Nou, nederlanders hebben zelfs een soort culturele zelfhaat. Ik denk als je alle nederlanders op hawai ofzo zou dumpen, ze heel snel zouden zien wat voor een cultuur ze hadden, en dat ze die toch wel degelijk missen.
The foreigner built the country the Japan built the ns my bf is japan they write program and built the ns and uk had the asml indoeania make the railway nl is just ugly ppl the foreigner built the country sorry you must know it
Hi David, the Dutch also speak English (and other languages) so well, because all tv programs and movies in foreign languages are subtitled in Dutch, while the UK, USA, Germany, France f.i. all dub their movies. That helps the learning a lot.
@@370amsterdam9 We know it because of both reasons. We learn English at a young age due to the TV and it's subtitles, but we master it for the ability to better sell our trade, wether it be our knowledge or our labour or actual goods.
@@bishplis7226 i would imagine during WW2 it would be a rarity to find a Dutch person that spoke English. We are closer to the Germans in language so i would expect more Dutch to speak at least some degree of German instead.
"Doe normaal" is the short version of "Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg", meaning "When you act normal you are already crazy enough", meaning pretty much what you explain in the video :-)
@@Nanneke9 the traditional gay parades are normal, its when you see buffed up big men oiled up in tiger print thongs dancing blowing bubbles, i dont care how crazy you think you are, you are deadbeat normal.
I'm Austrian and I love the Netherlands. I visit Amsterdam at least once every year, this year I visited also Rotterdam. The people are friendly, open, I like their energy and the architecture is so incredibly charming. However, Amsterdam can be a bit of an overload due to massive overtourism. During lockdown, I started learning Dutch (which is not very difficult for a German native speaker) and I'm frequently getting my news from Dutch newspapers now. I consider looking for a job in the Netherlands and moving there.
@@christophdenner8878 Best of luck! I know how hard it can be. I made a video about "How to find an apartment in Amsterdam" that may be helpful... ruclips.net/video/ISgCBqrH18s/видео.html
Ich bin Holländerin und lebe in Österreich. Es hat mich Jahre gekostet, bis ich begriff, warum meine offene und ehrliche Art ständig für Ärger gesorgt hat. Erst gestern wieder wollte mir ein Österreicher erklären, dass man als Frau depperte Anmachen von Betrunkenen gefallen lassen müsse und dass ich mich daran gewöhnen müsse.. Ich: “vielleicht können die Österreicher noch was von Holländern lernen. Ich passe mich nur an, wenn ich mich dadurch nach oben entwickeln kann.” Das Gesicht hättest du sehen sollen! 😂
Well said, nice video! I lived in another country (Turkey) for 24 years and after that I moved to the NL. The nicest thing I noticed is how friendly and kind people are. For example saying hi to the bus driver, thanking the cashier in a shop, wishing the waiter a good day in a restaurant, greeting people passing by while walking on the street etc. I was really not used to this kind of behaviour and I was positively surprised.
Honestly, I don't even think that's really considered being friendly in The Netherlands, I think it's common sense to treat everyone equal. I've visited a lot of countries where people don't thank the waiter, the bus driver or wish them a good day, and I think it's so rude! I literally heard someone say 'I don't thank people below me' in the US and I was absolutely horrified!!
@@evabakker I also think it's like norms and values and something we are used to. Where a cashier will for obvious reasons try to be polite the respons to that is usually a automatic reaction, same as greeting the bus driver.
Recently moved to the Netherlands from South Africa. I am utterly inlove with the Netherlands. Sure, vad weather and all, but everything here is 100x better than in my home country. I love that even if it rains, people still walks their dogs, ride their bicycle and go to the gyms. It is amazing.
But but....hot weather from March , autumn till December , groundwater level dwindling because of prolonged drought etc.... Bad weather....chose New Zealand...yiiiiiikes..
To be perfectly honest theres a reason for that. If we dident 'do our thing' if it was raining or otherwise bad weather we wouldnt be able to do anything at all. Bad weather is sadly what were stuck with alot of the time so we just suck it up.
One thing I feel you missed about being homeless in the Netherlands is that, compared to many other countries) us that they're treated as actual human beings and for better or worse get the help they're able or want to get. I was homeless for just over a year when I was 19. I had depression and a massive addiction. Within 2 weeks of losing my old student room, I had a room in a homeless shelter, yes an actual room to myself. I got fed 3 times a day, could go and leave whenever I wanted and there was even a room where things like needles where handed out and people could use drugs under the supervision of a trained nurse. There always was a team nearby to help me with things like keeping my room clean to filing taxes and applying for rehab. I still feel I was the one who pulled myself out of homelessness, but could never have done that without the care the Netherlands offers to their homeless population.
I think free feeds meals is okay. Need help poor ppl & ppl who need eager for help But no shit as CAN FREELY USING DRUGS IN SHRLTER OR ANY PUBLIC PLACE, just because you or they’re massive addict to drugs. All you need is stop using drugs & stop proudly of addict to drugs like normal things. Its will create more homeless & addict thugs just like what happened in USA & alots Western country. It also creating more younger generations addict to drugs & have no depressing to become druggies while they know the gorvement will help them with all foods & shelter & basic amounts of moneys to buy drugs for using. Anyone did mistake, specially young adults. Anyone can make wrong choice in life & turn themselves addict. But they must get HELP WITH ONE CONDITION : STOP ADDICT & GETTING REHAB CENTER HELP TILL THEY CLEAN. If Netherlands don’t fix this problems, no longer & sonner in 2-3 decades their country is full of young addiction just like what happened in us/uk now Look at how shitty druggies in us/uk - shitting all day high on drugs in public & parks, proudly to be druggies thugs because it’s humans right & freedom right so they can going around to do shitty stuff attack people.
@@HauTran-sunfromsouthno bro, its not like you can shoot up all day like you are chilling in a trap house. You are supervised to take as much as you need to not get sick until you get into rehab. You cannot knock on the nurse' door every 25 minutes to get your hit. On top of that, they provide the sanitary needs so you dont die from hiv or infection from using passed on needles or using stepped on shit. Its a way more effective way of getting someone into rehab than cold turkying, wich can be detrimental to mental, physical and social health. Not personal experience but i do know people who were less fortunate enough to go through these events. Really changes your point of view on things when it happens so close
@@davidborn5845 Im Vietnamese - Southeast Asian so I know damm well what the hell I’m talkin about Anytime i talk about REHAB CENTER-all Westerners use excuse mental illness, healthy problems,etc… lolz so the whole Western ppl is full of physical mental illness people?? No, don’t use any motherfucker reason this, reason that. In 1970,80,90s Vietnam have alots of addict though American wars bought it here. Alots of youngster addict drugs in 80-90 & early 00s. I’m youngest kid in family & was born in 1987s so I know what I’m talk about, when I was kid around my neighborhood have alots of drugs (including middle age to youngster , mostly 99% is male), no one is mental illness, its all healthy ppl get suck on drugs because alots reason: young teenage play around with others bad groups & they’re invited them used drugs, or young teen - while parents busy at working outside of house cant take care kids, kids is wild & lost their right way. Or adults thugs team who get infect by leader thugs/gangs so they gonna be ZOMMBIE to follow gang leader order,etc.. but no mental illness reason. Mental illness ppl - did you ever see mental illness ppl, their face look Straight not normal, dirty & mad, some look DUMB - you can see it by eyes & mostly they’re not smart enough, when they’re going crazy they even eat shitty things & do harmful shit themselves, so where moneys they buy drugs? And who ppl give his free-drugs to used? So because of crazy bloom DRUGS ADDICTION OF MANY YOUNG VIETNAMESE IN 80-90s our gorvement build REHAB CENTER. ALL PPL WHO USED DRUGS GET CAUGHT IN PUBLIC OR CRIMINAL WHO IS DRUGS ADDICT GET CAUGHT, they have put in REHAB CENTER FOR 6month -2year depend on each cases. They get FORCE TO CLEAN - at least when they’re in rehab center, police take eyes make them follow rules & healthcare workers did their jobs as take care healthy & give pills in need. Guess what after decades of motherfucker STRICT LAWS FOCUS ON DRUGS, nowadays there is very less ppl drugs addict. We still have drugs addict but it not much as before & NOTHING IF COMPARE WHAT HAPPENS IN Us/UK & WESTERN COUNTRY ALL drugs deal & drugs products & drug trafficking deliveries get caught here get HARDEST PUNISHMENT AS DEAD PENALTY!! Drug sellers if they’re sale alots, they can face 10-20y in jails. Singapore is same, drugs trafficking & saler over 1kg pure heroin can get dead penalty. Look at Singapore, SouthKorea, Vietnam, China, Taiwan,etc.. less drugs addict & safe here. And anytime I’m talking about Rehab center - all Asian ppl accept & admit it work only Western talking shit. If they can’t use any reason to blame & excuse, then they’re talk like this “oh but Vietnam is communist & less freedom” laugh my ass of fall out of my chair Vietnam nowadays is more freedom than ppl in West & USA in many points. Ppl who never been in Vietnam or Asia countries must never know, all their information by Us & Western media is liar & bias. Alots of western ppl who is working & travel, vacation in Vietnam & East Asia & some Southeast Asia for first time here is shock. Because their knowledge is UP SIDE DOWN. I’m not saying Vietnamese is better than West or anyone. I’m also have NOTHING RACIST OR AGAINST USA/WEST. I just prove facts so ppl can understand. This is sad for Usa & alot western country, they’re fails & falling so fast. That’s why I wrote long-ass comments because I feel bad for these countries & ppl who addict drugs or affect by drugs. Freedom is important & must, it all we humans dying & fighting for. But in some case, we need HARDLY ORDER & STRICT LAWS if it’s the only way to help the whole generation & help normal ordinary people.
I am Dutch (from the Caribbean part of the Netherlands) and while doing my MBA in Pittsburgh I had a B average which was the requirement, but than my dean told me that I was an underachiever and I asked why? He told me to go for the A's, which I did, straight A's for the rest of the MBA program. Back home when applying for jobs no one ever asked to see my grades, you graduated that was always enough.
Thanks for sharing Fernando. Hah yeah, I am not surprised. Yeah no one ever checks for grades. Except if you are coming straight out of college in the US. Where are you now?
True. My husband got his MBA degree from Newport University in Utrecht and I don't think he had any graduation celebration there. Dutch kids also don't celebrate graduation days in schools. Doe gewoon dan doe je al gek genoeg (just act normally, that's crazy enough they say). Wat een flauwe kul , what a nonsense !
Thats because we do not consider scoring A's or B's as intellegence, in the US they really have a habit of confusing IQ/ Intellegence with Memory. If person A read his books all night long he will probably be able to puke out more stuff on Exam day as Person B who didnt read it it all as he was having a beer with his buddies, doesnt mean that person A is more intellegent tho. The guy in this video described it so well
You can’t be Dutch and from the Caribbean. Dutch people are European people and they are white. In Europe peoples nationality iš tied with their ethnicity.
Als mede-Nederlander heel erg bedankt voor het maken van deze video. Ik waardeer het dat je van het land houdt. Je hebt eindelijk mijn ogen weer geopend en me laten beseffen hoe goed we leven, Liefs uit Nederland. 🇳🇱 ❤🇺🇸 (Are you able to read this without translating?)
