Questions about Amsterdam and Netherlands (crime rate, how much, look for a job)

[FlyingDutch]

Originally Posted by shreypete

Hey flyingdutch,
You've been a truly resourceful person! . Of course as a future doctor, patient's needs and patient health care is the top priority (money is actually a secondary issue for me as my parents are really nice ).

I've started learning dutch from 2 days back and I'm having fun with it so far (the pronunciation is quite hard actually but a lot of the words resemble England and German words.)

I'm glad it was helpfull to you!!
Many doctors are Indians and Chinese, well, they are well represented in that are of society very clearly here!( Indians include Hindoestanen, from suriname)

Succes with learning Dutch!! On Google there are also a few funny and educational video's of learning Dutch. Some are funny.

If you are an Anglo Saxon speaker the tongue is probably difficult.
The pronunciation is difficult indeed. For you, you have to really use your tongue and mouth differently suddenly, and i hope you don't get pain in your throat because of the "g". LOL.
The only thing to compare it with is i think that sound in Arabic or Israeli's if they talk also have that sound, sounds unpleasant to foreigners i guess.

I hope you will have a great time in Germania Inferior, really impressive name the Romans gave us....hahaha

actually but a lot of the words resemble England and German words

i told you!! Let's say you was an englihs speaker, a British person of 150 years ago, your pronunciation ould be way more like ours in Dutch or German.
If we say several things quickly, you don't get waht i am saying to you, when i woudl talk slower you might be able to figure out more then you think. But when i write things down, you will start to see more and more things we have in common.

secondly, Dutch adopt and adopted many English words the last decades. flemish in Belgium do that much less, they stick to pure Dutch.

i really hope you will have a great time and that the country won't disappoint you my friend!!

[shreypete]

Hey there,

Well I was surprised yesterday when I went out to the store to buy some Goudda and Eidam and I didn't think for the slightest second that it was dutch.

Coming to think of the language, so many words do resemble english (eg. laat mij gaan - let me go)...

I'm really beginning to like the country a lot after having seen a lot of Netherlands documentary videos on Youtube (and my favorite is the Couscous and Cola which is this dutch show with immigrants who live in the Amsterdam but travel to the US and discuss the hardships of their religious and cultural differences).

I'm glad you've given me a realistic, rather an optimisitic picture of the Netherlands . Now....I just have to finsih my studies and learn the language...if at all I don't get into the Netherlands (Because I spoke to a dutch doctor two days back who told me that working here as a doctor is quite hard especially when it comes to employment), then I shall try Belgium (and ooh ooh ooh I love their Mussels, waffles, chocolate and tin-tin )

[FlyingDutch]

Hey there,

Well I was surprised yesterday when I went out to the store to buy some Goudda and Eidam and I didn't think for the slightest second that it was dutch.

Hello shreypete! Gouda and Edammer ( from the town of Edam) cheese are the most known. You see them everywhere, in the US, in Germany, in South East Asia.
Gouda is a town / city about 30 km from where i live, you could say a far away suburb of Rotterdam. It's just 15 km from the East of Rotterdam City. It's nice with tomatoes and then on sandwiches.
I think many people are not aware it's Dutch, many products are. In the US Anglo -Dutch food giant Unilever is very active in the US and lots of foodstuffs or daily care products are coming from there, beign sold udner various brands.

Coming to think of the language, so many words do resemble english (eg. laat mij gaan - let me go)...

Exactly, once you see it, it gets easier. I think it's easier for you to read Dutch, then to speak it. The second takes more time. but at least you can understand it a bit.

I'm really beginning to like the country a lot after having seen a lot of Netherlands documentary videos on Youtube (and my favorite is the Couscous and Cola which is this dutch show with immigrants who live in the Amsterdam but travel to the US and discuss the hardships of their religious and cultural differences).

That is very nice!! These things are most usefull i think.
I might see certain things different then somebody who arrives from another nation. Both sides might be true, it only depends from wich angle you look.

I'm glad you've given me a realistic, rather an optimisitic picture of the Netherlands .

alright!!

