Life in the Netherlands
A not so long while ago, I completed my studies at the Utrecht University. Now I'm looking for the next thing to do. Here, I would like to write about my experiences throughout the last couple of years, without going too deeply into details and nuances. Of course, my account is biased for multiple reasons: my contact with the Dutch people was done mostly through the university. Furthermore, my observations perhaps say more about the countries where I lived previously rather than the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is a great place to live. There is an atmosphere of social justice with deep roots, and most people are fair and respectful of others. The Dutch definitely know how to manage money and how to save it – and save it they must, since everything is so expensive. Train tickets, bus tickets, a meal at the restaurant, etc. costs considerably more compared to other countries in Europe (as far as my experience goes).
Biking
As you may know, bikes are omnipresent. Biking has been enjoyable in general, with one exception: during the busiest semester, I had to bike over 10km every workday, which I did not like together with the university workload that had to be handled. But biking was still the best choice, since the alternative would have been taking a time-consuming detour by bus. Plus, biking, as any physical activity does, gives a boost of energy and enthusiasm.
Gadgets
Without wanting to inadvertently offend anyone, the Dutch people seemed less materialistic and less concerned with electronic gadgets. Never have I seen anyone boasting about their latest phone or laptop – that is not to say they do not have them, they do, but they are just daily, common objects.
Renting a room
There was a subtle bias against Romanians when it came to finding accommodation from private owners, and the average Dutch person may judge others too harshly using all the dubious stereotypes they heard before. To keep things clear, though, in my book, being born in a certain country doesn't require one to justify the behavior of others born in the same country. The point is, although some Dutch are not so bright, the majority are quite alright, and some are great. Furthermore, speaking Dutch already helps a lot (more on this later on). Regardless, I had a great experience with landlords overall. A family of Chinese descent was particularly kind and managed everything well.
Cooking
While renting a room, you get to live with people and sometimes you get to cook together and share the food. This is great for saving money, as cooking more food than usual is quite easy. I've learned how to prepare lots of (ostensibly) delicious recipes (if I may say so myself). I recommend recipes that contain tomatoes and coconut milk – this is a great mix.
Dutch language & culture
There are many foreigners who move into the Netherlands, who do not learn Dutch (nor do they speak English, which helps communicate at least to a certain degree). The Dutch are unhappy with this, and probably feel that their core values are being spoiled. Some of these foreigners are also antisocial – for example, they damage bikes (happened to my bike twice), enter unlocked cars, etc. There are reasons why the Dutch do not like them. However, once the Dutch language is mastered, it is much, much easier to get along with everybody.
Sadly, I am still not able to hold a conversation in Dutch, which I consider a slight personal failure from my behalf, and hopefully I have not annoyed too many good folks because of this. At the beginning of my stay I planned to learn the language. With more dedication and more Dutch classes, I would have been able to pick it up. However, English was sufficient for me – most of the time, one can get by using it. In my defense, learning a very unfamiliar language is a difficult task, and I made considerable progress. This is a sample of what Dutch may sound like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?… (Note: this is probably Frisian, a language very close to Dutch which has many variations throughout the country anyway).
Timely buses
The first contact with time-tables for buses has been that of confusion, however I've grown accustomed to the many things one has too keep in mind to have an enjoyable trip outside. Otherwise, not knowing when to catch the last bus for instance can result in having to walk a long way home at night. Biking alleviates this – there is no dependency there. However, now I much prefer to know the times at which I can catch buses.
Conclusion
I definitely recommend The Netherlands and its education system to anyone who wants to study there. For anybody who wants to live there, I strongly recommend learning the language, even though English is so widely used.
POST#0080 2011-OCT-7
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