I feel like the being honest part in the Netherlands is that we find honest communication so important! We would rather have someone tell everything that's on their mind than keeping secrets. Honesty is such a great way to learn and grow from each other. I love how direct we are haha!
@@hidavidwen well, one of my best friends is from Suriname and whenever there is something she wants to talk to me about, or when something bothers her, I find she can have the tendency to talk in circles. When something bothers me, I say it as it is and sometimes that can lead to some friction. I think it's fascinating how every culture communicates differently!
I am Dutch (I grew up in Maastricht actually) but currently living abroad. What I've experienced is that, as someone with social anxiety and crippling insecurity, the Dutch directness is liberating indeed: I don't have to worry so much about what people might think of me or my work (which of course tends to drift off into the worst case scenario based on my own insecurities), because they'll just tell me to my face and I'll know exactly where I stand. I greatly prefer the clarity and actionable improvement points negative feedback gives me, over the endless pondering and doubt.
Thanks for sharing Shadé. Ah that makes sense…yeah I get that. I’m in my head a lot and I get what you mean. I’m learning to appreciate it too. What I’ve also learned is that of course “how” you say it matters too…you can be direct and polite or direct and rude
@@hidavidwen Absolutely, that comes with the territory; Because it isn't taboo to give negative feedback, people learn to give it in a constructive manner and how to receive it too. Thanks for your reply, wishing you a marvellous time in NL.
As a Maastricht resident I'm proud you also value our "southern" beauty! When people talk about the Netherlands they mostley talk about Amsterdam and I always have to tell them: "We are so much more than that!"
As a Dutch person i can say that everything in this video is true!!! (And i also like when non-Dutch people say how awsome our country is! Thank you for this super video David Wen! En fijne dag nog! )
I agree so much about the directness/egalitarian society part. I'm a university student and during a lecture a professor was talking about some of his own research and a student raised his hand and asked some very critical questions about the procedures, the interpretation of results and the relevancy of his research to the course we were taking. The professor was totally cool about it, tried to answer his questions as best as he could but also was upfront about things he would need to check over again. In the end he also thanked the student for the questions as he said it was good to be critical and evaluative of your own research. Really nice and eyeopening experience during the lecture, it made me respect the professor (and the student as well) a lot more.
Thanks for sharing. Yes! I was pleasantly surprised to see the Dutch students in my class challenge the professor. It definitely added to the learning experience. That would never happen in certain cultures…
I did a subject/course in University in which we cooperated with a few African universities. We were getting some disappointing results from the African universities. I was shocked when one of my group (African student) explained they may not have fully understood the assignment, and that they could not ask, as asking your professor to (further) explain the assignment or for that matter anything he had lectured on, would be considered very rude. I could not fantoom why, until she explained it would be seen as criticism of the professor as it would/could somehow suggest the professor had not done a good job explaining it in the first place. Pfff tiresome.
@@hamster4618 crazy! How can you learn without allowing your brain to function and asking the questions that pop up and then not even being able to do the proposed assignment because of the insecurities of a professor.. haha omg
@@jarasimonson4040 Yeah imagine that in your professional life... You get an assignment where the only description is the name of said assignment... no explanation... then expect you to solve Nuclear Fusion :D
@@rogerelzenga4465 hahaha.. did this actually happen? Sounds more like some sort of fucked up intelligence test (; not too funny probably then. Maybe you could take it as funny?
So nice to hear you speak about the Netherlands. You can see it with different eyes than I do. I, an Amsterdammer, but living in Hoofddorp, think everything you say is normal. I think about the foreign trips I have made (yes also to the US and Canada), then I realize again what a good country the Netherlands is to live in.
Thanks Bert. Yeah it’s always good to hear the perspectives of others. Me too. I know Hoofddorp :)) Well…actually not really, but I know the area around the train station quite well haha
The full saying is:"Doe normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg."/"You're crazy enough just by acting normal." Meaning that by authentically being yourself you're your own unique being. No need to step outside of yourself to stand out.
That's not entirely the exact explanation, there's slightly other twist to it. Now, the thing is just that you might be perceived too crazy by *being* yourself. "Doe normaal. ." is a kind of related to the expression "je kop boven het maaiveld uitsteken". What does the expression means? Certainly you can be yourself, yes, in a sense of honesty and directness. But you can not be bombastic, bragging, boasting full of confindence all day long, openly, or being openly and rudely bossy, or dreaming very big, or constantly nagging about things (the later being a Karen basically). This behavior will be - generally of course - perceived as definition "crazy", and will really quite be "punished", sooner or later, in smaller or bigger way. That is what the expression actually means. That's the Calvinistic nature of he Dutch and how our society works here.
@@19382q oh I have no problem to make it sound like a compliment or an insult . This saying is sensitive for which tone you use, i guess that explain the different opinions above me. Speaking out of your experience you have with it!
Love how we all are like "oh yeah the Dutch are quite humble" but the second a single video gets made that speaks positively about the country, somehow we sniff em out like hounds going "YEAHHHHH I KNEW IT! WE ROCK! WOOOO!" whilst also complaining about every single thing that's wrong with our country. It's a real emotional rollercoaster😂
Thank you for refreshing my view and perception of my country of birth. As a citizen I have taken all of this for granted. Your explanation made me aware of how fortuned I am to be born here and live here.
I always hear my Dutch friends said , Netherlands is too full …. 😂😅😁 For me I like seafood like herring , paling and those salads on the seafood vendors. I like their public transportation and roads designing . And their supermarkets because everything is so chopped well like potato, vegetables…. Which I don’t see here in Toronto. And mostly I like to drink their milk , much better than North America ones. The worst and Tompunce at HEMA is also very nice. I also like the price is exact the real price when you pay in Europe because in Canada, you need to put percentage tax with the price , so I enjoyed so much to shop in Netherlands.
Well with some of the waitinglists for a house/appartement being 5-10 years for some of the locals cause the people to say we are full. With the flowing in of migrants whether the legal or illegals, there are simply not enough houses built to compensate this, they're trying, but it isn't something that instantly is fixed. With the ridiculous high demands on the environment/emissionfree accords this has caused most of the problems surrounding that issue. The government currently have it in their heads to destroy our farmers with most of them having to quit according to the charts they keep showing meaning the food will have to be imported, which means higher living costs potentially. With a hungerwinter in our history you can tell people do not approve of seizing land that way, which I believe it is truly about. So with the elderly staying in their homes and prefering that to a home means this won't free up space quickly either and more people entering than we can house this has caused all sorts of issues. Mind you I wish this wasn't an issue, but generally those are the underlying thoughts regarding this problem.
Ofcourse we are full. There is an invasion of colonists taking over our country. Assisted by our traitor government. In the end though, we will remove the colonists, by any means, just like us colonisers were kicked out of the rest of the world 😀.
This is such a good video, Well done David! I too have been in The Netherlands for just over 4 years and I couldn't agree more with your summary. I just wish I had spent more time getting to know some other internationals like yourself to share the experience with. Shout out to The Hague too (my home), what a great city!
Let's not forget about directness that the multi layered read between the lines communication requires training and exercise, starting from a young age, and therefore functions as a form of class distinction. It allows people to identify another as 'not one of us' by spotting the errors and faux pas. So the directness is in fact inclusive allthough foreigners might not experience it that way immediately. The 6 culture in education is not free from criticism, but the idea behind it is that the bar is set quite high but a level you can manage, and you don't have to show off by going much higher because the education system is about your development rather than showing you are smarter than others. The US system is based on finding the best students, see who comes out on top in a highly competitive environment, it's demand driven. The Dutch system is supply driven, we have all these kids, they can't all be the best so let's develop them well so they will be able to clear this bar. It's more about developping talents, also the modest ones, than showing and measuring it.
@@arcillasteehouwer48 No, I think it's from a tradition of equality and egalitarianism. In countries like the UK and France speech becomes more polite and complicated the higher the class. So it's more difficult to get in as someone from humble beginnings, or as a foreigner.
You are very positive about my country, and I recognise what you said, almost 🙂 The positivity about the public transport in the Netherlands I hear a lot from foreigners. But the Dutch people are complaining about the public transport every day, we, the Dutch are spoiled 🙂
Complaining is the Dutch way to start the process for improving on things. If other countries are doing it worse that is no reason to not improve yourself.
Who wants to live in NL??? Shit weather, boring people, fake faces, think they have the best country in the world😄😄😄😄 , no nature , only houses and shopping malls 🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂ Reply
I always love the fact that our dedication to the bike gets overlooked and under appreciated. We are such a fan of bikers that every town, every city every house can be reached by bike. You can travel from north to south with the bike. They are even making bike HIGHWAYS.
@@hidavidwen yeah its like a long (mostly straight) oath that goes directly from a city to an other passing through/by different town. They are called “fiets snelwegen” in dutch
Honestly, it's one of the things that stands out most to me. Dutch cycling culture is being actively studied and attempts to copy it are happening all around the world. Slowly, admittedly. Countries are slow to realized they need a mobility revolution similar to what Holland went trough in the 70's.
To add to your point on Travel, Amsterdam Schipol International Airport is a very nice airport and is quite easy to navigate too. The signs are easy to follow and clear too. My mother and I love traveling through Schipol when we are flying to and from Finland and Florida!
I like that you actually cover not only Amsterdam. As a Dutch man in the Netherlands from Eindhoven (Brainport) with big companies like ASML, also on a company level we have a lot to offer. Personally I work at KPMG and I actually enjoy it a lot partly because I dont work at the local office.
God bless the Netherlands! ❤ I have been in many different countries and it is the best in my opinion! Very clean, everything is good organized, the Dutch people are lovely and amazing ❤ Nice to see how families enjoying their time outside together 👍🏻 every time i get back to Netherlands from any trip i feel very grateful for being here 🙏🏻
Even though we have bad weather most of the time, the seasons really are different from eachother and you can really notice if its like autumn or spring
I am Dutch and live in California now. The “doe normaal” still haunts me, because the part that doesn’t get mentioned is that everyone is the same and standing out in anything (clothes or whatever) is not very well appreciated. The other difference between the school grades you mention is just because school is a lot harder than in the us and it’s almost impossible to get a 10 / a+. Even though the work is way more, a 6 in Dutch standards is probably more like a b+ here.
Thanks for sharing! Well being in California, it’s like the opposite of “doe normaal” in many ways haha…how has your experience been? Ah now I’m so interested to hear about the reverse experience of Dutchies in the US! Long shot..but if you know of any Dutchies in San Francisco (eg. FB group?) who would be interested in sharing their experiences, let me know. It would be nice/interesting to hear their experiences when I go back to visit 😄
Are you serious? Where did you live. I live in a town of 50.000 people and you can dress the way you want and you see it. But yeah..if you flash it like some sort of egomaniac or give that impression (look a me I am so special!) that is not appreciated a lot. I dislike it too. Because my experience with these people tends to be it is all about them...
I like how you said "...When it works" when talking about Public Transportation. Because my bf is always nagging about trains having problems whenever he travels by train 😆
living in America, I've been looking to escape since I was little. I'm going on 18 and I think I can make it in two years if I work my ass off. here I come, Utrecht. the future base for me to explore the world and share it through a lens, while having somewhere that actually feels like home. I'm so fucking glad the dutch culture wasn't something I was imagining
Maastricht is incredibly nice, I live a few km away on the Belgian side of the border and the contrast is crazy when I go to Maastricht, everything is nicer. I visited other large dutch cities but none got that little "town" vibe like maastricht does.
