AMA
I live in the Netherlands, AMA
Tulipsfordays · 18/01/2023 19:27
Not sure if this is interesting or not, but I couldn’t find a lot of threads sharing experiences about life here. So here goes!
I live in NL (near Amsterdam but in a different city) with my daughters and (Dutch ) husband. We moved about 2 years ago now. Expect to stay long term. I’m English, lived in London for 10+ years prior and grew up in the midlands.
Tulipsfordays · 20/01/2023 07:29
@greenacrylicpaint is koffie melk the same as karne melk? Still haven’t figured out the latter. Same as buttermilk?
@mincepiesandsomemorr i was never single here so no first hand experience.. dating my DH was not culturally much different to English guys. From younger colleagues it seems that dating apps are popular here as in London etc. I watch first dates sometimes and (compared to the uk version) it seems like people are much more casually dressed, often make up free etc. Also less cases of a date being immediately put off by looks. Not sure how much of that is the tv show only though! Oh and I imagine splitting the bill is pretty standard.
NashvilleQueen · 20/01/2023 07:32
Would you recommend Delft as a place to spend a few days? I've been to Amsterdam a lot and also Den Haag. Thinking of a week somewhere in summer.
I'm envious of you living in the Netherlands. People seem to have a good way of life and the architecture is beautiful.
Tulipsfordays · 20/01/2023 07:37
@NashvilleQueen yes Delft is lovely, not sure for a few days but at least worth a day trip. Leiden, Haarlem, Alkmaar are all very pretty too. Definitely get into the dunes too, either near Den Haag/ Wassenaar (Scheveningen) or Bloemendaal/ Zandfoort. I’ve heard the islands are lovely too but haven’t managed to visit yet. Pretty easy ferry there though, maybe for a couple days or so.
since moving here, I really think it’s such an underrated country, definitely worth being on the holiday list of more people!
HellToupee · 20/01/2023 07:52
RapunzelsSplitEnds · 19/01/2023 22:04
Random but what is the name of stuff the Dutch add to their (already perfect) coffee? It is in a tiny tin and comes with a mini little scoop about the size of your smallest fingernail.
The stuff was supposed to make coffee less bitter?
Also, why don’t Dutch people appear to like curtains?
Thank you.
@RapunzelsSplitEnds I think you mean Buisman. It used to come in very nice little tins indeed but I gather it comes in more modern packaging these days.
ChocolatSouris · 20/01/2023 08:46
Hi Op, I’m also married to a Dutchman. We lived there briefly when dc were toddlers and I was pregnant with our 3rd. Very much enjoying the thread.
Eldest dd wants to do her masters at a Dutch uni and we are seriously looking into all moving there in 2024. Family are in Maastricht and very close to Efteling (which we visit every year - my teens still love it).
Tulipsfordays · 20/01/2023 17:43
@Refreshmentsanyone my 2 DCs are still small (pre school and early school) but yes I get the sense that summary is right. And yes, private schools are not a thing. There are a fair number of Montessori (/similar) type schools at primary level too. My DH felt that the system didn’t suit him well as a kid tho (/ wasn’t motivated to work hard until university stage - personally that seems ok, though?)
@ChocolatSouris ah how exciting to be considering a move back again!! Would you go to the south too?
@LlynTegid hmm. If you don’t want to go too far, you could go to 's-Hertogenbosch area. Lovely city very charming, and some nice country / polder land nearby you could probably find a nice b&b, hire bikes etc. If you would consider travelling further (and nothing is so far in NL) places to consider that you haven’t already done: Texel (or another of the islands), the south (Maastricht? Valkenburg is lovely too), Deventer (totally different type of city to the usual suspects but very nice and quite historical too)
LlynTegid · 20/01/2023 18:52
Cattenberg · 20/01/2023 18:45
Is the public transport still excellent? I used to think that Dutch representatives should come to the UK and teach us how to run a bus service properly.
I'm not the OP (thanks btw for the suggestions of places to visit).
The Dutch have come to the UK, although my experience of the Dutch public transport system is that it is very good, that cannot be said of their running of train franchises here. Scotrail and Greater Anglia, perhaps others.
They run some London bus services too.
Leadbypencils · 20/01/2023 19:00
To a pp. My niece studied in Maastricht under Erasmus. I went to visit her just before Christmas that year (pre Brexit). I can't tell you much about the university but I can tell you that I had a blast in Maastricht! Beautiful city, lovely Christmas market, fabulous Vrijthof, and eating outdoors in the freezing cold under blankets was an experience, everyone does it. Best of luck.
Regarding the Dutch being "rude" I would say no they are not, they just don't prance around a subject and are direct. My next door neighbour's daughter is married to a Dutch man and they live in Utrecht. They visit here regularly and one day I knocked at their door to say hello when I saw their car outside. Mr. Dutch said, Hi Leadby, we are having our dinner you have to go now and come back tomorrow.
OK.... I did! I wasn't offended, and no one batted an eyelid, he just said it out straight and while it was a very different approach to what I am used to, I got it.
carbuncleonapigsposterior · 20/01/2023 19:01
How do the people of Netherlands feel about the large number of farmers who have been forced to sell up to comply with EU directives to cut greenhouse gas emissions? Do people sympathise with them or not, also do they have concerns about how this action will affect future food production?
Orangebadger · 20/01/2023 22:00
Interesting thread. I live in the UK and my partner is Dutch, but he's family are from totally different non European country originally. He prefers the UK to the Netherlands, as he finds the UK more flexible and variable. To him the NL is almost quite staid and dull, kind of Germanic. His sister however prefers NL. We have had many many trips to NL and travelled all over. I am slightly over visiting it tbh as it really is a small country and after a while can be quite samey especially once outside Amsterdam. However I do really like the Dutch people, the cities are beautiful, my favourite is Utrecht. I love the beaches and dunes and the islands are lovely. But I find the countryside very dull. But I do love mountains so the flatlands are not really my thing.
How do you find Dutch food? From my partners sister I hear the Dutch don't really like cooking and eat a lot of takeaways. My partners family are ethnically not Dutch but live there, in their culture, they cook a lot. So this aspect of Dutch life is quite odd for them. From what I see the Dutch don't look like they live on takeaways! But maybe their takeaways are more healthy than ours?
@Leadbypencils my partner hated the rules around eating and dinner time in NL. You could never visit anyone in NL at 6pm and it's dinner time. But like I said before my partner comes from a very different where people are welcome in your home very fluidly.
Orangebadger · 20/01/2023 22:05
mathanxiety · 20/01/2023 20:36
Funny about the curtains, and not closing them. It's a thing in the US too.
This originates from years ago when the NL was a very religious Protestant country. Part of that was that you had nothing to hide so people should be able to see into your home easily.
The Dutch really decorate they windows and gardens a lot, very much a display.
Cattenberg · 21/01/2023 01:01
I have heard that the Dutch are very particular about having sparkling clean windows, not that I knew this at first.
For part of my stay in the Netherlands, I lived in a shared house with other young Brits. Our kitchen window, which faced onto the street, was very grimy and one of my housemates had drawn a big Union Flag in the dirt with his finger. That must have gone down well with the neighbours - not!
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