Netherlands rated most unfriendly country for Expats

More reasons for me to stay back! NL rated unfriendliest to befriend locals, learn the language, fit into new culture http://t.co/vdpY8Cv

Nederland meest onvriendelijk land. Netherlands rated most unfriendly country for Expats http://v.zite.com/g88caF via @Ziteapp

I am a Canadian expat in the Netherlands. I think Europe in general is closed for immigration except when it comes to High Skilled migrants. I wouldn’t say that the NL is more unfriendly than any other European countries. But you do need to make a minimum of effort to integrate whether in Canada, you can immigrate being low skilled and never integrate any community but yours (multiculturalism).

@ Breda- You sound like you live in a perfect little bubble. Are you from a western country? Because I know a lot of Expats, and I have only met one Westerner who didn’t have a terrible struggle here… Either that or you are under the age of 25 and still going to college. The Dutch are generally cold people who don’t make new friends after they leave college, and work (other than cleaning) is impossible to find for an expat unless they were able to go to school in the Netherlands, have some amazing degree (even then it’s often not good enough) or you are fluent in Dutch, or are an asylum seeker (they get everything handed to them). Who they surveyed? Probably everyone else but you, because really? It’s not all that wonderful living in a country where no one talks to you and you are considered unemployable.

Netherlands rated most unfriendly country for Expats http://bit.ly/gDL4d1

This article misinterpreted the results from Forbes. Below are the actual ratings from the magazine. These are numbers out of the 14 countries which were ranked, with the lower numbers being better. While these numbers aren’t great, they don’t place the Netherlands in last place.

Local Friends: 10
Community Group: 7
Learned the Language: 4
Bought Property: 6

Sven L., you seem to be the perfect example of how traveling could make a person narrow minded and arrogant about ones own culture. I find a lot of problems with your thought pattern. First off, I suspect you haven’t bothered to actually live in another culture, such as the US or Canada. If you had, you wouldn’t make such uninformed statements unless you are an idiot. You sound like you spent 5 minutes in the airport and then went home on your pretentious white horse.

Second, why is it a problem for a culture to have friendliness as a default mode? Even if part of it is pretending, I still think it is much nicer than just being a jerk by default. Besides that, if you spend some more time elsewhere you would find that the friendliness is often not fake and generalizes consistently to other settings.

Third, how on Earth could you compare the quality of living in these places then? You basically say that people in Sweden are just better than elsewhere. I think the Germans felt the same at some point.

History is also not your strong suit, Europeans exterminated the natives before they became part of the blend of people we now refer to as Americans. Besides that, of course European history is very peaceful in general as well.

Finally, why are the Dutch wonderful people? I am Dutch and I don’t think any group of people is a priori nicer than the other. Cultural differences certainly make some places much easier to live than others, and the Netherlands is definitely difficult for expats. Rudeness served on a platter of pretentiousness and non-existing tolerance. But that might just be right up your alley, I think you would fit right in actually.

I was born and live in the Netherlands, and want to get out as soon as possible. Political climate is frightening and i’m ashamed of the Dutch tolerate intolerance. Once again, just like in WWII the Dutch show their real face: they don’t care about anyone but themselves.

The article got it wrong, Netherlands is rated 13th out of 100 countries (so only half the world’s countries were surveyed).
http://www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com/#/countries
Check your sources before you use an erroneous article to share your emotions.

@ Ivo: Well, if criticizing the place I happened to grow up in disqualifies me from being “from here” then so be it. Apparently, Dutch tolerance now even implies that I am hardly Dutch if I don’t think I come from Dutch Wonderland. If we go that route, then please do not call me Dutch because I would find it offensive.

But alas, moving on to the rest of your flawed argument; Your statement that Amsterdam harbors the largest number of nationalities in the world is simply not true, without needing to do any research I could tell you that almost any larger US university has at least that number of nationalities on their main campus. I’m not even talking NYC, this even holds for universities that are practically in the middle of nowhere.

Second, the argument that expats from many nationalities live in Amsterdam does not imply that these people stay there, you would have to look at the turn over rate (i.e., how long does the average expat stay). And if they stay, how difficult did they find it to adjust? How friendly do they experience the Dutch to be (which is what the survey was about)? That some stay merely suggests that the unfriendliness of the Dutch is not enough for them to leave, nothing more than that. Perhaps it is because expats have another 166 nationalities to befriend, so that the Dutch mostly form a nuisance in terms of their lack of courteous behavior in the grocery store?

Expats mostly go places because there are opportunities there (e.g., businesses, universities aiming for an international workforce, etc.). Yes, Dutch Wonderland does have such opportunities, like many developed countries. Many places in this world do not have these opportunities, so expats do not move there and the comparison is irrelevant. If hypothetical expats going to these places would find it terrible or not is completely unrelated and only open for speculation. The presence or absence of expats in certain countries certainly does not say anything about how friendly the people in these “terrible” countries would be.

For me, the observation that the average Dutch person (if we for argument sake assume there is such a thing) is incapable of seeing anything wrong with Dutch culture is a reason to leave, I don’t like unfounded arrogance with the mix of hypocritical intolerance.

From my 2 years experience in ND it’s a horrible country which discriminates and disregards foreigners who are treated unequally and don’t have any rights at all.Moreover the Dutch often cheating on foreigners and are interested in their money only.

Mars is terrible for expats. In 1994, four brave expats tried to go there but it didn’t work out on many levels. They must be jerks on Mars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uOwVg2B79E

I live in NL and can’t stand it. The Dutch are some of the rudest people I have ever encountered in my entire life. They are cheap, unhelpful and lazy. They consider no body but themselves (just try catching a tram and watch as they get on before you get off; make no effort to move or make room for you; and when they get on they will just stop in the doorway when there are 10 people behind them). When getting served by somebody in their shop/restaurant they will act like they are doing you a favour. And also they will physically push you to get past rather than say “excuse me”. You also have to pay to speak to customer service for your internet provider, electricity, water, bank and pretty much anyone to whom you already pay for a basic service.

I know Swedish, Australians, French, Americans, Mexicans, English, Danish, Belgians, Germans, Lebanese, Tunisians, Welsh, Irish, Scottish, Canadians and they all think and feel the same way about the Dutch.

Unfortunately I can’t leave at the moment but as soon as I can I’m outta here.

P.s. the weather here is terrible which may be a reason why the Dutch are so foul.

Totally agree with this article 110%. It’s not a surprise or news to those foreigners who put up with living here and it’s about time some honesty was printed about the real situation in NL. For far too long it’s ill-perceived fraudulent claims in the international media dominated as being a warm, friendly happy country with tolerance abound, it’s high time that got kicked up the bum.

It’s pointless to repeat what people have said above, it’s all true. I’m a Brit who has lived here for 12 miserable years. I’ve given up on trying to “assimilate” into this society, it’s pointless and not worth the effort and time I put into it trying, nor do I want to since I learned what it meant to be Dutch. Can speak the (useless) language which was more often used for defending myself against the onslaught of why am I here, when am I leaving and the slew usual derogatory comments about me being a “buitenlander”. I refuse now to work in Dutch companies after putting up with many years of being blanked and a lot of unwanted attention from bad mannered men. I now work happily in a German company, with with normal people:P And what is it with the women? They really are weird here. Most of them have no ability whatsoever to communicate with anyone outside their “kring”. They lead very limited lives and never seem to want much out of them.

You can’t miss them on holiday either in their brash orange outfits and hacked off haircuts. For some reason they cannot go and enjoy another country without bringing trailer loads of dry bread, rubber cheese and other hideously revolting food products with them, that goes far and beyond the tea bags that get dragged out of The UK by Brits.

Wow – I’ve never seen such a group of unhappy people. Every country has its pros/cons and NL has then just like any other place. As an expat (and feel blessed that you have been given that opportunity for study and/or work) you’ll have to deal with things abroad that you wouldn’t have to deal with if at ‘home’…and yes, sometimes they cause negative experiences. But if you are not fixing things, then don’t nag. Honestly, I have been raised, studied and worked in different countries, but I have rarely ever felt as some of you have communicated. It’s a real shame, as you only live once and happiness lies within you. The experiences you have is what you make of them – turning them into good or into bad ones. So, if you don’t like it, then leave…it is actually that simple. But looking back on all the comments if the only things people are nagging about are unfriendliness, the weather and the language…well then NL isn’t so bad after all. P.s. I’m assuming for the quality of the stipulated negative results and comments above one has sifted through every millimeter of dirt, gone to every village to chat and have ‘koffie met gebak’ with all the inhabitants in all the Dutch provinces, to make a sound judgment (as there is a large variety of social characteristics based on history between the north, Randstad and the south). The results would have to be benchmarked against the ‘perfect’ human species. Please let me know when you have found one.

Fair enough and yes people should be able to debate about these things openly. In fact, it’s great that we can do this. I just find it astonishing to read comments that show shallowness and hypocrisy and a false sense of superiority, just showing that much (not always though)depends on the person’s outlook etc. Reading some things just makes me wonder how reasonable the person in question is.
I will not even try to deny that there are cultural differences indeed and this makes the world so interesting. And of course we all complain i guess this is just human. Anyway, I am going to get ready for the Expat party tonight to boogie with some happy people!! Have a great weekend!

Sven L. – you are obviously a Dutch national who is offended by this article.

I must say though – I have lived literally all over the world my entire life for my job. In developed nations, under-devloped nations, North, South, western nations, eastern nations – you name it. Living in the Netherlands has been my worst living experience hands down. This even considering I met my husband there (another expat) and absolutely loved my job (not for a dutch company).

This is the first nation I’ve lived in where I literally have made zero friends that are nationals. It baffles me. Every other nation I’ve lived in I’ve developed beautiful and meaningful friendships that have lasted years. The Dutch are some of the biggest xenophobes I have ever met (Zuarte Peter?!) – and the cold, cruel, attitudes of the Dutch I’ve often interacted with are just appalling. Now of course, this isn’t everyone, but the Netherlands definitely has left a lasting negative mark on me. Also in other nations where people don’t speak a language I speak I’ve never had trouble finding a kind person near by that is willing to help.

Here, even if an individual can speak your language – they will pretend like they can’t (not kidding it has happened on many occasions). I am looking at several of these top scoring nations and it appears that they are all nations of immigrants (Australia, US, Canada). Holland – I can tell you – is not (have you seen their latest appointment to the EU parliament? Someone who’s entire political agenda is anti-immigration).

I agree with JD on the lack of manners – holy lord – I swear no one that is a national uses the dutch equivalent for “excuse me” ever. No kidding. If you are on the tram, walking down the street, waiting in line somewhere, or especially shopping. People will literally cut you in line, push you to the side to get something they need, or bump into you to get where they need to get going.

Trying to set up or communicate with my utility companies was a literal nightmare. Where the hell else on earth do you have to call a .10 a minute number to adjust a billing issue that wasn’t your fault? Or to set up services so that you can pay a company? It is the most frustrating and irritating thing to ever have to deal with.

My friends who are expats that have lived in the Netherlands for 20 years say the motto in the Netherlands is “It can’t be done.” I’ve never experienced this mentality ANYWHERE else in the world. Literally if someone is providing you customer service in the Netherlands and they don’t know the answer to the question you are asking instead of saying “I am not sure” – or “let me ask” someone, they say “impossible”. At the grocery store, when purchasing public transport, restaurants, stores – you name it. Talk about a nightmare once again. I will agree with JD above on this one as well.

Once, when their public transport ticket policy changed, and I tried to board a train I literally had a conductor tell me I couldn’t then call me an idiot. How about that for kindness and manners?

The working culture is also one of the most lazy I have ever seen. Stores are never open or if they are they treat you like you should be so appreciative that they are giving you the time of day. Wait aren’t your customers the ones paying you?

I could go on and on – but I won’t. A plus – their bike culture. I really enjoy that and stroopwafels are pretty delicious. Maybe it is the weather that has such an affect on peoples attitudes – it in itself is extremely depressing.

# 34 Expat in the ND – Well said! There are some good sides to the Netherlands but when it comes to manners and integrating…I have lived here for 10 years and things haven’t changed. I think it is time to give up.

The Dutch are pathetic. They don’t even live. They are just following the code of The Dutch ‘banal nationalism’ and work till their life ends. Pointless if you ask me. They are very analytical but they always ignore the most critical dimension, that of perspective. And this is not due to the 2D enviroment they live in.. All hail the queen!

Well I’m English and 32 and love living here (Amsterdam) while I agree slightly it’s hard to meet dutchies as there are so many other multi national expats I do feel the Dutch are very friendly, they are direct and honest so maybe Americans are not so used to that? A funny saying I was told us the British are too polite to be direct and the Dutch are too direct to be polite. Still I disagree with the article and a lot of the comments here.

Some like red, others blue….

