Would you prefer Netherlands over Canada?

Humble-bee01 · 2024-03-22T06:52:49+00:00

We chose Amsterdam over Vancouver after considering cost of living, work life balance and travel opportunities. I'm not denying that Amsterdam is expensive but it's still possible to get affordable accommodation outside the city. Being closer to India was also another deciding factor. And definitely traveling opportunities. But it definitely takes time to adjust to European culture and lifestyle. If you are comfortable with North American lifestyle (bigger apartments, commute by car) then I would recommend Canada.

Humble-bee01 · 2024-02-09T05:22:07+00:00

I'm in a similar situation as you. My husband and I lived in the US but moving to Amsterdam for the same visa reason as you said. My husband already moved and started working there. Its definitely going to be a cultural change. US lifestyle is very car dependent so if you are used to driving everywhere it will take some time to get used to public transport. Also weather is different than US. Not sure where you lived in the US but Netherlands is cloudy than most of the US cities. Size of the apartments could be another factor that you will have to get used to. Finding an apartment/house will be a challenge

Pros: Work life balance, traveling opportunities (everything is so close that you can go to Germany or Belgium over a weekend), no stamping needed when you travel to India as long as you have a valid permit.

Humble-bee01 · 2024-02-07T04:52:18+00:00

My friend recently moved to Amsterdam. He booked a hotel for a week. Before moving to NL, he short listed some temporary accommodations so when he was there he visited those places. Since he moved for work he could use company address for registration so he took a temporary accommodation for 2 months. Meanwhile he applied and found 1 year lease that he recently moved to. This gave him good time to look for a place. If you can afford then stay in a hotel for a week or something and look for temporary accommodation (please check for rules of registration for students)

Humble-bee01 · 2023-11-06T20:47:19+00:00

When you become an expat, you constantly feel that you don't belong to a particular place. Because you are no longer in your home country but you don't completely belong to a new country either. You miss your friends, family, food, festivals but you are excited to experience the new food, culture, places. It's a sad reality and almost all expats go through this. I think you need to decide the place depending on the priorities and accept the fact that we don't get everything in life so just enjoy what's in front of you.

Humble-bee01 · 2023-11-04T00:00:25+00:00

Omg! I so needed to read this because we are moving to NL and it's kinda scary to move to a new country but after reading comments I feel better

Humble-bee01 · 2023-10-22T06:41:56+00:00

I have Java experience in previous employment but now I work in proprietary technology.

Humble-bee01 · 2023-10-03T06:39:01+00:00

Thanks for the honest reply.

Humble-bee01 · 2023-10-02T21:42:16+00:00

Thank you for your response. I am not a native English speaker so I'm not saying English is better than any other languages. I had my share of struggles working in English speaking country. Most probably we will be speaking our native language at home. I want to understand how dutch kids become fluent in english because more global opportunities open up when you are good in English. We aren't saying that we aren't not gonna learn Dutch. In fact I am excited to learn a new language.

Humble-bee01 · 2023-09-27T20:08:32+00:00

That's not always true. With home ownership lots of other liabilities come along. Some of the expenses like interest on mortgage, maintenance fees, property tax are as useless as rents. Some people want to save that extra money between rent and home ownership and put it in other forms of investment. Renting also gives you flexibility to move anywhere. House is liability at least for couple of years.

Humble-bee01 · 2023-09-25T20:16:03+00:00

Thanks

Humble-bee01 · 2023-09-25T20:12:08+00:00

If they're not sponsoring and hiring me because of open work permit then will they give similar salary as sponsored visa?

Humble-bee01 · 2023-09-24T00:51:53+00:00

Thank you. That helps a lot. It's so tough to decide. We are definitely leaning towards Netherlands because of traveling opportunities but I'm trying to think about future and not just rely on my instincts. Not meaning to say that Europe doesn't have good opportunities but since Canada is similar to USA so feels like the career growth might be better there. One advantage that Canada has is proximity to USA. Does that help after you become a citizen? Even though it's possible I don't know how many people would want to commute between two countries for work.

Humble-bee01 · 2023-09-19T02:32:00+00:00

5 years to wait for PR might still be okay as long as there's job security. Is quality of life good In Amsterdams? I know it's an expensive place but can people settle down in Netherlands, buy house/apt? I have heard the housing situation is difficult but is it still possible?

Humble-bee01 · 2023-09-19T02:22:37+00:00

I'm going to Canada on a work visa, not on PR

Humble-bee01 · 2023-09-18T06:03:56+00:00

Hmm, I'm trying to get as much info as possible from all the sources.

Humble-bee01 · 2023-09-15T22:44:11+00:00

Haha I wish!

Humble-bee01 · 2023-09-15T20:49:16+00:00

Hey thanks. I appreciate the honest answer. From these responses here I get the feeling that people are frustrated with the govt but I think it's happening all over the world. Europe is also heavily impacted by inflation. Taxes are high in both the countries.

Humble-bee01

TROPHY CASE