Now....I just have to finsih my studies and learn the language...if at all I don't get into the Netherlands (Because I spoke to a dutch doctor two days back who told me that working here as a doctor is quite hard especially when it comes to employment), then I shall try Belgium (and ooh ooh ooh I love their Mussels, waffles, chocolate and tin-tin )

Good luck with your studies!!
wow! That is weird about what the Dutch doctor told you.
I don't understand that to be honest. What am i missing here?
If he told you so, it's likely true, unless it's a personal experience and not the general situation.

Well, if you go to Belgium you can also go to the Netherlands, it's not that far away.
The "Belgian" mussles are actually dutch, they coem from Zeeuws Vlaanderen in the province Zeeland, it's a province of islands, it's roughly between the Rotterdam and Antwerp, Europe's two biggest ports ( Belgium area.By the way Zeeland is why the nation of New Zealand is called that way. A Dutchman "discovered" it for the Western world and it became New zeeland, so New Zealand.
We also have lots fo cholcolate her,e but Belium has lots fo white chocolate, Brussels is known for it. Their waffles is typically Belgium.

By teh way, typically Belgin and dutch is our "Frech Frites"...we have thicker ones, called "patat". We put mayonaise on them usually. although,we have "freit saus"these days, that is mayonaise might less fat.

"patat" comes and goes in many forms, because you can put many different sauces on. Peanut sauce. One is with many things on it, i don't know exactly wich causes, it is called "Patatje oorlog" wich translates as "patatje war". LOL.

If you live in Belgium or the Netherlands you cannot avoid "patat", cause you will see "snackbars"selling it and peopel walking or sirring with a "patatje" as we say. "je" is add in dutch if words are made smaller or cute.

I've seen in New york that they are selling Flemish / Dutch frites, like we eat it, they are getting populair over there, instead of French Frites.
Cause these French frites are thin and rather tasteless compared to the other ones. You really have to try it at least once time shreypete!

If you eat that and you like it you are fully integrated!!hahaha
Just kidding,t hat's a bit of Dutch humor, cause peopel say these things to foreigners, "if you eat this or that, now you are fully integrated".
They mean it funny and it's well meant, so if you ever hear this, it's not meant offensive. People like you if receive sucha kind of comment.
Many peopel just say what they think, so that can be nice, but sometimes for more sonservative cultures, reserves ones, it can be shocking,s o be aware!!
I wish you succes and a good time!!

[irman]

@ FlyingDutch:

Have read all your post regarding the life in Holland.

Just one comment : Great explanations.

I am originally from there, graduated from Delft, and then left in the early 60's, then went back to work and live in Germany and Switzerland. Guess where we always spent our vacations .... Wassenaar, !!! Where else can you have so much fun plus the fact that children are very welcome there. !!!!

My kids are still mad at me for becoming a US citizen ....
They loved it there and would like to live there.

As always, the advice I have for Non Dutch people who like to live in Holland or anywhere else, is that if you behave like an *****, the native people will treat you like an ******.

[orangeapple]

Originally Posted by wheregirl

And the generalization of the people Los Angeles in America is that they will greet you even if you are a stranger on the street but they won't be real friends with you over time.

People walk on the street in Los Angeles and greet each other? LMAO! Hahahahaha! :wipes tear from eye:
Okay, sorry, go back to talking about Amsterdam.

[BigSwede]

Originally Posted by FlyingDutch

Sweden has Malmo as third city and that is one of the most dangerous cities of Europe today.

I don't think that is really true. There is one neighbourhood who always is on the news because teenagers are throwing rocks at the police and fire department.
The rest of Malmö is perfectly safe to visit.Probably even that neighbourhood.

[FlyingDutch]

Have read all your post regarding the life in Holland.

Just one comment : Great explanations.

Thanks!


I am originally from there, graduated from Delft, and then left in the early 60's, then went back to work and live in Germany and Switzerland. Guess where we always spent our vacations .... Wassenaar, !!! Where else can you have so much fun plus the fact that children are very welcome there. !!!!

haha Wassenaar? Today that is not a spot to go to, it's like an elitist place.