You have to make your one life… And can’t blame others for The unhappy things in your life.

Strange… A lot of expats right here in South Limburg! No problems. Speaking the local language helps though.

Well that is how Amsterdam is and Amsterdam is not the only city in The Netherlands.

Hi there. BTW, Sven L. is not Dutch. He writes that he is from Sweden.

The experience of living in the Netherlands, like in any country, must be relative to the region or city that you live in. Did you live in a big city? Perhaps they are more rude there than in the countryside, smaller cities, or towns. You seem to have had some really unpleasant experiences, which is unfortunate.
I am a Dutch national who for the last 28 years has lived all over the world and anyone who’s ever told me about their visit to the Netherlands has raved about it. Fair enough, that was as a tourist. It must therefore be very different to live there as an expat. Last year I had a similar experience with living in northern Spain, near Santander. As a tourist it had been a fabulous experience. As a resident it was a nightmare and I experienced the grossest rudeness I ever have in my 50+ years. And there they charge even more than 10c a minute to talk to customer service. They have special 902 numbers for companies that cost the earth (there you have it, your answer to “where the hell else on earth” – as if you’ve lived just about everywhere).
I left Spain after less than a year. Never mind all that EU crap, that you can live anywhere, because there is a lot of antagonism towards outsiders, no matter where they come from or which EU country they settle in. I’ve heard things like “those Poles” “those Rumanians” “those blacks”. Europe is still very racist indeed, perhaps now more than ever.
I think that the Netherlands has been on edge since the cultural war and that people have become highly sensitised to foreign residents. 30 years ago when I had a bunch of colleagues from Britain they had nothing but praise for their life in the Netherlands.
I can imagine that you perceive the Dutch working culture as lazy. When I left in ’83 I already had over 20 days’ leave a year! Hooray! In Canada, you still start off with 10 working days leave per annum and I think that the USA is similar. That’s called slave driving. Blue collar workers are also abysmally treated in Canada, unionised and all. I doubt that the same can be said for the NL, which country I am not defending and nor am I patriotic. I just felt the need to point out that an individual’s experience in a certain place in the Netherlands, does not typify the country.

Dear Laurie,
Being a Brit, you might be a bit more careful about slagging of other country’s ‘revolting food products’… just saying…

well i have lived in holland on and off all my life i understand how people can think the dutch are rude, but i think its just the fact that they are direct. I was having a conversation with a friend over there recently about how limited the dutch language is compared to english for example in holland everything is “lecker” i find it very annoying and boring that everything is “lecker” in England there would be an infinate amount of ways to describe something without even touching on area slang. So when the dutch say “its not possible” or “its impossible” its just a more direct way of saying it instead of describing the ins and the outs of the situation. Another example of the difference in the english and dutch way is when you drive in england people will pull over when an obstruction is on there side, you pass and the common thing is to wave. This pointless stupid type of thing would not happen in holland which i actualy prefer, because why should i thank someone for pulling over when the obstruction is on there side. If you understand the dutch mentality of simplicity and limited vocabilary then you dont take offence to it. The other big point is that in holland i have never witnessed any aggresion or trouble other than what english people do there on stag dos etc. There is alot of english people talking how rude the dutch are and its a bad place to live all i will say to that is check the crime stats england is an absolute war zone where death and murder are everyday occurences along with rape and theft and burgulary. The dutch might be abit rude on face value at least they wont stab you and burgal your home. Try learing a basic level of dutch and you would find comunicating with locals easier. My opinion of the dutch is that they are very forward, straight up and calm and not very emotional compared to english hence the difference in music. Music is born of emotion and in england there is plenty of that. Holland is an amazing place with an amazing people they might seem a bit rude but you will never get into a fight, its just the straight way they are. I love the place always have always will i have no idea where all these expats live but they seem the type that would complain anywhere, and that is the biggest english trait i know. I have made plenty of dutch friends in all my different times over there and when im there for long times the dutch way starts to annoy me aswell but i think that happens everywhere. Please forgive me i cant spell by the way.

Well, not very different from the British, then! Come to London and learn what a fierce competitive business-oriented society is. All hail this other queen!

I agree with you, its not about the Dutch being unfriendly, its more like the Dutch are individualistic and its quite hard to learn the language (and of course because 80% of the expat surveyed being native english speakers). Try being German or Dutch in America or Canada and not being able to speak english, and see how hard it will be.

Yeah, I think you just met the wrong people.

I don’t, there is nothing charming about the Dutch people, attitude or culture. Its like charm was completely missed when they put this culture together. I am an Aussie expat and can relate to all the points. I dont mind being asked the stupid questions though, I just hate they make me justify my answers, like its really any business of there’s, why are you here? Really why, explain it so I can understand it.. I feel like giving them a dose of Aussie directness sometimes but that never goes well.. Somehow when I am direct and speak my mind they consider it rude.. So apparently only the White Dutch get a pass on being a’holes in holland.. Anyone else who has a go is immediately branded an irritating foreigner..

I’ve lived in many countries and the Dutch are clearly the most conformist, most collective and least individualistic culture I have ever experienced. They are so lazy and difficult to work with, they demand all these employee protections but offer nothing at all in return. They sit in these jobs and never move for decades and think that’s it’s a good thing. They pick on you collectively if you show any initiative or creativity, it’s all about protecting the hierarchy here. The working culture here is really pathetic and miserable also, talk about selfish, unhelpful lazy, these are all the qualities they really regard as good here, because it’s good for the group.. Dont talk about Dutch individualism it doesn’t exist.. Only on trains occasionally when they decided to rebel by singing, as they know this really annoys other Dutch people.. But that’s their collective idea of “crazy” so that’s what they all do. In fact any noise can be annoying to a Dutch person on a train. They feel it is their right to stop the noise. I once had an old lady tell me to stop tapping my finger along to the music in my headphones and she was sitting across the aisle from me.. Must have had great ears for an lady, to hear light finger tapping above the train noise.. No not really at the end of the day Dutch people like to “f)ck” with you, it gives them pleasure to annoy foreigners, avoid asking them for directions. Smart phones are your friend.

What about your very useful British product: football hooligans
Very decent indeed.

this is a typical DUTCH comment..dutchies can’t handle genuine american openness and friendliness, because they are too stuck up their own behinds.The Dutch are the most jealous, negative race of people I have ever encountered, and yes, I am living here, in NL. Argh. Here’s typical Dutch “wisdom”; a dutch neighbour told me the other night that a dutch person never says “nice to meet you” after meeting you, because, of course ,”how do they know?” that it’s nice to meet you, maybe you are a terrible person. They look at everyone (and I mean typical dutchies,not the sainted angels who seem to actually be a little open, usually the ones who are over the hill and the bs, or who have travelled a lot) suspiciously. Not surprising when you consider this is the country that turned over just about every single jew to the Nazis when they rolled through, and now want to sweep out all the immigrants from north africa. xenophobic , jealous race of people, with the manners of pre school children fighting in the sand box.honestly,

France?! Are you kidding me?! France’s horrible for expats and even for French people. Get real.

How this article brings back memories of Holland! I can see both sides, but at the end of the day I left Holland 7 years ago after living there for 6 years, and I honestly have to say that despite the shortcomings (that – incidently every country has) I look back at my time in Holland as 6 of the best years of my life.

I can sympathise with all the anger directed to the ‘rudeness’ in Holland. A perfect example: My heavily pregnant wife on a tram and not one person offered to get up, and yep, flipped my lid (in Dutch too – gave it some more potency) and yes, we have been to Albert Heijn and to cafe’s / restaurants where we didn’t tip because the leather-skinned chain-smoking old lady was ruder than rude itself but lets face it, I have encountered rude people everywhere you go, even in my backyard….(Australia).

Having said all of that, some of my best, best friends whom will always be my best, best friends are Dutchies. I think that there are two kinds of Dutch (and it is applicable all around the world in some ways). I had a lot to do with what I called Anglocised Dutchies. With that I mean ones whom have been/worked overseas or play a sport not commonly known for being played in Holland – like Cricket and Rugby, that are traditionally played in english speaking countries. Many in my work community had spent time abroad, or worked with many expats and overall I found the clear majority to be great people.

I was lucky enough (or unlucky…..nah, I certainly say lucky) to work as a lone expat with upwards of 30 Dutchies in close proximity, but also working with over 500 Dutchies overall being maybe one of 10 expats in that lot. Yes there were miserable and rude locals amongst them, not willing to give you the time of day but the rest – in general – we great. You learn a bit of the language – and it is always good to learn the potent stuff that I cannot repeat here, and you have some fun with it. Yes, it was frustrating when you made an attempt in general day to day life with Dutch, only to have English thrown back at you, but I guess that’s life.

I did know many expats whom struggled badly with the locals, many English whom couldn’t wait to get to Schiphol on Friday arvo to fly back to the UK, and others whom just didn’t seem to fit in. I found with many of them they failed with the ‘integration’ process because they fought it, or let smaller things get them down and so forth. I went through it and the Dutchies did wind me right up, and another Aussie friend and I were even arrested ON SUSPICION of being English football hooligans (yes, simply walking down Van Wouwstraat while Euro 2000 was on and simply on suspicion) but the positives outweighed the negatives clearly in my experience.

I think a lot of it boils down to the group of Dutchies you end up falling into. I guess I was really lucky. That’s why every 2nd year when we go back to the UK from Australia to visit in the in-laws, we always come by Amsterdam and see our dutch friends. I will do that without fail for as long as I can. Not to mention the Damm is an awesome city.

I could go on and on about the Nederlanders. They are an interesting breed but at the end of the day, if you live there, absorb some of the culture, beer and locals, it is a dam, dam,dam great place…….the Dam!

Groetjes!

I have to move to NL soon and this news + comments scared the shit out of me. God help me

spot on!….dutch r very arrogant!

they like to blame the weather for everything too…..but yeah, all expats i know feel the same way jd, and so do i!

yeah right! …worked in those countries too and people are certainly not rude like the dutch!

Isn’t it funny when people from the island of chavs (UK) moan about other countries. The UK is a dump. A dump full of obese chavs.

I don’t quite agree with this article. The Netherlands is not the worst place I have lived in and the fact that the top 4 winning country are all English speaking is a strong signal that these results are clearly biased.
All my expat friends love living in Amsterdam and although the Dutch have a rather poor reputation (especially abroad) they make life here very easy for foreigners.
Maybe the fact that they all speak fluent English is another reason for them always being so miserable about the fact that no one wants to learn Dutch.

I am happy to see Germany in there, even if only in 10th place

You don’t know what you are talking Alex; if you are still in Netherlands, go a little bit outside Amsterdam, you will see the difference and count how many Dutch friends you have.

I love this place! Nothing wrong with the Dutch…..dont be such haters!

Btw, am not Dutch and I ve been here (in NL) for 12 years now…..

Don’t let this worry you. My boyfriend and I lived there for a year and loved every minute of it. We found the Dutch to be direct for sure, but not rude. We made lifelong friends there and will always look back on it as one of the best years of our lives.

Hahahaha…. Like it is possible to miss the brits on holiday! im not dutch but Laurie come on!! Brits in foreign countries on holiday…. They are the worst.

And what about football hooligans in the uk? The teen pregnancy is in no other country as high as it is in the uk. Have u ever heard about riots in dutch towns like the ones last year in you’re country!

Dont think you are in the possition to judge the dutch!

I’m born and raised in Amsterdam and I loved reading how most expats think of me and all my fellow nationals. The expats I know must be very good actors for not giving me this feedback. I hope that all you people with bad experiences at least learned to appriciate your own country more after having to life in my terrible country.

Mayonnaise,clogs,windmills,dykes,drugs,personalities are all the reasons why its good.

‘They’re simpleton demeanor’…. this sentence is a total contraction in itself.

Think before you type.

