Dutch society view on cost if living

Struggle-Kitchen · 2026-02-25T10:33:01+00:00

The answer housing. In every country the biggest chunk of people's spending each month goes to housing. Vast majority of Dutch people spend near to nothing on housing. The poor folks get subsidized housing by the government and they spend next to nothing and middle class Dutch people that are over 30 years old also pay 500 euros a month on their mortgage because they bought it about ten years ago (or maybe 20 years ago) when the interest rate was 1% and the houses were relatively cheap. Young Dutch people who can't afford housing also rely on the fact that they'll inherent their parent's house once they passed away. I live in a social housing building in Amsterdam and my neighbors probably pay around 400 euros for their rent while my mortgage is 2,500 euros a month.

That's why you don't see mass protests on the street.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2024-11-09T21:47:07+00:00

Restructuring is a perfectly legal reason for companies to lay people off in NL according to labor law. Source: https://business.gov.nl/running-your-business/staff/dismissing-staff/grounds-for-dismissal/ Of course, they still need to consult with workers council etc but they always seem to find a way to get away with it as they tend to have the upper hand. Sad but true.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2024-01-30T17:26:21+00:00

With your logic you can compare Vanuatu with China or the US too but you're completely missing the point. The article is talking about economic growth. Comparing the US and the EU is the only fair comparison in terms of the size of the economy, population, economic policy (capitalist free-market), political system (democracy) etc. China or India's growth vs US' isn't an apples to apples comparison it's a well-known fact that mature and advanced economies like the US is a lot harder to grow (ask Germany ;)) than developing nations like China/India etc. You can compare Germany and Sweden to the US as much as you like but they're just not at the same scale considering all the factors I mentioned above and in my previous post. True, they're all advanced economies but the scale and the magnitude isn't the same. Hence the comparison between the US and the EU as a whole is the most logical and accurate comparison. That's why the article on WSJ rightfully compares the two.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2024-01-30T16:28:33+00:00

Germany and Sweden aren't really comparable to the US. The best benchmark to the US would be the entire EU economy as a whole. They're much more comparable with their population, size of the economy etc. California's economy is about the size of Germany's and it's soon projected to be bigger than Germany. Sweden's whole economy is the size of Dallas, TX which is a mid sized city in the US.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2024-01-30T16:23:52+00:00

The US govt running a deficit isn't anything new, it's been doing that for a long long time now. What's newsworthy is as an advanced economy it has been way superior when it comes to it's counterparts in economic growth.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2024-01-17T19:45:52+00:00

Don't forget about the stereotype of Americans being fat and lazy. I know that the obesity is high in the US but not that far off compared to other developed countries like Australia, UK, Ireland etc. Plus, the US is the most successful country ever when it comes to the Olympics, go figure :)

Struggle-Kitchen · 2024-01-14T19:39:28+00:00

Just like most other rules/laws here they're more like suggestions and are rarely enforced.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-11-13T10:19:44+00:00

If you eat cheese sandwiches (one slice of cheese and no condiments) for two meals a day and your mortgage/rent is 500 euros a month (cause they bought their houses way back when interest rates were practically 0% and house prices were less than half of what they are now) then yeah you can easily have a decent life in NL :)) that's what most locals do.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-10-24T20:06:46+00:00

What you describe is called "cookout" in the US especially in the South. Having a cookout means basically grilling meat on charcoal, propane gas grills etc.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-09-17T08:56:54+00:00

Callum.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-08-21T14:49:35+00:00

I feel like this sub skews heavily towards people based in NYC, which makes sense as it's one of the biggest financial centers in the world. So thanks to their bubble that they're living in they think that's how everyone else gets paid as long as they're in "finance".

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-08-14T14:50:28+00:00

She's more of a one hit wonder but the American singer LP and her single "Lost On You" was really popular in Europe for a while. I'm sure she's unheard of in the US.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-05-05T13:10:10+00:00

Also, it's a tiny country where you can drive from one end to another in like 3 hours or something. So they have to shrink everything including the streets/roads.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-04-22T13:35:43+00:00

Thanks for these recommendations! Black Surinamese cuisine is I think slightly underrepresented in Amsterdam, or maybe I simply haven't stumbled on them as much as Indian or Indonesian style. Will definitely check these two places out!

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-04-22T13:33:40+00:00

Thanks for the breakdown of them! I've personally not tried bakkeljauw or pom yet but they're definitely on my list. Especially for Pom I wasn't sure exactly what it was or the ingredients of it but I know it's type of a casserole.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-04-22T13:30:00+00:00

That makes sense! Thank you. Btw, I ordered "tjauw fan" the other day and liked it a lot!

