r/Netherlands

While travelling the states, I met a Dutch person and we had a really good conversation. They were quite interesting with some interesting life experiences. They let me know they were Frisian, and we had brief discussion on that and I wish I asked more. One of the things I remember they said was that frisians are quite proud and feel a bit distinct to typical Dutch culture. They also said they can kind of tell if someone is Frisian by their look. They’re often more blonde too.

Are frisians quite distinct within the Netherlands like they say? Can you tell if someone is Frisian? From Google I can see they have their own language too and has some connection to Old English. As a Brit, I had no idea and it’s quite intriguing to say the least. Never knew we had a connection to them other than us being part of the wider Germanic group linguistically.

Kind of embarrassing to post this but, how do people even make friends in their mid-30s male? Like where do you actually go?

Long story short, medical stuff meant I never really got the chance to build a social life, even though I've lived in the Netherlands my whole life. So yeah, kind of starting from zero here.

Moving to Rotterdam next year which I guess is as good a time as any to figure this out. I'm pretty introverted, life is pretty monotonous at the moment, so I'm not exactly meeting people organically.

Anyone dealt with something similar? What worked for you?

Ondernemers die niet staan ingeschreven of onder de KOR vallen, kunnen niet bij ons huren.

Entrepreneurs who are not registered or do not fall under the KOR cannot rent from us.

but...

Ondernemers die niet staan ingeschreven of onder de KOR vallen

Entrepreneurs who are not registered or fall under the KOR

p.s. The second is correct.

I’m currently struggling and looking for honest advice.

I’m in early recovery from substance use, but I’ve relapsed recently and I’m currently still in active use again. On top of that, I started a full-time 40-hour office job about 1 week ago during probation.

I took the job thinking it would help me get structure and stability, but right now I feel extremely overwhelmed. The stress from work + my mental health situation is making things worse, and I’m noticing I’m using substances to cope with the pressure.

I feel stuck between:

• trying to push through the job and stabilize
• or stepping back because my mental health/recovery isn’t stable enough right now and should take an easier job like a greenhouse

I also feel a lot of guilt because it’s a small company and they seemed happy to hire me, but I’m struggling to function properly and I don’t want to make things worse for them or for myself.

I’m not asking for judgment — I’m genuinely trying to figure out what people in recovery would do in this situation.
Did anyone go through something similar with work early in recovery? What helped you decide whether to stay, reduce pressure, or step away?

Any honest advice is appreciated.

25F from Italy

I have the possibility to leave to go to Netherlands and work for Lonza as a Biotech Associate.

Anyone who has worked there has some insights that would like to share?

How is the work/life balance with the shifts, especially the night ones?

I’m a European expat in my late 20s, living in the Netherlands for about two years now. I work in a tech job with a permanent contract and a “fully remote” position, earning around €75–80k with the 30% ruling.

Four years ago, I visited the Netherlands and was struck by its work-life balance, seamless organisation and overall appeal as a place to live. I genuinely wanted to experience life abroad.

However, I no longer feel happy here. I feel depressed, spending weekends at home watching TV or sleeping. Social life is non-existent.

I have a few friends here, but they were already friends back home and are also expats. We’re quite far apart and their lives are busy with their own relationships and commitments, so we don’t see each other very often. With only four or five people to rely on for social interaction, I often find it difficult to connect with them.

I’ve tried meeting up and attending events related to my hobbies, but it never feels right. It’s either the language barrier or the huge cultural difference.

I also can’t enjoy my hobbies the way I did back home. They’re something that really drives and motivates me, and my social circle back home was heavily involved in them. It’s not just the hobby I’m missing, it’s the people who shared it with me.

This situation is taking a mental toll on me.

My job is remotely based, but there’s an office that’s a 130km round trip, about an hour to an hour and a half each way. Most of my team colleagues never attend it, so there’s no point in visiting.

