Moving to The Netherlands, Tell Me What to Expect!

LOL!Okay, thanks.

My favorite part is the crosswalks turn the light red almost instantly for half the road, and the other half stays green. When you get in the middle you click another button and in changes the other side to red and the one behind you to green, also almost instantaneously.

Ohh, ya and the white widow.

Sent you an e-mail. Hope it will reach you...

This is new to me. Sounds strange.

What's the white widow?

I just answered you. Thanks.

By the way, I'm very attracted to your country. I look forward to visiting there once I get settled in.

I'm going to admit to another reason of moving to The Netherlands. I've found a great spiritual teacher there. I'm going there because of him.

I wouldn't mind having traveling companions if you're interested.

Last Edited by U3 on 08/18/2012 03:43 PM

Dogshit. Dogshit everywhere.

You'll bag your own groceries from now on. Grocery bags cost 10 eurocents but they are reusable. Grocery carts require a 1 euro deposit which you get back if you return the cart to the stack.

But you won't really be using a cart anyway unless you make quite a bit of money to own a tiny little car. How do you feel about memorizing tram and train timetables? Do you like waiting on busses? Do you like walking a lot?

Do you like riding a bicycle everywhere? In the rain? In the snow?

What is your opinion of french fries covered with mayonnaise?

There are no hot breakfasts. What is your opinion of muesli and yogurt for breakfast? Forever?

What do you think about smoked eels? Are they delicious or are they scrumptious?

If you are staying for a while..here's a glimpse of your future.


1/ You have a bike
2/ You even know how to brake using retropedaling
3/ Walking from your faculty to the cafeteria has become unimaginable. You take your bike, even if it’s for 50meters
4/ Eating 7 slides of bread for lunch doesn’t scare you anymore
5/ By the way, you stopped eating warm lunch. You just eat bread
6/ You know what a kroket is, and you learned to avoid the orange ones
7/ It doesn’t surprise you anymore to eat at 18:30
8/ You drink beer
9/ You got used to trance and electro music
10/ You don’t cheat on the train, because controllers are EVERYWHERE
11/ When the cafeteria is crowed, you line up neately with the others
12/ You used to use cash all the time, but now you have a pin card
13/ You think ducks are cute
14/ As soon as the sun pops out, you make a barbecue, even if it’s 10°C outside
15/ You think 15°C is warm
16/ You know winter stops in May, and not March as everywhere else
17/ You don’t remember what a moutain looks like
18/ You still don’t know how to speak Dutch. But your English has improved
19/ You know what Surinam is. And where it is
20/ You never go out without your bike lights
21/ You think butter in a bottle is normal
22/ You know that all the guys are in Delft. And the girls, everywhere else, especially Leiden
23/ You go to Leiden on Saturday
24/ You’ve been to a flower park, and thought it was cool
25/ You’re ok with having only one flavour of ice cream (the white ones)
26/ You don’t even bother to ask “do you speak English?”, you just speak English right away
27/ When you go to the cinema, you are ok with being told where to sit
28/ And you wouldn’t dare sit anywhere else
29/ You have finally accepted the fact that Gouda is cheese
30/ Paying 6€ for a meal in the cafeteria seems normal
31/ You know how to repair a bike
32/ You eat potatoes at least once a day
33/ You always check the weather before leaving home
34/ You know what it is being late and having to wait for a boat to cross the bridge
35/ You can drink milk at any time of the day
36/ Sometimes, you only drink milk as lunch
37/ You have tried karnemelk at least once
38/ You start liking dropjes
39/ For you something sweet means straubwaffels
40/ Spring means flowers blooming and construction sites opening up all over the place
41/ Being tall gets a new meaning
42/ Blonde is back to being a hair-color, not a concept
43/ You have 4 seasons in one day
44/ You can start a mail to your teacher who happens to be a doctor by “yo, wassup doc” (exaggeration can get the message through)
45/ You think that paying to use the toilets is normal
46/ You know that kapsalon is not a typical turkish dish, but a hairdresser
47/ You start to think that the strange position of the hole in the WC is not that disgusting
48/ You find it easier to find a good joint that a good coffee
49/ You have the AH bonus card
50/ Your windows have no curtains, and you don’t care
51/ If your windows have curtains, you don’t use them, and just don’t care who might be looking at you
52/ For you, light rain is not rain
53/ Professors write a “well done” comment in your assignment and still grade you with a 6
54/ You can drink beer in the cinema (good)
55/ 10°C is warm enough to wear a short or mini skirt
56/ You can ride your bike in the rain, wind and even snow
57/ Guys are very cute
58/ You can ride your bike wearing skirt (if you’re a girl), a suit or even high heels (if you’re a girl)
59/ When you start having strong opinion even if you vaguely know the topic
60/ When you “wash” the dishes with soap without rincing them
61/ “Alstublieft and dank u wel” are the only dutch words you know
62/ You aren’t surprised anymore that the disco closes at 4 (but it still pisses you off)
63/ You learn to bike without using your hands on the handle
64/ You go to the market and you only buy the stuffs that fit in your bike
65/ Riding a bike and driking coffee/smoking/eating lunch at the same time is not a problem any more
66/ You reformulate the saying “if you drink, don’t drive” by “if you drink, don’t ride”
67/ You’ve been asked where the coffeeshop is
68/ You start wearing orange during soccer events, even when you’re not Dutch
69/ You get used not to use napkins when eating. You just eat dirtily.
70/ You know what GVD stands for
71/ You can never predict the weather and can not believe the weather forecast anymore
72/ You wait for the light to go green before crossing the street, even if there is no car
73/ You sometimes eat only with a spoon
74/ You tried fried fish from the caravans at least once
75/ You clap the lecturer (just because he’s been speaking for 2 hours)
76/ You run to Albert Heijn at 21.55 to get some beer for the party that night
77/ Trees planted in straight rows/ aka the forest/ seems normal
78/ You think you understand why they don’t serve coffee at coffeeshops (but you’re not sure yet)
79/ You steal a bike at the station because the night before someone stole yours
80/ You think it is okay to eat multicoloured sprinkels on bread for breakfast
81/ You use 9292ov.nl to go to the supermarket
82/ You know that the wind blows in your face regardless of the direction in which you are biking
83/ You don’t even try to park in an unauthorised area just to ‘pick something up in 5min’, because you know you will get a ticket in 30 seconds
84/ When you move out of your rental apartment, you know you might have to take the floors with you
85/ Stepping in doggiepoo on the sidewalk becomes almost a daily thing
86/ You end up eating super greasy food at 5am at FEBO or ALEV (Delft)

