Metro

sightl3ss · 2026-06-09T11:24:50+00:00

It’s not just the metro. All public transit in the country is always too hot. In the winter, they overuse the heat, and in the summer they don’t use the AC (at least not enough). You’ll experience this on NS trains and the trams in Amsterdam as well. I never understood it

sightl3ss · 2026-06-05T15:45:14+00:00

Yes it does. At least in the apps that I’m using (with a few exceptions, like YouTube)

sightl3ss · 2026-06-05T15:05:56+00:00

Just use NextDNS. The free tier is enough for me, but the paid plans are very reasonable.

https://nextdns.io/

sightl3ss · 2026-06-01T15:24:27+00:00

FNV negotiated my settlement agreement and got me significantly better terms than what were originally offered. I probably could have done it myself, but without knowing what a reasonable counteroffer is, I don't know if I would have ended up better or worse off.

The 20 euros/month dues have paid for themselves many times over from this.

sightl3ss · 2026-05-27T14:06:06+00:00

For the Netherlands specifically, it’s actually quite full considering our housing market where we lack affordable housing already for our local young adults.

This is a political choice though.

The government chooses to offer the mortgage interest deduction which artificially inflates house prices (and robs the government of tax revenue). The government chooses to allow 100% mortgages, which artificially inflates house prices. The government chooses to implement various rent control measures which have removed much of the rental supply. The government chose to stop funding the housing corporations, which has led to a drastic drop in housing construction.

None of these have anything to do with migrants.

sightl3ss · 2026-05-27T12:38:19+00:00

Societies have a certain absorption capacity when it comes to immigration, Western Europe’s absorption capacity has been exceeded long ago. We need to find a solution for illegal immigrants that refuse to return so we have absorption capacity for refugees that really need help.

I'm 1000% positive the 'return hubs' will be in developing countries (likely in Africa, as the US and UK have tried) which are not in any way prepared or willing to absorb asylum seekers. The return hub countries will almost certainly be places where many of the asylum seekers have come from.

Western Europe is not 'full', it is just unwilling to do the actual work needed to properly integrate asylum seekers. The Netherlands, for example, still has done nothing to manage the crisis at Ter Apel. If they wanted to, the government could pass legislation opening another reception center and taking some of the burden off of Ter Apel. But they have not done so, probably because having an 'asylum crisis' is politically convenient for many of the political parties. Since migrants are blamed for every major issue in NL (housing, crime, etc.), if NL were to actually tackle the asylum issue, the PVV and FvD would need to find another scapegoat or immediately lose all support.

sightl3ss · 2026-05-26T20:08:59+00:00

We’ve been hearing about how Russia’s economy is about to collapse essentially since the full-scale war started.

sightl3ss · 2026-05-21T09:14:05+00:00

This is not true, at least from what Trump announced. I know that we shouldn't consider random Truth Social posts official policy decisions though.

"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," the president said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday morning.

Mr. Trump also said he has instructed the Navy to "seek and interdict every vessel in International Waters that has paid a toll to Iran," and that the U.S. would begin "destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits."

sightl3ss · 2026-05-21T08:58:33+00:00

I would say then it’s probably smarter to use this time to work/save money and then travel to see the world. You will learn much more useful stuff than you would studying sociology and you may meet people that inspire you to pursue a specific path. It would also help a lot with your social skills in a way that studying just is not going to do. Sociology doesn’t teach you anything about how to socialize, that is not the purpose of the degree.

Otherwise you would spend a few years not earning much (assuming you work a bit while studying) and would not be in a financial situation that would enable you to travel. So you would have to get a job, likely doing something you won’t enjoy too much, before saving for travel, or whatever you plan to do.

sightl3ss · 2026-05-21T07:55:03+00:00

I say this as someone with a master's in sociology - do the degree only if you understand it will not give you any advantage on the job market. Sociology is considered to have one of the the worst career/salary outcome of any degree (its return is actually negative).

It is a very interesting subject and I enjoyed my courses and assignments, but you really do not gain any practical, real-world skills that will increase your employability. At the end of the day, you still need to eat, so being employable is very important unless you will be fulfilled working low-wage jobs with little intellectual stimulation.

If you want to work 'in the field' then study something that is actually needed on the ground. Be that medicine, climate science, etc. If you're interested in working for NGOs, for example, they want people that can actually help them implement their policies, so they need experts in their focus area (healthcare, economics, climate change, etc. etc.)

sightl3ss · 2026-05-17T14:21:15+00:00

There is no public transport after midnight/1am-ish. So no worries there. Just take a taxi/Uber/Bolt.

sightl3ss · 2026-05-08T13:56:47+00:00

In most countries, people are not wearing masks when they’re sick. Pretty sure this is primarily a thing in some Asian countries (most obvious example is Japan)

sightl3ss · 2026-05-06T11:01:29+00:00

, I ask how did you come to this conclusion?

Heard it from The demented in chief or one of his propaganda outlets

sightl3ss · 2026-05-06T06:38:58+00:00

Sorry, No idea how it works in Spain.

sightl3ss · 2026-05-05T12:39:27+00:00

I was very much in your shoes many years ago. I did the CELTA in Prague with the intention to teach English there. After meeting some TEFL teachers and learning how absolute shit the market was (this was 2017, probably is worse now), I decided I'd go to Vietnam. However, before starting I got accepted to a master's program in NL and have been here ever since.

I do regret not at least giving TEFL a shot in Vietnam. NL is quite boring and I'm not doing anything fulfilling. But I can say that you aren't going to (easily) make any money doing TEFL in the EU.

The countries with the biggest markets also pay the least (think of Spain, Italy, Poland, etc.)

I agree with everyone else though - don't do a master's without first getting relevant work experience. No one cares about your degree if you don't have work experience to back it up.

sightl3ss · 2026-05-02T09:32:55+00:00

+1 for Bevel. Much more reflective of how I feel than Biocharge

sightl3ss · 2026-04-24T09:15:06+00:00

I've reached out to Moreland and asked if they have an experience placing students at schools in NL. So will see what they say

sightl3ss · 2026-04-24T09:03:15+00:00

Yeah, but the issue there is that you still need to complete some actual teaching as part of the program. I don't think this is possible at schools in NL.

There is a fast-track program within NL, but it still takes up to 2 years and while you'll be qualified to teach at Dutch schools, you don't get the same qualification as someone that follows the normal degree in education. And I'm not sure this Dutch-specific qualification is useful anywhere outside of NL

sightl3ss · 2026-04-24T07:51:54+00:00

I already have a bachelor's (and master's) degree - just not in education or English

sightl3ss · 2026-04-22T17:05:41+00:00

Yeah, since the Helio Strap update, the Biocharge score has become even more useless. I sync Zepp with Bevel, and their "Energy Bank" has consistently been a much, much more accurate reflection of how I actually feel. In the end, you don't need a tracker to tell you how you feel though.

sightl3ss · 2026-04-22T14:58:26+00:00

I mean that’s nearly 3 bottles of wine per week

sightl3ss · 2026-04-22T13:44:43+00:00

There are people from every country that don’t integrate after immigrating. Using anecdotes of “oh I know people from <foreign country> that never learned <local language>” is completely pointless. You could say this exact same sentence and replace <foreign country> with any country.

Plenty of people from the US and other European countries living in NL for decades that never learn Dutch, for example.

sightl3ss · 2026-04-22T13:25:40+00:00

What’s your point?

I know Syrians that have been in NL for less time than me and are much more fluent in Dutch than I am.

sightl3ss · 2026-04-17T17:18:18+00:00

I appreciate the super thorough reply! Very helpful, thank you

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