Oh I miss Maastricht! I was there for a day a few weeks ago, and it brought back so many good memories. I used to cycle into Belgium a lot too and into the countryside...it was so peaceful.
Hmmm...Haarlem, Leiden, Middelburg. The last town was mentioned in some Swiss paper as the better "Amsterdam" and has that vide too. Pesonally I love Haarlem and Leiden a lot and Utrecjt comes to mind but is a bit bigger than the others.
I am so happy you feel happier living in the Netherlands. It is a beautiful country. Dutch people are blunt and direct but also are frequently kind and giving. I love the authenticity. The lack of pretense.
Antoinette Novelle * 1maand geleden That is at the first face. You realy know the Netherlands people after a maybe one year then you gone see you don't like them I mean the white dutch people's.
Being a Dutch employee I work long hours on most days of the week, because it's needed in my job, but everybody knows it's harder to focus after 8-9 hours at work. But a big group quits indeed at 17.00 o'clock. A good work-private balance is indeed important to relax and load up the battery. For the rest you sum it up adequately.
When you turn it around, the "not being direct" can be very annoying for Dutch people in return. We got some friends from the UK and they are just so polite that its quite hard for us to understand what they really think. You kinda have to make that up from like non-verbal signs or gestures, things like that. For example, if you ask a Dutch person: Do you feel like having that for dinner or would you like to go there, stuff like that, you expect a simple yes or no in return. With my English friends you really have to listen and pay attention to how they say yes. If its like a "yeah sounds great" its a yes, but if its a "hmmm well, yeah..." thing it probably means no? Ill be like... cmon, I just asked for your opinion so no need to be shy about just giving it?
Thanks for sharing Sander. Yeah communication isn’t easy right?? Yet probably one of the biggest challenges we humans face 😂 and usually the solution to many things…is learning how to effectively communicate
My daughter is Dutch-educated, her husband and children are English and my daughter can't stand their too-polite, but unclear answers. " I'm fine" when asked whether they want to have this or that. The Dutch people are direct, ja graag ! or Nee, dank je wel. They sound rude, but it saves a lot of time and we don't have to guess the answers.
I totally relate haha omg.. when asking a friend from London if he'd like some more food he'd say: no thank you, I am fine. I knew he wanted more! So I said I know you are fine but would you feel even better with more? All the time the same.. haha pretty tiring. He couldn't change it at all, so embedded in his national identity! (Or something like that :)
This is absolutely true, and speaking from long experience of being an Englishman here in the Netherlands, this is so much part of our culture that it seems impossible to change; however much we might like to, or try hard to.
Hi David ! - I found it both enlightening and interesting to watch this video of yours. I'm an English guy who's been living here in the Netherlands now for nearly 49 years after spending several years living and working in Switzerland prior to that. For what it's worth, my wife is an ethnic Chinese and she's done large parts of The Camino together with a good friend of hers from Taipei: - All prior to Covid-19. Also, my son studied in Maastricht.
Thanks Greg! Wow 49 years and the camino and Maastricht. I feel so connected. I’ve always wanted to live in Switzerland…I know it was a while ago but how would you compare NL vs Switzerland?
@@hidavidwen Switzerland was much, much better, David, at least back then in the early to middle 70`s. The Netherlands wasn't too bad a place to live when I first came here, but unhappily it's deteriorated enormously and become a much less nice place and environment to live in nowadays: I'll be honest with you, were it not for my age and family and friends being here, I would have moved to a county outside the awful and oppressing EU 🇪🇺 before now: Probably to S.E. Asia.
One thing that needs mentioning, is that "age" is not a thing here. You could be 70 years old, if you go to a club or a festival, nobody would even bat an eye. I'm nearly 60 myself and go to festivals regularly. I talk with young and old people alike and I don't even get remarks like "it so great that you still do this at your age" from the young people since it's such a non-issue!
Hi David, I have lived in the Netherlands and definitely I loved this country. You have mentioned about not being happy getting a 7/10 while Dutch kids were happy with a 6. Well as you have noticed in there many people speak more than on language and it is easy to find a kid speaking English German and Dutch. What I actually want to say is that learning in Europe is much more effective than in the US, I haven't personally studied in the US, but many friends that went to the US and back home they were below the average, and in the US they were above the average, and this is something that all of them told me is that the things they were learning in the US, they had already learned that 2 - 3 years before back in Europe.
Thanks for sharing! I've always found (most) Europeans to be very educated. I think one reason is in the US, we learn to pass the exam vs. learning to learn (if that makes sense). The focus is on the grades. To get into a good school. The pressure takes away from the learning.
I really like you saying that Delft feels like a small town. For me it feels like a large city, still after living there for almost 20 years. But then again, I grew up on the island of Texel.
You make me so excited, almost wishing I would live here, but wait… I already do! I am proud to be Dutch and I have no intentions of leaving either. LOL
Love the video! You really described the NL as it is. The best part you could take a flight to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece......spend a weekend and comeback on Monday to work or school.
Thanks! Haha yea, I’m on my way back to Amsterdam now as I type this…so easy to travel (I also travel light and so the budget airlines are perfect for me too)
I used to visit Dusseldorf with my friends on a touring bus. It's also very nice to visit other European cities such as London, Paris, and Brussels on a tour bus.
Bert, you are rich! Never in a lifetime would I spend so much on travel for just a short weekend. Ons bin zunig (We are frugal). But actually, housing costs in many parts of the Netherlands are so high, that you need quite a salary to pay for those bricks to become yours in 30 years time :)
@@gardenjoy5223 Ryan Air is cheaper than the NS. I bought tickets for 15 Euro to Alicante from Eindhoven. (Right now the have sale take a look, tickets for 30 Euro a ticket many places to choose. (Travel light backpacking, so do no pay for extra suitcases) de verkoop is net begonnen. ik ben zuinig ook!
At 4:00, what does the US do there on the very left? In my experience it's one of the most between the lines cultures I experienced. Its full of fluff, everything is "amazing, great, wonderful, best in the world, best I ever had". For me it's always difficult to talk to americans as they seem to assume non stop flattery within conversations. With the dutch communication its very clear and no non-sense, if a dutch person says "thats amazing" they actually mean that. (Im not dutch myself)
Thanks for sharing Guy. I can understand what you mean. I am also very “positive” and friendly in my communication too. I think that’s just what I learned growing up. I think it’s good to be aware of these cultural differences
Even someone who doesn't know Dutch can understand the (written) words "een 6 is een studenten-10" Many students just want a passing grade and 6 is good enough, but there're also Dutchies like me who'd strive to get closer to an actual 10 since we want to understand it all and want to be able to properly reproduce something when needed it in the field. However I never felt like I ever had to get the best grades in class to be able to get a proper job like I have now
Thank you for your video. As a Dutch person living in Amsterdam its great to hear your perspective on our country. Sometimes you forget how even the small things are special and how happy I am to live here (even though I love traveling). Bedankt!
My brother worked for Deloitte but started on his own together with a colleague 6 years ago he now works a lot of hours and regularly walks around with three laptops, but on the other hand he takes three months off a year.
@@2012inca Wat ik eigenlijk wil zeggen is dat sinds mijn broer en zijn collega een eigenbedrijf zijn begonnen ze nu wel een hoop overuren maken ,maar daar in tegen nemen ze drie maanden vrij per jaar!
@@daluzsoares Oh dat is mooi voor je broer, dan te bedenken dat er Amerikanen zijn die net in Europa komen wonen en geen idee hebben wat ze met 21 of 25 vakantiedagen aanmoeten. Vooral New Yorkers zijn workaholics die denken dat zoveel mogelijk werken cool is en dat ze het helemaal gemaakt hebben, totdat ze in Europa komen wonen en zien dat mensen liever met hun bootje gaan varen of op vakantie gaan, dan 70 uur te werken. Een eigen bedrijf is hebben is anders, Ik zou zo 7 dagen werken in mijn eigen bedrijf. Ik wilde altijd een bedrijf om mooie auto's te verhuren oldtimers en Ferraris, Lamborginis en dan in wintertijd 3 maanden rondreizen over de wereld, maar ja zulke auto's kosten bij elkaar miljoenen om te kopen, dus nu maar hopen op de staatsloterij lol.
Bycicles: I heard an English saying "Red is Death"(I think it comes from Biology). In the Netherlands this saying counts for the road paving... stay away from the red if you are not on a bycicle or scooter. (or the wide red lanes which are for busses and taxis)
My in-laws immigrated to America from the Netherlands in 1954. my children are half Dutch and I'm an American mongrel. I've visited Holland 4 times and love it. Now I live in Jamaica and have 2 Dutch friends who live here also. My children are related to Van Gogh. My favorite Dutchman would be Rembrandt and my favorite Belgian would be Hercule Poirot.
My wife's family is from Heesch just south of OSS. When we went to visit the cemetery, I noticed her great Opa was married to Maria Van Gogh. She is Vincent's second cousin. My wife is a Van Der Stappen.
Yes Maastricht is a beautiful city, one of the oldest in the Netherlands. By the way, the church where you exercised is 100 meters from my house, it is indeed very special to exercise there. Nice video btw :)
@@hidavidwen just look the farmers protests or the protests for the Covid rules. Dutchies are getting extreme in their actions. A lot of people with a lot of time on their hands who will block every part of society just because they believe in something. Wether it’s true or not. They don’t care about consequences. They just want it their way and they want it now. No matter how many people it hurts
when comparing net income you should also include the costs of health care and social services. The Dutch system offers 90% of the people better subsistence security.
You know, I did a summer internship in a lab in college one time and the professor was Dutch. For the longest time I thought he was rude. But that wasn't true, he was just Dutch lol Work-life balance in many European countries does seem a lot better. Do you think it has to do with the social safety net differences? In America, if you don't have money then nothing else will save you if something goes bad while in many European countries, you get more support. So we overwork ourselves not only to be the best but because more bad things happen to you if you're not the best. I do see a lot more part time contracts over here in Germany too. And it seems quite easy to switch between part time and full time if you say have a kid or something. I conjecture this has to do with the safety net too since it's guaranteed by the government instead of being specific to the job. Anyone not a full time worker in the States isn't guaranteed benefits. Also excuse me for sounding really American...but I did get a lot of vacation days with my Berlin job but don't know what to do with them yet haha. It really is a lot but at the same time, I haven't built up enough funds in just a couple months yet. Plus I get to have the "joy" of hunting for an apartment here in Berlin 🙄
Work life balance is also better because fulltime is 36 to 40 hours in Europe without bosses harassing you at home with work in the evening and weekends. With little funds you could buy a train ticket that is valid a week or two weeks to travel through the Netherlands and stay in cheap hostels. The Netherlands is really small, so you can get to places by train fairly quick or rent a bike somewhere. We have people from Texas living here who tought they would see all of The Netherlands in no time, now they say they need years to be able to see it all.