Dutch Junk Food
87/ And after that, you manage to bike home still completely wasted and go to class at 8:45
88/ You need an appointement to talk with your friends. Or your mother
89/ You enjoy making tourists jump off the bike path
90/ You paid more for the lock of your bike than for the bike itself
91/ Real bread? You’ve made your peace with it. It doesn’t exist
92/ You know that the Netherlands doesn’t have a special dish. They just fry everything
93/ You know getting a couch will be difficult because it doesn’t fit through the door. Windows maybe?
94/ You’re ok spending Queen’s Day in the train because people are walking on the rails
95/ Jaap, Joost and Jeroen are the names of most of the Dutch guys you know
96/ When the sun pops up all your Dutch friends are wearing beach flip flops
97/ Dutch people ask you why don’t you speak Dutch?
98/ You still don’t speak Dutch but watch silly Dutch TV shows like Take me out and Single
99/ You have been in a relationship with at least one Dutch person
100/ You are used to people bumping into you abruptly on the street, yet never saying sorry

They are next to worthless ..

..standing around all day ..

..wearing clunky wooden shoes ..

..with their thumb up a Dyke ..

..Outrageous!.

Food isn't a huge priority for me anyway so I don't see a problem with what you have mentioned.

As far as using public transportation, I am sure it will take quite a bit of getting used to. But, I will be glad not to have the responsibility of a car.

I have a rainsuit for inclement weather so hopefully, that won't get to me. If it does, it's something I'll have to deal with which is true no matter where I am. I deal with shit here too.

Thanks for this list. I haven't read the whole thing yet, but I can tell, it's going to help prepare me. LOL!

