Lisa and I have been talking about the
Netherlands. Then I watched this video by
Not Just Bikes. The bike culture. The way
cities and towns are laid out. Even the
small towns are incredible. This video
changed everything.
📌 Video I’m reacting to: https://youtu.be/ztpcWUqVpIg?si=geOxjESX2QyGo9Z3
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⭐ Start Here → https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVLhZtbnwsnjXGXIHguoeeLApTp0kzTdR
🧳 Expat Life → https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVLhZtbnwsnjhWFmZ0qIaEyZRlp83BO1K
🗺️ Country Spotlights → https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVLhZtbnwsnhKw1dGLfHQAwDDdsttDAFw
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Got a video you want me to react to?
Recommend it here 👇
https://forms.gle/UBGY3eTTAAy4HTRD9
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#Netherlands #MovingToNetherlands #AmericanInEurope
#ExpatLife #NotJustBikes #glewreacts
#DutchLife #Bikeculture #ExpatsInNetherlands
31 Comments
I like The Netherlands but I absolutely ❤ Portugal 🇵🇹
Can't stand Spain, by the way! Lived there for 2 years!!!
Dutch pronunciation is closer to scandanavian pronunciation
We have a lack of affordable homes here. Do not come here. People are waiting over 8 years to find a place here
NO MAGA aloud they will destroy the democracy in here
Only thing Spanish people do not find difficult is the 'G'. And bikes are not allowed during rushhours. And nobody wants to be found dead in Veenendaal . Roadbikes. No need, you cycle everywhere. Tired of that after a while
Your pronunciations are quite good, and don't bother to do the throat killing G, just pretend you're from the south of the country and do the softer version 😎
The results for the Quality of Life Index by City 2026 Mid-Year just came out and Den Haag (The Hague) is the best city to live in. In the top 10 are 5 Dutch cities. 1) Den Haag, 2) Eindhoven, 3) Rotterdam 4) Utrecht, 7) Groningen.
I hope you have a nice holiday in the Netherlands at the end of September, but if I may give you some advice as a resident of the Netherlands: it looks nice, but the Netherlands is also on the verge of all kinds of measures coming from Europe. Again, I understand that it all looks nice, but that looks nice to us too when we see New York, and you know what the harsh reality is, not to mention the flat countries in America. It is nice to watch beautiful videos about the Netherlands on YouTube, but it would be better if you also followed the politics playing out in the Netherlands. If you are an empathetic person, I would stay away from here, because you will have a pain in your heart all day long because you have to see; those are things you don't see in the nice videos on YouTube. I hope that in September you will talk to ordinary people on the street, instead of just seeking out the nice tourist attractions, because that won't give you a picture of the Netherlands. Just as I am of the opinion that I do not want to live in America, you will eventually come to the same conclusion about the Netherlands. Ik ga je volgen want ik ben heel benieuwd hoe je hier uit gaat komen na de vakantie
A decent attempt at the "g" sound!
You know the company DuPont, which was convicted in America in a way few companies are convicted. Did you know that DuPont immediately moved to the Netherlands and, to this day, produces and pollutes in exactly the same way at more than three locations in the Netherlands? Everything that came to light in America regarding the falsification of documents, as well as the state that allowed a lot, is being covered up here to this day. All Dutch people have PVAs and PEFOs in their body DNA. Ik ben 56 en heb de hele verandering in Nederland meegemaakt, net als veel Amerikanen verdrietig zijn over wat er in Amerika gebeurd is 80% van Nederland verdrietig over wat er in Nederland gebeurt. In Amerika worden zelfs de mensen voor de Corona vaccinaties op serieuze manier vervolgd. Mocht je toch besluiten naar Nederland te verhuizen dan zou ik niet alles verbranden in Amerika zodat teruggaan een optie blijft. Ik vind het bijzonder hoeveel mooie dingen je laat zien en je niet verdiept hebt in de niet zulke mooie dingen, nou ja het is in ieder geval een leuk vakantieland 👋🤔🇳🇱
Amsterdam is great, and that is coming from a born 'Hagenees'. However, it is anything but representative of the Netherlands as a whole. In fact, all major cities in the country, especially Amsterdam, have their very own distinct character, for better or worse. Things get even more diverse when it comes to language. Almost every region, city, or tiny village speaks with its own specific accent of the Dutch language.
As mentioned in the comments, the Netherlands can easily go through four different weather patterns in a single day. There are weeks of overcast, gloomy gray skies where the sun is nothing more than a dimly lit smear in those clouds. During winter, the sun only rises around nine in the morning and sets by four in the afternoon, making winter depression a very real issue. After all, the country sits on the same latitude as parts of Alaska and Canada.