I have read over 50 of these posts here and I feel I now have a pretty good idea and can form some type of coherent response. First of all I have been living in Amsterdam since August as part of my ‘year abroad’ Erasmas placement (I study Dutch at a university in London) and I study Dutch taught programs at the University of Amsterdam. I came here with an open-mind but it didn’t take me long to become constantly infuriated with the Dutch incessant ‘rudeness’. For example, many Dutchies tend to cycle side-by-side on a cycle path when they know people want to pass, and when you ring your bell they sometimes won’t budge and give you a ‘dirty look’. Also, walking along the pavement and you see bikes parked in the middle of it so you have to walk around the bike. Furthermore, being in a bar and instead of saying “excuse me” or placing a hand on your shoulder and gently moving you out the way you are just pushed (not too hard, mostly!). Despite the above my views have changed somewhat. First of all the best thing you can do is intergrate. I speak Dutch most of the times and watch Dutch TV etc. When I speak to Dutch people they are facinated to discover that I am learning Dutch and want to know more (first steps of getting to know someone). It’s taking a long time to make friends here but it’s happening albeit slowly. Now what I stated above concerning the ‘rudeness’ I ran past a few Dutch friends. They say that cycling side-by-side is not rude and that if you want to pass you should ring your bell gently, maybe smile and say “Mag ik inhalen?” and that should work. The parking of the bikes in the middle of the pavements – their reaction to this again is that it isn’t rude and that at least it’s visable for you to walk around it. What I am trying to say is that you have to remember it’s a cultural thing, and if you’re riased in this way then you don’t know any different and as far as the Dutch are concerned it’s not rude. I won’t walk about queues because to be fair that’s mainly a British thing. There is the attitude in many places here that the shop or bar is doing you a favour by serving you but maybe that’s more to do with the Dutch sense of equality. In this regard I don’t act as though i’m a customer who is always right but instead act politely and that way I the response is friendly. When people are rude to me in shops, which doesn’t happen often (i’ve encounted more rudeness in London) then I tell them calmly in Dutch that they are rude and explain why this is so. It takes a lot to embarrass the Dutch but pointing out their flaws in their own language, and backing it up with evidence works every time. I cannot stress enough how important mastering the language is and it makes such a huge difference! Although some Dutch people are rude, British too, bare in mind that as I said before it’s a cultural aspect and when you are angry and shout at a Dutch person because of their rudeness then they are normally a bit surprised and think you’re a bit mad. In spite of all this I do think the pushing people to get past is a bit rude but then again maybe it’s the sense that because the intention behind the push isn’t meant maliciously then you shouldn’t consider it as rude. Think of the positives. Customer service doesn’t bend over backwards (I have found it polite for the most part, I mean in the UK the shop assistants don’t say “goeie morgen” and “fijne dag”) but you save money as you don’t tip. Also the cycling is fantastic. The canals are great too especially in the summer and it’s just a less stressful life here. I hoped this has helped although I feel I haven’t fully explained myself although I think most Dutchies will know what I mean and side with me

There are good things and bad things about living in the Netherlands for sure. In terms of how the Dutch see general interaction between people in their daily lives, this video, to me, shows the reality of how most big city Dutch people are. It is actually from a national ad campaign calling out rude behavior as a way to get people to change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QUfYbvAz9k

unlike this statement of course…

This proves yet again that English Canada (so excluding Quebec) is the northern cultural and economic extension of the United States of America! This survey has nothing to do with the Netherlands. About Americans expatriated in the Netherlands, should they make the effort of learning the language and integrating the culture, which is often far from being the case after several years of living in the country, they would have far more friends and acquaintances. Those who are depicting a bad working culture and lazy people in the Netherlands should remember that the country remains Europe’s most productive one, per worked hour, and that the salaries and social advantages, such as, for me, two months and a half of holiday a year, are among the best. Who wants to work in the US with two weeks of vacation a year and poor social advantages? Not me after six years in the Netherlands!

Useless? yeah maybe because we learn English, German, French and Spanish

only in NL and 50% BE? Try: Suriname, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, parts of Canada, parts of Germany, Indonesia, even it is spoken quite frequently in the US and in Australia… ooh and how about South Africa.

You speak of horrendous or impolite behavior that shocked even the Dutch, I just call that human, it happens everywhere in the world, sorry you were a victim of that, but to blame a culture?!

I am Dutch (you figured), and I know our behavior is considered rude very often. We do separate our work from our personal lives, we have colleges and we have friends and rarely do they mix. That is why we might come across as closed. I work with expats on occasion and befriended some, but with most I only work with on a professional basis.

We are also straight forward in our feedback. We are thought from a young age to voice our opinions even if it is to a senior position. No matter what titles you have, what educational background or how much time you spend on your work, if someone mentions your work is not good, and you disagree, then with all your titles and knowledge you should be able to win that argument. If you can’t, don’t take it personally but take it professionally. We deal with that all the time.

I know Britain is famous for its polite behavior (well even that changed in London and most towns) so it must have been quite a contrast for you and it is understandable you get upset with it.

We also learn that if there is something we need or want we are mainly responsible for ourselves to get it. This gets our of hand with a few people, but most certainly not our entire culture.

And about the tax… we are famous for it, did you not figure this out before you came here?

You get frustrated when we show of our orange colors (even on holiday) during a wold cup or our Queens day, on holidays or memorial & liberation day… are we so different then other nations? Its a human thing.

My guess is you just found a bucket to put all your frustrations into rather then looking at yourself, opening your mind and adapting, discussing and working it out. Is this reply too straightforward or would you call it rude?

They measured by:
where it’s easiest to befriend locals
- because of our split profesional / personal culture the Dutch wouldn’t score very high

learn the language
- naturally all English native countries have the benefit, its a poor target.
It should be about how adaptable the country is in its communication, the Dutch grow up speaking at least 2-3 languages.

Fit into the new culture and integrate into the community.
- We have a multi-cultural society, it is easy for people to join communities that fit their culture, but hard to really become part of the native dutch culture. I also think this is a poor target for a study on this subject.

I love Holland, but I realize I will never integrate in the culture. It’s funny that I like Holland but I don’t like the Dutchies and Dutch culture. In fact I’m shocked and surprise by it’s economical status, since their services basically suck. Starting from bad service in restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, plumber, you name it…

I totally disagree. Lived here for almost 11 years now, traveled all across EU, it’s quite hard to find more open-to-the-foreigners people.

Learning local language helps a lot. And if you don’t want to – well.. Go try living in Russia speaking only English

So should you. 30% rule has nothing to do with being a manager. I got one being a 1st level helpdesk engineer. Nowadays I own a company here and pretty much all my expat employees have 30% rule.

Learn Dutch, read laws.

Hi Anne, I had such a great time while I stayed and worked a little in The Netherlands (1998), that I often tell my friends that the dutch are probably the most “latin” people outside latin america, referring to how welcoming people were with me. Some of them even treating me as if an old friend that have been away for a while.

Despite the fact that many people speak English, if you intend to live in The Netherlands, you’d best learn Dutch. People will appreciate the effort, even though some will balk at the slightest mistake. Ignore those people. And read The UnDutchables, it will explain a lot of things to you about your neighbors.

Are you kidding or trolling? Because for sure you cannot be serious

Typical Dutchie’s way to get through live is:
- go to college, not to ambitious, having M.Sc. is for dumb expats, Dutchies don’t need that, HBO is more than enough..
- take sabbatical year at expense of parents
- get work through parents or friends connections
- after working 2-3 months get “severe depression”, which means that they’re not working, but still getting 80% of they salary
- bum out for 2-3 years on expats’ expense (since they are the ones dumb enough to actually do any work here)
- go back to work for few weeks, complain how their boss in now foreigner, raging how they should all go to their countries and not steal your jobs
- get fired, with your unemployment benefit go bum out in LLoret del Mar
- repeat. profit.

almost 10 years in the netherlands. i don’t see the dutch as rude, they are just straightforward, they speak what they think and don’t take it personally. i guess many people are too sensitive. but then again i’m an ‘individualistic’ type so i fit in well in the netherlands =)

on the other note, i cannot stand too much (fake) friendliness in many english speaking countries and the culture of always wanting to belong to a group. that just suffocates the hell out of me.

I saw a totally different side to Holland, when I was studying in Utrech a few years ago. the education was all in dutch, and i didn’t know a single word. My class mate took turns in taking notes for me in english during seminars, and explaining as much as they could so i didn’t feel left out! I was truly amazed how friendly and helpful they was towards me. And i even passed the semester!

My dear B.O. you’re totally right.

In Canada/USA you sink or you swim…pros and cons…..in the Netherlands we have a tremendous floating device so you do not have to swim….social security, national health care, free education and so on…..for the last 30 years we have experienced ‘Mediterranean’ people (ab)using the floating device to the extreme and not adapting/integrating at all. Not even learning the language and not a single inch of gratefulness or gratitude. In stead they bite the hand that feeds them….that is why we turned so nationalistic.

Yeah, as if the Spaniards could try better English…

thanks for fortifying the poll that dutch are unfriendly

The Dutch are wonderfully warm, hospitable people …if you are white, have money and are only sticking around for a few weeks or months. The farther away you are from those 3 criteria ? The uglier they can get.

yes your right to be nationalist… its not like Dutch history shows occupation of other countries, where they force their language and culture on other countries… damn those foreigners for then coming into the Netherlands to take those shit jobs and stimulating the economy, didn’t they learn from the oppressing societies we created for them!

I agree with AllAtSea for the most part.the same std set of questions which were posted above and plus “So, do you want to live here for ever?”
I mean, hello? you dont even know me and I’m an expat here , taking my time out to travel, meet people, explore diff cultures…I dont know where I will be forever.

About making friends, I do speak reasonable enough Dutch but in the 4 yrs I have been there , there is no Dutch person I know whom I could call friends.
One funny incident I had was that of a dutch woman at my yoga class complaining of being in Sweden and how the swedes werent friendly, didnt want to be friends with her blah blah…
and I;ve lived in Sweden so I know its not at all like this in Sweden.

conclusion: when you are living in your own backyard, for most times you dont have the need to look out for new friends since you have everything / everyone you need here.

ABOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE: hmmm..what?
customer service is plain 0 in this country; no concept of it whatsoever.
The cheapness / stinginess of Dutch people is know – even they joke about it themselves…

once being out for a brunch in a good place in the city centre [ was relatively empty that morning]…I asked for extra toppings [olives, tomatoes, onions etc etc] on my omelette and offering to PAY for it the waitress answered NO. they couldn’t do it.
I mean, how long / how much effort would it take to add these extra toppings in the omelette

if this is how a good place treat their customers (on a non busy day) its a shame.
we never went back to that place every again in the hague.

MEDICAL SERVICES:…
the medical service in this country is a joke:

paracetamol is the only medicine they know of.

my gf had a sprained ankle from sporting accident and was rushed to a hospital in Delft and they refused to even give her first aid since she didnt have an appointment!
she was in pain but wasn’t given any pain killers or anything for 3 hours and then they gave her paracetamol

WATCH YOUR MONEY:
one needs to be careful in this country as expat as you dont get treated in the same way or fairly by most local institutions..makelaars [ the worst of all] amongst others…there are horror stories about makelaars on almost every expat site

the locals have ingenious schemes of taking money out of your pocket and will fight for 5 cents of their own.

from my own story, I was charged for not showing up at the doctor even though the appointment was cancelled well in time and when I threatened to call my lawyer, they said they would not charge me for it.

no country is perfect in the world, each with its pros and cons…just like humans…if you dont like it somewhere, move on!

I have emigrated from the UK to live in the Netherlands. I have found the general Dutch populace, on the whole, to be rude, pushy and blunt. I get cigarette smoke blown in my face daily from people walking in front of me, customer service is non-existent, and queuing is truly beyond people here. Last week, I helped a young woman load her pram onto the train (I’m also female) and the men actually pushed past us – and whilst queuing may be a British thing, chivalry has never proven to be exclusively British. I have never had problems integrating in France, Italy, Spain or Germany, however Holland is an entirely different kettle of mackerel. Luckily, I work at an international organisation with a mixture of expats and Dutchies (albeit ones who have travelled a lot, or lived elsewhere for long periods) where people are, for the most part, very friendly.

As an expat in the Netherlands, I do not agree at all. Here, in the North, I never experienced problems with socialization, either with Dutch people or within the expat community.

As for the language, I remember a study that named Dutch the easiest language to learn for English speakers. And I can believe it. Also, you actually don’t have to learn it, as the vast majority of people speak it perfectly.

Seriously, I have no idea how, for instance, France, where it’s pretty hard to live without the language, is better in terms of integration than the Netherlands.

Sorry Vladimir, but you should also check facts before you speak.Just because it was so in your case doesn’t make it so every time.I was brought here to work 5 years ago and was told 5 different reasons why I didn’t qualify (I am an experienced IT professional).Finally I went above the (all Dutch) HR dept and was told I qualified.Needless to say,my 30% rule was still overturned by the same HR dept in the spirit of “keeping things fair”. This is within their rights do do so and they will excercise it as they see fit.

as they say in dutch medemogelijk gemaakt door de PVV (one of the coalition parties)

I guess you’re an exception. And blind or naive. And try to live in the NL not being a student, but a real expat. Somehow people voted for it to be so unfriendly, there are many reasons for that. All the reasons you wrote are the contrary! Clearly, you know nothing about this society.

I don’t see anything rude and arrogant in the statement. just an opinion that happens to be true and I bet, comes from someone’s experience.

so agree. I am Polish and hear the same questions from people whose level of education is much lower than mine, who’ve never been to ‘that part of Europe’, who know nothing about the political/historical/economical background even of their own country, and so on. We all know what I’m talking about. It is sad that each time I am being made to prove I am good enough (to talk to them, to study here, to…), and in front of who? Pathetic.

