didn't discourage us from falling asleep at an appropriate hour; but it was definitely a change of pace from what we're used to in the U.S. Also very proud to say that we were able to guess the word of the day because we learned the word 'slak' from the Laafland area in Efteling 😁
Nice video. My sister and I inherited a couple of appartments from our dad that he rented out for his retirement. One was vacated 2 months ago ( Maastricht in the South, Nice town). The real estate agent we use for renting out told us that he got 250 applications for the appartement in the centre of Maastricht.. He picks out the “best” candidates for this € 1700 monthly rent 108m2 appartement. This proves the housing shortage in real life. Maastricht in a Nice city with a lot of expats. There is social housing over here but there is a 10 year waiting list before you get social housing. Many Dutch stay with their parents until they are 27 or 28 for that reason. Because most locale cannot afford € 1500/€2000 rent a month. Moving is easier if you have enough funds, if you decide to stay it is much cheaper to buy than to rent ( and no capital gain taxes if you sell a home with a big profit after 10 years or so. The West of the country is much more expensive than the North, South ( although Eindhoven is als getting very expensive) and the East. The Cheapest regions are Zeeuws Vlaanderen, Oost Groningen and South East Limburg (Parkstad/Heerlen/Kerkrade).
wooow, for me 6 out of 5 stars for this TH-cam film. The naked truth about the Netherlands and how difficult it is to integrate. The same applies to people who emigrate to the US. Next time please a film in Dutch😀 because I think you have already adapted very well.
31:40 Good point. The doctor you see is a GP, which is fully covered by insurance. The idea is that you see your GP early, so conditions dont get chronic. But if you dont feel sick or dont have an issue, there is no reason to go. Doctors are also not very likely to prescribe antibiotics and other meds, since all interventions have risks. If the symptoms are likely to pass, it will pass, or you are told to return after some. Like a cough takes up to 3 weeks before they start tackling it - but the doctor will do some basic tests to see if its nothing serious or suspicious otherwise before letting you go. I do think... if you become a bit older, like 50+ or its time for your pension... having a chat with your GP about health and some baseline readings... probably not a bad idea to spar with your doctor.
I'm not a medical professional, but our GP has a gadget that tests a drop of your blood when you have a cold or the flu. Even the assistent can use it. It measures a level of something 😅 in the blood. Are you above that level, it's a bacterial infection and you might need antibiotics.
@@immeathome Sounds like a CRP test - where its testing for a liver protein. If the level is high, its more likely to be bacterial. But you need to take into account the whole patient of course. A cough can have many different causes, depending on the patients age, life style, how long they have been coughing, etc.
@@immeathome Keep in mind that the human body is perfectly capable of recovering from an infection. Only when the infection persists, aggravates or there are other risks present, like age, health condition, pregnancy, etc, then antibiotics come into play in the NL. In the Netherlands, the approach to antibiotic use is notably cautious, aiming to combat the global issue of antibiotic resistance. Dutch healthcare professionals are particularly judicious in prescribing antibiotics, especially for conditions like colds and flu, which are typically viral and do not respond to such treatments. This strategy has resulted in one of the lowest rates of antibiotic consumption in Europe.
There is this thing in the Netherlands called "Hordeuren" and "Horramen". These are the "anti bug screens" you mention. You can get them at stores like Karwei and Praxis.
Great video. Michelle:Thanks for making that point so clear: Running TOWARDS something vs. running AWAY from something. My wife and I have been following you since the beginning, and now 2 years in, I am a handful of weeks away from retirement. Now the decision is nearer. Current events are not a primary concern. But I have always argued for the exact point you make. I align, I understand, I appreciate the Netherlands 'attitude' more than ever. A culture of taking care of each other. Period. And for the record, Pants made a silent contribution. "First Guest" recognized. We just got back from our first "crappy weather" visit to NL. Not deterred.
As a 42 year old Dutchie I have always appreciated our weather, we have all 4 seasons. The rain will always s*ck though 😂😭, but as the Dutch saying goes 'we're not made out of sugar, we won't melt.' 😉 The Netherlands has always been welcoming of other people coming here, this mindset goes back centuries. We have been having a bit of a housing crisis though for the last few years because of migration(a lot of refugees besides the normal immigrants), but if you go a bit more rural than you will have more chance of finding a home. Oh and rural here doesn't mean you're living far away from civilization, we're so small you can be in an urban area, city within an hour tops. (usually by bike, public transport or simply walking) The US and the Netherlands have had a long standing friendship basically since the independence of the US, so overall us Dutchies and Americans mesh pretty well. We appreciate it if you'd put some effort into learning Dutch, but we're aware it's not an easy language to learn, plus most of us speak English so you will never not be able to communicate. I wish you and your wife well on your next journey/adventure wherever it may take you. Warm greetings from the Netherlands. 😊🌷
@@BabzV Thank you SO much. This response made my day. AND, it makes another point that the Dutch are FAR friendlier than some give them credit for. For every "don't move here, we're all full" comment I read, I get far far more, online and in person responses that are indeed warm welcomes. Cheers from the US.
20:05 The Netherlands has 192 rain days per year on average. Typically during winter we have the 'wet season' and during late spring / summer we have the 'dry season'. We used to have winters, but snow rarely falls and hardly ever sticks for more than a day on the ground. Climate change. Anyway. 192 rain days, which tend to group a few days at a time. It can happen that its rainy for a week or more, with showers, or just long drizzles / rain. Do we hate it? Well, complaining about any kind of weather is our favorite national pass time. 23:00 Hot summers? Fan, windows open... shorts, shirt. Bug spray. You close the blinds to keep the heat out of your house, and you open it up when the sun passes... Airco is just not that common because summer heat is usually just a few weeks.
I saw a number of your videos and I wondered when are they going to talk about how hard it is to move to another country, now you did it 👍 Ps. Because of you, I call my tomcat now often "House Animal" 😀 So every time he has his crazy 5 minutes running through the house I say "Oh the house animal is at it again" 🤣🤣🤣
When you move abroad, you still take yourself with you. Yes, lving in another country will change you, but you cannot control how it will. So if you're running away from yourself... mixed results
Wat een verstandige video! Ik welkom mensen uit andere landen, maar hoop dat zij zich in ieder geval proberen aan te passen! ( ongeacht aan wie zij zich willen aanpassen😇😇😇💪😇😇❤️❤️❤️❤️)
19:19 Think the summer / winter time is a little exaggerated... Yes in the most extreme days you have 17 or 7 hours of sunlight. But the shortest day is the 21st of december, and longest is 21st of june. Its a good idea to take some vitamine D and take a walk outside during day time in the winter. If you dont, you can really feel the winter depression (or winter dip). Thankfully the Netherlands is much more friendly to go outside for a walk, through a park, or some woods, or take a bike ride. You ll find people sit outside in the early spring to catch some sun. I have sat outside to catch some sun in october even. But yeah, if you have a 8-17 job, you spend your commute in the dark of nov-feb. So get out in the weekend, go catch some sunlight during lunch time.
Rain tends to fall under certain conditions. Some parts of the day are unlikely to have rain... but then still, the Netherlands has more than half of its yearly days as rain days each year...
Bug screen = (NL) hor. plural: horren. When on a door frame: hordeur. Check out Gamma or Praxis, or for luxurious ones go to a specialist shop for sun screens etc and ask for horren. If your apartment owner does want you to modify the window or door frames, it's easy to make a hor yourselves. Just create a rectangular wooden frame that fits exactly in the open window and staple the fine mesh or cloth (!) on one side. Because 'hor' is just a 3 letter word it's a reminder we the Dutch have been doing it for ?centuries?. Just saying. On the dark days of winter: remember the Netherlands is way warmer thanks to the North Atlantic Gulf Stream, but...: Dordrechts latitude is approx 51 degrees 47 minutes (just checked on Google Earth...). Which is 2 degrees more north than Vancouver, Canada ! Famously, New York City is about the same latitude as Naples, Italy. And NYC is way up north in the 48 contiguous states, Naples is well deepsouth Europa... You may want to mention that if the topic comes up again in one of your future vlogs... And correct for summer time /winter time (just being pedantric). P.S. anal (E) = anaal (NL) both as noun and adjective with some neuter words (no pun intented). Adjective can also be 'anale' depending on the word flow.