Thanks Chris. Hope life is going well for you in Germany! I had the same problem my first year…didn’t know what to do with my vacation days. I do think the reason Americans overwork is because there isn’t that safety net. It’s also part of the American culture…the belief that if you work your ass off, it’ll pay off. I mean I owe a lot to the US and definitely wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for that mentality…but it’s really dog eat dog ever since the school days. I think you can relate. And it floods into the work culture too. And here in the Netherlands, getting fired is not so easy. In the US, everything is “at will” so you always feel like you need to grind. To always want more. And I remember one guy who told me it wasn’t worth climbing the corporate ladder here because you get taxed so much more here and you don’t make as much as in the US…so is it really worth the added stress? For many, no. You can live a good quality of life just being average here.
The only advice I have on that, heard from someone living streets n Berlin, is to try and, if possible, not accept the first price they give you ona n apartment, even if you can afford it, but look somehwere press expensive or haggle, SOA s to no contribute to centrifugation n and rising house prices. But then again there is a rent freeze thatw as instituted and the extended in Berlin some time ago I think, state wide, but I'm not sure about the details on that. Well disnyous ee the this Ng about the , I think it was 29 or similar, euro ticket in Berlin? Announce or launched. Sort of a follow up to the 9euro ticket that was in place arlier all over germany , designed to get more people using public transport, reduce congestion, and of course save people commuting cost. I wonder if that lu where in Germany for that, and want it was like ,if you perhaps took part in some way with that. Anyway yeah, better work life balance, is good.
Hi Chris, be careful with those vacation days. You don't 'just' get them. They are meant for a full year. So, if you get 24 days, that means 2 per month. Which also means, that if you have worked at the company for only 2 months, you've build up 4 vacation days only! Now, it is possible to start a job in May and want to have a holiday for two weeks in July. But then you actually are eating up days from months to come. Would you leave the firm early, they will make you pay for every hour, that you took too much.
@@gardenjoy5223 In Europe by law you get 21 tot 36 paid vacation days the first day you start work, only in the US people need to earn vacation days. They call them benefits in the US, in Europe they call them rights which everyone gets first day at work because of European law. European women get 3 months paid leave after having a baby, some men get some paid time off too after his girlfiend / wife had a baby. Only in the US you need to earn vacation days, nowhere else. At least not in the 60 countries I went to.
The brood Painting in the background was painted by the late Herman Brood, who origines from my hometown Zwolle. And in Zwolle we have church converted into a beautiful bookstore. Just a fun fact 😆
Nice video to put things into perspective! We Dutchies tend to complain a lot about everything and I think that's just because life is really good here. It got so comfortable for most people that we got spoiled ;)
love your channel. my sons wife is dutch, or was.. divorced now. ( thats ok.. theyre friendly) anyway, she learned English as a child, along with spanish, german and french i believe too. they met in ca in the sf bay area then yrs later moved to holland. my son had a hard time learning dutch, and seeing how she knew several languages had me wishing american schools taught us like this. im now addicted to your wonderful channel ❤
Thanks Dorie! Yeah I wish American schools taught more languages too. Now I wish I paid more attention in high school…languages are the bridges to connect with the world
I agree with what you said. One additional thing l liked about living in Amsterdam as an American was, people took time to be with each other. I could sit with a friend having coffee at a cafe and not feeling rushed. One could sit as long as you wanted without a waiter/waitress making feel like it was time to leave. It has been a while since I lived there, I hope it is still that way
As a Dutchman who has lived and worked in the US for well over 20 years, I at first couldn't believe the level of elation when I finally returned to the Netherlands and put perfect past tense to my American experience. The things that, some to lesser, some to major extent, had aggravated or annoyed me about the Netherlands before living abroad, now came back to me as, sometimes extremely pleasant and worthwhile, but most of all I appreciate the (call it kind and caring) sense of security and safety that permeates into nearly every aspect of life here. On the flipside however, I also have sensed an overwhelming urge with Dutch people to become more American and accept and embrace what they see as things that they think they like in America. I also found out that this is very hard to explain and even when direct examples and reasoned arguments. The media indoctrination and US 'cultural' propaganda has proven to be very powerful in that sense. Now that I know the difference first hand, I appreciate my Dutch way of life so much more than living in the anger-obsessed, rabidly egocentric individualist and greedy consumerist society in the US.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. I’ve appreciated traveling and living the world…its given me more perspective of what makes me happy. Sounds like you are loving being back in NL :) Im curious though…what do you miss about the US? (Would be interesting for me to hear as you did the opposite!)
@@hidavidwen Thank you for responding. Yes, I now really appreciate the Dutch way of doing things and living life. As to what I miss about the US, frankly speaking, not much. There are of course the friends from over the years there, but contact with those has remained fairly easy to maintain. Being in Europe allows me to savour the history and those aspects of culture that I have found lacking in the US. Where it comes to things like climate and the beauty of the land itself, I can safely say that after having lived in the near Siberian climate of Minnesota that I do not miss that at all. For the rest, I find that I have come to the conclusion that there is preciously little that the US has that we Dutch can't do better, cheaper, or do without (which does not have to be negative if you take for example the firearms issues). One of the major things that I do NOT miss about the US is its propensity of becoming what it once fiercely fought against. The rise of fascistoid tendencies and the erosion of common sense are signs that the polarized US society is trending towards authoritarianism and that is in my book not a positive.
The last reason is one of the best, I am so thankfull that my parents took me on vacations with the car and after some driving you you were in Italy, south of france or spain. Or indeed take a plane and go to scotland, ireland. They are all beatiful to see, diffrent cultures, diffrent history which is all visible on the older buildings and stories.
I moved here last year from Illinois. I live in the Veluwe area and absolutely love it here. For all the reasons you've mentioned and so much more. Maastricht is awesome. But come check out the Gelderland province! We're next to Utrecht but lots of nature
Glad to hear you love it! Haha I was just talking to some people living in the Gelderland province the other day (I was around Utrecht). I miss being surrounded by lots of nature!
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What do you like about the Netherlands? 🧡🇳🇱
Great video David and glad you still like it :-) And before I forget, you're also contributing to make things even better.
Time to learn dutch !!
@@AlbertZonneveld 😎Helemaal fucking mee eens!
I love ZWARTE PIET! But because he‘s black they declared him taboo and persona non grata.
The weather, obviously
More than anything we Dutch people love hearing from others how awesome our country is. Kudos to you 😊
🧡🇳🇱
Yup, we've very proud of our humility.
Who's 'we', randstedelingen maybe...
I knew it, WE are the greatest........ little country in the world!!! 😮
As long as we can complain how aweful everything is in our country
As a Dutch person you almost made me blush.
We ourselves seem to forget sometimes what a great country we live in. Thank you!
Thanks Martijn. Good reminder to be grateful for what we have in life , so thanks for the reminder too!
Nou, nederlanders hebben zelfs een soort culturele zelfhaat. Ik denk als je alle nederlanders op hawai ofzo zou dumpen, ze heel snel zouden zien wat voor een cultuur ze hadden, en dat ze die toch wel degelijk missen.
The foreigner built the country the Japan built the ns my bf is japan they write program and built the ns and uk had the asml indoeania make the railway nl is just ugly ppl the foreigner built the country sorry you must know it
The dutch can be awfully racist against asians though - don't forget that. The elderly dutch especially - just awful people from my experience.
@@franklin5000 lol what did u do to piss them off
Hi David, the Dutch also speak English (and other languages) so well, because all tv programs and movies in foreign languages are subtitled in Dutch, while the UK, USA, Germany, France f.i. all dub their movies. That helps the learning a lot.
Thanks Milady! Yes I’ve learned! That’s so smart because children can learn so much
He did not know, but its treu. We know enhlisch because of tv en it subtitles. Not because we are small and the trade
@@370amsterdam9 We know it because of both reasons.
We learn English at a young age due to the TV and it's subtitles, but we master it for the ability to better sell our trade, wether it be our knowledge or our labour or actual goods.
what the dutch speaking multiple languages before tv or radio was even invented?
@@bishplis7226 i would imagine during WW2 it would be a rarity to find a Dutch person that spoke English.
We are closer to the Germans in language so i would expect more Dutch to speak at least some degree of German instead.
"Doe normaal" is the short version of "Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg", meaning "When you act normal you are already crazy enough", meaning pretty much what you explain in the video :-)
Thanks Anneke =)
I've always flipped it and thought: just act crazy, you'll be normal enough. 😁😁
@@Nanneke9 the traditional gay parades are normal, its when you see buffed up big men oiled up in tiger print thongs dancing blowing bubbles, i dont care how crazy you think you are, you are deadbeat normal.
dat blijft 1 van de beste Nederlandse uitdrukkingen :)
die heb ik vaak aan moeten horen van ons pap lol
I'm Austrian and I love the Netherlands. I visit Amsterdam at least once every year, this year I visited also Rotterdam. The people are friendly, open, I like their energy and the architecture is so incredibly charming. However, Amsterdam can be a bit of an overload due to massive overtourism. During lockdown, I started learning Dutch (which is not very difficult for a German native speaker) and I'm frequently getting my news from Dutch newspapers now. I consider looking for a job in the Netherlands and moving there.
Austria is so beautiful!
Hi Christoph - yes, there's a lot more than Amsterdam. But the Netherlands is a beautiful country. Wish you the best of luck in finding a job!
@@hidavidwen Thank you David! The bigger challenge seems to be finding an apartment. ;-)
@@christophdenner8878 Best of luck! I know how hard it can be. I made a video about "How to find an apartment in Amsterdam" that may be helpful...
ruclips.net/video/ISgCBqrH18s/видео.html
Ich bin Holländerin und lebe in Österreich. Es hat mich Jahre gekostet, bis ich begriff, warum meine offene und ehrliche Art ständig für Ärger gesorgt hat. Erst gestern wieder wollte mir ein Österreicher erklären, dass man als Frau depperte Anmachen von Betrunkenen gefallen lassen müsse und dass ich mich daran gewöhnen müsse.. Ich: “vielleicht können die Österreicher noch was von Holländern lernen. Ich passe mich nur an, wenn ich mich dadurch nach oben entwickeln kann.” Das Gesicht hättest du sehen sollen! 😂
Well said, nice video! I lived in another country (Turkey) for 24 years and after that I moved to the NL. The nicest thing I noticed is how friendly and kind people are. For example saying hi to the bus driver, thanking the cashier in a shop, wishing the waiter a good day in a restaurant, greeting people passing by while walking on the street etc. I was really not used to this kind of behaviour and I was positively surprised.
Goede morgen Meneer ! Dag !
Something we also take for granted in Canada. ❤️
Thanks for sharing Han and glad to hear you’re enjoying it. Many others also mentioned how friendly the Dutch are.
Honestly, I don't even think that's really considered being friendly in The Netherlands, I think it's common sense to treat everyone equal. I've visited a lot of countries where people don't thank the waiter, the bus driver or wish them a good day, and I think it's so rude! I literally heard someone say 'I don't thank people below me' in the US and I was absolutely horrified!!
@@evabakker I also think it's like norms and values and something we are used to. Where a cashier will for obvious reasons try to be polite the respons to that is usually a automatic reaction, same as greeting the bus driver.
Recently moved to the Netherlands from South Africa. I am utterly inlove with the Netherlands. Sure, vad weather and all, but everything here is 100x better than in my home country.
I love that even if it rains, people still walks their dogs, ride their bicycle and go to the gyms. It is amazing.
Thanks Dylan. Great to hear you are enjoying it so far! The colleagues I’ve met who also came from South Africa love it here too
Glad to hear you like our country my friend. Enjoy it!