Lived here for over 3 years and cannot stand the coldness, rudeness, lack of creative thought and stubborn attachments to ridiculous traditions. This is a country stuck in a time-warp. Don’t get me started on the haircuts!!

No…period..

What a shower of gobshite. I’ve lived here a year and a half (Delft + Leiden) and had a great experience. Sure, shopkeepers can be blunt when you are speaking English (by the standards of a native English speaker) but the second you switch to Dutch you will get much more consideration. As a native English speaker I had previously never learned another language until i moved here. Now my Dutch is decent. After learning the language I understand where a lot of miscommunications come from. English, by comparison to Dutch, is horribly overcomplex. There are millions of tiny nuances that change context. Dutch is much simpler and more direct. When you translate Dutch to English, there is less diversity. Just be appreciative of the fact that Dutch people can and WILL speak to you in English. It’s a courtesy you wouldn’t receive in Russia, Italy, France…. the list goes on.

Prior to my learning Dutch, I found it hard to make Dutch friends. DUH… because who wants to speak another language than your own in YOUR country. Its a lot of effort and easier for them to make Dutch friends instead. Since I learned Dutch, I now have 3 people I can call friends and many more who invite me to parties/pubs.

Now all you native English speakers do yourselves a favour… Imagine you are in UK/US/Aus and you’re working in a shop, and someone comes up to you and starts speaking Spanish and only Spanish. Can YOU be polite?

Holland is a great place. You just have to learn Dutch otherwise you are seen as ‘just another expat who is here to make his name and bugger off after’.

The cycling culture is great. The beers are superb (also belgian). Awesome cheese. Pretty women. Rich history. Not to mention, great job opportunities… even for expats.

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

They’re not allowed to speak English on the telephone. However Azul you can go to the Belastingdienst and they speak English to you there in person at the tax office. Like Vladimir I have also lived here for 11 years and sure I have some complaints although they can also be applied to any other country. It’s all in the attitude you roll with and everyone please remember if you don’t like, simple- get the fuck out and go somewhere you’ll actually have a life then you can come back and tell us all where you were lucky enough with a whiney attitude to get a life! Most likely somewhere you don’t speak the language and they all secretly don’t like your ass anyways get over it by recalling the old adage: What you focus on increases.

The difference between students and expats does not exist. The difference between me and you, yes, this exists.

You did not argument. Saying “All the reasons you wrote are the contrary” is not an argument. Prove it!

I think you have some personal reasons to think Dutch people are not friendly, so I think it is a problem of you.

If I do not know this society, how do you explain this survey (from Forbes again) of 2 years ago??
http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/25/best-expat-postings-forbeslife-cx_vr_0725realestate_slide_9.html?thisSpeed=undefined

The Netherlands are among the first 6 countries in the world to be an expat. Show that the contrary is correct.

What “national health care”? Having to pay €200 a month for basic health care for your family when you are extremely low paid does not indicate a “tremendous floating device”.

Yes that is one thing. Since moving over here, my Dutch wife and I absolutely adore the UK and are moving back as soon as possible.

Zeeland is a lovely place to live. Beautiful scenery and wonderfully friendly people. I speak as an English northerner!

Last 10 years I live in the Netherlands and I like this country less and less. Huge holes in the system, bad health care (no prevention) and two-faced nature of Dutch are very disappointing….

My spanish husband and I have lived here 9 years, had 2 kids, and tons of friends, expats and Dutch alike. We love it here, and can’t imagine ever leaving.

This article is based on nothing objective! 80% english native speakers? …I’m not and I’m an expat here. Certainly it has its good and bad things (like the weather) but come on!
This is paradise for expats: Which other country offers you to pay taxes ONLY on 70% of your income? The answer is NONE!…I’m very happy with my 30% ruling and the extra euros per month on my bank account. Not to mention my comfy apartment for a reasonable price (compared to same level of comfort in Paris, London, Rome, Stockholm and Atlanta – where I’ve also lived). Moreover, you can live for a whole life here communicating purely in english and it’s close to many countries in Europe with a great hub called Schiphol with direct flights to many destinations in the 5 continents…This “study” must gotta be KIDDING me! …April’s fools is in one month from now..not yet!

umm… do you know what you’re talking about… Canada is not America… we have national health care as well and a social net. Although I am sure there are many differences to the Netherlands. We do believe in taking care of each other here as well – of the mindset ‘help people help themselves’.

That being said I lived in the Netherlands for 7 months and loved it. I did learn from many locals the stereotype being presented here… but I never experienced it in a negative way. Blunt does not mean you are cold. Although I am aware there is much tension over the past few years with finding a way to live amongst the cultural differences that do exist from new immigrants, by and large my experiences were great.

Absolutely ridiculous article! I do not believe a word of it. I have been an expat in Denmark and the Netherlands. Netherlands is friendly by a million miles. Danish can be very racist people and ignorant to foreign cultures and practices. They force-feed Danish language to all expats forcing them to learn. There is no choice and Danish is the toughest language to learn in a short period. Didn’t anybody even take this survey to Denmark?

Probably because small countries like Denmark does not have many expats, it is ignored. Netherlands has a big chunk of expats so gets some attention.

I read about the Dutch being lazy and someone having a very hard time working here…I really sympathise, I was lucky enough to be able to quit my job. However, shopping this morning in a small local town I was struck again by the rudeness and complete lack of customer service; I was followed around the shop as if a shop-lifting
threat after I had said I was happy looking around. No wonder the Dutch have trouble with foreigners as I’m sure they hate to be faced with alternative/better approaches to business and service attitudes.

Must be that, cus I personally think the dutch are not that bad comparing to british per say. I never had major issue with dutch and as long as you show bit of interest in the language and trying to adapt to the country rules, i dont see any issue. And honestly, who says otherwise doesnt understand that if you pick a foreign country to live in, you should live it the same way like they do, and the language is necessary!

according to geert hofstede holland is a feminine caring society with an average uncertainty avoidance.Instead of regarding foreigners as dangerous they see them as ridiculous.It is also very individualistic like the english countries

But the english speaking countries are even more IND

My old housemate who moved from his hometown in Twente to Utrecht had the same complaints, that it was hard to make new friends, drinks with colleagues could only be made via an advance appointment in the calendar, and felt the general public to be cold and unwelcoming. Come most weekends, he went back on the train to his hometown. I have only lived in Utrecht since emigrating, and found it very hard to make friends in my first two years, although once my language skills improved, and gained a better knowledge of Dutch society and current affairs, I found the locals a lot more welcoming. Still, I find when I travel into the countryside, the locals are far more friendly and welcoming (I was shocked at teenagers walking by, smiling and giving me a ‘hoi!’), and as with my former housemate’s experience, I see the coldness less as a Dutch problem, and more of an urban/rural divide. I do experience some unforgivable rudeness and bad manners, people seemingly unaware of anybody but themselves, and the way some Dutch will jump to defend this behaviour (as ‘directness’ or ‘honesty’) leaves a bad taste in the mouth for anyone who sees that behaviour for what it is. The situation is also not bettered by certain politicians who’s careers are based on pitting natives against non-natives.

how can you leave in holland? You can only live in it or leave it

The funny thing is is that I know quite a few Dutchies who themselves have an issue with the overall un friendliness of other Dutchies. It is not that they do not like foreigners ? It is that they do not like anyone outside their very narrow field of interest and understanding. I know several Dutchies in our village who come from other parts of the country ( Amsterdam, Breda ) and they can very much relate to what is being said here. Dutch are more ignorant and boring than racist and un friendly.

I have never been in a country where people didn’t play with their phones on a bus or a train. And reading books? In what countries do people read books on a bus?

In all the countries where people know the meaning of the word ‘culture’….

It wasn’t an evasive answer, I ‘m sorry you didn’t get it. Also it wasn’t the main point in my post. Anyway I don’t know how old are you…but you can keep on thinking that playing videogames is the most intellectual thing human beings can do and you can also be proud of this superficiality. Then, as far as I am concerned, Dutch people can even switch their national anthem to the Super Mario Bros theme. I really don’t care. My point was that this superficiality and lack of culture results in a greater attitude of people within the society. And this attitude affects my daily life. When I look for explanations or further information with Dutch people the only answer they know is ‘I don’t know’ ’cause they are just not used to reason. There are so many other posts about that…check it out! Then, my glorious father land is Germany but reading is not such a weird activity, you know it’s quite widespread in so many other European countries…

Unfortunately for you all the posts here are related to the article published by Forbes which rates Holland as the most unfriendly country for expats and Germany among the top ten friendly nations. Then of course any country has people who don’t like it and I can understand that. If I had said I’m from France, what would you have said? Or from Italy, Spain or whatever?I believe I don’t need to explain to you each word I wrote cause there are so many other posts which support my arguments. So many other people experienced all the bad feelings I had when I came here. Are they all Germans? I’m sure they are not. So you can just ignore my post, honestly I dont’ mind.But does it make sense to you that 4069 people liked this article in Facebook???:) Adios!

I got the impression that Jo-blogs was being sarcastic.
Where’s your sense of humour?
I’ve lived in NL for 12 yrs, speak Dutch & feel that I’ve integrated pretty well into my local comunity. I don’t have any complaints.

That’s very sweet of you Anne. I only wish you were here instead of all those people I met when first moved here.
In the end, I have become so upset with the reality here I’m now in therapy for depression – IN DUTCH!!! – and that does not go very smoothly.. I guess it’s not uncommon here for a therapist to be getting impatient to the point of making the patient feel even worse afterwards..

“Die in your shit?” What?

It’s ok Julia, Holgol just likes to argue. He hates the British because of their colonial past, He lives in the 19th Century.

if one ends their sentence with the word ‘period’, it is read as a fact, not as an opinion. Stating that word makes it arrogant of course!

I was just wondering if anyone has had the same experience as I have ? I have been living here for 27 years and according to the Ministry of Education ? I speak Dutch on a staatsexam 2 niveau but whenever I open my mouth to a Dutchie ? They get this look like they just saw a ghost or something. Some people think my level of Dutch is impressive and compliment me and quite a few think I am incomprehensible to the point where I cannot even wish someone a good weekend without it turning in to a major event. It is pretty frustrating. Does anyone else have the same experience ?

All the posts in favor of the Dutch are written by the Dutch themselves or their foreign partners, time will make the partners change their minds in the hard way.

Some never learn, and some are too embarrassed to admit the fiasco mostly when children are involved, others simply needed a residence permit and had to swallow their own disgust. Some have been brought from abroad, its like accepted human trafficking and prostitution from both parts.

It gives me the creeps just to imagine.

That been said, the Dutch are in fact terribly jealous of the British and even “The Americans”.

O-O how I would like that language to be mine!!!.

Although I should remember that not all the British are like that.

90% of the people here haven’t been in Holland, or know dutch people..they just like to judge..at least 80% of the people who been here say the dutch are amongst the friendliest they ever met.and the lazy comment, the Dutch are one of the hardest workers in Europe, just bcs some ppl on this site have worked in one company in the whole country, wich probably had foreigners too,they think the whole country is like that..fuck that, this article is full of bullshit and it’s just to make the U.S. look good again..only that Canada are the friendliest, i believe.

learn some about dutch history, they took country’s yes, but they didn’t let them speak dutch…otherwise, east of the U.S.A. would speak dutch now,indonesia would,etc etc…Same with culture…

even i as a dutch dont know where dieren is haha

and isn’t it funny that while ppl say we only want them to speak dutch, many are here answering u in a normal way and IN ENGLISH.

Fred Flange = imaginary character created by Peter Sellars.
Holgol = Korean for “rapture bone”
Trolls!

Netherlands one of the Best Country in the World to Live
Netherlands best behaved country in EU
Netherlands is the 8th best country to live in the world

but still the most unfriendly LMAO yankee bullshit

The dutch are wonderful lads…

100% of what you just wrote you pulled out of your ass. Get off your high horse it is not 1940 anymore. The master race mentality is out of style now. Didn’t you get the memo ? “damn u guys work hard” ? LMFAO.

The article states that the countries rated most friendly are the countries “where it’s easiest to befriend locals, learn the language, fit into the new culture and integrate into the community.” Relating this to the Netherlands I can see why it’s rated low…
Befriend locals is not easy when there are so many internationals you could befriend! Learn the language is hard, and unnecessary because almost everyone speaks English and is willing to talk to foreigners in English. Fit into the new culture and community can also be hard, because there are so many internationals in the Netherlands forming their own communities.
I think the survey’s criteria should be adjusted. I think the Netherlands is very friendly to expats and therefore makes it easy for expats to form their own communitie, not learn the language etc. There is nothing wrong with that!

sounds RIGHT.

