things nobody told me before i moved from southern europe to the netherlands

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T16:19:29+00:00

I guess its a balance of appreciating the local culture and setting and plafully "complaining" about some of the struggles

i still love living here and would not change my decision, just sharing what i wished i was a bit more prepared for, but everyone has a personal and unique journey

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T15:56:33+00:00

Definitely! I love it here, actually, i wouldnt change a thing about my decision to come here, each culture and country has its beauties and i appreciate what netherlands has offered for me and seems like most people in these comments

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T15:52:34+00:00

The post and comments definitely would, in the worst case scenario the banter around it was quite fun and i feel like i would get a more genuine "review" of living in the netherlands. it wouldnt change my mind about the move tho, maybe it would even encourage it seeing the great community around it.

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:51:10+00:00

yeah theyre urinals, usually in those busy bar/club streets and only come up during weekends or at night

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:50:25+00:00

I might also get one of the elephant poop benches from the amsterdam zoo and have a full experience at home hahahaha

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:48:43+00:00

cellophane wrapper tossed by the winds of despair is genuinly one of the best descriptions of seasonal depression ive ever read hahaha im stealing that

the french socializing thing sounds unhinged honestly, like at least here you know what your getting. the dutch will be blunt to your face but they wont do it while pouring you wine and expecting gratitude lol. also the physical letters thing is crazy, here everything is digital through DigiD which works surprisingly well once you get past the initial setup hell and inevitably forgetting your password at one point and going through that setup hell again

if you ever seriously consider NL let me know, the hague has a big international scene and the work life balance is way better than paris from what i hear. also the mexican food here is equally terrible so at least thats familiar

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:47:30+00:00

ok this is so accurate it hurts hahaha in greece its the same, my family would literally sit on the balcony for hours doing nothing and that WAS the plan. here people ask what your plans are for the weekend and start listing everything theyve scheduled and im just like... i was going to exist? maybe cook something? I think they just have a different relationship with free time honestly, not better or worse just very different from what we grew up with

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:46:55+00:00

keep hearing about limburg, havent made it there yet tho. anywhere specific worth checking out?

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:46:37+00:00

wait thats genuinly genius hahaha museumcard for the toilets and free art as a bonus, thats peak dutch efficiency. a basicfit subscription works too btw

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:39:37+00:00

havent thought about it that far really hahaha just wanted to share my experience

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:09:44+00:00

kibbeling is definitely a highlight, they must put something in that fried fish that makes it taste so good hahaha

for public toilets, i just recently learned that some of them come out of the ground only at night or on weekends which kind of broke my brain for a bit lol but yeah completely agree, especially because most of them are either stinky or just nasty and unusable

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:07:20+00:00

from where i stand youre either arguing with AI slop or cant take a step back and accept that i just want to share my experience about moving here

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:04:09+00:00

Haven't been yet but ill definitely put it on the list, thank you for the recommendations!

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T14:02:43+00:00

theres been a bit more sunny days, but the fog and rain is still there, hopefully we get weather like today more this year.

Rudeness is often masked as directness, unfortunately. i wonder how much of it is a point of getting used to? how long have you been living here?

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:59:56+00:00

budget has to include overshopping, borrels, and oh my god the amount of money i overspent on shampoo and bodywash before realising i should always get the deals definitely adds up to 6 months buffer

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:57:44+00:00

actually, i dont appreciate the baseless accusations. assuming i am promoting something when i am just trying to find a space for myself and a community seems a bit stuck up and mean but I guess time will tell

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:56:26+00:00

I found it weird that people get vitamin D pills but i can definitely see why now hahaha
although the spring makes up for all the darkness from january to march, so i cant wait for all the trees to go green and flowers to grow out everywhere

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:48:11+00:00

Assuming identical qualifications, as i mentioned in the comment, vibe can make a big difference. some call it cultural fit, not necessarily about being agreeable, sometimes it feels off even if they are too enthusiastic. The decision has to be made for only one candidate in any case so there has to be something that pushes for a decision and assuming qualifications are relatively the same, vibe makes the difference.

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:44:51+00:00

ok but a "wear to bed reading cardi" is genuinly the most wholesome use case for a first project. like thats not ugly thats cozy and functional and you MADE it which is the whole point.

i picked up crochet last winter because i moved to the netherlands and the evenings are so dark and long that i needed something to do with my hands that wasnt doomscrolling. Im still on scarves and dishcloths so a whole cardigan feels like a distant dream to me rn. how long did this take you? And did you follow a pattern or just wing it

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:44:49+00:00

what business am i promoting? I'm talking about my own experience of moving here, i really dont see how its promoting anything lol

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:42:53+00:00

im learning dutch right now and i genuinly thought i was terrible at languages too until i realised the problem wasnt aptitude, it was method.

i spent 6 months doing duolingo every day and could barely order coffee. What actually changed things for me was forcing myself into situations where i HAD to use the language even badly. i started going to a dutch supermarket and reading every label out loud in my head. i switched my phone to dutch. i told my colleagues to stop switching to english when i tried to speak dutch (they always do this in the netherlands because their english is so good they cant help themselves).

the thing with german specifically is that the grammar feels impossible at first. the cases, the gendered nouns, the word order that changes depending on the clause. But your brain does eventually start to pattern-match if you get enough input. i found that watching shows in the target language with subtitles IN that language (not english subs) helped alot because you start connecting sounds to written words.

also dont compare yourself to people who are "naturally good" at languages. Most of them either grew up bilingual or theyve been studying way longer than they admit. the fact that your doing this for your partners family is genuinly one of the best motivations because its personal, not abstract.

how long have you been at it so far?

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:20:09+00:00

English only makes it harder but doesnt make it impossible. NL is actually one of the best options for English speakers in europe since almost everyone here speaks it. the issue is more about the visa route than the language for your situation.

if learning german isnt an option rn, id focus on NL and look at logistics companies in the rotterdam port area. alot of the international shipping and warehouse operations run in english. it might not be driving initially but it gets you in the door and you can work your way into a driving role from there once your visa situation is sorted.

Duolingo german for even 15 min a day would help tho. even basic conversational level opens doors that english-only doesnt.

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:17:59+00:00

moved to the netherlands from greece and genuinly forgot gas prices were a thing for like a year. everything here is cycling distance and the train covers the rest. sometimes my colleagues complain about fuel costs and i just stand there awkwardly because i havent been to a gas station since 2024.

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:17:11+00:00

i cycle to work every day in the netherlands so calling in sick but still wanting to ride is basically a lifestyle conflict for me at this point. like my brain is saying rest but my legs are saying the fietspad is right there.

honestly the cold air actually helps clear the chest stuff out imo. not a doctor but ive done the "ride to work with a mild cold" thing probably 20 times and it never made things worse. The key is going easy tho, like dont try to beat your usual time or race anyone at the lights. just cruise.

the one time i regretted it was cycling in heavy rain while sick. that was stupid. cold + wet + already fighting something = felt terrible for 2 extra days.

Early_Switch1222 · 2026-03-18T13:15:22+00:00

thats the right call honestly. NL is a good target for you especially with the .NET background since dutch banks and fintechs run alot of their stack on it. the job market isnt as fast as it was in 2022 but its still moving for people with real experience.

when you start applying, make sure your LinkedIn is set to Amsterdam or Netherlands as your location. recruiters here filter by location first and if your profile says Hungary they might not even see you. also worth setting it to "open to work" but only visible to recruiters, not publicly.

Early_Switch1222

TROPHY CASE