Housing shortage and rent is insane. But I gotta say it wasn’t as insane as now a couple of years ago. Ever since about 2016 or so it just went up SO BAD. We just bought a house after 2-3 years of intense searching and the only reason we succeeded is because it’s new house that’s being built right now so you don’t have to participate in extreme bidding or have to be dependent on the right makelaar with the right connection. It was kind of a lottery (also based on your personal story) and holy crap, we actually got it. But 2000 euros in rent is crazy.
Oh and I always love how people in the US say places like Seattle are so depressing, yet if you check how many sun hours they get it’s STILL more than we get hahaha
The biggest reason not to move to the Netherlands is probably that you're simply too late. Yes, it is or was a great country to live in. But it's clearly grinding to a halt. The housing crisis is just one example. Society has changed so rapidly in such a short time, that people and governement can't keep up. There are shortages in many areas. Anyone noticed that in many restaurants you can't order your food in Dutch anymore? They can't find Dutch speaking personal anymore after the lockdowns. That might sound great for foreigners but it's seriously pissing of Dutch people. Any time the Dutch governement intervenes they seem to make things worse, not better. A plan to make rental homes more affordable has backfired, resulting in less homes available for rent. In January a new law comes into effect, making it a lot harder for people to freelance. The assumption is that it will result in more steady jobs. But there are already areas visible where it will lead to more shortages because people are simply quitting instead of applying for permanent employment. And people talk about how safe the Netherlands is. But they never talk about the number of small bombings (786 in the first 9 months of this year). Sure nobody has died yet, they just lost some limbs. They also don't talk about the crystal meth labs, and the fact that the Netherlands is a transportation hub for weapons and drugs. Demographics are also changing. By 2050 less than 50% of the Dutch population will be ethnic Dutch. So that what makes the Netherlands Dutch will slowly disappear. The Dutch government has noticed that the number of ethnic Dutch people leaving the country has increased. That's why they've come up with an exit tax to try take as much money from those people while they can. The Dutch governement is going to need it...
Maybe its easier to have friends here, try it out, the Netherlands, for a couple of months and stsy with them. Before you take the big step and move here. There's a difference in culture, climate and customs. Can be a culture shock for some. Better test the waters before going all the way and burn the bridges.
Your fifth reason: well, that's why I like riding my bike early in the morning. And by early, I really mean early... sometimes I'm at my bike at 6.00 or 6.30 and I can tell you: there are not much people up and running at that time... especially in the weekends I love to go outside and ride an hour or two/three/four through de polders, over de dijken en langs de weilanden. Seeing the sunrise, and eventually talk with one, two or three people that are also out this early... so yeah, when you're wanting time really alone, try-out these early hours...
@@BabzV, ah, nog zo'n vroege vogel! Zó lekker om juist die vroege uren op pad te zijn! Die stilte... nog geen mens op, hooguit een enkeling. Volop genieten van rust, ruimte en de natuur om je heen. ❤
I've been researching & visiting NL for years in prep for my big move. Everything ur saying is on point! Amns tend to travel with the expectation that their Amn. lifestyle is the default wherever they go.
The Netherlands only became really densely populated after you two move here! 😜 I love to listen to your observations though. Sometimes it takes an outsider (I hope you’re not offended by that;) to make you aware of your own situation. Thanks and uhh . . . welcome to the country! 😁
Fantastic video. The grass may be greener, but it’s still just grass that needs weeding and mowing. Every one of my husband’s family members do live in a separate single family dwellings that do not have any shared walls, so that was interesting to have your perspective on the housing situation. I studied duolingo for a year and got to the end of that class. Conversationally I can have a good amount of retention but the fear of making mistakes is real and hard to overcome. I always said I would like to move there from April to October. 😂 that lazy Dutch living for sure. Happy winter and may the bulbs bloom for you both soon.
Never be afraid to make 'mistakes'. ❤ Everyone will appreciatie you're learning Dutch as a second language. Not everyone in NL is absolutely fluent in English, but most Dutch people will know enough to help you out. You'll get there, one way or the other. 😊
We definitely appreciate if you speak a few words Dutch here and there when you come here, but nobody will expect you to be able to have entire conversations. You'll pick it up along the way. 😊🌷
For the mosquitoes, I have them all year round. So I have bought a “Vapona muggen stekker” and it really helps me, as the mosquitoes will be gone after putting it in the socket. 😊
Yeah also on mosquitos there are bug screens you can attach. It does depend on your windows a little. Mine open to the inside so I have those cheap nets you can attach with velcro strips inside the window frame, it doesn’t clash with opening or closing the windows. The nets also hold up pretty well… not as good as sturdy more permanent installations obviously, but it works. In my childhood bedroom I had a screen made to size in a frame with hinges so I could open the window (swung to the outside in this case) and put the screen back in place (closed with a magnet lock). So yeah some bugs can still come in during the small time the window and screen are open, but most will stay out because you put the frame in place. There are also more permanent screens that go on a slide close if you don’t do framed.
hi love your vids and yes if you not can't dance in the rain ,don't come here ! you need to have a form of minimalistic life style when you want to live here I think ,I know that some americains go crazy about the fact that you can't shop here 24/7 lol ,.
To me NYC is up quite far north in the USA, in comparison Rome is quit far south in Europe. People forget is it on the same latitude. The netherlands had the same latitude as Alaska and Canada.
11:55 No seriously, if you don't have any of this lined up you will 100% drown one my friends is moving to spain from The Netherlands right? Left his apartment here had to move out and at the very end the deal fell through luckily he could move in with somebody for a bit. But if you don't have a backup for your backup plan things might get rough out there especially if you don't know anyone.
6 months in on the DAFT visa and I will say, yes - starting your own business is hard. You have to really want it and do the work. It's possible, but I think a lot of business fail because they didn't find the "need" for their business before jumping in. The same could be said for businesses in the US, though. But I like your point about the potential of failing in an unfamiliar place. Most people probably don't think about that. We lived on the 45th parallel before we moved and now we are on the 52nd. People don't realize the difference in sun hours and lack of sun hours this far north. We love it, but it's not for everyone.
Re: screens. They don't come preinstalled or built in, but i'm fairly used to having a removable screen on windows. Removable because even a mesh in the winter is blocking a little bit of light, and it really does make a difference to take it out. And screen doors/gauze curtains/bead curtains etc are also very common. My parents and grandparents live on a farm with shutters on the old home part, and new fabric covers for the remodeled stable part of the house. Those are really effective at keeping the heat out, mainly downstairs, not directly under the roof. The shutters are also really good at keeping cold out and heat in in the winter. This combined with some pretty thick walls, so long as they can keep the sun out of the main part of the house, it's pretty cool inside. Of course, that also means that if you have a very long and/or extremely hot summer, or you leave windows or doors open to let the heat in, you'll have an unbearably hot house for days and days after the heat is over. Once it gets hot inside it won't cool down for a long good while. You can feel the heat radiating from the brick walls for the entire night if the sun heats them up for a day. The long daylight hours is one of the reasons the heat also feel different. I noticed this when we went to the North Cape this summer. (24 hour daylight, which was amazing, and honestly very easy to get used to for me, the shorter days were more difficult to get used to, darkness at 10 at night is perfectly normal for late August, but it felt so early) It was between 25 and 30 degrees at the North Cape (unusually hot), but the asphalt was starting to melt in places. Not because the asphalt was weak or anything, but because the sun shines 24/7 and the asphalt doesn't cool down at all. The sun doesn't set, at most it dips just behind a hill top. So lots of asphalt was getting sunlight for close to 24 hours a day, basically all summer, and didn't get any chance to cool down, because there is no temperature drop at night. This is way more extreme than in the Netherlands of course, but it still matters. More sunlight hours means things heat up for long days, and don't cool down much during short nights. And vice versa in the winter of course. You need a house that doesn't leak heat in the winter. I spoke with someone who had built an earthship-like house in a small neighbourhood of similar houses. Normally those houses are built with one big window to catch sunlight inside the house, let the sun heat up the thick back wall, and then the house stays warm. It didn't work. They needed way more sunlight in the winter to get it to warm up, and less in the summer. An awning is easily built, but extra sun is hard to come by. There simply wasn't enough warmth or sunlight to keep the house warm enough in the winter, so they had to get a heater in the end. Later houses were built differently to solve that problem. I live in a rowhouse and while occasionally I can hear neighbours, like if their door slams really loudly, most of the time I hear nothing at all. I didn't hear their babies when they were little, I don't hear their dogs, I don't hear conversations, I don't hear them walking... Brick walls are pretty thick as it is, and with insulation etc, a brick house is pretty well sound-insulated. A friend of mine lives in a medieval house, also brick, and I don't think I've heard any sounds from neighbours whenever I visited. If the house is very big and split into appartments it is a different story, because the floors are often just wood planks, no insulation. But overall, I haven't had any issues with sounds from neighbours in any of my homes, not even my room as a student. I remember reading a comment from an American tourist who was ranting about all the unemployed and lazy people in the Netherlands, because he saw so many people in the parks, or in cafes. And like, he seemed baffled by the idea that breaks exist. He just assumed anyone sitting in a park was unemployed for some weird reason, and he seemed even more confused by people being in public spaces. I don't know enough about this to say definitively, but from a few articles I've read, and a notjustbikes video about third places, public places to just be aren't so much a thing anymore in the US. The preventative healthcare is more like, you don't get checkups for no reason. But if there is a reason, like the breastcancer gene, or a chronic illness, there is no issue getting monitored and getting regular checks. The main issue is the reason. Most doctors won't just order a bunch of tests if they don't have a good reason to do so.
