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Old 04-11-2009, 01:26 PM
 
Location: Østenfor sol og vestenfor måne
17,919 posts, read 24,178,739 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingDutch View Post
You will experience different culture, habits, you might have to learn to deal with that, especially the thing you might not like. It takes time to understand certain things. Like that people can be pretty rude sometimes. But not always it is meant rude, so you as foreigners, might think something is personal, when it's not. These are important things to know, if not,t hen you might get disappointed.

Just make contact with people. Show you want to be in contact with the locals, they love it if they see you wanna be part of society.The problems with mmigration here are arriving when people detect you are here but you actually don't want to be part of society and you don't like dutch culture. Then the doors are closing. You get nothing done anymore.
so you have to be positive. americans are positive people, so i don't think that'a problem.

Important is to not get too sensitive about things you get offended by, you need a bit of a shield, to protect yourself emotionally in case people can be rude or offensive, or they don't mean it that way, but might come across that way to you. i've seen people from other countries when i worked at Fortis Bank and some of them where crying, cause they felt peopel where mean to them. In the end they understood it was just a misunderstanding and then people also where taking care of them and making it good to them. for more emotional and sensitive people, i think Americans are more sentimental in general, you have to be warned.
Don't expect to get many compliments. If people say "that wasn't bad", they mean you did really good, and there are many like these expressions.
There are blogs online of expats who todl the same as i did from their own experience, i think these where accurate about ehtics, culture, how to get along etc. And expect that it is being said to you if you didn't do it good. Wich happens to everybody.

If people see you are loyal and motivated, you usually make lots of progress, more important then your education on average.

Just like with all things, don't get offended too quickly, like Dutch humor:

Dutch Humor at Work
Dutched Pinay on Expatriotism: Dutch Humor at Work

Dutch customs and etiquette
Dutch customs and etiquette - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

dutch humor - Community Forums - Expatica

Dutch humor is dark and sarcastic usually.

I hope it helps you Goldwing!
It sounds like good advice for people moving to New York, as well. Or, it sounds like New Yorkers would have an easier time adjusting to the Netherlands than other Americans :-)


ABQConvict
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Old 04-11-2009, 02:52 PM
 
Location: Seattle
635 posts, read 1,681,135 times
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Not sure what you need to know, but my cousin lives in Amsterdam and has lived there for 3 years. He says that he has no problems communicating but that he did have to buy a bike to get around - almost everyone rides a bike. He's lost weight because of the bike riding (not a bad side effect). He said that if you need to get to other places, the trains are pretty good for that. There's no Krogers, Safeway, Bi-Lo, Ralphs, Publix supermarket or whatever you may be used to; from what he tells me, everything is separate. Cheese shop has a boatload of different white cheeses (says he can't find yellow Cheddar there but can find it in nearby France easily). Meat market, all meats; bakery, all bread, cakes, cookies, pastries; there are local outdoor markets where you can find everything in one area so you don't have to bike all over town. There are places like GNC, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's with health food but not those chains specifically - Dutch counterparts. Coffee shops are rather interesting because on the menu is marijuana many times (its not legal but not considered a big violation?) Red light district is very red light.

Wide variety of cultures. Easy to travel between other countries. Euro is the money. Wiring money costs a grip from Amsterdam to the states so you might want to check your bank here before you leave to see what the fees would be so that if necessary, you can open an account that handle that reasonably. You may want to have a back up passport that a relative or whatever can mail to you, just in case its lost or stolen - he says many times your DL is good ID.

I just noticed, I think wheregirl has posted a similar question in a thread below. Probably more info there from people who've been there.
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Old 04-15-2009, 09:04 AM
 
63 posts, read 307,269 times
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Quote:
I just noticed, I think wheregirl has posted a similar question in a thread below. Probably more info there from people who've been there.
In that topic is much more info i replied there too, i'm Dutch, live close to Amsterdam, so i can help people a bit if they want to know things in Holland ( the Netherlands)
I actually live in a suburb of Rotterdam, but Amstrerdam is just 75 km from here, less then 50 miles. The West of the Netherlands is one massive urban area of 7 plus million people.

also there are many supermarkets, so for Americans for example, you don't have to go to the bakery, then to a cheesestore etc, there are large supermarkets, not as large as inthe US or France and some other countries. Amsterdam's downtown might have less, cause it's all scmaller scaled with shops in neighbourhoods. But they also have Super de Boer and AH, albert Heijn, the last operates in the US too, i believe under a different name. There are many supermarkets, almost every neighbourhood have them, so no need to go from point A to B on a bike, just go to the supermarket and you get it all there.
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Old 04-15-2009, 01:16 PM
 
Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
5,921 posts, read 13,785,023 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by justhere View Post
Cheese shop has a boatload of different white cheeses (says he can't find yellow Cheddar there but can find it in nearby France easily).
Not really pertinent to *making it in Amsterdam* but still a funny story ..
FlyingDutch may even like this one ...