Well I’m Dutch…If you’ve noticed; Dutch people travel a lot trough the world. Bear in mind it is a small country but you’ll find them anywhere. I travel a lot as well and I’m very interested in cultures and societies and why people choose to do the things they do. And I agree, we can be quite blunt about it, but we mostly mean well. Just interest. And it is the other way around as well. For instance I meet a lot of Turkish people in Holland (to use the example) but if I’d offer them a beer, most of them get pretty angry and look at me as if I’m this ignorant person that doesn’t know anything; for example that Muslims don’t drink alcohol. But I can’t see from the outside if someone is a Muslim. And besides some Muslims do drink beer, so it can get pretty confusing both ways…

You can’t really rely on a Forbes list to tell you anything. In another list they place Ireland in the top 15 richest countries in the world!

Stop making things up
https://www.cafonline.org/pdf/World_Giving_Index_2011_191211.pdf

Born in this country, lived in it my whole life( until now that is).

I totally agree with a lot of comments here… The main problem here is the attitude. The dutch are nothing but selfish, unimaginative, rude, boring people.

Dutch people tolerant?! HAHAHA dont make me laugh! Yes, The Netherlands claim to be a “tolerant, open minded country” . Yes, it’s charming at first, the nice smiles people give here. But believe me it’s all fake. Mostly they mean shit of it.

Everything here is so self-proclaimed. The so called tolerance, directness, whatever.
I’ve been to all parts of this shit country. It truly is one big fake.

I love Spain, i love Italy. I love Hungary. There are so many countries i love. But this country, the country i was born and raised in, is DEFINITELY not one of them.

Maybe i sound hypocrite because i’m a born dutchman. But i have only one thing to say:

I’m ashamed of this country. Ashamed of the attitude. I’m moving away and when i’m gone please let this country sink below sea level…..

what gets me is that the average nurse or doctor is also very unsympathetic here and miss important warmth and empathy for their patients

It’s based on quantitative data, can you provide more context to your criticism

I suggest expats take a look at the expat comments made about their home country before passing such rude judgement on the Dutch. We all come from cultures that are selfish, rude, closed, stupid, or unfriendly

Where does it say that those charitable contributions are tax deductible? Was this also tax deductible? http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2010/01/cash_for_haiti_broadcasts_rais.php

I once heard that one day a German had sex with a pig in the bum, and the next day it crapped out a Dutchman. Can anyone tell me if this is the true origin of the Dutch or is this just a myth?

As a Dutchman i think i can say the Dutch are on average quite rude. We call it honnest and open, but to people who are raised learning to respect their pears this is often experienced is plain rude. Tourists who come the Netherlands expect polite people as they have seen and heard on tv and the internet. This due the fact that the Dutch are known for accepting gay people or other ethnic or non-ethnic minorities. This however is not true, for instance gay people are still made fun of, mostly by low educated members of this weird society. Also the Dutch carry an unexplainable hate against Belgians, “we” think they are dumb.

Reading al this forums about the Dutch being rude, makes me wonder if they really know the Dutch. Most of the people who asked questions like: Why are the Dutch so rude? Mostly are tousrist who have visited Amsterdam, where people are to be found way more arrogant, ignorant and rude then in the rest of the country, this is odd because all big cities around the globe have citizens who are considerd more rude than the smaller cities/villages. I have travelled the world and have to say that on average the rude people live in big cities, you could see The Netherlands as one big city, everthing is nearby, the country is dynamic, people have to watch out for theirselves. If you are a pregnant women or old , and you are getting on a bus or tram, dont expect anybody to get up for you. I think this is an very very shamefull way of behaving and there is nobody to blame for this aditude, but themselves. I find myself getting in situations where i stand up to help someone and that someone is so supprised that he/she gives me a look that says: “wtf are you doing?!? are you a perv?!”. Being polite is considered weird in the Netherlands. I think fellow Dutch people will know what i am talking about.

As a conclusion to my little story i would ask myself and you the question: what is rude? The Dutch people are considered unfreindly because of the expectations foreing people have of the great independant, well educaded and freindly country as we pretend we are. I think this is the Dutch society is the future, not a good way, an very bad way even.

But i think what i am trying to say is the world is getting more selfcentered then ever, and the Dutch are an good example of what is wrong with that.

Mark Lebbink, 18 years old.
Born in a medium sized town, The Netherlands
I would also like to excuse me for all my gramatical and spelling mistakes.

LOL The dutch are extremely practical people. I have heard this many times; about the “push”. But if you look at it from their perspective. One is purposely standing in the way and blocking others from passing, why are you doing that? keeping others from their things. But yes, it is not to be rude.

The medical system in this country is one of the best in the world. the reason why the doctors give you paracetamol is because in this country we are not busy making the pharmaceutical industry richer than it is. since we are not Americans we are not pumping our people full of pills. The doctor WILL NOT give you pills when you can just wait for a few days. Be greatful about that and stop complaining. I have been to many countries. And ooh how friendly people are. But a lot of these friendships are shallow. They say yes when they mean no!. They say things they do not mean and gossip a lot. I am not saying the Dutch don’t gossip, but they will give it to you straight.

No just the natives. But than again they’re not people are they?

Dear Wabukeva,
I am a foreigner living in the Neths. As an american you are no better than the Dutch, what so ever. I mean PALEAZZE has anyone that has a color been to Texas? Do I need to get into details?
The Dutch are not rude, they are individualistic. Should you not worry about the guns in your country? Have you seen your prisons? Are Americans friendly, really? The waitresses are only friendly because they’re payments are terrible and they rely on tips. That kind of “friendlyness”is what we absolutely don’t like in the Netherlands. Just be yourself, it’s okay. Please, I have been in America and there are parts that remind you of a stereotypical 3th world country. The wealth that some people have, while others have no food on the table. Yet Americans worry about buying new boobs, having fake toothpaste smiles, botox, being fake, fake blonde, being on tv, living on credit cards, driving huge cars. Nobody understands how Americans (and their kids) can see celebs as their rolemodels and actually look up to them. Really; why??? where are the kids their mothers and fathers?
No Dutch person gets out of bed for fake, plastered celebs. They do not care;one of the reasons why Dutch seem distant. The family (gezin) is very very important and mom and dad are doing what they are supposed to be doing. I know there is a lot to be done in your own country, so hurry up and get started.

I´ve been living in the Netherlands for 7years now and I must say that it is absolutely a nightmare to be a foreigner here. I´ve lived in other countries before, but this has been my worst experience. The country is pretty, but the people are very bad. Race doesn´t have much to do with their unfriendliness, they just hate foreigners, whether white, black or yellow. Even Polish people, who are in genearl blond and blue eyed are discrimitated in stores…They look at all foreigners as if they were stealling or lying…They are very skeptical of every more a foreigner makes. They only way to be successful here is if you are an expert in something very unique, but either than that you are screwed. Thy just employ themselves and they strongly believe in their superiority.

I respect your oppinion, but there is nothing like the Netherlands. In other countries most people are friendly, but here is the other way around.

This is bullshit. Just because you had bad experiences with Dutch people. And that they make bad friends, makes you rude to generalize them all. Just saying. I have very good Dutch friends who I can trust on any front. It’s the person, not the country.

I have lived in the Netherlands up to my 23rd birthday in 1993. After that I moved to the UK and have now lived here for nearly 19 years. I remember the Dutch being actually an intelligent people with high standard of education, superior social welfare and an acceptable attitude towards minorities. My nationality is British and my ethnic origin is that of Pakistani. When I moved to the UK, I actually found Britons a much more difficult, selfish and back biting people. In Holland there is no poverty like there is in the UK because the latter are selfish. However, things may have changed since I left the Netherlands 19 year ago. Any people who have someone like Geert Wilders in their government cannot be a good people.

sorry…missed the “t” of can’t!

The UK a police state? You really think so? By the way, unemployment is not low in The Netherlands, they discount so many people from the count that the rate looks far lower than it really is. At least the UK now counts all economically inactive individuals.

Funny how the wonderful Netherlands has banned the wearing of a head dress, but the police state UK hasn’t.

Exactly. A pathetic effort. Any Saturday night in any British city is more violent than that.

As long as both chambers of parliament haven’t approved of that, it is still a law in the making. And it is very uncertain whether parliament will decide in favor of it.

Well, you can’t rely on the Dutch Daily
News can you? How dare you accuse me of making things up. What are we supposed to believe?

Most reputable websites repeat the story. Surely it all depends on the composition of the next government, so you are being a little disingenuous in claiming that it is not going to happen. Don’t forget, you are the ones who had a fascist in government.

And you have been to every British city?

I am a Dutch national. Currently expat in the UAE. Being well traveled and very much interested in different cultures, I was very surprised starting to find out that so many people have a hard time living in Holland.

In the past, A lot of the immigrants have moved to Holland, mostly kept minding their own business. Perhaps this created sort of a notion that: you can do whatever you want to do, and if you don’t want to do as us, we are fine with it, but don’t expect anything from us if you don’t adjust. The so called tolerance, but perhaps indifference is a better word.

I have experienced two types of foreigners in Holland. The ones that were part of the group immediately and those who were left out and only friended other foreigners. I have had people telling me the Dutch were the most friendly people in the world, and that they felt like they were in a fairy tale. And we have this.

An example of a guy that did not succeed is a greek guy who i trained with. He wanted to hang out with Dutch people, but when I asked him if he wanted to something next saturday, he looked disgusted and refused because social interaction for him should be more spontaneous. But the Dutch plan their weekends well in advance. It is like if I would go to Jamaica and act surprised that people don’t show up when I plan a meeting next saturday at 8:30.

A big downside for foreigners is that Dutch prefer very solid and loyal groups of friends. People they have known for all their lives and on which they feel they can rely on. Mixing in a group like that will be very difficult. Dutch people will give you a hard time before they call you their friend, but they will be a good one.

Social meetings are done by appointments. Don’t make appointments you don’t keep. People simply wont make them anymore.

Customer service: could be much better. But Dutch people don’t like bullshit. So someone wishing you a wonderful day when he only wants to sell you stuff, is generally not appreciated. Nor does someone running to help you. When I want someones opinion or help, I will ask it. I am not a child. People in the store know that what in some cultures is considered service, I find offensive.

I have found an article of an Irish guy running into the same problems, also solving them within 3 months. Hopefully I can find them and post it on this site. It contains very some good tips.

I have also seen a lot of complaints about simple cultural differences, like how people ride and park their bikes. It is like if I complained that I hear the mosque 5 times a day in this Muslim country. I think that if you make complaints like that you really should not be living in another country and pollute the internet with your “insights” in a culture. Indeed, there are expat complaint discussions like this for almost all countries, so i guess the difference in between the expectations and the real world is bad. A lot also probably comes from people who were moving somewhere because of job (or worse… a partners job) and find it very difficult to adjust. Make the most of it, or move on.

But… There is clearly more to it than just cultural difference. Clearly we Dutch have not a good understanding of how the world sees us, or is beginning to see us. Our minding our own business and indifference culture is on a very wrong road. Our vision less society where no one is responsible and people hope things will stay as the were 10-20 years ago, should make some drastic changes. Also, we should be more receptive to people who want to make the most of their lives in Holland. The alleged resilience against foreigners is damaging and down right stupid.

I to have left the country and share a lot of the visions and complaints about the Dutch and their social circles. And the stable, but boring lives.

Information like on this site should become more widely read. I will be promoting it, hopefully assisting in making The Netherlands a better place for our visitors.

The Netherlands rules for expats always change for example 30% tax rule and holding new & renew work permit application for Iranian high skill migrant and they can’t plan for their future live here. Therefore we expected the Netherlands rated become most unfriendly country for Expats

Well, I have not lived in holland but my experience as a tourist has been nothing but good. I have found the Dutch people to be warm and friendly and more than happy to start a conversation and speak English if you can’t speak Dutch. I think that the French are the most unfriendly country! They are arrogant arse holes!

Personally as an Englishman, I have always found the Dutch the most similar to the English. We English are often thought as being somewhat closed (ask any foreigner in London – they never meet the English). But if you get through that hard outer shell, you have made it and then we will look after you through thick and thin.

You will find xenophobia everywhere and the incident you described happens in every country. I do have to admit that London is a lot easier to integrate, but that is due to a large amount of foreigners that live and work there. It is also difficult to get English friends, and even in London you would rely on other expats for your social life.

Weird to leave a message here but prehaps most effective, expat educated european mothers looking for new friendship with an expat young mother, write to olm3070@gmail.com.

Wow! DANK JE WEL! you. Can definitely explain well what we are about because its just a differ country wedo things different than America and the “Americans” are basically in culture shock and find everything we think is normal rude so the next time you go to Nederlands make sure tio look up some Dutch etiquette and study it a bit and you will be so much more understanding of what is happening around you

lol the fukkin scots!are awesome!!