I am loving the NS-signage flags you have. I was actually wondering about that recently, because I knew they were upcycling them but hadn't seen yet how.
Aberdeen is much more extreme in terms of number of hours with daylight (and the weather). In summer the seagulls start screaming at 3am and in winter you won't see much sunlight.
I think this applies to everyone who is moving to another country. Migrating is not for the weak. Especially if you have to find a job here. Language, language, language and I know it's not the easiest one. Most of us are multilingual but not everybody. And not always English as a second language. Michelle, Alex and I live in a metropolitan area of about 2.4 million people, the biggest harbour in Europe and a very large agricultural sector (greenhouses). All in one tiny region. This means soclal interaction all day. At the strangest hours, public transport can be overcrowded. And let us not forget: the unwritten rules. We live in a multicultural society so it depends on the background of a person what to expect. Do I have to take off my shoes? Can I expect something to eat when invited? How to greet someone? It was 2 kisses in the north and 3 in the south. Now it's a big hug. When do you use 'u' or 'jij'? This is all very personal. And when you cross the borders it changes. I can understand this is all very confusing. Everything Michelle and Alex told you is true. This is the Netherlands.
There are probably many people employed with big companies that move to the Netherlands as part of their job, that move from suburbia to a Dutch suburb. And, unless they're really high up, they may be disappointed with the size of some of the houses, and, if not the house, then certainly plot sizes. And, because Dutch society is less about class (either measured by heritage or money, it doesn't matter), so many of their contacts will be outside the usual social bubble - or they will have to content themselves with a smaller bubble.
De ziektekostenverzekeraars hebben je wijs kunnen maken dat de ouderen de schuld zijn van het ''onbetaalbaar'' worden van de gezondheidszorg. Deze verzekeraars maken miljarden winsten omdat ze elk jaar steeds minder vergoeden maar ondertussen wel elk jaar de premies blijven verhogen. Het verhaal(lees: propoganda) dat de ouderen de oorzaak zouden zijn van de alsmaar stijgende kosten is alleen maar bedoeld ter rechtvaardiging van de alsmaar stijgende premies.
As an Amsterdam local, remembering my Gp's face when I asked for a 'cardio stress test' on account of family history. So, yes, they only treat symptoms or the ailments, being proactive and advocating on ones own health is still 'new' here 🤦🏽♀️
Yes, mijn favorieten podcast Groeten uit Curaçao. De donker kant, ach als je wat down voelt neem een zonnestudio, 20 minuten en je loopt weer met een lach naar buiten. Compliment voor de uitspraak Amsterdam, top hoor
To improve your Dutch, I would recommend you to ask your Dutch friends (I suppose you have one or more) to speak as much Dutch with you and also to read Dutch books, to begin with books for children. Succes!
Good job, guys. I've lived in the NL twenty-five years and still have issues, but I could never move back to the States. I couldn't afford the insurance and housing prices. With that said, I honestly don't feel the Netherlands is looking for people to move here in our overcrowded land. As you mentioned, it's the 32nd most densely populated country worldwide. Because of this, we don't need or want people, IMO ... well, unless you're a doctor. And though we have a shortage of doctors - meaning not all in the medical profession - you'll still be required to do certain integration courses before being able to practice here. Because I'm not a doctor I don't know exactly what this all will entail, but I've spoken to others who were and surprised that they couldn't immediately practice. Though now a retired educator, myself, I still work p.t. with students who also daily complain about housing being an ongoing problem here - and a big one. The lucky few finding student housing close to their universities are indeed the lucky few. Most either still live with their parents and/or other relatives. Or they share housing in other cities which they can travel to by public transport. And, as you mentioned, during rush hour transport is very crowded. So are the roads. However, these days with remote learning capabilities, students often attend school in person around three days a week and do the rest of their studies online. As for the self-employed, I have a horror story for you. My Dutch husband and I had been running a mediation business for years. Through it I could use the company tax license, which you need to have as a freelancer, or ZZpayer, as we call it in Dutch. Then one day close to retirement our business got audited. The tax accessing office decided that what I did, which was teaching business English and some computing skills related to it on the side, was not in sync with the description of the mediation business. So, we had to split our company in two and pay back taxes for the second, which wiped out most all our retirement savings. Our lesson learned too late has been that when you start a business make sure its description jives with what you are specifically doing. Otherwise, like us, you could end up with a serious headache and possible heartache. The Dutch are very direct about this too. No sympathy. Just resolve the issue within the allotted time given you. Period. Yet, the biggest obstacle for me having moved here as a midlife international educator has been that I've really missed my family and few remaining friends back home. Yes, they've all promised to visit, but too few actually end up doing so. Instead, you should be prepared and financially able to visit home, yourself. The few who do come and visit you shouldn't expect to do so every year, or other year, either. And you're going to have to resolve your integration, yourself, because integrating into this culture can be a very lonely process. The friends I have here are solid ones and typically loyal. Then again it's hard to make friends because of the Netherlands being a small country with a culture that has encouraged one to develop lasting friendships early on in school. And most of these friends have remained in close contact their whole lives. Charming, yes, but not for the outsider. You may never be invited into their circles. And, if so, will most always feel the foreign one. BTW, for soft cookies, go to Albert Heijn for the 'gevulde koek', especially at the bakery now with the really tasty ones that look like Christmas trees. Oh, and in Dutch 'anal' is 'anaal' 😉
Without mobile AC it will take 2 months or more to get under 24c that is with having the doors and windows open during the day. It being windy after it being warm is rare here. The plus side is that I use 90% less heating during the winter compared to others.
If the US would have the same population density as The Netherlands, there would be 4.26 billion people in the US... Yes, you will have neighbours when you move here :)
Ik ben toch benieuwd naar jullie definitie van “alleen zijn” in de openbare ruimte. Volgens mij lukt me dit wel, of ik ben gewoon zo aan mensen gewend dat ik niet beter weet.
I think, you should listen to Dutch music, especially "De Kippen van de Buuren" (The Neighbour's Chickens) by Normaal. The first verse goes like this: "Our neighbours keep chickens, No less than 80 of those animals/beasts They have a really big yard, But where do you think most of them run? Those chickens cackle a lot, And step around a bit dumbfounded My wife can barely keep up And she has got some skills, too!" 😁
So nobody has neighbours in the US? I think people never coming out of their bubble is a typical American thing. Yeah, If you live in overcrowded cities like Rotterdam and Amsterdam you will have neighbours awfully close by. If you live like for instance in the country you will not see too many people. Try it and you will be surprised. You even will have to own a car to get anywhere. Especially at night. Lol!
Love Japan? Me too but still, I’m coming to the Netherlands 🇳🇱 Do you want a guest that lived 10 years in Japan and moving to the Netherlands in 3 weeks?
Self employed starters don't get a mortgage and nowadays nobody wants to rent out a house to someone who cannot show a paycheck from an employer. Which, funny coincidence, is caused all to often by owners preferring to rent out to expats willing and able to pay so much more than any Dutch person. Apart from that, large foreign companies buy a lot of buildings to house their expat employees. The whole American exodus has caused quite some housing problems for the Dutch.
you're implying one of the smallest groups of immigrants in the netherlands is the cause of the housing shortage, which was not even caused by immigrants
@buncharted2 I'm not implying anything. Furthermore I am not just mentioning Americans, but all expats. It is not without reason that the government has been trying for years to implement laws to prevent foreign companies from buying housing to rent out to expats. It has been an issue for years which was proven to have raised rental prices for non-social housing far too much.