But but....hot weather from March , autumn till December , groundwater level dwindling because of prolonged drought etc.... Bad weather....chose New Zealand...yiiiiiikes..
Yo same! Welcome to the club. Haha
To be perfectly honest theres a reason for that. If we dident 'do our thing' if it was raining or otherwise bad weather we wouldnt be able to do anything at all. Bad weather is sadly what were stuck with alot of the time so we just suck it up.
One thing I feel you missed about being homeless in the Netherlands is that, compared to many other countries) us that they're treated as actual human beings and for better or worse get the help they're able or want to get.
I was homeless for just over a year when I was 19. I had depression and a massive addiction. Within 2 weeks of losing my old student room, I had a room in a homeless shelter, yes an actual room to myself. I got fed 3 times a day, could go and leave whenever I wanted and there was even a room where things like needles where handed out and people could use drugs under the supervision of a trained nurse. There always was a team nearby to help me with things like keeping my room clean to filing taxes and applying for rehab. I still feel I was the one who pulled myself out of homelessness, but could never have done that without the care the Netherlands offers to their homeless population.
Woah u could leave when u wanted and you got a room 2 yourself that's way better than in the US omh
I think free feeds meals is okay. Need help poor ppl & ppl who need eager for help
But no shit as CAN FREELY USING DRUGS IN SHRLTER OR ANY PUBLIC PLACE, just because you or they’re massive addict to drugs.
All you need is stop using drugs & stop proudly of addict to drugs like normal things.
Its will create more homeless & addict thugs just like what happened in USA & alots Western country.
It also creating more younger generations addict to drugs & have no depressing to become druggies while they know the gorvement will help them with all foods & shelter & basic amounts of moneys to buy drugs for using.
Anyone did mistake, specially young adults. Anyone can make wrong choice in life & turn themselves addict. But they must get HELP WITH ONE CONDITION : STOP ADDICT & GETTING REHAB CENTER HELP TILL THEY CLEAN.
If Netherlands don’t fix this problems, no longer & sonner in 2-3 decades their country is full of young addiction just like what happened in us/uk now
Look at how shitty druggies in us/uk - shitting all day high on drugs in public & parks, proudly to be druggies thugs because it’s humans right & freedom right so they can going around to do shitty stuff attack people.
@@HauTran-sunfromsouthno bro, its not like you can shoot up all day like you are chilling in a trap house.
You are supervised to take as much as you need to not get sick until you get into rehab. You cannot knock on the nurse' door every 25 minutes to get your hit. On top of that, they provide the sanitary needs so you dont die from hiv or infection from using passed on needles or using stepped on shit.
Its a way more effective way of getting someone into rehab than cold turkying, wich can be detrimental to mental, physical and social health.
Not personal experience but i do know people who were less fortunate enough to go through these events. Really changes your point of view on things when it happens so close
@@davidborn5845
Im Vietnamese - Southeast Asian so I know damm well what the hell I’m talkin about
Anytime i talk about REHAB CENTER-all Westerners use excuse mental illness, healthy problems,etc… lolz so the whole Western ppl is full of physical mental illness people?? No, don’t use any motherfucker reason this, reason that.
In 1970,80,90s Vietnam have alots of addict though American wars bought it here. Alots of youngster addict drugs in 80-90 & early 00s.
I’m youngest kid in family & was born in 1987s so I know what I’m talk about, when I was kid around my neighborhood have alots of drugs (including middle age to youngster , mostly 99% is male), no one is mental illness, its all healthy ppl get suck on drugs because alots reason: young teenage play around with others bad groups & they’re invited them used drugs, or young teen - while parents busy at working outside of house cant take care kids, kids is wild & lost their right way. Or adults thugs team who get infect by leader thugs/gangs so they gonna be ZOMMBIE to follow gang leader order,etc.. but no mental illness reason.
Mental illness ppl - did you ever see mental illness ppl, their face look Straight not normal, dirty & mad, some look DUMB - you can see it by eyes & mostly they’re not smart enough, when they’re going crazy they even eat shitty things & do harmful shit themselves, so where moneys they buy drugs? And who ppl give his free-drugs to used?
So because of crazy bloom DRUGS ADDICTION OF MANY YOUNG VIETNAMESE IN 80-90s our gorvement build REHAB CENTER.
ALL PPL WHO USED DRUGS GET CAUGHT IN PUBLIC OR CRIMINAL WHO IS DRUGS ADDICT GET CAUGHT, they have put in REHAB CENTER FOR 6month -2year depend on each cases. They get FORCE TO CLEAN - at least when they’re in rehab center, police take eyes make them follow rules & healthcare workers did their jobs as take care healthy & give pills in need.
Guess what after decades of motherfucker STRICT LAWS FOCUS ON DRUGS, nowadays there is very less ppl drugs addict. We still have drugs addict but it not much as before & NOTHING IF COMPARE WHAT HAPPENS IN Us/UK & WESTERN COUNTRY
ALL drugs deal & drugs products & drug trafficking deliveries get caught here get HARDEST PUNISHMENT AS DEAD PENALTY!! Drug sellers if they’re sale alots, they can face 10-20y in jails.
Singapore is same, drugs trafficking & saler over 1kg pure heroin can get dead penalty.
Look at Singapore, SouthKorea, Vietnam, China, Taiwan,etc.. less drugs addict & safe here.
And anytime I’m talking about Rehab center - all Asian ppl accept & admit it work only Western talking shit.
If they can’t use any reason to blame & excuse, then they’re talk like this “oh but Vietnam is communist & less freedom” laugh my ass of fall out of my chair
Vietnam nowadays is more freedom than ppl in West & USA in many points. Ppl who never been in Vietnam or Asia countries must never know, all their information by Us & Western media is liar & bias.
Alots of western ppl who is working & travel, vacation in Vietnam & East Asia & some Southeast Asia for first time here is shock. Because their knowledge is UP SIDE DOWN.
I’m not saying Vietnamese is better than West or anyone. I’m also have NOTHING RACIST OR AGAINST USA/WEST. I just prove facts so ppl can understand.
This is sad for Usa & alot western country, they’re fails & falling so fast.
That’s why I wrote long-ass comments because I feel bad for these countries & ppl who addict drugs or affect by drugs.
Freedom is important & must, it all we humans dying & fighting for.
But in some case, we need HARDLY ORDER & STRICT LAWS if it’s the only way to help the whole generation & help normal ordinary people.
@@HauTran-sunfromsouth i don't think you get how addiction works
I am Dutch (from the Caribbean part of the Netherlands) and while doing my MBA in Pittsburgh I had a B average which was the requirement, but than my dean told me that I was an underachiever and I asked why? He told me to go for the A's, which I did, straight A's for the rest of the MBA program. Back home when applying for jobs no one ever asked to see my grades, you graduated that was always enough.
Thanks for sharing Fernando. Hah yeah, I am not surprised. Yeah no one ever checks for grades. Except if you are coming straight out of college in the US.
Where are you now?
I am still in Curaçao and not planning to go anywhere else, except for vacations.
True. My husband got his MBA degree from Newport University in Utrecht and I don't think he had any graduation celebration there. Dutch kids also don't celebrate graduation days in schools. Doe gewoon dan doe je al gek genoeg (just act normally, that's crazy enough they say). Wat een flauwe kul , what a nonsense !
Thats because we do not consider scoring A's or B's as intellegence, in the US they really have a habit of confusing IQ/ Intellegence with Memory. If person A read his books all night long he will probably be able to puke out more stuff on Exam day as Person B who didnt read it it all as he was having a beer with his buddies, doesnt mean that person A is more intellegent tho. The guy in this video described it so well
You can’t be Dutch and from the Caribbean. Dutch people are European people and they are white. In Europe peoples nationality iš tied with their ethnicity.
Als mede-Nederlander heel erg bedankt voor het maken van deze video. Ik waardeer het dat je van het land houdt. Je hebt eindelijk mijn ogen weer geopend en me laten beseffen hoe goed we leven, Liefs uit Nederland. 🇳🇱 ❤🇺🇸 (Are you able to read this without translating?)
I got it more or less =) Thanks for the kind words!
I feel like the being honest part in the Netherlands is that we find honest communication so important! We would rather have someone tell everything that's on their mind than keeping secrets. Honesty is such a great way to learn and grow from each other. I love how direct we are haha!
Glad to hear Jamie! Hah I wonder if you’ve experienced any challenges interacting with cultures who are more indirect?
@@hidavidwen well, one of my best friends is from Suriname and whenever there is something she wants to talk to me about, or when something bothers her, I find she can have the tendency to talk in circles. When something bothers me, I say it as it is and sometimes that can lead to some friction. I think it's fascinating how every culture communicates differently!
I think by direct you mean frank.
@@ufosrus both :)
How are you doing Jamie
I am Dutch (I grew up in Maastricht actually) but currently living abroad. What I've experienced is that, as someone with social anxiety and crippling insecurity, the Dutch directness is liberating indeed: I don't have to worry so much about what people might think of me or my work (which of course tends to drift off into the worst case scenario based on my own insecurities), because they'll just tell me to my face and I'll know exactly where I stand.
I greatly prefer the clarity and actionable improvement points negative feedback gives me, over the endless pondering and doubt.
Thanks for sharing Shadé. Ah that makes sense…yeah I get that. I’m in my head a lot and I get what you mean. I’m learning to appreciate it too. What I’ve also learned is that of course “how” you say it matters too…you can be direct and polite or direct and rude
@@hidavidwen Absolutely, that comes with the territory; Because it isn't taboo to give negative feedback, people learn to give it in a constructive manner and how to receive it too. Thanks for your reply, wishing you a marvellous time in NL.
As a Maastricht resident I'm proud you also value our "southern" beauty! When people talk about the Netherlands they mostley talk about Amsterdam and I always have to tell them: "We are so much more than that!"
Ohh I miss Maastricht! That 1-year felt like a dream…I miss the slower pace of life at times too
I am from Utrecht myself but besides Utrecht places like Maastricht and Valkenburg are among my favorite places in the Netherlands.
Maastricht is Belgium
@@RichardDuinmayer and you are adopted.
@@RichardDuinmayer It's like Belgium, if Belgium had the Dutch quality of life.
As a Dutch person i can say that everything in this video is true!!! (And i also like when non-Dutch people say how awsome our country is! Thank you for this super video David Wen! En fijne dag nog! )
I agree so much about the directness/egalitarian society part. I'm a university student and during a lecture a professor was talking about some of his own research and a student raised his hand and asked some very critical questions about the procedures, the interpretation of results and the relevancy of his research to the course we were taking. The professor was totally cool about it, tried to answer his questions as best as he could but also was upfront about things he would need to check over again. In the end he also thanked the student for the questions as he said it was good to be critical and evaluative of your own research. Really nice and eyeopening experience during the lecture, it made me respect the professor (and the student as well) a lot more.
Thanks for sharing. Yes! I was pleasantly surprised to see the Dutch students in my class challenge the professor. It definitely added to the learning experience. That would never happen in certain cultures…
I did a subject/course in University in which we cooperated with a few African universities. We were getting some disappointing results from the African universities. I was shocked when one of my group (African student) explained they may not have fully understood the assignment, and that they could not ask, as asking your professor to (further) explain the assignment or for that matter anything he had lectured on, would be considered very rude. I could not fantoom why, until she explained it would be seen as criticism of the professor as it would/could somehow suggest the professor had not done a good job explaining it in the first place.