We were living in Switzerland and a good friend from *back home (USA)* visits us, so she decides to visit one of these *Cheese shops* in a nearby big town. She enters the shop and asks if anybody speaks English ...
The girl behind the counter answers in a very heavy accent that she does speak English.
OK, our friend is happy so she asks if there is some *Swiss Cheese* available ....
(FlyingDutch ... you guess where this is going ?)

Anyway, the girl behind the counter points to each and every piece of cheese on the counter, and says, again in a very heavy accent:
"Sweesh Tjeeese, Sweesh Tjeeese, Sweesh Tjeeese, Sweesh Tjeeese, Sweesh Tjeeese, Sweesh Tjeeese ....."

For those who did not quite get it, Swiss Cheese in the USA has the holes in it, while the holy cheese in Switzerland is called *Emmenthaler* ....
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Old 04-15-2009, 04:34 PM
 
Location: Seattle
635 posts, read 1,681,135 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyingDutch View Post
In that topic is much more info i replied there too, i'm Dutch, live close to Amsterdam, so i can help people a bit if they want to know things in Holland ( the Netherlands)
I actually live in a suburb of Rotterdam, but Amstrerdam is just 75 km from here, less then 50 miles. The West of the Netherlands is one massive urban area of 7 plus million people.

also there are many supermarkets, so for Americans for example, you don't have to go to the bakery, then to a cheesestore etc, there are large supermarkets, not as large as inthe US or France and some other countries. Amsterdam's downtown might have less, cause it's all scmaller scaled with shops in neighbourhoods. But they also have Super de Boer and AH, albert Heijn, the last operates in the US too, i believe under a different name. There are many supermarkets, almost every neighbourhood have them, so no need to go from point A to B on a bike, just go to the supermarket and you get it all there.
Flying, have you been here to the states? Do you know what he's talking about when he names those chain supermarkets?
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Old 04-15-2009, 04:38 PM
 
Location: Denver
6,625 posts, read 14,394,298 times
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Haha, that's pretty funny.
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Old 04-15-2009, 04:54 PM
 
Location: Seattle
635 posts, read 1,681,135 times
Reputation: 317
Quote:
Originally Posted by irman View Post
Not really pertinent to *making it in Amsterdam*
kinda is for him since for some reason he doesn't really digest white cheese well for some reason
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Old 04-21-2009, 09:46 AM
 
326 posts, read 878,621 times
Reputation: 201
I'm a Canadian woman who moved here & its not been as rosey as pple wld of thought.

I'm a registered partner to a Dutch man. This process took abt three months. Now I'm allowed to work here but the reality is that I have to learn Dutch first & for me this is a step backward as I speak English, the Queen's language.

In Canada, malls etc were open weekdays till 9pm, Sat till 7pm & even on Sundays. Here everything is closed on Sundays. I'm pregnant & find myself craving ethnic food like Ethipian, Indian etc & I have to travel to the nearest big city as I live in a white suburb in the middle of nowhere.

But on the other hand, I find that as a woman here there is less pressure to indulge in botox, fake boobs etc as in North America. Dutch pple are "too sober" for that.

Any other que, feel free o ask.

Disclaimer: This has been MY experience.
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Old 04-21-2009, 10:02 AM
 
2,365 posts, read 11,104,005 times
Reputation: 696
I appreciate your experience, and hope to hear more of it as time passes. However, i am sure you would feel the same way in America or Canada if you got plopped down into one of our european american or european canadian suburbs.

And closing on Sundays means people get to hang out with their families. I think soon you will appreciate this and shop in advance instead of last minute as people do in the cities.

Perhaps you and your husband will move closer to the city.

And yes, in America you are expected to learn English and spanish. In Canada you are expected to learn French or English. And in the Netherlands, you are expected to learn Dutch.
That is why it is so hard for people who are older to immigrate to a new country, because they must learn a new language to get ahead, not be taken advantage or talk to police in an emergency, etc..etc...

hope you have fun in your new life!!


Quote:
Originally Posted by thebanker View Post
I'm a Canadian woman who moved here & its not been as rosey as pple wld of thought.

I'm a registered partner to a Dutch man. This process took abt three months. Now I'm allowed to work here but the reality is that I have to learn Dutch first & for me this is a step backward as I speak English, the Queen's language.

In Canada, malls etc were open weekdays till 9pm, Sat till 7pm & even on Sundays. Here everything is closed on Sundays. I'm pregnant & find myself craving ethnic food like Ethipian, Indian etc & I have to travel to the nearest big city as I live in a white suburb in the middle of nowhere.

But on the other hand, I find that as a woman here there is less pressure to indulge in botox, fake boobs etc as in North America. Dutch pple are "too sober" for that.

Any other que, feel free o ask.

Disclaimer: This has been MY experience.
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Old 03-19-2010, 05:12 PM
 
5 posts, read 16,581 times
Reputation: 11
And OP, did you make it already?
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