"Most of the windows don't have screens"? The only windows that don't have screens are the windows for which you haven't bought a screen. Screens aren't the norm, sure, but it's not like they're hard to find.
Despite the Netherlands being so densely populated compared to the US,during the Covid-19 pandemic,more people died in the US than in The Netherlands,is that true?
The U.S. had a very “well informed” COVID denier😂 so a lot of Americans died because of his “ wisdom”. He was so wise that the Americans voted him in again😉
@@aa-xh6emin the netherlands we had well informed “freedom deniers” in power. Its the classic choice between freedom or security. Most ppl choose security…. some would choose freedom
@@janjanssen9629 Well, in the Netherlands, the shortest day, which also marks the beginning of (astronomical) winter, is the day in which there is the least amount of time between sunrise and sunset. On December 21, the daylight period lasted - depending on where exactly you were in the country - 7 hours and 41 minutes. Each day lasts 24 hours and the height of the sun has no effect on this 😉
@@NL2500 - wrong, because you “calculate” with a fictive “sun” and earth being in a constant rotation, but the trajectory is an eclipse giving small time differences in reality. This makes that the sun, actually in reality to go under on the 11th at 16:30 and on the 21th at 16:29. The 21th isn’t the longest night, but the 11th is in reality. And yes, that has to do with the position of the sun. But I guess you know better than the scientists.
@@janjanssen9629 I have to agree and disagree. You are right about the ellipse - the sun marks a figure 8 in the sky if marking the same position for each time of day. That means sunset and sunrise shift differently from each other, due to the eliptical orbit around the sun. Looking at sunset in Utrecht for this year, at the earliest the sun sets 16:27 from the 9th-16th of december. It will rise the latest at 8:49 on the 29th and 30th december. But the shortest daytime is on the 21st of december, with 7h43min of daytime. In fact, starting the 18th to the 24th its all rounded to 7h43min. 11dec the day lasts 7h48min and its night is 16h12min. But the longest night happens on the 21st with 16h18min, give or take a rounding error of less than a minute. Sunset and runrise are defined in this table as the moment the disk of the sun dips below the horizon. So that means a tiny offset of half a sun disk on both sides on the day time. I think definiting day light as such makes more sense than the central point of the sun, especially since it includes refraction through the atmosphere too, if I am not mistaken.
We now have a government with 2 racist parties in it, one of which, PVV has the largest voter share: 30%. So, 1 in 3 Dutch persons you meet has been voting for a party that has deportation of "brown people" in its plans. Michelle and Alex are white and fairly affluent US people. If you are not entirely that and you move here, there is a lot of racism in all government agencies. So much that they've admitted it themselves. In some cities, police are notoriously racist, like in The Hague and Rotterdam. Also the anti trans sentiment in NL is growing.
Those training wheels are like a millstone around the neck though. You will have less opportunities to practice and impatient people will switch when you don't want to. You'll have to be strong and continue in Dutch.
@@00wheelie00 Most people aren't even impatient, their English is just better than the Dutch of most foreigners. Non-English speaking foreigners usually have an advantage with learning Dutch. There are a lot of jokes about how easy or difficult Dutch is, but Dutch is pretty easy once you know the rules and enough words. The most difficult part of Dutch is the gender of words.
English, German and Dutch are all Germanic languages. Should be not too difficult to learn , however it is essential to learn Dutch if you want to integrate in Dutch culture.
DAFT is an interesting option. I expected it also works in the opposite way? Can I move my (self-employed app development) business to the US? And yes, The Netherlands is overcrowded and too far north to live off-grid on solar panels and batteries. And the streets and parking spots are too narrow for an Aptera. 😉 Be careful about healthcare costs. The aging population puts more and more pressure on the system, so that will have impact on the quality and cost of the system.
my understanding is that yes, you can, it's just a lot more complicated (and expensive) because of how needlessly complicated visa programs in the US are
If you're an American exploring a move to the Netherlands, check out our 15-page moving guide. It includes all of the stuff we learned along the way and links and contact info for everything you'll need from immigration to buying furniture when you arrive.
buncharted.gumroad.com/l/help-me-move-to-the-netherlands
May I say as a Dutch person, if you make a 'mistake' speaking Dutch, it is NOT embarrassing! You are trying and that counts!
I moved from the US to the netherlands some time ago. I mostly learned dutch by trying to read dutch language comic books with the help of a dutch/english dictionary. The pictures help to understand whats going on. I can really recommend this method to anyone.
if you really want to learn dutch via comics. Read a comic called "Joop Klepzeiker".... big fun.. 😁
That's clever! 😊
That's a great idea. 😊
En, hoe bevalt het leven hier is Nederland?
Agree ! My sister in law is Irish and learned a lot (and fast !) from children's- and comic books.
She was totally fluent within just a few years !
Clever and fun, that's the way to learn. Which one did you read? :)
Love the winter: quiet, cosy and very light in a different way 😊. Just go out anyway.
"There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing." Germans like this proverb too.
Yes, definitely learn Dutch if you want to live here. You'll miss so much if you don't know the language, it's part of the culture.
"Naaktslakken are snails without their little homes" is absolutely spot on as in Dutch the shells are called 'huisjes'.
49 years living in Nederland, and a couple of 'yanks' make me learn 'new' facts about my own country... THANK YOU!! Love you guys.
People do not realise that the Netherlands and Western Europe is a LOT further up North than mainland USA. My brothers wife is from New Brunswick in Canada, where it Freezes -30 celcius in Winter, but their town is 700 kilometers to the south of Paris (!). The fact that Northern Europe has such a temperate climate is mainly because of the warm gulfstream that transports warmth from the caribean towards Western Europe...
And its a coastal country, so the sea's heat does indeed make the climate warm and mild. Go inland a bit more into Germany, and you are back to heavy snow and strict winters.
And no irradiation. US/Canada has snow and Sunshine able to make everything warmer and light. Action is the answer to everything79 cents for a tiny box with fabric net and sticky back velcro door version a bit more, so bug screens aren't much of an issue Aluminium or stainless steel fabric cloth are rare and expensive, but plastic are to be found in any DIY supplies chain store.
I saw a video yesterday about an American couple who were going to move to France. Once there they were busy with everything etc etc...but they didn't make contact with the residents of the village where they lived and they didn't learn French because they were busy busy busy with there own stuff.........they went back to the USA because they didn't like it anymore. It's their own fault. So explore the village/town in between, take your time and try to master the language wherever you are in the world then you get a lot further and people know you more and more, so they are more inclined to help a newcomer.
I saw the same. These people had not realy considered that you can not take your home country with you in your back pocket. Life is going to be different and you must be willing to change your life. And yes you are going to be lonely. But you have to make that choice! And yes it will take quite some time before you have found your own niche. But you never, ever will become Dutch. And that is okay! But realise this before you get going. And also, it is not for everybody to make drastic changes.
@@Marianneduetjejust consider one does it the opposite way. You go to the USA and you just use your home language. No contact, just work on line. You tell the first policeman you meet “Het spijt me ik spreek geen engels” see what happens.
Good idea, don’t come. It’s terrible in The Netherlands.
All the time. Learn. Language. First.
@@sjakrijnen hang er vanaf welke huidskleur je hebt. US hebben geen officiele taal en zijn meertalig, waardoor ook Spaans veel wordt gebruikt, ook door politie in sommige staten?
Really, really helpful information, you guys! I remember on our first visit to the Netherlands (summer) we were actually caught off guard by how late the sun stayed up in the sky. We had been awake for more than 26 hours, so it didn't discourage us from falling asleep at an appropriate hour; but it was definitely a change of pace from what we're used to in the U.S. Also very proud to say that we were able to guess the word of the day because we learned the word 'slak' from the Laafland area in Efteling 😁
Truely a great episode. This is for sure something everyone moving country needs to think about
I appreciate this video a lot guys because you're being realistic and we live in reality and not lala land.