The company is flexible and allows working from abroad temporarily, but I’m looking for a permanent solution to move back home.

From what I understand, there are only two real options:

1. Stay employed in the Netherlands and remain tax resident here, which defeats the purpose of moving back.

2. Move back home and switch to a contractor or freelancer setup, such as setting up a company and invoicing clients.

I’m struggling to find a “middle ground” where I can maintain a Dutch contract and legal address while living full-time in another country. However, I’m not sure if I’m overlooking something.

I enjoy my job and would prefer to keep it but if this isn’t possible I’d likely leave. I’d like to discuss this with management or HR but my main concerns are:

- Does requesting a contractor role and moving abroad raise red flags with HR or management?

- Could this negatively impact my position or lead to termination?

- Has anyone successfully done this with a Dutch company?

- Am I overlooking any legal requirements (e.g. remaining employed while living abroad)?

- What’s the best approach to discussing this with my employer?

I don’t want to jeopardise my situation by simply asking. I’d greatly appreciate any advice or insight you can offer.

I was an year ago to a Vietnamize restaurant in Rotterdam that is made to look like you are in a cave, food was also delicious. I go to lunch around my office in Amsterdam of course not too far from it but I know no really cool looking restaurant, anyone knows of such beautiful ones in Amsterdam or Utrecht? I live in Almere so yeah I wouldn't go too far just to eat :)

Hi,

I was on 1 year sick leave. Everything started a lot of push from manager, and at the end placing myself to pip. I had so bad health effects, even my gp recommended to go on sick leave. The process from company missed many steps such as not referring to doctor and placing werkvermogenspecialists. After 1 month rest, They pushed me to reintegrate. After a month of reintegration, I had medical condition which took me 5 months and end up with a surgery, reintegration stopped. After that, again i was back to work, immediately started pressure again such as giving timelines and all the time critisizing my work. During this time physicologist defined I was traumatized by work and wrote a report about it. I didn’t see doctor from July, only werkvermogenspecialist. Last one was 10 min evaluation via phone; recommended me to reintegrate because i can only heal from my trauma like that. I want a vso but company wants to only pay transatievergoeding. This pretty far to continue my life. In this process I am also not getting better. When I go there I start vomiting due to stress. Basically, I feel worse than begining of sick leave. I will have 1 year evaluation. During all those, I have been threatened for spoor 2 by case manager that I need to look for a job outside. I don’t know why this person involves. What is your recommendation to move forward? How do I react on 1 year evaluation? Should I ask for second opinion?

Hi, I am an ACCA with almost 4 years experience at EY GDS (served US PE clients but management co. audits with minimal fund exposure). Had a career break preparing and completing the ACCA, post which I got a referral for a Senior Auditor in FS in EY Amsterdam. I will have 2 interviews. What kind of questions can i expect and how technical/behaviorial will each interview have. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

I love this IP and I’m trying to see if there’s enough interest to bring The Amazing Digital Circus to a cinema here in the Netherlands.

The idea would be to request a screening in a bioscoop (See the link, bottom sentence), but we’d need enough people willing to send request.

If you’d be interested in watching it in a cinema, please comment or upvote so we can get an idea of the numbers and where in the NL. If there’s enough interest, we could actually make it happen!

Thanks 😊

I want to buy a ticket for today

#rewirefestival #denhaag #Thehague

Hi all,

I came across babylux.nl while looking for baby products and their prices seem quite good.

Just wanted to check, has anyone here ordered from them before?

Are they legit and reliable (delivery, returns, etc.)?

Would really appreciate your experiences 🙏

Hello guys, today I travelled from Eindhoven Centraal to Heerlen with my OV-chipkaart using NS Flex Weekend Vrij. I checked in at the NS gate in Eindhoven and checked out at an NS pole in Heerlen, but the app now shows missing check-in/check-out charges. I'm new to the Netherlands, so I’m not sure if I did something wrong or if this is just a normal delay in the system?