Pfff tiresome.
@@hamster4618 crazy! How can you learn without allowing your brain to function and asking the questions that pop up and then not even being able to do the proposed assignment because of the insecurities of a professor.. haha omg
@@jarasimonson4040 Yeah imagine that in your professional life... You get an assignment where the only description is the name of said assignment... no explanation... then expect you to solve Nuclear Fusion :D
@@rogerelzenga4465 hahaha.. did this actually happen? Sounds more like some sort of fucked up intelligence test (; not too funny probably then. Maybe you could take it as funny?
So nice to hear you speak about the Netherlands. You can see it with different eyes than I do. I, an Amsterdammer, but living in Hoofddorp, think everything you say is normal. I think about the foreign trips I have made (yes also to the US and Canada), then I realize again what a good country the Netherlands is to live in.
Thanks Bert. Yeah it’s always good to hear the perspectives of others. Me too. I know Hoofddorp :)) Well…actually not really, but I know the area around the train station quite well haha
I just realised that happiness means being at peace with yourself and others, thank you!
Glad to hear John :) thank you!
The full saying is:"Doe normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg."/"You're crazy enough just by acting normal." Meaning that by authentically being yourself you're your own unique being. No need to step outside of yourself to stand out.
Thanks for sharing. That’s so important..learning to accept oneself.
@@hidavidwen its more of an insult, they're telling you you're crazy 🤣
That's not entirely the exact explanation, there's slightly other twist to it.
Now, the thing is just that you might be perceived too crazy by *being* yourself. "Doe normaal. ." is a kind of related to the expression "je kop boven het maaiveld uitsteken".
What does the expression means?
Certainly you can be yourself, yes, in a sense of honesty and directness. But you can not be bombastic, bragging, boasting full of confindence all day long, openly, or being openly and rudely bossy, or dreaming very big, or constantly nagging about things (the later being a Karen basically). This behavior will be - generally of course - perceived as definition "crazy", and will really quite be "punished", sooner or later, in smaller or bigger way.
That is what the expression actually means.
That's the Calvinistic nature of he Dutch and how our society works here.
@@19382q oh I have no problem to make it sound like a compliment or an insult .
This saying is sensitive for which tone you use, i guess that explain the different opinions above me.
Speaking out of your experience you have with it!
I take "doe normal" to act natural (not phony or pretentious) and directness to mean frankness.
As a Dutch person, thank you so much! Glad to hear you’re enjoying the Netherlands 😊🇳🇱
Love how we all are like "oh yeah the Dutch are quite humble" but the second a single video gets made that speaks positively about the country, somehow we sniff em out like hounds going "YEAHHHHH I KNEW IT! WE ROCK! WOOOO!" whilst also complaining about every single thing that's wrong with our country. It's a real emotional rollercoaster😂
Haha many Dutch people mentioned the same...that it's easy to complain...and it's a good reminder to look at the positives once in a while!
You my friend are on the money : )
Thank you for refreshing my view and perception of my country of birth. As a citizen I have taken all of this for granted. Your explanation made me aware of how fortuned I am to be born here and live here.
You're welcome Carel. Glad to hear that! Sometimes we need these reminders and different perspectives to be grateful for what we do have in life!
This is so true. I relocated to the Netherlands recently and I love this country for all these reasons! Wonderful people wonderful country!
Yes!
Made me smile hearing you call Delft a small town. For me coming from a small town in the The Netherlands Delft is a big city. Loved this video!
Haha thanks David. Funny. Everything is relative. For me...Amsterdam is a big village 😂
As a dutch person I completely agree, hope you'll stay here for much longer !
Thanks...me too! Let's see where life takes us...
I always hear my Dutch friends said , Netherlands is too full …. 😂😅😁 For me I like seafood like herring , paling and those salads on the seafood vendors. I like their public transportation and roads designing . And their supermarkets because everything is so chopped well like potato, vegetables…. Which I don’t see here in Toronto. And mostly I like to drink their milk , much better than North America ones. The worst and Tompunce at HEMA is also very nice. I also like the price is exact the real price when you pay in Europe because in Canada, you need to put percentage tax with the price , so I enjoyed so much to shop in Netherlands.
Thanks Wawa. Sounds like you are also a fan of the Netherlands. Everything here really is quite efficient :)
@@hidavidwen No , I am not really a fan of it but I don’t say I don’t like it, too.
Well with some of the waitinglists for a house/appartement being 5-10 years for some of the locals cause the people to say we are full.
With the flowing in of migrants whether the legal or illegals, there are simply not enough houses built to compensate this, they're trying, but it isn't something that instantly is fixed.
With the ridiculous high demands on the environment/emissionfree accords this has caused most of the problems surrounding that issue.
The government currently have it in their heads to destroy our farmers with most of them having to quit according to the charts they keep showing meaning the food will have to be imported, which means higher living costs potentially.
With a hungerwinter in our history you can tell people do not approve of seizing land that way, which I believe it is truly about.
So with the elderly staying in their homes and prefering that to a home means this won't free up space quickly either and more people entering than we can house this has caused all sorts of issues.
Mind you I wish this wasn't an issue, but generally those are the underlying thoughts regarding this problem.
Haha HEMA worst with mustard very nice and juicy. Love it especially this coming colder months😍
Ofcourse we are full. There is an invasion of colonists taking over our country. Assisted by our traitor government.
In the end though, we will remove the colonists, by any means, just like us colonisers were kicked out of the rest of the world 😀.
I'm watching this as a Dutch person .. love this kind of videos. 🙌
Thanks for this video !
You’re welcome and thanks for watching!
This is such a good video, Well done David! I too have been in The Netherlands for just over 4 years and I couldn't agree more with your summary. I just wish I had spent more time getting to know some other internationals like yourself to share the experience with. Shout out to The Hague too (my home), what a great city!
Thanks for the kind words! I'm loving The Hague more and more now =)
Let's not forget about directness that the multi layered read between the lines communication requires training and exercise, starting from a young age, and therefore functions as a form of class distinction. It allows people to identify another as 'not one of us' by spotting the errors and faux pas. So the directness is in fact inclusive allthough foreigners might not experience it that way immediately.
The 6 culture in education is not free from criticism, but the idea behind it is that the bar is set quite high but a level you can manage, and you don't have to show off by going much higher because the education system is about your development rather than showing you are smarter than others. The US system is based on finding the best students, see who comes out on top in a highly competitive environment, it's demand driven. The Dutch system is supply driven, we have all these kids, they can't all be the best so let's develop them well so they will be able to clear this bar. It's more about developping talents, also the modest ones, than showing and measuring it.
Well said! 👍
Thanks for sharing! Very insightful
Exactly! If everyone wanted their kids to become doctors, who would repair their broken pipes if there were no plumbers?
@Lynott: Don't become paranoid about our directness. It's pretty bit farfetched imo how you see and obviously feel it....
@@arcillasteehouwer48 No, I think it's from a tradition of equality and egalitarianism. In countries like the UK and France speech becomes more polite and complicated the higher the class. So it's more difficult to get in as someone from humble beginnings, or as a foreigner.
You are very positive about my country, and I recognise what you said, almost 🙂
The positivity about the public transport in the Netherlands I hear a lot from foreigners.
But the Dutch people are complaining about the public transport every day, we, the Dutch are spoiled 🙂
waar ! maar laat Mark Rutte niet alles veranderen.
Haha thanks for sharing Jos. I mean…compared to many places in the world, the public transport here is world class :)
Complaining is the Dutch way to start the process for improving on things. If other countries are doing it worse that is no reason to not improve yourself.
Nederlanders kunnen alleen maar gelukkig zijn als ze wat te zeiken hebben.
Who wants to live in NL??? Shit weather, boring people, fake faces, think they have the best country in the world😄😄😄😄 , no nature , only houses and shopping malls 🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂🤦♂
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I always love the fact that our dedication to the bike gets overlooked and under appreciated. We are such a fan of bikers that every town, every city every house can be reached by bike. You can travel from north to south with the bike. They are even making bike HIGHWAYS.
Bike highways??!
@@hidavidwen yeah its like a long (mostly straight) oath that goes directly from a city to an other passing through/by different town. They are called “fiets snelwegen” in dutch
Honestly, it's one of the things that stands out most to me. Dutch cycling culture is being actively studied and attempts to copy it are happening all around the world. Slowly, admittedly. Countries are slow to realized they need a mobility revolution similar to what Holland went trough in the 70's.
I remember loving the Netherlands when I camped out for a couple of weeks many years ago. Thank you for this great video.
To add to your point on Travel, Amsterdam Schipol International Airport is a very nice airport and is quite easy to navigate too. The signs are easy to follow and clear too. My mother and I love traveling through Schipol when we are flying to and from Finland and Florida!
That was interesting and useful. Thank you David.
Thanks Marvin 🙏
I like that you actually cover not only Amsterdam. As a Dutch man in the Netherlands from Eindhoven (Brainport) with big companies like ASML, also on a company level we have a lot to offer. Personally I work at KPMG and I actually enjoy it a lot partly because I dont work at the local office.
Thanks Tim. I lived in Maastricht for a year, and that was very different. And hey-I'm a fellow KPMG alumni =)
God bless the Netherlands! ❤
I have been in many different countries and it is the best in my opinion! Very clean, everything is good organized, the Dutch people are lovely and amazing ❤ Nice to see how families enjoying their time outside together 👍🏻 every time i get back to Netherlands from any trip i feel very grateful for being here 🙏🏻
as a Dutchman this makes me proud! I like how you made this vid! thanks man :)
🇳🇱🇳🇱
Even though we have bad weather most of the time, the seasons really are different from eachother and you can really notice if its like autumn or spring
I do enjoy the seasons. I can now truly appreciate nice weather :)
I am Dutch and live in California now. The “doe normaal” still haunts me, because the part that doesn’t get mentioned is that everyone is the same and standing out in anything (clothes or whatever) is not very well appreciated. The other difference between the school grades you mention is just because school is a lot harder than in the us and it’s almost impossible to get a 10 / a+. Even though the work is way more, a 6 in Dutch standards is probably more like a b+ here.
Thanks for sharing! Well being in California, it’s like the opposite of “doe normaal” in many ways haha…how has your experience been?
Ah now I’m so interested to hear about the reverse experience of Dutchies in the US!
Long shot..but if you know of any Dutchies in San Francisco (eg. FB group?) who would be interested in sharing their experiences, let me know. It would be nice/interesting to hear their experiences when I go back to visit 😄
Are you serious? Where did you live. I live in a town of 50.000 people and you can dress the way you want and you see it. But yeah..if you flash it like some sort of egomaniac or give that impression (look a me I am so special!) that is not appreciated a lot. I dislike it too. Because my experience with these people tends to be it is all about them...
I like how you said "...When it works" when talking about Public Transportation. Because my bf is always nagging about trains having problems whenever he travels by train 😆
"When it works" haha yes. Lately, the trains have been failing me but overall, still great =)
living in America, I've been looking to escape since I was little. I'm going on 18 and I think I can make it in two years if I work my ass off. here I come, Utrecht. the future base for me to explore the world and share it through a lens, while having somewhere that actually feels like home. I'm so fucking glad the dutch culture wasn't something I was imagining
Good luck! What did you imagine Dutch culture was??