Spring and summer can be great, though. The extremely long daylight hours are amazing, with first light breaking around 04:30 in the morning and remaining visible until 23:30 at night. Still, even visitors from Texas who came over to the Netherlands had to seek shelter in an air-conditioned hotel. The heat, and especially the humidity, can be surprisingly brutal. And then the Dutchies, who can complain about absolute everything 🤓.
Look into the DAFT-Visa …
The Netherlands is a compact country. So… when working in one city you could actually live in another. Like you could live in Utrecht and work in Amsterdam. Or live in Haarlem and work in Amsterdam. You could live in Den Haag and work in Utrecht (or Rotterdam, or Amsterdam or wherever). So when moving here remember you can live on once city and work in the other. Distances aren’t big. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht together are the ‘Randstad’. The Randstad is the biggest megalopolis of Europe. But cities like Haarlem, Delft, Eindhoven, Den Bosch are also in the proximity. And other towns and cities. So really you can easily live in one of the cities and work in the other. Travel time is not crazy between your home in one city and your work address in the other city. So have this in mind. Will make choices of where to live easier. (ItzSky lives in Haarlem and works in Amsterdam)
If you're looking for longer biking trips, there is a whole network of cycling routes that can take you pretty much anywhere you choose without too much chance of getting lost. They are all numbered/coded and there is enough signage, including maps at bike path junctions, so can keep track of your route(s). And of course there are apps, which are probably in English too (maybe someone could confirm that?)
And about doing groceries with your bike yes you can have a basket in the front. Or … two bags on the side at the back of your bike … but what I do is I have a backpack for my groceries. I bike with that. And sometimes it doesn’t all fit the backpack and I put it in a large bag and hang it on the bicycle handlebar. And remember in The Netherlands in general you go a few times per week to the nearby supermarket. So you don’t buy groceries for weeks or months.
Hi Greg, @25:28, in the Netherlands, we have a path called "Het Pieterfietspad". This is a 580km (360 miles) cycling route from North to South, or vice versa.
Also, there is a thing called "Veilig Honk" (Safe Base) where some houses and even cafés help with small bike repairs and even provide shelter if needed.
This was originally for students.
Keep the Dutch videos coming 🙂
Dude the housing situation is crazy, wait a few years or better yet go and live near the German boarder and it's pretty sweet there as well.
You can get anywhere in the Netherlands by bike without any problems. And yes, we also cycle just for fun, to get some fresh air, or to get some exercise.
Oh and end of september probably will be grey skies, rain and fresh winds. Be prepared …
I find every country outside the Netherlands stressful. Traffic, crossing the street on foot, shopping. As soon as I'm back in the Netherlands, I feel so much more relaxed. I know that everything is safe and that everything, like supermarkets or anything like that, is just clean. And literally all supermarkets are within walking or cycling distance.
You still have to visa to live in the Neatherlands, Neatherlands is part of the EU and you are a US citizen.
“Vrienden op de fiets” is an organization which has bike tours of couple day or more and you sleep at different location but all are just “vrienden (friends)” who open up their house or property for you.
I have been reading that Trump voters think of moving to Europe. Please don't. We hate him aswell.
Many Dutch people don't consider Amsterdam to be an actual city, more like an adult theme park 😅
Make sure u have a good plan finding a home if you plan to move here. Its not easy.
We have actual bicycle highways between towns and cities
The Netherlands is more organised than Spain but I think Spain has more diversity to offer, in both culture and nature. I'd think again before I would take the move.
Stay away!
Don't. Gentrifiers stay home.
We would welcome you.. every one with a western life style i welcome… importing people from 3rd world countries, that do not want to integrate, add to the society, adopt the western values, and turn our country into the shithole they came from… we have no need for them. No matter what Brussel says! By the way.. Dutch is the easiest language for english speakers to learn.
Please, please, please, watch videos of Dutch people before you make a life changing decision and not the good old American perspective of the rest of the world. Till date, Americans simply cannot comprehend The Netherlands and can only talk about stroopwafels and hagelslag, coffeeshops and red lights in a small, tiny part of The Netherlands that most Dutch avoid to begin with and do not want to be identified with.
The Netherlands has 18.1 million inhabitants and Amsterdam has only 942,000 of them, including 210,000 (22%) that are not Dutch citizens. That is hardly 4% of the country with a completely different culture and attitude, not representative for the rest of The Netherlands. Still, 99% of videos online are about Amsterdam. This is a complete irrational and biased perception and presentation of the country as a whole. The Netherlands is not Amsterdam, in fact far from it.
NJB makes excellent videos which as a Dutch guy I also enjoy watching but it is not that he got it all right or he understands everything Dutch. He is not the authority to judge the original. It maintains to be solely a Canadian perspective and a Canadian perspective only with videos on subjects he selects for his purpose and defends his opinions, stands and message, mostly to his home country. An example of that is that he keeps mentioning Houten over and over again in his plea.