My kids are still mad at me for becoming a US citizen ....
They loved it there and would like to live there.

ok. i think the smaller scale of things attracts children more.
The schools are smaller and safer.

As always, the advice I have for Non Dutch people who like to live in Holland or anywhere else, is that if you behave like an *****, the native people will treat you like an ******.

That's certainly true, Dutch have big mouths and are having their opinon ready, if you are going to be nasty, and abuse the tolerance most still have, then they are pulling back and starting to ignore those.
A major concern for most people is that society is getting harder.
Interrest and compassion for the other is decreasing, so it is less pleasant then decades ago. Although many dutch start to long back to more traditions and old values and morals, cause we where first with lots of social engeneering. People don't want to be dictated anymore of trends created by people in thinktanks that are released on society.
I think that's good!

[FlyingDutch]

I don't think that is really true. There is one neighbourhood who always is on the news because teenagers are throwing rocks at the police and fire department.
The rest of Malmö is perfectly safe to visit.Probably even that neighbourhood.

That is probably true. But it's the image it has and how it's reported in the media in American paper and Dutch papers.
It was in the news about that the city is taken over as it was "taken over by Arabs who terrorize neighbourhoods" and also because Malmo has a low income per capita compared the rest of Sweden."
I guess it is to get support in the population for the War on Terrorism To blow it up. Locally we also have politicians who only talk about these things, never bring up any solutions and devide the population.
There have been some documentaries about Malmo and also about Copenhagen.
Malmo is also been in the news about urban renewal projects:

Malmö - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That area built around the Turning Torso:

File:Turning torso by night1.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Very nice!!

By 1985, Malmö had lost 35,000 inhabitants and was down to 229,000. However, the toughest difficulties were yet to emerge. Between 1990-95, Malmö lost about 27,000 jobs, and its economy was seriously strained. However, thanks to several government-funded projects, Malmö started to emerge as its current modern incarnation by 1995. Malmö has the highest proportion of individuals of non-Scandinavian extraction of any Swedish city. It remains a city of sharp social divide and high unemployment.[8][9][10]

That's what i heard,the social problems, and that there would be rioting of Arab immigrants and that it wouldn't be safe to go there.

So according to you it is not true, i believe it, i guess it was propaganda to use different examples here and there to make a case about Terrorism etc. the Dutch militairy is everywhere for that agenda, so the goverment has all reason to propagate it so that Dutch give support to show how bad it is with terrorism and Islam supposedly etc. They used Malmo, just like Rotterdam here is always highlighted negativly.

Rotterdam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On the other hand just like Malmo it is into architecture and urban renewal. It's a city with highrises, unlike most European cities.

So i think your city is victim of the negative sentiment that the media exploits BigSwede!

[FlyingDutch]

People walk on the street in Los Angeles and greet each other? LMAO! Hahahahaha! :wipes tear from eye:
Okay, sorry, go back to talking about Amsterdam.

Sounds more like Crocodile dundee, the film...except that was in New York!
I think you really would get really exhausted of greeing people in downtown LA!
Anyway, LA has the image here that nobody walks, exactly the opposite of New York. I think you also won't be able to reach many places in a low density city as LA where many locations are spreaded.
Unlike Amsterdam wich is the opposite, where you have everything within a few square mile.

[irman]

Originally Posted by FlyingDutch

haha Wassenaar? Today that is not a spot to go to, it's like an elitist place.

I agree, (was it not always an elite place?) but we stayed at that camping place (1980 - 1987) almost every other year (!!!) with the BIG *Speeltuin* and that fantastic swimming pool.
If it is still there, I highly recommend that place.
My kids, after umpteen years, still say: *Papier hier, Danku well*, when they throw trash away. That camping place had trash cans shaped like frogs and it used to say that all the time ....
From there we went mostly to Den Haag where I still have a lot of family.

Other times I have rented a home in Blaricum and enjoyed the neighbourhoods there.

Why I have have no one I know in Rotterdam, I really do not know ....
except *you* now ...

LBNL, why *FLyingDutch* ? Do you fly ?