Maastricht is incredibly nice, I live a few km away on the Belgian side of the border and the contrast is crazy when I go to Maastricht, everything is nicer. I visited other large dutch cities but none got that little "town" vibe like maastricht does.
Oh I miss Maastricht! I was there for a day a few weeks ago, and it brought back so many good memories. I used to cycle into Belgium a lot too and into the countryside...it was so peaceful.
Nice to hear Ryan!
Hmmm...Haarlem, Leiden, Middelburg. The last town was mentioned in some Swiss paper as the better "Amsterdam" and has that vide too. Pesonally I love Haarlem and Leiden a lot and Utrecjt comes to mind but is a bit bigger than the others.
wow David! I just finished watching your video and I'm feeling a strong desire to live in Netherlands. Good job!
Thanks Camila, I hope you take the leap!
I am so happy you feel happier living in the Netherlands. It is a beautiful country. Dutch people are blunt and direct but also are frequently kind and giving. I love the authenticity. The lack of pretense.
Thanks Antoinette 😁 it’s been a fun journey so far
Antoinette Novelle * 1maand geleden
That is at the first face.
You realy know the Netherlands people after a maybe one year then you gone see you don't like them I mean the white dutch people's.
Good to see you have been enjoying a lot of different parts of the Netherlands like Maastricht.
Being a Dutch employee I work long hours on most days of the week, because it's needed in my job, but everybody knows it's harder to focus after 8-9 hours at work. But a big group quits indeed at 17.00 o'clock. A good work-private balance is indeed important to relax and load up the battery. For the rest you sum it up adequately.
Thanks for sharing. I hope that you are healthy and fine despite working long hours!
When you turn it around, the "not being direct" can be very annoying for Dutch people in return. We got some friends from the UK and they are just so polite that its quite hard for us to understand what they really think. You kinda have to make that up from like non-verbal signs or gestures, things like that. For example, if you ask a Dutch person: Do you feel like having that for dinner or would you like to go there, stuff like that, you expect a simple yes or no in return. With my English friends you really have to listen and pay attention to how they say yes. If its like a "yeah sounds great" its a yes, but if its a "hmmm well, yeah..." thing it probably means no? Ill be like... cmon, I just asked for your opinion so no need to be shy about just giving it?
Thanks for sharing Sander. Yeah communication isn’t easy right?? Yet probably one of the biggest challenges we humans face 😂 and usually the solution to many things…is learning how to effectively communicate
My daughter is Dutch-educated, her husband and children are English and my daughter can't stand their too-polite, but unclear answers. " I'm fine" when asked whether they want to have this or that. The Dutch people are direct, ja graag ! or Nee, dank je wel. They sound rude, but it saves a lot of time and we don't have to guess the answers.
I totally relate haha omg.. when asking a friend from London if he'd like some more food he'd say: no thank you, I am fine. I knew he wanted more! So I said I know you are fine but would you feel even better with more? All the time the same.. haha pretty tiring. He couldn't change it at all, so embedded in his national identity! (Or something like that :)
This is absolutely true, and speaking from long experience of being an Englishman here in the Netherlands, this is so much part of our culture that it seems impossible to change; however much we might like to, or try hard to.
I feel that I have to add here, that Chinese people, and ethnic Chinese people from S.E. Asia, have this same aspect to their culture.
Hi David ! - I found it both enlightening and interesting to watch this video of yours. I'm an English guy who's been living here in the Netherlands now for nearly 49 years after spending several years living and working in Switzerland prior to that. For what it's worth, my wife is an ethnic Chinese and she's done large parts of The Camino together with a good friend of hers from Taipei: - All prior to Covid-19. Also, my son studied in Maastricht.
Thanks Greg! Wow 49 years and the camino and Maastricht. I feel so connected. I’ve always wanted to live in Switzerland…I know it was a while ago but how would you compare NL vs Switzerland?
@@hidavidwen Switzerland was much, much better, David, at least back then in the early to middle 70`s. The Netherlands wasn't too bad a place to live when I first came here, but unhappily it's deteriorated enormously and become a much less nice place and environment to live in nowadays: I'll be honest with you, were it not for my age and family and friends being here, I would have moved to a county outside the awful and oppressing EU 🇪🇺 before now: Probably to S.E. Asia.
Thank you for sharing your experience in the Netherlands! 👌
You’re welcome and thanks for the kind words Nemanja!
One thing that needs mentioning, is that "age" is not a thing here. You could be 70 years old, if you go to a club or a festival, nobody would even bat an eye. I'm nearly 60 myself and go to festivals regularly. I talk with young and old people alike and I don't even get remarks like "it so great that you still do this at your age" from the young people since it's such a non-issue!
That's great to hear. I love interacting and meeting people from all backgrounds and ages...there's a lot to learn =)
Hi David, I have lived in the Netherlands and definitely I loved this country. You have mentioned about not being happy getting a 7/10 while Dutch kids were happy with a 6. Well as you have noticed in there many people speak more than on language and it is easy to find a kid speaking English German and Dutch. What I actually want to say is that learning in Europe is much more effective than in the US, I haven't personally studied in the US, but many friends that went to the US and back home they were below the average, and in the US they were above the average, and this is something that all of them told me is that the things they were learning in the US, they had already learned that 2 - 3 years before back in Europe.
Thanks for sharing! I've always found (most) Europeans to be very educated. I think one reason is in the US, we learn to pass the exam vs. learning to learn (if that makes sense). The focus is on the grades. To get into a good school. The pressure takes away from the learning.
I just think you do a great job promoting the Netherlands! Thank's very much for doing that. And yes, we are somewhat direct.....
Im definitely considering this move! Hopefully next year. Im glad you are enjoying your time there.
Thanks and hopefully next year! I think you'll like it (you may miss the nature of Colorado but there are other pros here!)
@@hidavidwen I'm a bad Coloradan because I rather go to the park than the mountains! lolol. Thank you so much for sharing
I really like you saying that Delft feels like a small town. For me it feels like a large city, still after living there for almost 20 years. But then again, I grew up on the island of Texel.
Haha thanks Ruben. So interesting. Everything is relative, huh?
You make me so excited, almost wishing I would live here, but wait… I already do! I am proud to be Dutch and I have no intentions of leaving either. LOL
Haha thanks Els. Yes there is a lot to love about NL :)
Love the video! You really described the NL as it is. The best part you could take a flight to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece......spend a weekend and comeback on Monday to work or school.
Thanks! Haha yea, I’m on my way back to Amsterdam now as I type this…so easy to travel (I also travel light and so the budget airlines are perfect for me too)
I used to visit Dusseldorf with my friends on a touring bus. It's also very nice to visit other European cities such as London, Paris, and Brussels on a tour bus.
Bert, you are rich! Never in a lifetime would I spend so much on travel for just a short weekend. Ons bin zunig (We are frugal). But actually, housing costs in many parts of the Netherlands are so high, that you need quite a salary to pay for those bricks to become yours in 30 years time :)
@@gardenjoy5223 Ryan Air is cheaper than the NS. I bought tickets for 15 Euro to Alicante from Eindhoven. (Right now the have sale take a look, tickets for 30 Euro a ticket many places to choose. (Travel light backpacking, so do no pay for extra suitcases) de verkoop is net begonnen.
ik ben zuinig ook!
@@Moniker2022 Ah, that a good tip. Too bad I currently live in Germany. But will keep that in mind. Thanks :)
Very well received. Was amazed how well you expressed both sides , and kept a fair comparison.
Thanks!
Thank you for the positiv outlook. Also came to Germany. We are also a great country with friend,y people. Take care. Greetings from Germany
Thanks Marianne!
At 4:00, what does the US do there on the very left? In my experience it's one of the most between the lines cultures I experienced. Its full of fluff, everything is "amazing, great, wonderful, best in the world, best I ever had". For me it's always difficult to talk to americans as they seem to assume non stop flattery within conversations. With the dutch communication its very clear and no non-sense, if a dutch person says "thats amazing" they actually mean that. (Im not dutch myself)
Thanks for sharing Guy. I can understand what you mean. I am also very “positive” and friendly in my communication too. I think that’s just what I learned growing up. I think it’s good to be aware of these cultural differences
Even someone who doesn't know Dutch can understand the (written) words "een 6 is een studenten-10"
Many students just want a passing grade and 6 is good enough, but there're also Dutchies like me who'd strive to get closer to an actual 10 since we want to understand it all and want to be able to properly reproduce something when needed it in the field. However I never felt like I ever had to get the best grades in class to be able to get a proper job like I have now
That’s so freeing…to be average and still live a decent life
Thank you for your video. As a Dutch person living in Amsterdam its great to hear your perspective on our country. Sometimes you forget how even the small things are special and how happy I am to live here (even though I love traveling). Bedankt!
You're welcome Nick and happy 2023!
I am from Delft, and I almost never hear about it in these kind of videos. Happy you like it!
I love Delft!! Sometimes I think I want to limit my visits to preserve its magic =)
My brother worked for Deloitte but started on his own together with a colleague 6 years ago he now works a lot of hours and regularly walks around with three laptops, but on the other hand he takes three months off a year.
I worked for Deloitte too, but do you mean he works for Deloitte in The Netherlands and gets a lot of paid vacation days because of it ?
@@2012inca Wat ik eigenlijk wil zeggen is dat sinds mijn broer en zijn collega een eigenbedrijf zijn begonnen ze nu wel een hoop overuren maken ,maar daar in tegen nemen ze drie maanden vrij per jaar!
@@daluzsoares Oh dat is mooi voor je broer, dan te bedenken dat er Amerikanen zijn die net in Europa komen wonen en geen idee hebben wat ze met 21 of 25 vakantiedagen aanmoeten. Vooral New Yorkers zijn workaholics die denken dat zoveel mogelijk werken cool is en dat ze het helemaal gemaakt hebben, totdat ze in Europa komen wonen en zien dat mensen liever met hun bootje gaan varen of op vakantie gaan, dan 70 uur te werken. Een eigen bedrijf is hebben is anders, Ik zou zo 7 dagen werken in mijn eigen bedrijf. Ik wilde altijd een bedrijf om mooie auto's te verhuren oldtimers en Ferraris, Lamborginis en dan in wintertijd 3 maanden rondreizen over de wereld, maar ja zulke auto's kosten bij elkaar miljoenen om te kopen, dus nu maar hopen op de staatsloterij lol.
Dutchie here: Delft is beautiful! So is Leiden! I think that the smaller big cities are the best.
Thanks Christophe - yeah I really enjoy the smaller towns
Man, you should be a writer.
Haha thanks Manuel. I do enjoy writing so appreciate the compliment!
Extended version is Doe normaal, dat is gek genoeg. 'Act normal, that's crazy enough.'
Thanks for sharing!
Nice video's David. I'm glad to see you're enjoying your stay in the Netherlands.
Thanks for the kind words, I am =) Wow 5 years....time goes by
Bycicles: I heard an English saying "Red is Death"(I think it comes from Biology). In the Netherlands this saying counts for the road paving... stay away from the red if you are not on a bycicle or scooter. (or the wide red lanes which are for busses and taxis)
Haha yes I learned that the hard way at the beginning!