Warme groet. 😊🌷
Nice video. My sister and I inherited a couple of appartments from our dad that he rented out for his retirement. One was vacated 2 months ago ( Maastricht in the South, Nice town). The real estate agent we use for renting out told us that he got 250 applications for the appartement in the centre of Maastricht.. He picks out the “best” candidates for this € 1700 monthly rent 108m2 appartement. This proves the housing shortage in real life. Maastricht in a Nice city with a lot of expats. There is social housing over here but there is a 10 year waiting list before you get social housing. Many Dutch stay with their parents until they are 27 or 28 for that reason. Because most locale cannot afford € 1500/€2000 rent a month. Moving is easier if you have enough funds, if you decide to stay it is much cheaper to buy than to rent ( and no capital gain taxes if you sell a home with a big profit after 10 years or so. The West of the country is much more expensive than the North, South ( although Eindhoven is als getting very expensive) and the East. The Cheapest regions are Zeeuws Vlaanderen, Oost Groningen and South East Limburg (Parkstad/Heerlen/Kerkrade).
wooow, for me 6 out of 5 stars for this TH-cam film. The naked truth about the Netherlands and how difficult it is to integrate. The same applies to people who emigrate to the US. Next time please a film in Dutch😀 because I think you have already adapted very well.
31:40 Good point. The doctor you see is a GP, which is fully covered by insurance. The idea is that you see your GP early, so conditions dont get chronic. But if you dont feel sick or dont have an issue, there is no reason to go.
Doctors are also not very likely to prescribe antibiotics and other meds, since all interventions have risks. If the symptoms are likely to pass, it will pass, or you are told to return after some. Like a cough takes up to 3 weeks before they start tackling it - but the doctor will do some basic tests to see if its nothing serious or suspicious otherwise before letting you go.
I do think... if you become a bit older, like 50+ or its time for your pension... having a chat with your GP about health and some baseline readings... probably not a bad idea to spar with your doctor.
I'm not a medical professional, but our GP has a gadget that tests a drop of your blood when you have a cold or the flu. Even the assistent can use it. It measures a level of something 😅 in the blood. Are you above that level, it's a bacterial infection and you might need antibiotics.
@@immeathome Sounds like a CRP test - where its testing for a liver protein. If the level is high, its more likely to be bacterial.
But you need to take into account the whole patient of course.
A cough can have many different causes, depending on the patients age, life style, how long they have been coughing, etc.
@@immeathome Keep in mind that the human body is perfectly capable of recovering from an infection. Only when the infection persists, aggravates or there are other risks present, like age, health condition, pregnancy, etc, then antibiotics come into play in the NL.
In the Netherlands, the approach to antibiotic use is notably cautious, aiming to combat the global issue of antibiotic resistance. Dutch healthcare professionals are particularly judicious in prescribing antibiotics, especially for conditions like colds and flu, which are typically viral and do not respond to such treatments. This strategy has resulted in one of the lowest rates of antibiotic consumption in Europe.
There is this thing in the Netherlands called "Hordeuren" and "Horramen". These are the "anti bug screens" you mention. You can get them at stores like Karwei and Praxis.
Dat snap ik ook niet Zky had ook vragen er over.
Great video. Michelle:Thanks for making that point so clear: Running TOWARDS something vs. running AWAY from something. My wife and I have been following you since the beginning, and now 2 years in, I am a handful of weeks away from retirement. Now the decision is nearer. Current events are not a primary concern. But I have always argued for the exact point you make. I align, I understand, I appreciate the Netherlands 'attitude' more than ever. A culture of taking care of each other. Period. And for the record, Pants made a silent contribution. "First Guest" recognized. We just got back from our first "crappy weather" visit to NL. Not deterred.
As a 42 year old Dutchie I have always appreciated our weather, we have all 4 seasons.
The rain will always s*ck though 😂😭, but as the Dutch saying goes 'we're not made out of sugar, we won't melt.' 😉
The Netherlands has always been welcoming of other people coming here, this mindset goes back centuries.
We have been having a bit of a housing crisis though for the last few years because of migration(a lot of refugees besides the normal immigrants), but if you go a bit more rural than you will have more chance of finding a home.
Oh and rural here doesn't mean you're living far away from civilization, we're so small you can be in an urban area, city within an hour tops. (usually by bike, public transport or simply walking)
The US and the Netherlands have had a long standing friendship basically since the independence of the US, so overall us Dutchies and Americans mesh pretty well.
We appreciate it if you'd put some effort into learning Dutch, but we're aware it's not an easy language to learn, plus most of us speak English so you will never not be able to communicate.
I wish you and your wife well on your next journey/adventure wherever it may take you.
Warm greetings from the Netherlands. 😊🌷
@@BabzV Thank you SO much. This response made my day. AND, it makes another point that the Dutch are FAR friendlier than some give them credit for. For every "don't move here, we're all full" comment I read, I get far far more, online and in person responses that are indeed warm welcomes. Cheers from the US.
20:05 The Netherlands has 192 rain days per year on average. Typically during winter we have the 'wet season' and during late spring / summer we have the 'dry season'. We used to have winters, but snow rarely falls and hardly ever sticks for more than a day on the ground. Climate change.
Anyway. 192 rain days, which tend to group a few days at a time. It can happen that its rainy for a week or more, with showers, or just long drizzles / rain.
Do we hate it? Well, complaining about any kind of weather is our favorite national pass time.
23:00 Hot summers? Fan, windows open... shorts, shirt. Bug spray. You close the blinds to keep the heat out of your house, and you open it up when the sun passes... Airco is just not that common because summer heat is usually just a few weeks.
I saw a number of your videos and I wondered when are they going to talk about how hard it is to move to another country, now you did it 👍
Ps. Because of you, I call my tomcat now often "House Animal" 😀 So every time he has his crazy 5 minutes running through the house I say "Oh the house animal is at it again" 🤣🤣🤣
When you move abroad, you still take yourself with you. Yes, lving in another country will change you, but you cannot control how it will. So if you're running away from yourself... mixed results
@ I emigrated twice and both times I found out I was the same arse I'd been before; not doing that again
Wat een verstandige video!
Ik welkom mensen uit andere landen, maar hoop dat zij zich in ieder geval proberen aan te passen! ( ongeacht aan wie zij zich willen aanpassen😇😇😇💪😇😇❤️❤️❤️❤️)
verwelkom
19:19 Think the summer / winter time is a little exaggerated... Yes in the most extreme days you have 17 or 7 hours of sunlight. But the shortest day is the 21st of december, and longest is 21st of june.
Its a good idea to take some vitamine D and take a walk outside during day time in the winter. If you dont, you can really feel the winter depression (or winter dip).
Thankfully the Netherlands is much more friendly to go outside for a walk, through a park, or some woods, or take a bike ride. You ll find people sit outside in the early spring to catch some sun. I have sat outside to catch some sun in october even.
But yeah, if you have a 8-17 job, you spend your commute in the dark of nov-feb. So get out in the weekend, go catch some sunlight during lunch time.
17:30 omdat het in de winter zo snel donker is maken we het thuis zo gezellig in Nederland :)
Dat heeft meer met de kou te maken. 😉
I like all your posts. But LOVE this one‼️ High reality content 😍 Very much appreciated !!!
Laten we beginnen bij het gebrek aan huizen.😂
I cycle to work, a 26 km round trip. In three years, I've arrived either at work or home soaked all of seven times.
Rain tends to fall under certain conditions. Some parts of the day are unlikely to have rain... but then still, the Netherlands has more than half of its yearly days as rain days each year...
Bug screen = (NL) hor. plural: horren. When on a door frame: hordeur. Check out Gamma or Praxis, or for luxurious ones go to a specialist shop for sun screens etc and ask for horren. If your apartment owner does want you to modify the window or door frames, it's easy to make a hor yourselves. Just create a rectangular wooden frame that fits exactly in the open window and staple the fine mesh or cloth (!) on one side. Because 'hor' is just a 3 letter word it's a reminder we the Dutch have been doing it for ?centuries?. Just saying.
On the dark days of winter: remember the Netherlands is way warmer thanks to the North Atlantic Gulf Stream, but...: Dordrechts latitude is approx 51 degrees 47 minutes (just checked on Google Earth...). Which is 2 degrees more north than Vancouver, Canada ! Famously, New York City is about the same latitude as Naples, Italy. And NYC is way up north in the 48 contiguous states, Naples is well deepsouth Europa... You may want to mention that if the topic comes up again in one of your future vlogs... And correct for summer time /winter time (just being pedantric).