Apart from the people who work for Unique Multilingual, Randstad and Timing, I think the Dutch are wonderful people.

See what you mean, she is the sort of expat The Netherlands just doesn’t want or need.

Let me get this straight – someone made a silly faux pas and you’re now disappointed and no longer friends for that? My, I have to say I’m glad for the poor Dutch devils, they’re better off without such friendship…

My dear, I’m from Romania and I befriended a Dutch national, born in Turkey, parents moved to Rotterdam when he was 3.
I’ve asked him about being muslim, about the religion of his parents, about his drinking (although nothing about the alphabet obviously), about his parents’ life in Turkey before moving here, and about a million other things, and – shock and horror – we spent hours on end talking about such things, and nobody was upset!
I’ve also had many similar conversations with other Turkish or Dutch/Turkish people, some of whom were muslim, some who were not. Also with Pakistani, Egyptian and Lebanese. You know what? None of the was such a winy little b*tch like you.

It’s called conversation – you should try it some time, when you’re not busy feeling superior because you’re so much more “open”, “warm”, “educated”, benefiting from much more balanced newspapers I’m sure, etc. than the people of the country you’ve chosen to move to.
Also – what the hell’s wrong with calling cows that were born and bread in the Netherlands Dutch cows? Don’t the French have the best wine? Don’t the British have the best beef? Don’t the Turkish make the best sarma? Don’t the Germans have the best… um… potatoes? Or Romanians the best food ever? ;^)
Get over yourself buddy, stop seeing conspiracies everywhere and malice when there’s in fact nothing but a bit of sillyness.

Very well positioned in the international market (industrial powerhouse Germany right next door), virtually no military expenses, international community donating extremely high paying jobs here (UN, ESA, Intl Courts), tax-evasion system that allows e.g. large Spanish and other Intl companies to have a paper-only presence in NL to save on taxes.

To name a few….

Scottish are awful!

England? A war zone,oh shut up you stupid tart. Those stats also claim that more people are raped in Canada than in Africa,do you believe that moron???

Then why are Brits fleeing that dump island like rats?

i love the dutch people!!!!
They are the most fake people i have ever encountered and think about savings and money all the time, even when they sleep…Their openess and directness is just a gimmick because they always seek for financial oppurtunities…
They are also great to work with because they are neurotic control freaks…

Actually according to the latest HSBC survey, the Netherlands is not the worst country to be an expat. Depending on the criteria, even the United States and the United Kingdom do worse. And when you consider raising children it is one of the best countries. http://www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com

i did a lot of typos in that post (sorry – had some biertjes and didnt bother to do the spell check…)

It is unfair to generalize what Dutch people are according to an article about the expats… In every country are those who are friendly and those who are rude and racists… I had both good and bad experiences with Dutch people, but it doesn’t mean that everybody is the same.. Maybe the reason why expats are so expensive, is even more complex than social…

I must admit that I’m shocked, not that much by the article itself but by all reactions underneath. I did take the time to read them all, because it was interesting in some way to read such different opinions, especially the really passionate ones (in the negative sense). I’m a Dutch national that has been living for some periods in other countries in the world. I do understand why some parts of culture are taken up in a bad way by expats. I suppose you do have to get used (however hard) to some parts of dealing which eachother between Dutch people and Dutch people and expats alike. It’s a way, and if you get to understand it a bit, I don’t think it’s as bad as it seemed on first hand. About that rudeness, I can only make a simple comparison and make you decide what you prefer. Outside of the Netherlands I have experienced many times that people are extremely friendly between eachother, treating them as real (old) friends. But when one party turns their back, the attitude changes; the other party talks badly behind their backs, make rude jokes about them, and so on. In the Netherlands you will normally experience easily when someone does not like you. That creates the clear situation in which you know it’s not worth the effort. For that reason one argument I couldn’t agree upon was that Dutch are ‘fake’. Because fake, for me, is the opposite in this case of ‘rude’. I don’t know what I prefer, rude or fake.

I would like to state another difference. The Netherlands is not only Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Hague. I can tell you that in the countryside, for example the nothern provinces, all Dutch people think exactly the same about Holland as many negative reactions here. Holland, for those who didn’t know, is not another name for the Netherlands, but is a region that comprises Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and more, all in the west of the country. I can with certainty tell you that the general mentality is completely different in that part of the country.

By biggest issue with the reactions is the generalization that is on display here, but that might be a consequence of the nature of the article. Ofcourse you can speak in general trends, but mainly your experience is based on personal encounters, which city you were, people you worked with. Reactions that state “all Dutch are terrible persons and the country, that pretends to be anywhere European, should sink below the sea-level” can’t simply be taken seriously. I do with good reason suppose persons stating this are nowhere anywhere better than the people they accuse.

I know the Netherlands as a warm and open society, but definitely, like every country, with its peculiarities. The more you get to understand those, and learning the language might be a prerequisite, the more you will be at ease and comfortable. The Netherlands is very different in some ways but I wouldn’t say for the better of the worse, just different. It depends also a bit on your capacity of blending in and not having the expectation that everything will be easy. Everyone is very welcome in the country, even though recently we have seen problems with racism and an extreme party. This was caused by bad policies and problems, but I can tell you the majority of the country is not racist, extreme, xenophobic or whatever. Ofcourse, 10% of the votes still for this party is shocking, but it’s a phenomenon clearly present in many European countries and it’s actually improving here.

My impression and feeling is that we are open. Answering you in English is meant as a positive attitude. We know that Dutch is hard and not that important as a language for foreigners. In general we are not a nationalistic country, only when it comes to soccer and queens’day. I know many foreigners who came here and never wanted to leave again. But there’s a lot of douchebags in every country. I’m afraid that those with extremely negative reactions were unlucky, and/or not free of a piece of guild themselves.

That’s all I can say about it, I do hope you will one day also experience all the good sides of Dutch people and culture. I think it’s a big miss if you didn’t.

Such a rude comments I find here. If your able to say cruel things like: I hope they sink below sea level or ‘I hate Dutch people’ then do you really think your all that amazing your self? I think the people that said stuff like this should take a good look in the mirror before saying bad stuff about Dutch. I gave my opinion about a few of the comments here on my blog.
http://www.mooij.blogspot.com

NIGERIA IS THE BEST FRIENDLY IN THE WORLD……

I am a half Dutch half American who grew up most of my life in The Netherlands (though I have lived in 4 other countries as well). I am blessed to be able to appreciate and take away with me the best of both cultures. I would not trade my childhood in the Netherlands of early independence, bike riding, and relatively liberal culture for anything.

Having said that, I can vouch for the fact that friendliness is definitely not a forte for the Dutch. My American mother (who has lived in The Netherlands for over 15 years now, is married to a former Dutch parliamentarian, speaks the language fluently, and has even adopted many Dutch mannerisms) has struggled for years with feeling like an outsider, no many how many long she remains an active figure in local Dutch life.
While it breaks my heart to see my mother fight so hard to assimilate and get no where, her plight is really relatively mild in the larger spectrum of this phenomena. There is definitely a problem with racism and xenophobia, especially against Turks and Moroccans and other Northern Africans (this ironically grew out of the previously longstanding Dutch attitude of letting immigrants in the 60s maintain their culture without assimilating).
The problem goes beyond just being “private” or not understanding cultural differences. Even I, who speak the language fluently, attended public Dutch schools, played field hockey on Dutch teams and have lived here most of my life am often prejudiced against. For example, I was asked to represent The Netherlands by carrying the flag in an international parade and was the center of much controversy since i was not “pure Dutch enough” to do so – even though I had lived here longer than many of the plaintiffs!

The Netherlands is a wonderful country. I appreciate it more and more the longer I spend time away at college in the USA. However, the inherent and deep rooted xenophobia of the country is indeed a severe problem that I fear will only worsen as people like Geert Wilders exploit the protectionist, in-group mentality that often accompanies economic unsteadiness. I could rave for hours about the aspects of Dutch culture that I love, but I hope that in being frank about these issues might lead to discussion and awareness, and, eventually, change.

How is your German now Laurie?

If you want to learn about Dutch history, read Jonathan Israel’s “Radical Enlightenment”

Dutch enlightenment has thought them to disagree without becoming violent or taking things too personal. Actually even during revolutionary periods very few people were killed. You will indeed become a reject here if you think violence underscores your civilized manners.

Professor, with this comment you are making people angrier instead of helping on understanding the dutch. It doesn’t help, on the contrary, makes a point to the bad opinions expressed here. I think you as a professional, should give an example.

Since the 17nth century a sizable portion of the Amsterdam population, often the majority, has not been born there. What makes you think anybody belongs there. Just be yourself, and you’ll do OK.

I find it hilarious how some Dutch people ( not all ) get on here and show their righteous indignation that the rest of the world does not bow down to them. I guess the famous Dutch “honesty” and “straight forwardness” that they are so proud of does not apply to those nasty foreigners. Only white Dutch are allowed to be a$$holes. Everyone else better watch your step. It is heartening to see that quite a few Dutch who are getting on this thread are objective enough to see that their little country has a serious if not secretive problem. Sorry to say my Dutch people but the world community has considered you and found you wanting. On the bright side Jesus loves you but everyone else hates your guts. Ik wens jou ‘n prettig dag

‘there are friendly people here’ = this mean the expats.

some dutch are not so bad.. but as a group they are fully awfull… this without saying that the few nice ones always have a DARK side like being dishonest to defend themselves or trying to show you they all know better.. some people from limburg can be sweet but they are just money driven..
i am sorry but there is alsways something,,, is never nice and normal when socializing with dutchs

YES! you makea dutch friend then he invites you for lunch: you bring a nice bottle of wine and the dutch will serve you with 2 slices of bread and a slice of cheese and with a smile will ask you: cofee or tea?

they are rude everywhere don’t worry..

this sounds so dutch already man… every one is complaining becuase people on here think the way you reacted now!

ahahahahahah

hahahahaahahahahahahahahaahah

hahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahaha

you’r funny

sounds like ALL the expats are very unlucky when arriving in holland… just so DUTCH for God sake: is never their fault

That must be hard for you. After all only Brits are allowed to criticize other countries.

Hint: read the comments by your fellow countrymen on sites like DailyMail. Especially articles about immigration.

Add incompetent to unsympathetic! The only competent people I have encountered here are the engineers!

Yes we could all see that last year during the riots [2]

Me and my apprentice Darth Vader are not please with Dutch people, who are cramping our style. You are not truly masters of the darkside of the force.

Some expats should just be grateful that they have highly paid jobs over here. I know some engineers who were sacked for negligence in the UK who now work over here on high salaries and accountants who have been prosecuted for fraud, again earning a vast amount over here, The only problem in Holland is the reliance upon job agencies to recruit staff. They are incapable of selecting the right candidates and never check up an individual’s background properly.

There’s some truth to this. I’m dutch (not proud nor ashamed). my school friends got married and we lost contact. i find it hard to make real friends now (i’m end of my 20s). and i know this is true for a lot of dutch people, contact is superficial.

Dutch people typically make friends during the school and uni time period. Then get married or find a gf and at that point there’s no need anymore to get to know other people or get involved with any activities with others. Except with other couples they knew from before. But it all waters down as they age some more, eventually meeting only on birthdays.

I do think the shitty weather does have an influence in general. In warmer climates the people are more social, because it invites people to have an outdoor lifestyle, which in turn creates communities. Doing things together creates friendship/communities and at large makes the place more liveable. The weather can be shit everywhere, but when the climate is shit it does have an impact on everything. Same goes for landscapes, which Netherlands also does not have going for it, unless you enjoy boring flat grass fields with cows on it.

A place in crisis also creates communities, like the Sandy hurricane now in America. People will have to work together to build the place back up. It also gives some perspective. Netherlands has no hurricanes, no poverty, no war, no dangerous animals, no anything that requires people to think like a team. The financial ‘crisis’ just pisses everyone off because the only solution is paying more instead of working together on something.

About immigrants being ripped off here. Heh. Trust me, Dutch people feel the same way.

Sorry for the people who came here and found it shit. Idk i guess for me it’s a motivation to leave NL and see more of the world. I lived overseas before and enjoyed it a lot.

But it’s impossible to judge millions of people like some here do though. And if something as trivial as people not walking to the back of a tram actually bothers you… then you sort of prove what i’m saying, Netherlands has no real problems so perspective is lost and you get a whining and irritated society.

The Dutch are great at gaming the system and skimming money. Did you know that Ikea is a nonprofit with its headquarters in NL. All the Ikea family of companies roll up to a nonprofit holding company which is located above the Leiden train station in a small office. You would never know its there, its a letterbox operation. To be more specific INGKA Holding B.V. is wholly owned by Stichting INGKA Foundation a nonprofit in Leiden.