Everyone residing in the Netherlands is Dutch (Nederlands). Ppl from North and South Holland are Hollanders. Ppl from the other Provinces are Provincialen.



You can call us Hollanders but we do not feel spoken to, that's for Westerners.

We don't call you Wallonians when you're Flemish!?

PS: Congrats on your victory, well deserved! Hope you lot qualify for Brazil WC2014, you've got great players.

Oh yes, and everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) shuts down at 5pm. The idea of 24/7 markets is foreign to them.

Here's a hint if you're caught out past 5pm - IKEA stay open late and they have a cafeteria that sells somewhat edible food.

I'll put it this way - if you could live in Manhattan without a car, you'll probably do OK in Nederland without a car. Your cellphone is a necessity over there - you can use it to call in all sorts of things you'd otherwise get in your car to drive to.

Oh yes and like one of the previous posters mentioned - how good are you at fixing bicycle tire flats? That's a vital skill - like a lightsaber, your bicycle is your life over there.

Oh and repeat after me - "Heineken is just beer".

Untrue, most shops are open from 9 to 9. Restaurants and bars at least until 11/12, and here most pubs until deep in the night, some even 24h!

I lived there for a couple years because of husband's job.

I loved it there, the people didn't seem too crazy about Americans, and even though we were quiet and reserved, at times when people found out we were American they weren't so friendly. Since I took Dutch I was able to understand some remarks made in Dutch by the few people who were mean because we were Americans, I'd start speaking to them in Dutch and then they'd stop.

The food was horrible, but it was beautiful there and the Dutch people are very attractive and intelligent and civilized. There's lots of culture and beautiful architecture.

It's difficult to find a country that doesn't dislike Americans, but the Dutch are very polite people and will not give you too hard of a time.

Too many Europeans in general have this idiotic idea that all Americans live on MacDonalds hamburgers and own massive gun collections, but their media show plenty anti-American documentaries throughout Europe which make us look very bad, and some it is very over the top and of course this helps shape peoples' attitudes.

They have much better tv programming than we do.

Oh! When you eat in Netherlands, you must put your hands ON the table while eating. If you put your left hand in your lap like we do here, it's considered very rude.

If you travel to Germany, make sure you clean your plate because in Germany it's very rude not to finish all of the food on your plate, whether visiting a guest or eating at a restaurant.

Things must have changed since 2004. I remember not finding a restaurant open late during the week or being able to buy groceries unless I did it before 5pm.

Have a nice time!

Welcome to Europe

That happened to me, I got depressed when we came back!

My husband was offered a permenant position to work there after our years there, I wanted so badly to stay because I felt at home there, like I belonged there, and I looked and dressed like the people who lived there. As long as we didn't speak people assumed we were Dutch and would come up to us speaking Dutch. I felt like I fit in and it was cool to be around people who looked like me.

I lived there before all the wars started, and even then they thought Americans were bad people. Of course when you get to know them and try to learn the language that helps.

It's not easy. Some of the sounds can be difficult and it's hard for foreigners to pronounce "ij" correctly. It's more like German than English.

I took the trams, but mostly walked. I liked being able to walk everywhere, we didn't even need a car.

I want to move back there, you are so lucky OP.

You just going to love how a european city centre looks like. And how easy it is to travell without a car. If something is negative about Netherland it is that most of it is bellow sea level.

Okay, no night life and learn to fix bicycle flats. This is doable! Thanks.

There was a lot of nightlife in Amsterdam, that city does not close down at 5 pm.

Which is fucking retarded because at max., you're what, 100-200 kilometers apart.

Interesting about eating with hands on the table and cleaning the plate. I never knew that.

I've found some Dutch to be very welcoming. Hopefully, I won't run into many that dislike Americans. But, if that's the worse that happens, I'll consider myself blessed.

That's my post...I wasn't logged in.

Now I want to live there! lol
I ride my bike everywhere already. :)
When I was in Amsterdam, I remember chatting with a North African guy who did hair wraps with coloured string. He said he had a hard time understanding my accent, because he was used to the British accent speaking English.

This is what attracts me to Europe. The architecture, the culture and green trees, bushes, flowers, etc:. America is too landscapped. Everything is touched by human hands.