P.S. anal (E) = anaal (NL) both as noun and adjective with some neuter words (no pun intented). Adjective can also be 'anale' depending on the word flow.
Housing shortage and rent is insane. But I gotta say it wasn’t as insane as now a couple of years ago. Ever since about 2016 or so it just went up SO BAD. We just bought a house after 2-3 years of intense searching and the only reason we succeeded is because it’s new house that’s being built right now so you don’t have to participate in extreme bidding or have to be dependent on the right makelaar with the right connection. It was kind of a lottery (also based on your personal story) and holy crap, we actually got it. But 2000 euros in rent is crazy.
Oh and I always love how people in the US say places like Seattle are so depressing, yet if you check how many sun hours they get it’s STILL more than we get hahaha
The biggest reason not to move to the Netherlands is probably that you're simply too late. Yes, it is or was a great country to live in. But it's clearly grinding to a halt. The housing crisis is just one example. Society has changed so rapidly in such a short time, that people and governement can't keep up. There are shortages in many areas. Anyone noticed that in many restaurants you can't order your food in Dutch anymore? They can't find Dutch speaking personal anymore after the lockdowns. That might sound great for foreigners but it's seriously pissing of Dutch people. Any time the Dutch governement intervenes they seem to make things worse, not better. A plan to make rental homes more affordable has backfired, resulting in less homes available for rent. In January a new law comes into effect, making it a lot harder for people to freelance. The assumption is that it will result in more steady jobs. But there are already areas visible where it will lead to more shortages because people are simply quitting instead of applying for permanent employment. And people talk about how safe the Netherlands is. But they never talk about the number of small bombings (786 in the first 9 months of this year). Sure nobody has died yet, they just lost some limbs. They also don't talk about the crystal meth labs, and the fact that the Netherlands is a transportation hub for weapons and drugs.
Demographics are also changing. By 2050 less than 50% of the Dutch population will be ethnic Dutch. So that what makes the Netherlands Dutch will slowly disappear. The Dutch government has noticed that the number of ethnic Dutch people leaving the country has increased. That's why they've come up with an exit tax to try take as much money from those people while they can. The Dutch governement is going to need it...
Great episode, very sobering but real. Thank you again for taking the time to learn the Dutch language.
Maybe its easier to have friends here, try it out, the Netherlands, for a couple of months and stsy with them. Before you take the big step and move here.
There's a difference in culture, climate and customs. Can be a culture shock for some. Better test the waters before going all the way and burn the bridges.
Your fifth reason: well, that's why I like riding my bike early in the morning. And by early, I really mean early... sometimes I'm at my bike at 6.00 or 6.30 and I can tell you: there are not much people up and running at that time... especially in the weekends I love to go outside and ride an hour or two/three/four through de polders, over de dijken en langs de weilanden. Seeing the sunrise, and eventually talk with one, two or three people that are also out this early... so yeah, when you're wanting time really alone, try-out these early hours...
Yup, dat doe ik dus ook.
Warme groet uit het zuiden. 😊
@@BabzV, ah, nog zo'n vroege vogel! Zó lekker om juist die vroege uren op pad te zijn! Die stilte... nog geen mens op, hooguit een enkeling. Volop genieten van rust, ruimte en de natuur om je heen. ❤
the big question will be if you buy a refrigerator will you shop for a ijskast or koelkast (it is almost the same discussion as Patat or Friet).
Je t'aime bunchies! Another great episode, not because it is usefull for me.. but because u guys are cool.
I've been researching & visiting NL for years in prep for my big move. Everything ur saying is on point! Amns tend to travel with the expectation that their Amn. lifestyle is the default wherever they go.
Good luck on the move.
Groetjes uit Nederland. 😊🌷
@BabzV Dankjewel!😁
The Netherlands only became really densely populated after you two move here! 😜
I love to listen to your observations though. Sometimes it takes an outsider (I hope you’re not offended by that;) to make you aware of your own situation. Thanks and uhh . . . welcome to the country! 😁
Very nice and educational episode.
Naktschnecken is the German equivalent
Fantastic video. The grass may be greener, but it’s still just grass that needs weeding and mowing. Every one of my husband’s family members do live in a separate single family dwellings that do not have any shared walls, so that was interesting to have your perspective on the housing situation.
I studied duolingo for a year and got to the end of that class. Conversationally I can have a good amount of retention but the fear of making mistakes is real and hard to overcome.
I always said I would like to move there from April to October. 😂 that lazy Dutch living for sure.
Happy winter and may the bulbs bloom for you both soon.
Never be afraid to make 'mistakes'. ❤ Everyone will appreciatie you're learning Dutch as a second language.
Not everyone in NL is absolutely fluent in English, but most Dutch people will know enough to help you out.
You'll get there, one way or the other. 😊
We definitely appreciate if you speak a few words Dutch here and there when you come here, but nobody will expect you to be able to have entire conversations.
You'll pick it up along the way. 😊🌷
Very well done Realistic and clear!
having no screens is no excuse, you can easily put it in yourself. Very cheap versions availabe.
you were really honest (for me as a dutchman). You can not live somewhere like a vacation. (it would not suit you anyway).
For the mosquitoes, I have them all year round. So I have bought a “Vapona muggen stekker” and it really helps me, as the mosquitoes will be gone after putting it in the socket. 😊
Yeah also on mosquitos there are bug screens you can attach. It does depend on your windows a little. Mine open to the inside so I have those cheap nets you can attach with velcro strips inside the window frame, it doesn’t clash with opening or closing the windows. The nets also hold up pretty well… not as good as sturdy more permanent installations obviously, but it works.
In my childhood bedroom I had a screen made to size in a frame with hinges so I could open the window (swung to the outside in this case) and put the screen back in place (closed with a magnet lock). So yeah some bugs can still come in during the small time the window and screen are open, but most will stay out because you put the frame in place. There are also more permanent screens that go on a slide close if you don’t do framed.
hi love your vids and yes if you not can't dance in the rain ,don't come here ! you need to have a form of minimalistic life style when you want to live here I think ,I know that some americains go crazy about the fact that you can't shop here 24/7 lol ,.
To me NYC is up quite far north in the USA, in comparison Rome is quit far south in Europe. People forget is it on the same latitude. The netherlands had the same latitude as Alaska and Canada.
11:55 No seriously, if you don't have any of this lined up you will 100% drown one my friends is moving to spain from The Netherlands right? Left his apartment here had to move out and at the very end the deal fell through luckily he could move in with somebody for a bit. But if you don't have a backup for your backup plan things might get rough out there especially if you don't know anyone.
one of the reasons it is dark for longer is that Dordrecht (51° 48′ 0″ N) is a little over 4 degrees north of Seattle (47° 36′ 22″ N)
6 months in on the DAFT visa and I will say, yes - starting your own business is hard. You have to really want it and do the work. It's possible, but I think a lot of business fail because they didn't find the "need" for their business before jumping in. The same could be said for businesses in the US, though. But I like your point about the potential of failing in an unfamiliar place. Most people probably don't think about that.
We lived on the 45th parallel before we moved and now we are on the 52nd. People don't realize the difference in sun hours and lack of sun hours this far north. We love it, but it's not for everyone.
Re: screens. They don't come preinstalled or built in, but i'm fairly used to having a removable screen on windows. Removable because even a mesh in the winter is blocking a little bit of light, and it really does make a difference to take it out. And screen doors/gauze curtains/bead curtains etc are also very common.
My parents and grandparents live on a farm with shutters on the old home part, and new fabric covers for the remodeled stable part of the house. Those are really effective at keeping the heat out, mainly downstairs, not directly under the roof. The shutters are also really good at keeping cold out and heat in in the winter. This combined with some pretty thick walls, so long as they can keep the sun out of the main part of the house, it's pretty cool inside.
Of course, that also means that if you have a very long and/or extremely hot summer, or you leave windows or doors open to let the heat in, you'll have an unbearably hot house for days and days after the heat is over. Once it gets hot inside it won't cool down for a long good while. You can feel the heat radiating from the brick walls for the entire night if the sun heats them up for a day.
The long daylight hours is one of the reasons the heat also feel different. I noticed this when we went to the North Cape this summer. (24 hour daylight, which was amazing, and honestly very easy to get used to for me, the shorter days were more difficult to get used to, darkness at 10 at night is perfectly normal for late August, but it felt so early) It was between 25 and 30 degrees at the North Cape (unusually hot), but the asphalt was starting to melt in places. Not because the asphalt was weak or anything, but because the sun shines 24/7 and the asphalt doesn't cool down at all. The sun doesn't set, at most it dips just behind a hill top. So lots of asphalt was getting sunlight for close to 24 hours a day, basically all summer, and didn't get any chance to cool down, because there is no temperature drop at night.
