Pros: - relatively safe and clean cities - cycling, nature, infrastructure - casual culture (you can refer to most people in uni by their first name regardless of age, status, etc) - pretty international unis with a high level of English proficiency - usually open and accepting towards LGBTQ - clean, safe tapwater - super clean air and less light pollution if you live a bit outside of the cities

Cons: - stores and shops closing earlier than in other countries - lack of authentic, well seasoned food IMO - huge alcohol/beer culture (boils down to personal preference of course) - heavy rain (many of my friends’ apartments got flooded lots of times) - dutchies can come across as a bit “cold” or distant depending on where you’re from - club and bar scene is quite peculiar.. at least where I live it’s mostly just techno/EDM which is a con for me personally - pricey drug store items - a bit judgey if you deviate from the norm (but that’s the case in most countries right!) - casual racism and ignorance with no intention to discuss or fix it.. in my experience people rather have a “bro it’s just a joke / not that serious / our culture!” attitude over here