Interesting article and interesting comments. I’ve read a lot of the comments and I can’t help but laugh. It’s funny how passionate some people are with regards to the dutch and everything they perceived as rude. I’ve worked for an international company over the last couple of years and have experienced the frustration expats can feel when dealing with the dutch culture and I understand. I do however think that some people take it a bit too far. For example, I dont think there’s many non english speaking countries in the world where you can get away with not speaking the local language but just english. Dutch people might take it a bit too far sometimes and keep speaking english to you when you try to speak dutch…is that rude? they think they are being nice to you because they think its easier for you..also..they like to practise their own language skills.

Pushing you when getting of the tram? cry me a river! You live in a big city anywhere in the world..or even just a city..and this happens. Moaning about the food? No one said Holland is famous for their dutch cuisine…

You coudnt make Dutch friends in holland? Like not even 1 serious friend? I think your better of asking yourself why you failed in this instead of blaming it on to the people. Because it basically means you failed to adapt to a culture.

I just came back from living in Belgium for 1,5 years and I felt strongly annoyed by lots of things, didnt mean i coudnt make a few Belgian friends that I really appreciate. Would I want to live in Belgium again? No….but I’m not so ignorant that I now think all belgians are backstabbers.

Ooh and please..to comment that the whole of holland is racist must be a joke. To then try and back it up by talking about ‘zwarte piet’ (which you didnt even know how to spell, how ignorant?) is even more hilarious, and to then comment we added a anti muslim party to our goverment is even more of a joke. Study a bit better the next time you state ‘facts’ if you dont understand how our parlement works then please dont even try to join the conversation. The Pvv wasnt a part of the goverment but ‘gedoogd’ but i guess you dont understand

As a born and raised dutchie I can highly recommend a small book by Hans Kaldenbach titled `Act Normal – 99 Tips for dealing with the Dutch`. It´ll probably make you understand why we do some of the peculiar things we do. If you don´t want to spend any money on a book ( a good start in becoming one of us ) , there´s also a site with a summary of all the items discussed in the book, just with less background information. Just google for the title without the ´act normal´ part to find the list. But beware some items aren´t really relevant anymore and there´s a big mistake in 29. Coffee means you´re very welcome! Most of the things I read below are just misunderstandings and can be avoided if you´re prepared. I can assure you the majority of us don´t have bad intentions. To keep everything running smoothly in a very densely populated country we just need a lot of social ´rules´, many of which are unwritten. If you´re willing to follow these you´ll have a great time here.

Then why are there still Golliwogg dolls for sale in stinking colonial Britain? And why did the Brits made such a mess of Palestina/Israel? Imagine all the lives that could have been saved hadn’t Britain been such an evil colonial power,

You are right. We too were an evil colonial power, owning India before you and causing a major famine. Then there is our conduct in Indonesia to consider. I suppose grown men blacking themselves up could be seen as racist, now that you mention it. Also, I shouldn’t go on about Israel and Palestine as if it was caused by anybody in modern Britain. I also need to really sit down and ask myself why I go by the name of a prolific pedophile. Am I trying to suggest that there has never been anything like that happened in Holland, when only recently a man was jailed for 19 years in Amsterdam for abusing babies in his care? Time to rethink my life I think.

My goodness, this thread is a troll’s paradise! I am English but get on very well with my Dutch neighbours so none of this makes any sense to me.

What has Srebenica got to do with this? (mentioned by Doododo).

And yes it is an old article. This is the latest expat survey
http://www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com

The rest of your ramblings are the usual British bragging the rest of the world is of used of you obese filthy chavs.

People who gain indepence only to stop paying taxes, who legalized receiving stolen goods (asking pirates to hit British ships), who got rich trading slaves; a country that produces nothing rather than bad service but sells everything; a language that imported please from French (s.v.p.) and “sory” from English because the concepts were missing (semiotically, speaking is thinking!); a place were hygiene is an option and food is only cold; a land under sea level and with no natural barriers; a place where “no” is considered an answer but there is no limit for asking (or demanding?); the only place on eart were immigrants (not expats) can be more mean and racist than local assholes. Somewhere and something like that it’s and should be simply a reminder that life is beautiful and those cheap filthy rude barbarians (from Amsterdam to Zwolle) only deserve to drawn under the cold sea waters.

dutchies are so rude and touchy, they delete comments on this post coz they can’t handle the truth in their faces!

Something just to strength the point here
http://www.dutchdailynews.com/unfriendly-country-expats/

so you are not in denial dude… you are not entirely dutchie.. aren’t you?! At least grandma was Indonisian..! Like Jerk’s Wildeers one.
ps: by the way why always grandma and never grandpa..?
ah yeah because of the raping habit.. ya hooor

I think you all are being to hard on the Dutch and need to dial down your expectations. You have to remember that they are the children and grandchildren of the same people who thought it was a good idea to murder millions of innocent people 70 years ago and IMHO it is not possible to go from oppressive colonial over lords who built an empire on drug trafficking, gun running and slave trading to clog wearing bicycle riding happy people in a single generation. Seriously you need to give them a fair chance.

My experience says Sweden is the unfriendliest!!

I have lived in the Netherlands for 14 years and I can honestly say I have found that Dutch are the most friendly and welcoming people that I have met.Yes they can be blunt and a bit lacking in tact. But , who’s perfect !

My goodness! You are using my old trolling name! I suppose you used to be Holgol? (How you laughed at the London riots…I suppose you cried at Project X?).

Btw – the Dutch are also becoming obese. I am sure you can search for the articles. As for chavs, close your silly coffee shops and stop exploiting women and those gross people will find another hovel to fly to on easyjet. Thanks for the link to the latest expat survey. I will let you know when I give a fuck.

No stupid drunk Brits keep coming. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9750437/Rowdy-passengers-on-Amsterdam-flight-arrested.html

In defence of the NL, the expat community is great.

and the aussies r the most racist pple u could ever meet! jus look at the canola race riots back in 2005!!

If you like butt ugly sluts. Drunk hooligans. People fighting on the streets. Then yeah, Britain rocks.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255587/New-Years-Eve-2012-Shameful-scenes-booze-fuelled-chaos-cities-Britain.html

Can’t say I’m surprised… After spending 3 years in the Netherlands, I honestly HATE anything remotely Dutch, from Tulips to Gouda. I’m not proud of it, just telling the truth. The healthcare system nearly destroyed me (and it’s *not* a political statement, as I’ve received good medical care in the US, France, Indonesia and misc other places). Systemic greed, incompetence, endless meetings with no action, racism against all foreigners, rudeness, regular insulting comments (where the speaker doesn’t even notice insulting you/your country/your values), being blamed any time you raise a legitimate grievance, bigots who pretend not to speak English (because foreigners MUST speak Dutch), arrogance, lack of compassion, extreme conformism, avoiding any social conflict etc I have a very long list. I had *never* hated an entire country before, but should the NL sink tomorrow, I’d be incapable of feeling ANY compassion (except for the foreigners). The rational part in me realizes there must be some decent Dutch people somewhere, but I can’t say I’ve met any during those 3 yrs (just a few superficially polite and distant ones), and at this point my level of hatred for the Netherlands is such that I truly don’t care.
Moreover, most foreigners who’ve lived there express similar feelings (and I’m not talking about the usual “food-and-trivial-local-things-bashing” that any expat group occasionally engages in while abroad, but true full-blown hatred). Odd. I also can’t fancy why those who’ve never lived in the NL generally perceive the Dutch as “tolerant” or even “efficient” (not to mention “liberal”).
Personally, I’ll avoid that country at all cost and very deliberately boycott any Dutch product and company bc I refuse to sponsor a country which has treated me – and many others – so deplorably for so long!

Add greedy to unsympathetic and incompetent. After 2 yrs of me insisting that my spouse – who has a chronic condition- be switched to a specific medication he was known to respond well to, the specialist finally agreed. Why so long? The medication was 8 euros more per month… We had to agree to pay the bloody 8 euros out of pocket (which we’d have agreed to on day 1)…

Your little speech about “living the same way, learning the language’ would convince only those who haven’t lived in the NL (and uses the common Dutch trick of “blaming the messenger”). I’ve lived in several countries on 3 continents, and always believed that little speech of yours… until the NL.
Reread the title of the article, and explain why the NL ranks so low. Are you seriously going to claim that the foreigners who live in Holland are simply “intrinsically worse” than the foreigners living in the UK, Spain or Malaysia?

Again, a typical Dutch reply: blame the messenger (or anybody but yourself)…and manage to totally insult a bunch of ppl without even noticing it (here, the French are arrogant, the Moroccan and Tunisian are – at best – awful pizzaiolos, even though the topic has *nothing* to do with the French, Moroccans or Tunisians.

Reread title, try to think:
“Netherlands rated most unfriendly country for Expats”

Seriously, you’re going to argue that the NL just gets “bad expats” compared to the UK, Spain or Malaysia?

Btw it’s not specific to Amsterdam: imo, being an expat in Amsterdam is slightly better than in other areas bc at least there’s a larger community of foreigners and therefore slightly better options (healthcare, education, cultural events etc).
That said, I’d prefer to be an expat in Burma rather than the NL without any hesitation

BS! I seriously doubt you have any serious experience with any other healthcare system. Otherwise it’d be obvious to you that waiting several months to see a specialist is not a sign of quality (and has *nothing* to do with pharmaceutical companies), or that a family doctor who never checks even your vitals is … unbelievably sloppy…
And being forced to give birth at home without an epidural is an acceptable form of delivery… in Sub-Saharan Africa. Heck, even the Dutch Royals seek treatment in the UK because the NL doesn’t treat coma patients older than 25. I’ve never seen an industrialized country outside the NL where doctors systematically advise you to take paracetamol (if only bc doctors are aware of the risk).
Pain is ignored mainly bc of Calvinism.

Your claim that “Americans are pumping people full of pills” is also way off: it would depend on the doctor, which – unlike the NL – you’re free to choose. The main problem with US healthcare is obviously not its quality, but its cost and the number of uninsured ppl.
But best of luck to your liver: paracetamol + booze do wonders…

Why? Because the truth is unpleasant to hear?

Yes, your own comment is perfectly condescending and also a very good illustration of what is so disliked about the Dutch. Of course you fail to see it.
And logic isn’t your forte: blaming the expats because
“Netherlands rated most unfriendly country for Expats” makes no sense.
And trying to invalidate the article or the comments based on the obvious fact that “people haven’t lived in all places” is beyond ridiculous.

If a group of people dislikes a specific car model, can I just ignore the data based on the fact that “nobody has driven all the cars on the market”?

As for the nauseating “why not try their luck elsewhere”, and the insipid “keep smiling”, they’re self-explanatory for any foreigner stuck in the NL.

Done that, in a few countries incl South-East Asia, where even if you learn the language, you’ll clearly be standing out as a foreigner. Had a wonderful time in each and every country, until I reached the NL.

If you’d read the comments more carefully instead of lecturing ppl about integration and blaming “expat-bubbles”, you’d realize that several ppl have reached a similar conclusion.

The fact is that the Netherlands is not rated most unfriendly:
http://www.expatexplorer.hsbc.com/#/countries

I am glad you left. The Netherlands changed for the better the moment you crossed the border.

Yes, the NL ranks 26 out of 30. Behind eg Singapore, Thailand, HKong, Mexico, Malaysia, China, Spain, Vietnam, Germany, India, Japan, the US, France and even Saudi-Arabia.

Except for SArabia (which I have never visited), I’d pick ANY of those countries over the NL in a New-York minute, esp since they ALL offer better healthcare facilities than the NL which – I grant you- isn’t saying much given that the Dutch medical oath seems to be “First do nothing, then discuss it endlessly, then pass the buck”.

But congrats to the NL for ranking better than Kuwait!

I am British (Scottish actually, and yes we’re pretty tight before anyone says) and I’ve lived here for five years and they have been the worst five years of my life. The Dutch are stupid, lazy, arrogant, boring, bureaucratic, xenophobic racists with no common sense, no culture, no good food and no common sense.

As has been written before, the mantra of this country is ‘it cannot be done.’ Want to change your phone provider? It can’t be done. Want to change your gas company? It can’t be done. Want to do anything? Sorry – it can’t be done. I would however like to add another mantra – ‘you have to pay.’ That is one thing the Dutch are very good at – extracting every last damn penny out of you. From their oppressive taxes to having to call a 10ct/min number for anything, to the surprise charges on almost every contract, to ticket inspectors fining you 45EUR for using the wrong ticket at 2 minutes to 9, the price of fuel, the price of road tax, the price of parking, the price of their really bad food.