This is way more extreme than in the Netherlands of course, but it still matters. More sunlight hours means things heat up for long days, and don't cool down much during short nights.
And vice versa in the winter of course. You need a house that doesn't leak heat in the winter. I spoke with someone who had built an earthship-like house in a small neighbourhood of similar houses. Normally those houses are built with one big window to catch sunlight inside the house, let the sun heat up the thick back wall, and then the house stays warm. It didn't work. They needed way more sunlight in the winter to get it to warm up, and less in the summer. An awning is easily built, but extra sun is hard to come by. There simply wasn't enough warmth or sunlight to keep the house warm enough in the winter, so they had to get a heater in the end. Later houses were built differently to solve that problem.
I live in a rowhouse and while occasionally I can hear neighbours, like if their door slams really loudly, most of the time I hear nothing at all. I didn't hear their babies when they were little, I don't hear their dogs, I don't hear conversations, I don't hear them walking... Brick walls are pretty thick as it is, and with insulation etc, a brick house is pretty well sound-insulated. A friend of mine lives in a medieval house, also brick, and I don't think I've heard any sounds from neighbours whenever I visited. If the house is very big and split into appartments it is a different story, because the floors are often just wood planks, no insulation. But overall, I haven't had any issues with sounds from neighbours in any of my homes, not even my room as a student.
I remember reading a comment from an American tourist who was ranting about all the unemployed and lazy people in the Netherlands, because he saw so many people in the parks, or in cafes. And like, he seemed baffled by the idea that breaks exist. He just assumed anyone sitting in a park was unemployed for some weird reason, and he seemed even more confused by people being in public spaces. I don't know enough about this to say definitively, but from a few articles I've read, and a notjustbikes video about third places, public places to just be aren't so much a thing anymore in the US.
The preventative healthcare is more like, you don't get checkups for no reason. But if there is a reason, like the breastcancer gene, or a chronic illness, there is no issue getting monitored and getting regular checks. The main issue is the reason. Most doctors won't just order a bunch of tests if they don't have a good reason to do so.
I am loving the NS-signage flags you have. I was actually wondering about that recently, because I knew they were upcycling them but hadn't seen yet how.
we love them too
Aberdeen is much more extreme in terms of number of hours with daylight (and the weather). In summer the seagulls start screaming at 3am and in winter you won't see much sunlight.
Naaktslak 🐌🐍🌙🎉I am very enjoying every episode again and again, ik kijk en luister met veel plezier dankjewel
I think this applies to everyone who is moving to another country. Migrating is not for the weak. Especially if you have to find a job here. Language, language, language and I know it's not the easiest one. Most of us are multilingual but not everybody. And not always English as a second language.
Michelle, Alex and I live in a metropolitan area of about 2.4 million people, the biggest harbour in Europe and a very large agricultural sector (greenhouses). All in one tiny region. This means soclal interaction all day. At the strangest hours, public transport can be overcrowded.
And let us not forget: the unwritten rules. We live in a multicultural society so it depends on the background of a person what to expect. Do I have to take off my shoes? Can I expect something to eat when invited? How to greet someone? It was 2 kisses in the north and 3 in the south. Now it's a big hug. When do you use 'u' or 'jij'? This is all very personal. And when you cross the borders it changes. I can understand this is all very confusing.
Everything Michelle and Alex told you is true. This is the Netherlands.
Loved the video.
There are probably many people employed with big companies that move to the Netherlands as part of their job, that move from suburbia to a Dutch suburb. And, unless they're really high up, they may be disappointed with the size of some of the houses, and, if not the house, then certainly plot sizes. And, because Dutch society is less about class (either measured by heritage or money, it doesn't matter), so many of their contacts will be outside the usual social bubble - or they will have to content themselves with a smaller bubble.
De ziektekostenverzekeraars hebben je wijs kunnen maken dat de ouderen de schuld zijn van het ''onbetaalbaar'' worden van de gezondheidszorg. Deze verzekeraars maken miljarden winsten omdat ze elk jaar steeds minder vergoeden maar ondertussen wel elk jaar de premies blijven verhogen. Het verhaal(lees: propoganda) dat de ouderen de oorzaak zouden zijn van de alsmaar stijgende kosten is alleen maar bedoeld ter rechtvaardiging van de alsmaar stijgende premies.
As an Amsterdam local, remembering my Gp's face when I asked for a 'cardio stress test' on account of family history. So, yes, they only treat symptoms or the ailments, being proactive and advocating on ones own health is still 'new' here 🤦🏽♀️
Yes, mijn favorieten podcast Groeten uit Curaçao. De donker kant, ach als je wat down voelt neem een zonnestudio, 20 minuten en je loopt weer met een lach naar buiten. Compliment voor de uitspraak Amsterdam, top hoor
30:55 Didn't you notice the cat was beamed away while you talking?
Lovely to see Pants hanging around 🥰😻
To improve your Dutch, I would recommend you to ask your Dutch friends (I suppose you have one or more) to speak as much Dutch with you and also to read Dutch books, to begin with books for children. Succes!
Seattle 26.11.24 sunrise 7'31 sunset 16'22 😘😘😘
Good job, guys. I've lived in the NL twenty-five years and still have issues, but I could never move back to the States. I couldn't afford the insurance and housing prices. With that said, I honestly don't feel the Netherlands is looking for people to move here in our overcrowded land. As you mentioned, it's the 32nd most densely populated country worldwide. Because of this, we don't need or want people, IMO ... well, unless you're a doctor. And though we have a shortage of doctors - meaning not all in the medical profession - you'll still be required to do certain integration courses before being able to practice here. Because I'm not a doctor I don't know exactly what this all will entail, but I've spoken to others who were and surprised that they couldn't immediately practice.
Though now a retired educator, myself, I still work p.t. with students who also daily complain about housing being an ongoing problem here - and a big one. The lucky few finding student housing close to their universities are indeed the lucky few. Most either still live with their parents and/or other relatives. Or they share housing in other cities which they can travel to by public transport. And, as you mentioned, during rush hour transport is very crowded. So are the roads. However, these days with remote learning capabilities, students often attend school in person around three days a week and do the rest of their studies online.
As for the self-employed, I have a horror story for you. My Dutch husband and I had been running a mediation business for years. Through it I could use the company tax license, which you need to have as a freelancer, or ZZpayer, as we call it in Dutch. Then one day close to retirement our business got audited. The tax accessing office decided that what I did, which was teaching business English and some computing skills related to it on the side, was not in sync with the description of the mediation business. So, we had to split our company in two and pay back taxes for the second, which wiped out most all our retirement savings. Our lesson learned too late has been that when you start a business make sure its description jives with what you are specifically doing. Otherwise, like us, you could end up with a serious headache and possible heartache. The Dutch are very direct about this too. No sympathy. Just resolve the issue within the allotted time given you. Period.
Yet, the biggest obstacle for me having moved here as a midlife international educator has been that I've really missed my family and few remaining friends back home. Yes, they've all promised to visit, but too few actually end up doing so. Instead, you should be prepared and financially able to visit home, yourself. The few who do come and visit you shouldn't expect to do so every year, or other year, either. And you're going to have to resolve your integration, yourself, because integrating into this culture can be a very lonely process. The friends I have here are solid ones and typically loyal. Then again it's hard to make friends because of the Netherlands being a small country with a culture that has encouraged one to develop lasting friendships early on in school. And most of these friends have remained in close contact their whole lives. Charming, yes, but not for the outsider. You may never be invited into their circles. And, if so, will most always feel the foreign one.
BTW, for soft cookies, go to Albert Heijn for the 'gevulde koek', especially at the bakery now with the really tasty ones that look like Christmas trees.
Oh, and in Dutch 'anal' is 'anaal' 😉
Get retractable awnings, they really help reduce the heat in summer.
Housing in the Netherlands is a problem, but if you are able to buy, you really give it a go. You need some savings though!
Without mobile AC it will take 2 months or more to get under 24c that is with having the doors and windows open during the day. It being windy after it being warm is rare here. The plus side is that I use 90% less heating during the winter compared to others.