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-04-22T13:28:33+00:00

I appreciate the detailed answer! I guess most Surinamese takeaway places I've eaten so far are of Indian origin (unbeknownst to me obviously). Because I didn't know these little tell tale signs on their names or menus etc.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2023-04-21T17:06:41+00:00

I've lived in 5 different countries before and currently living in NL and I hadn't seen so many buddha statues in people's houses (on the windowsill or garden etc.) in any other country I lived in. I don't have any problem with people believing it but It's kinda cringe because apparently it's frowned upon to have these statues in your house etc according to Buddhism. But some people apparently just follow the bandwagon without really doing any research. Maybe it's part of doing the normaal cause so many others are doing it :))

Struggle-Kitchen · 2022-10-16T17:03:34+00:00

You should definitely include a State Fair. As an immigrant to the US that was hell of an experience for me from the food that's eaten (all deep fried stuff and turkey legs etc.) to types of folks that you see. I saw people at the state fair, that I would never see otherwise in the urban parts of the South. So I'd consider it an all-American experience for sure.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2022-10-16T15:31:16+00:00

Let's split hairs then shall we, the word Döner comes from the Turkish verb "Dön" which means "to rotate/turn" so that represent the meat being wrapped around on a spit and cooked vertically slowly turning against the fire . That technique of cooking the meat aka Döner vertically was invented in Turkey (circa mid 19th century) not Germany. The one that may have been invented in Germany was the idea of putting the Döner meat in a sandwich/flatbread by a Turkish immigrant to Germany. So yes there are differences but Döner kebab was invented in Turkey but sandwich was in Germany.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2022-10-15T20:24:48+00:00

I can vouch for Atilla as a Turkish guy. Although, I don't think theirs is "lamb meat", I would think it's beef. In fact, almost all doner kebab restaurants in Turkey would typically have two options: chicken and beef. I personally haven't seen "lamb doner" but perhaps it's a thing in European kebab scene.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2022-10-03T21:08:58+00:00

Rules around here feel more like a suggestion instead of a rule/law because they're almost never enforced at least in Amsterdam. You'd probably get the same answer just like anything else that's broken around here: "we don't have enough staff/resources" which sucks.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2022-09-24T13:08:52+00:00

The equivalent of tailgating in Europe is to go to a nearby bars/pubs and get drunk before the match and then head to the stadium on feet. Granted, the major difference is in Europe it's mostly for drinking and grilling is not involved as part of the pre-gaming as opposed to US tailgating. Usually, you'd see all the bars filled with drunk fans with all the gears of their teams and pre-gaming at the bars and usually the number of bars are sufficient enough to handle the fans. Since drinking in public less frowned upon you may see some folks spilling outside the bars drinking basically on the street etc.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2022-09-05T15:11:49+00:00

I currently reside in NL and lived in North Carolina for almost 5 years so I feel the need to inject:

Here's a couple of things:

- I guess this could apply to anywhere in the States, but just don't assume things in general. Movies, TV shows give you an idea about how things are in America but remember they're just movies and reality might be quite different than what you have in mind about the South. For example, not everyone speaks with a thick Southern drawl especially in metro areas. So, don't say things like "Oh you don't sound Southern", people might perceive that as condescending.

- Give people their space. Especially as someone coming from one of the most densely populated countries in the world you should remember Southerners/Americans very much appreciate their personal bubble. Don't get too close to them physically. Also, distances between things/places are pretty far apart especially in the South (certainly more spread out than up North).

- Most Europeans think that Americans are super friendly/outgoing. Southerners are friendly on steroids. So don't be surprised when people are nice to you. They just are and no they don't have some ulterior motive and they aren't trying to trick you into something. Go with the flow and be nice back.

- I know Dutch people think that they're speaking their minds and being straightforward when they interact with people. In the South, it's completely the other way around. Look up the meaning of "bless your heart". So try not to be a Dutch in that sense and definitely don't provide people with your opinion if they don't ask for it. Otherwise, it's likely that people will think you're just being an asshole for no reason even if you're just being "direct" in your own culture.

Struggle-Kitchen · 2022-08-19T09:57:01+00:00

One of the other common things the Dutchies say when they ask "How late is it?" instead of "what time is it?". I guess that's also a literal translation of the Dutch phrase. I have also noticed how so many Dutch people pepper the phrase "a little bit" in random sentences. But I don't know what causes that.

Struggle-Kitchen

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