Do you have a genuine Herman Brood (Dutch multi artist) painting on your wall? Then you really are well integrated! 😉
It’s real 😄
I was about to say the same thing. This guy has taste
Fantastically informative video. KEEP MAKING THEM!
My in-laws immigrated to America from the Netherlands in 1954. my children are half Dutch and I'm an American mongrel. I've visited Holland 4 times and love it. Now I live in Jamaica and have 2 Dutch friends who live here also. My children are related to Van Gogh. My favorite Dutchman would be Rembrandt and my favorite Belgian would be Hercule Poirot.
Thanks for sharing Patrick. Wow being related to Van Gogh!
My wife's family is from Heesch just south of OSS. When we went to visit the cemetery, I noticed her great Opa was married to Maria Van Gogh. She is Vincent's second cousin. My wife is a Van Der Stappen.
thanks for all your compliments. sometimes I forget to be thankfull being born here 😉
You’re welcome Jacobus. Yes so many things to be appreciative of :)
Love your channel. I am a new subscriber from Bali, Indonesia. Can you make a video next time about Visa/work permit? Thanks.
Thanks for the kind words! And thanks for the idea. Keep them coming
As someone with ASD, I am very much looking forward to Dutch communication when I move :D
I’ve heard this before :) that directness helps with mental health too (I mean if you’re rude about it)
Yes Maastricht is a beautiful city, one of the oldest in the Netherlands. By the way, the church where you exercised is 100 meters from my house, it is indeed very special to exercise there. Nice video btw :)
Thanks Paul, I miss Maastricht! I used to live near you then =)
Thank you very much for this video and your time .Thanks for sharing .
I'm Dutch and I live in the USA. I miss everything you talked about.
Thanks for sharing. What brought you to the US?
My wife she is from Oklahoma.@@hidavidwen
Any foreigner makes a video about the netherlands
the dutch: allow us to introduce ourselves
(yes this includes me, I too, am dutch.)
Haha yes thanks Fionna. 🇳🇱🇳🇱
Moved to the Netherlands from South Africa recently. Yeah I love this place! Your points are on point. 😄
Nice to hear Daniel!
As someone who hasn't been outside the US, I agree, lol. When I save enough money, I dream of moving to the Netherlands.
Hopefully one day, best of luck to you!
It’s crazy that “doe normaal” is such a Dutch phrase, yet the last years we see such extremes here. And people that like to be extreme in everything
Thanks for sharing Jennifer. What do you mean by extreme in everything?
@@hidavidwen just look the farmers protests or the protests for the Covid rules. Dutchies are getting extreme in their actions. A lot of people with a lot of time on their hands who will block every part of society just because they believe in something. Wether it’s true or not. They don’t care about consequences. They just want it their way and they want it now. No matter how many people it hurts
Thanks David for the thorough explanation on each point. I'm often shocked the US gun policy. Nice to hear your angle on it regarding Dutch safety.
Thanks for sharing. Yeah, it feels a lot safer here due to some of the systems in place
when comparing net income you should also include the costs of health care and social services. The Dutch system offers 90% of the people better subsistence security.
You know, I did a summer internship in a lab in college one time and the professor was Dutch. For the longest time I thought he was rude. But that wasn't true, he was just Dutch lol
Work-life balance in many European countries does seem a lot better. Do you think it has to do with the social safety net differences? In America, if you don't have money then nothing else will save you if something goes bad while in many European countries, you get more support. So we overwork ourselves not only to be the best but because more bad things happen to you if you're not the best.
I do see a lot more part time contracts over here in Germany too. And it seems quite easy to switch between part time and full time if you say have a kid or something. I conjecture this has to do with the safety net too since it's guaranteed by the government instead of being specific to the job. Anyone not a full time worker in the States isn't guaranteed benefits.
Also excuse me for sounding really American...but I did get a lot of vacation days with my Berlin job but don't know what to do with them yet haha. It really is a lot but at the same time, I haven't built up enough funds in just a couple months yet. Plus I get to have the "joy" of hunting for an apartment here in Berlin 🙄
Work life balance is also better because fulltime is 36 to 40 hours in Europe without bosses harassing you at home with work in the evening and weekends. With little funds you could buy a train ticket that is valid a week or two weeks to travel through the Netherlands and stay in cheap hostels. The Netherlands is really small, so you can get to places by train fairly quick or rent a bike somewhere. We have people from Texas living here who tought they would see all of The Netherlands in no time, now they say they need years to be able to see it all.
Thanks Chris. Hope life is going well for you in Germany! I had the same problem my first year…didn’t know what to do with my vacation days.
I do think the reason Americans overwork is because there isn’t that safety net. It’s also part of the American culture…the belief that if you work your ass off, it’ll pay off. I mean I owe a lot to the US and definitely wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for that mentality…but it’s really dog eat dog ever since the school days. I think you can relate. And it floods into the work culture too. And here in the Netherlands, getting fired is not so easy. In the US, everything is “at will” so you always feel like you need to grind. To always want more. And I remember one guy who told me it wasn’t worth climbing the corporate ladder here because you get taxed so much more here and you don’t make as much as in the US…so is it really worth the added stress? For many, no. You can live a good quality of life just being average here.
The only advice I have on that, heard from someone living streets n Berlin, is to try and, if possible, not accept the first price they give you ona n apartment, even if you can afford it, but look somehwere press expensive or haggle, SOA s to no contribute to centrifugation n and rising house prices. But then again there is a rent freeze thatw as instituted and the extended in Berlin some time ago I think, state wide, but I'm not sure about the details on that.
Well disnyous ee the this Ng about the , I think it was 29 or similar, euro ticket in Berlin? Announce or launched. Sort of a follow up to the 9euro ticket that was in place arlier all over germany , designed to get more people using public transport, reduce congestion, and of course save people commuting cost. I wonder if that lu where in Germany for that, and want it was like ,if you perhaps took part in some way with that.
Anyway yeah, better work life balance, is good.
Hi Chris, be careful with those vacation days. You don't 'just' get them. They are meant for a full year. So, if you get 24 days, that means 2 per month. Which also means, that if you have worked at the company for only 2 months, you've build up 4 vacation days only! Now, it is possible to start a job in May and want to have a holiday for two weeks in July. But then you actually are eating up days from months to come. Would you leave the firm early, they will make you pay for every hour, that you took too much.
@@gardenjoy5223 In Europe by law you get 21 tot 36 paid vacation days the first day you start work, only in the US people need to earn vacation days. They call them benefits in the US, in Europe they call them rights which everyone gets first day at work because of European law. European women get 3 months paid leave after having a baby, some men get some paid time off too after his girlfiend / wife had a baby. Only in the US you need to earn vacation days, nowhere else. At least not in the 60 countries I went to.
The brood Painting in the background was painted by the late Herman Brood, who origines from my hometown Zwolle. And in Zwolle we have church converted into a beautiful bookstore. Just a fun fact 😆
And now, just a few months later there are 18 million ppl here
Nice video to put things into perspective! We Dutchies tend to complain a lot about everything and I think that's just because life is really good here. It got so comfortable for most people that we got spoiled ;)
love your channel. my sons wife is dutch, or was.. divorced now. ( thats ok.. theyre friendly) anyway, she learned English as a child, along with spanish, german and french i believe too. they met in ca in the sf bay area then yrs later moved to holland. my son had a hard time learning dutch, and seeing how she knew several languages had me wishing american schools taught us like this. im now addicted to your wonderful channel ❤
Thanks Dorie! Yeah I wish American schools taught more languages too. Now I wish I paid more attention in high school…languages are the bridges to connect with the world
thank you so much for this video!
You're welcome and thanks for watching!
I agree with what you said. One additional thing l liked about living in Amsterdam as an American was, people took time to be with each other. I could sit with a friend having coffee at a cafe and not feeling rushed. One could sit as long as you wanted without a waiter/waitress making feel like it was time to leave. It has been a while since I lived there, I hope it is still that way
Ah yes not feeling rushed…though sometimes I do want to rush to pay the bill or get the food and it takes quite a long while though haha
As a Dutchman who has lived and worked in the US for well over 20 years, I at first couldn't believe the level of elation when I finally returned to the Netherlands and put perfect past tense to my American experience. The things that, some to lesser, some to major extent, had aggravated or annoyed me about the Netherlands before living abroad, now came back to me as, sometimes extremely pleasant and worthwhile, but most of all I appreciate the (call it kind and caring) sense of security and safety that permeates into nearly every aspect of life here. On the flipside however, I also have sensed an overwhelming urge with Dutch people to become more American and accept and embrace what they see as things that they think they like in America. I also found out that this is very hard to explain and even when direct examples and reasoned arguments. The media indoctrination and US 'cultural' propaganda has proven to be very powerful in that sense. Now that I know the difference first hand, I appreciate my Dutch way of life so much more than living in the anger-obsessed, rabidly egocentric individualist and greedy consumerist society in the US.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. I’ve appreciated traveling and living the world…its given me more perspective of what makes me happy. Sounds like you are loving being back in NL :)
Im curious though…what do you miss about the US?
(Would be interesting for me to hear as you did the opposite!)
@@hidavidwen Thank you for responding.
Yes, I now really appreciate the Dutch way of doing things and living life.
As to what I miss about the US, frankly speaking, not much. There are of course the friends from over the years there, but contact with those has remained fairly easy to maintain. Being in Europe allows me to savour the history and those aspects of culture that I have found lacking in the US.
Where it comes to things like climate and the beauty of the land itself, I can safely say that after having lived in the near Siberian climate of Minnesota that I do not miss that at all.
For the rest, I find that I have come to the conclusion that there is preciously little that the US has that we Dutch can't do better, cheaper, or do without (which does not have to be negative if you take for example the firearms issues).
One of the major things that I do NOT miss about the US is its propensity of becoming what it once fiercely fought against. The rise of fascistoid tendencies and the erosion of common sense are signs that the polarized US society is trending towards authoritarianism and that is in my book not a positive.
Thanks, you explain doe normaal very well. It's nice to have this explained in a different way.
You are a good RUclips and you are right about the Netherlands👍👍👍
The last reason is one of the best, I am so thankfull that my parents took me on vacations with the car and after some driving you you were in Italy, south of france or spain. Or indeed take a plane and go to scotland, ireland. They are all beatiful to see, diffrent cultures, diffrent history which is all visible on the older buildings and stories.
Thanks for sharing Max. I’m now thinking of all the trips I want to do next year…I guess something to keep me alive during these winter months haha
Like your honesty👊🏻
Thank you❤ that was amazing
Thanks Marie-Sophie!
Love these videos
Dutch student mindset: liever een zes zonder stress dan een zeven zonder leven. Translate: rather a 6 without stress than a 7 without a life.
Haha yes I know that saying now :) the Dutch classmates taught me
Im moving to the Netherlands next month. Looking forward to it. ❤️
Nice! I'm sure you'll have a great time. Enjoy!
I moved here last year from Illinois. I live in the Veluwe area and absolutely love it here. For all the reasons you've mentioned and so much more. Maastricht is awesome. But come check out the Gelderland province! We're next to Utrecht but lots of nature
Glad to hear you love it! Haha I was just talking to some people living in the Gelderland province the other day (I was around Utrecht). I miss being surrounded by lots of nature!