Thanks for sharing!
Dutch word for next week: blotebillengezicht
Sorry for the grey winter time we don't like also. But we can't do anything to change this.
10 STARS
If the US would have the same population density as The Netherlands, there would be 4.26 billion people in the US...
Yes, you will have neighbours when you move here :)
Ik ben toch benieuwd naar jullie definitie van “alleen zijn” in de openbare ruimte. Volgens mij lukt me dit wel, of ik ben gewoon zo aan mensen gewend dat ik niet beter weet.
I think, you should listen to Dutch music, especially "De Kippen van de Buuren" (The Neighbour's Chickens) by Normaal.
The first verse goes like this:
"Our neighbours keep chickens,
No less than 80 of those animals/beasts
They have a really big yard,
But where do you think most of them run?
Those chickens cackle a lot,
And step around a bit dumbfounded
My wife can barely keep up
And she has got some skills, too!" 😁
So nobody has neighbours in the US? I think people never coming out of their bubble is a typical American thing. Yeah, If you live in overcrowded cities like Rotterdam and Amsterdam you will have neighbours awfully close by. If you live like for instance in the country you will not see too many people. Try it and you will be surprised. You even will have to own a car to get anywhere. Especially at night. Lol!
Oh btw you have like stick on mosquito nets for your doors and windows if can't put in permanent ones.
Mooie draaitafel! 😃
Dual of Lenco?
Love Japan? Me too but still, I’m coming to the Netherlands 🇳🇱
Do you want a guest that lived 10 years in Japan and moving to the Netherlands in 3 weeks?
I really wonder if the DAF visa also is that easy the other way around......
it's not, but it does actually work both ways. it's just that visa programs in the US are insanely and needlessly complicated
It's DAFT...
@@Lilygirl283 🙄
Naaktslak is homeless while he's waiting for a house.
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Okay, I want to hear what the plumber story is 😂
Because we have more than enough people in the Netherlands already and there is a real housing problem here as well 😊
www.dutchnews.nl/2023/12/un-rapporteur-on-housing-says-crisis-is-not-caused-by-migrants/
Self employed starters don't get a mortgage and nowadays nobody wants to rent out a house to someone who cannot show a paycheck from an employer. Which, funny coincidence, is caused all to often by owners preferring to rent out to expats willing and able to pay so much more than any Dutch person. Apart from that, large foreign companies buy a lot of buildings to house their expat employees. The whole American exodus has caused quite some housing problems for the Dutch.
you're implying one of the smallest groups of immigrants in the netherlands is the cause of the housing shortage, which was not even caused by immigrants
@buncharted2 I'm not implying anything. Furthermore I am not just mentioning Americans, but all expats. It is not without reason that the government has been trying for years to implement laws to prevent foreign companies from buying housing to rent out to expats. It has been an issue for years which was proven to have raised rental prices for non-social housing far too much.
I like the license plate.
Good video.
"Most of the windows don't have screens"? The only windows that don't have screens are the windows for which you haven't bought a screen. Screens aren't the norm, sure, but it's not like they're hard to find.
Despite the Netherlands being so densely populated compared to the US,during the Covid-19 pandemic,more people died in the US than in The Netherlands,is that true?
yes
The U.S. had a very “well informed” COVID denier😂 so a lot of Americans died because of his “ wisdom”. He was so wise that the Americans voted him in again😉
@@aa-xh6emin the netherlands we had well informed “freedom deniers” in power. Its the classic choice between freedom or security. Most ppl choose security…. some would choose freedom
@@aa-xh6em He was right actually, and lots of the science turned out to be not science at all.
Yes! It was an absolute nightmare then with that clown & it will b even worse this time around. I'm really sad for my country😔@@aa-xh6em
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I am happy with my rental house 100m2 489 euros. I live in the north of Drenthe much cheaper.
Probably because youve lived there a long time..? When you move out they will bump up the rent by alot for the next person
Atter December 21 days going longer again. So not too long anymore
Well, scientists calculated that the days are actually getting longer again from the 11th of December (highest sun position).
@@janjanssen9629 Well, in the Netherlands, the shortest day, which also marks the beginning of (astronomical) winter, is the day in which there is the least amount of time between sunrise and sunset. On December 21, the daylight period lasted - depending on where exactly you were in the country - 7 hours and 41 minutes.
Each day lasts 24 hours and the height of the sun has no effect on this 😉
@@NL2500 - wrong, because you “calculate” with a fictive “sun” and earth being in a constant rotation, but the trajectory is an eclipse giving small time differences in reality. This makes that the sun, actually in reality to go under on the 11th at 16:30 and on the 21th at 16:29. The 21th isn’t the longest night, but the 11th is in reality. And yes, that has to do with the position of the sun. But I guess you know better than the scientists.
@@janjanssen9629 I have to agree and disagree. You are right about the ellipse - the sun marks a figure 8 in the sky if marking the same position for each time of day. That means sunset and sunrise shift differently from each other, due to the eliptical orbit around the sun.
Looking at sunset in Utrecht for this year, at the earliest the sun sets 16:27 from the 9th-16th of december. It will rise the latest at 8:49 on the 29th and 30th december.
But the shortest daytime is on the 21st of december, with 7h43min of daytime. In fact, starting the 18th to the 24th its all rounded to 7h43min.
11dec the day lasts 7h48min and its night is 16h12min. But the longest night happens on the 21st with 16h18min, give or take a rounding error of less than a minute.
Sunset and runrise are defined in this table as the moment the disk of the sun dips below the horizon. So that means a tiny offset of half a sun disk on both sides on the day time. I think definiting day light as such makes more sense than the central point of the sun, especially since it includes refraction through the atmosphere too, if I am not mistaken.
A bit useless to moan about the geolocation of the Netherlands. If that’s so important you’d better not come. 😊
Haha naaktslakken. Nooit over nagedacht. Grappig dat er in Amerika 2 verschillende woorden voor zijn
Face it you live a Hallmark movie 😂
Biggest reason most dutch people are pretty narcissistic and it's generally accepted in dutch culture
We now have a government with 2 racist parties in it, one of which, PVV has the largest voter share: 30%. So, 1 in 3 Dutch persons you meet has been voting for a party that has deportation of "brown people" in its plans. Michelle and Alex are white and fairly affluent US people. If you are not entirely that and you move here, there is a lot of racism in all government agencies. So much that they've admitted it themselves. In some cities, police are notoriously racist, like in The Hague and Rotterdam. Also the anti trans sentiment in NL is growing.
Why? Rhetoric question?
Because live is much better and safe here in Europe than the US
Dark at 4 ....🤔 🤭
That’s great for gezelligheid.
Netherlands is attractive because you have our English language skills as your training wheels :-)
Those training wheels are like a millstone around the neck though. You will have less opportunities to practice and impatient people will switch when you don't want to. You'll have to be strong and continue in Dutch.
@@00wheelie00 Most people aren't even impatient, their English is just better than the Dutch of most foreigners. Non-English speaking foreigners usually have an advantage with learning Dutch. There are a lot of jokes about how easy or difficult Dutch is, but Dutch is pretty easy once you know the rules and enough words. The most difficult part of Dutch is the gender of words.
English, German and Dutch are all Germanic languages. Should be not too difficult to learn , however it is essential to learn Dutch if you want to integrate in Dutch culture.
@@Bramfly I recommend you try to learn the language(s) you don't know from that triplet and understand for yourself it isn't that easy.
@ I did learn to speak, read , write, comprehend said languages.
Whenoving abroad leave your myrica behaviour behind it will help
x. une kam. lan holanden. mbi 10 her kam kerku lejen punes nuk ki drejte. diten e mire
44:04 Just Email Dana White and move the UFC over. (We used to get to watch for free until a deal fell through including all the PPV) :(
DAFT is an interesting option. I expected it also works in the opposite way? Can I move my (self-employed app development) business to the US?
And yes, The Netherlands is overcrowded and too far north to live off-grid on solar panels and batteries. And the streets and parking spots are too narrow for an Aptera. 😉
Be careful about healthcare costs. The aging population puts more and more pressure on the system, so that will have impact on the quality and cost of the system.
my understanding is that yes, you can, it's just a lot more complicated (and expensive) because of how needlessly complicated visa programs in the US are
Yeah, if you really wanna fit in. You need to become fluent in Dutch. Like FLUENT! Accent? Sure. But grammar and word use? FLUENT