And let’s take a look at the average Dutch person; unfriendly, cold, impossible to be friends with, judgemental, rude. In five years here I haven’t made a single Dutch friend – all of mine are foreigners, and they all share my opinions. It apparently counts for nothing to these creatures that I pay into the system six times what one of them does, on average. Do you think that stood me in good stead when I was made redundant? Of course not.

Dutch incompetence has cost me tens of thousands of Euros; problems with my income tax, problems with the mortgage on my house, problems with city tax, problems with just about anything you could name.

Don’t get me started about the Dutch working culture. I am plagued by competence-related problems of my (Dutch) staff. Don’t think about actually holding any of them to the conditions of their employment or they’ll have one of their famous burnouts. A BURN OUT. My secretary had a six-week burn-out followed by a six-week gradual re-integration due to the ‘stress’ I caused her by writing her up for her continued lateness and absences.

I utterly despise this country and everyone in it and I am actively looking to move elsewhere. I’ve lived in Africa, I’ve traveled extensively throughout the entire world, and there is not a worse nation on Earth than the Netherlands.

Who said i liked Australia?

DM is the second biggest “newspaper” in the UK. The Sun being the biggest. Don’t blame the Dutch for the fact that Brits have no taste in newspapers.

I agreed with you…and they aren’t direct (as they claimed to be) they are hyprocrites and fake…

Medical system in NL on of the best in the world???? Bullshitsssss – seems like you never been out of NL (farmerland)

it’s the most unfriendly and the Public Transport (NS) is a piece of crap (dutch technology btw) I wish the germans could take over the Dutch public transport and make it work as should be,,,

I bet your situation is different – Spain is a hell of country –not jobs, no money, no opporunities…e.t.c. Any country to escape will be great for you

they will suck your money out and then push you away when you are totally bankrupt…

at least the Germans wil…

awesome comment – I love Germans – Dutch are a crap of peole

It has nothing to do with the quality of one thing or the other or whether a Dutchman will hold open a door for someone. That is all trivial. The problem is deeper and more sinister. The best way to explain it is with a quote from Teddy Roosevelt.

We should insist that if the immigrant who comes here does in good faith become an American and assimilates himself to us he shall be treated on an exact equality with every one else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed or birth-place or origin.

But this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact an American and nothing but an American. If he tries to keep segregated with men of his own origin and separated from the rest of America, then he isn’t doing his part as an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. . . We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding-house; and we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people.

This means that if someone acts in good faith and tries to assimilate ? Then they are met with open arms and treated fairly. This why so many people choose to be an American.

The Dutch way is quite different and can be summed up in a single quote.

It is not much if it is not Dutch.

It may sound funny and said tongue in cheek but it really means there is no amount of effort on your part that will ever allow yourself to become a real part of Dutch society other than someone who pays taxes and possibly abuse ( in their eyes ) the social welfare system.

You can be a genius, work like a energizer bunny and speak fluent Dutch but if you have a funny last name or accent ? You are worthy of suspicion and contempt and your opportunities for success are severely limited.

This is the reason why the Netherlands in rated so unfriendly towards expats of ALL origins.

And you think that calling ppl “too stupid” will further demonstrate how friendly you are?
Fyi “Unfriendly for expats” is synonymous with “unattractive” in that context. You could say eg that Venice is not “car friendly”. Such a construct obviously has nothing to do with “buddies exchanging jokes with expats (or cars)”. And note that I don’t call you “too stupid” simply bc you might not know something …

If you don’t want replies then don’t post insulting comments, but start a blog.
This news item is about the HSBC survey. It isn’t about other sources. There are 3 parameters in the survey: economy, raising children and experience. Since this news item is about friendliness it makes sense to only look at experience.

I am not interested in converting you. You can have any opinion you want. You made repeated references to the HSBC survey and the title of this news item. In the HSBC survey the Netherlands is not declared the most expat unfriendly country.
As for your opinion, the moment a rude person like you would start to like the Netherlands I would be very worried.

I’m a 36 year old Australian. I’ve lived in Penang (Malaysia), Singapore, Canada, Dubai, London, Afghanistan for 7 months, Timor for 8 months and since 2010 I’ve been living in the Netherlands. I would have to say this this the worst place I have ever had to endure. Every day I am waiting for the company to offer me my next assignment. The sooner the Netherlands is at my back the better. I would have thought the Asian countries or the Middle East would have topped the list… however they were a pleasure compared to here. For me its not the people at all! Its the shopping,stupid red-tape, small cars (where are the V8s- oh taxes that’d right), stupidly expensive fuel, very few cars running on gas, packaged single serving food, the processed food economy, bread that goes stale in a day or 2, flavourless hydro fruit, no lamb shanks / roasts in the supermarkets, Albert Heijn supermarkets, and lastly the worst overall customer service ever (why would you not help your customers if they are the only one in the store). The saving grace is my 30% ruling and the nice Tulips.

Mathijs, Dutch people have to prove now that they’re nice. End of story.

I think it is your mother, the puta, you are smelling.

Thanks for putting yourself down. I don’t need to write much except the fact I didn’t tell drug addicts and homosexuals are not normal. I gave a clear message : Some components of Dutch tolerance are support for drug addicts or liberal rights for homosexuals. However when it comes to non-western immigrants you just see a hostile environment. See the guy you support : Wilders
I am not Muslim and I don’t think you are capable of understanding any decent opinion

Again, the NL ranks 26th out of 30 in the survey *you* provided the link for.
As for being rude, I personally *never* insult anyone online while you seem to find it ok to label me “too stupid” somewhere else in this thread bc I disagree with you…

A lot of self made globetrotters know all better. But only people how still live with their thoughts in their own little world would believe nations are good or bad instead of people.
If you look on the page you see Holland is choosen as
- worst place for expats to live
- number 5 place in the world to live
- best place to do business

Being a Dutch guy who lived more then 10 years in different places ouside holland I dont take any of the surveys serious, nor any comment written below

For a country that travels well. I visited Amsterdam once, what you have got to learn is somethings are cultural. The Dutch are very nice, and they did not have the arrogance of the Germans or English. They are more open and tolerant, but you can only do that so far.

Canada maybe nice, but people do not mix like in Holland.

The problem is that all these things that you mentioned are changeable. They change over the course of time, but the way Dutch people act towards others and behave is much more difficult to change. Southern American countries may be corrupt and have a lot of other problems (inequality etc.) but all that is changing. Just like Europe used to be a shithole in the 19th century, but it has all changed since. But the people’s attitude? They don’t change so easily. Moreover, there are other countries with good health care and all the things you mentioned and where the people are much friendlier.

Let’s be honest, I wouldn’t say the Dutch are the most unfriendly people in the world, however they are without a doubt unfriendly in general.

You want to know why the Dutch are regarded as unfriendly? Just read your own post. Most Dutch are arrogant, showing off with all the stuff your country has, but money can buy you a lot. Good wages, social security, okay education and okay medical institutions (note that I say okay, because compared to some other countries it’s not that ‘excellent’ at all), but it will never buy you class. Politeness and kindness? Sure, they are relatively polite (just relatively, for their politeness isn’t that stupendous at all). Most Dutch don’t even know that it isn’t polite to keep looking at their smartphones while they’re in company of others. Kindness, I won’t even comment on that statement.

I’ve checked experience, however, there are so many criteria that have nothing to do with the people of a country being friendly or not. For instance ‘finding an accommodation’, all nice and well, but what does it tell about the people? Nothing. So, I tweaked out all the criteria that had nothing to do with making friend and the results were this, The Netherlands was almost at the bottom. Only Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and India did worse.

The article is not recent, but the topic is more alive than ever..I’m Dutch and my partner is an expat and so are all of the friends..I must say that before we knew each other I never thought about the difficulties that this group of people must face. I can really agree that the Netherlands makes it really difficult for foreigners to ‘for starters..come here, then find a house (not possible, and the prices..ridiculous), to bond with our native inhabitants (a large group of the Dutch society is prejudiced) and if you áre able to do all these things and you would like to stay longer, it will be even more difficult. And then I did not even speak of the tax system and justiciable law problems. People that work here obviously pay taxes ‘on there salary, on the products they consume, on their house..on EVERYTHING’ but when someone that lives here for an longer period of time, comes without a job…nothing! they have to go back to their mother country..and there also: nothing…As you can see I am frustrated by the way that our government influences this and do try to change the vision on this topic due to my involvement in politics.

inshallah yall, let me get this straight. im living in bergen, norway for more than 20 years and i can honestly say, scandinavian people esp. girls are the most distant, haughty folk of europe.

Wow, your ethnicity is showing. Since Portugal is known for its human rights abuse (see Amnesty International), or its abuse to its ex colonies (see Brasil, or North Africa) your comments fall flat. Is Portugal not one of the countries looking for bailouts from the Northern Europeans? Are you not aware how they feel about bailing you out for your own overspending and lack of banking policies? Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Judge not lest you be judged. As for discrimination – the Dutch have let in more foreigners in than Portugal ever has. Its weird that I have been reading about Baruch Spinoza – his family had to leave the intolerance in Portugal to thrive in the Netherlands.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza

I am a Brit, who had lived in France for five years and I am now going to spend a year in the Netherlands. I keep finding all this negative stuff about the Dutch, and it surprises me because I worked in tourism for 20 years and the dutch were our favourite customers. (We used to say – the way to know a Dutch person from a German is… the Dutch person is smiling.) I have also found the Dutch I meet here in France are very friendly and nice. So, why the total lack of charm when they are at home?

What a rude and sneering comment. Didn’t you have anything real to say?

Wow surprised by the comments! I’m a Dutch National so I don’t know much about how expats are treated in the Netherlands but I definitely didn’t expect this! I spent quite some time abroad (India, USA, SA) and never felt unwelcome most be awful to feel unappreciated/unwelcome. Many expats below clearly indicate to feel The Dutch are everything but hospitable! To them first of all my apologies and some hope for the future as I believe it will get better as I hear nothing but positive feedback from fellow- (international) students. Maybe it has something to do with the generation, I honestly can’t think of anything else…. Also The Netherlands heavily depends on the trade with other (EU) countries, which has been the case for ages, so it’s so weird we don’t treat them like they should be treated e.g. with respect and be welcomed with open arms!

Thank you! I wonder if the Dutch don’t allow their rude, obnoxious citizens to leave the country – because all the Dutch I have met in the UK and France have been really lovely people. For anyone who defends the right to be sneering, cold, hurtful and unfriendly (thinking it is “honesty”) they should know that a little charm and warmth make the world go around. The time to be “honest” is in business and politics, not just to indulge yourself by making unnecessary personal comments. If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing. There is no point in speaking lots of languages if you only use that to be nasty; and people won’t bother to learn your language if you sneer at their efforts. As the saying goes “kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can read”.

Don’t forget that it were the Portuguese who started the transatlantic slave trade.

you’re just an assimilator. A Dutch person’s asslicker most likely.

The Dutch Government was a colonial power. You and your people are nothing, and have done nothing whatsoever.

Lol,the English and the Germans are so openly critical of themselves,that you would have been to be such a horrid person to get on their nerves!

Don’t blame the Dutch that the British are cheap.

Right, everything here in Holland is ‘by appointment only. Try that with a Latin friend or family member!

Ahah funny that you from Netherlands, one of the very good colonists of the world (Indonesia, Dutch Antilles, Suriname etc.) blames another country for colonial acts )

When it comes to bail outs, we all know that you cannot get a penny from a Dutch if he doesn’t believe that he will benefit from it in the end himself )

No, the National slogan is : Eendracht maakt macht, “Unity makes strength”. Really

No he meant no culture has the monopoly to define what is rude and what is not rude.

Rotterdam is like the Bronx if the Netherlands and he is generalizing all of the netherlands on the experiences he ha’d there .

That is the most stupid think i ever heard, “it ain’t much if it ain’t dutch” is joke we make about things for example a music track that is made by someone with a dutch nationality. For example my favorite music producer is someone with the dutch nationality (not native ) but still we say it ain’t much if it ain’t dutch (And this is real). Someone who talks dutch and behaves dutch is being treated as a dutch.. You are just trolling.

This is about clothing that covers your whole face like niqab.

You don’t what?

What’s wrong with appointments? I LIKE to know what I am doing with my day. And people who insult me by being late or not arriving are awful. I have lived in the south of France for years, and their ideas about timekeeping drive me mad. They have a saying “c’est ne pas grave!” = it’s not important. But they are only relaxed when it is YOUR time they are wasting. If anything goes wrong with THEIR day they become hysterical.

Of course you don’t, Sweetheart.

Of course you don’t, Sweetheart.

Of course you don’t, sweetheart!

One of the best medical systems in the world, eh?

Why on Earth would such a great system give Paracetamol for child labour pains, or a broken back (as has happened to friends I know here)?

typical dutch response….blame the individual for “ethnic flaws”

obviously you like it so much that you stayed there for more than 20 years.