American Expat Living in Utrecht The Netherlands for 10+ Years (2020)

American Expat Living in Utrecht The Netherlands for 10+ Years (2020) | Expats Everywhere

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Күн бұрын

Darla is an American expat living in Utrecht in The Netherlands. She talks to Josh from Expats Everywhere about what it's like living and working there. She is a professional nanny that has been there for several years and she discusses the city by comparing it to Amsterdam, speaking Dutch, dating, the weather, how to get to know other expats, riding your bike, traveling, and more.
Intro 0:00
0:16 Are there any other countries outside of the US that you've worked in?
0:30 What is it like living in Utrecht?
1:54 How did the Expats Utrecht Facebook group start? What's it like see all that growth?
3:48 What is like working in Utrecht as an expat? Job market, working culture, etc,
6:58 What's the minimum salary to have a decent standard of living?
7:45 How much are start-up costs? How much do you recommend someone to bring?
8:57 How should someone pack? What the weather like?
10:38 Is it safe there? Do you feel safe on a personal level?
11:57 How do you meet people? What do you do for them?
14:47 What can someone expect if they join Expats Utrecht?
16:56 Is Utrecht a good travel hub?
18:31 What are the pros and cons of living in Utrecht?
22:08 How can people get in touch with you?
Get in touch with Darla and other expats in Utrecht:
Facebook: groups/expat...
The Utrecht Hub on Meetup: meetu.ps/c/d8Zl/1k1GL/d
KZfaq: / @theutrechthub
Want to see a breakdown of moving to, living in, and working in Utrecht? Watch this video here: • Living in UTRECHT: How...
Assault in Utrecht, The Netherlands article referenced in the video:
dutchreview.com/news/women-ur...
Questions? E-mail us at ExpatsEverywhere@gmail.com
Want more? Go to www.expatseverywhere.com
Follow us on Facebook: / expatseverywhere
Follow us on Instagram: / expatseverywhere
Follow us on Twitter: / expert_expat
#ExpatsEverywhere
Are you an expat and want to do an interview? Email us at ExpatsEverywhere@gmail.com!
Thanks for your awesome pics on this video and our other Utrecht video!
Image by Markéta Machová from Pixabay
Photo by jennieramida on Unsplash
Image by Nikodi from Pixabay
Image by Nara Labbocchi from Pixabay
Image by tookapic from Pixabay
Image by Niek Verlaan from Pixabay
Image by larissa van de hoef from Pixabay
Image by manasmanohar from Pixabay
Image by Markéta Machová from Pixabay
Image by tookapic from Pixabay
Image by ddzphoto from Pixabay
Image by Markéta Machová from Pixabay
Image by Niek Verlaan from Pixabay
Image by pietberkers from Pixabay
Photo by Margot Polinder on Unsplash
Image by Markéta Machová from Pixabay
Image by DavidLeeSWM from Pixabay
Image by larissa van de hoef from Pixabay
Photo by Koen van Engelen on Unsplash
Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash
Photo by Martin Woortman on Unsplash
Photo by Sander Jeurissen on Unsplash
Photo by Jonne Mäkikyrö on Unsplash
Photo by Margot Polinder on Unsplash
Photo by sebastiaan stam on Unsplash
Image by Niek Verlaan from Pixabay
Photo by Alex on Unsplash
Image by Niek Verlaan from Pixabay
Image by Eveline de Bruin from Pixabay
Image by Werner Redlich from Pixabay
Photo by Reginar on Unsplash
Photo by Bence Balla-Schottner on Unsplash

Пікірлер: 86

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

Are you thinking about moving to the Netherlands? If so, when are you moving there?

@tomhermens7698 2 жыл бұрын

Not yet but if and when, utrecht binnen de singels. Fantastic town. Full of history

@psjasker 3 жыл бұрын

It is refreshing to see a video that is drama free, cuts right to the chase and is dense with information. Nice work and a very useful interview.

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Paul. Darla has been putting in the work to expand her network and knowledge of the Netherlands and we're glad that came out in the interview.

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

Wonderful to know that Darla has been in Utrecht for 12 years. Lovely video.

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Yasin. She definitely has a ton of experience being there so long and that expat facebook group is a huge resource.

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

@@ExpatsEverywhere Very nice to know that.

@GokhanElgun 3 жыл бұрын

Can't wait to be there at the end of April 🙃

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

Good stuff!

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

D Netherlands is such a wonderful country. Would love to visit Amsterdam one day, better still, working n living there. Thanks for this video.

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Yasin. Beyond Amsterdam, would you like to live in any of the other cities?

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

@@ExpatsEverywhere Besides d cities in Netherlands, d cities in UK, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Austria n Germany, not in any particular order.

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

@@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands Thank you very much. 😁🇲🇾😁

@falcotol9299 3 жыл бұрын

Speaking the language of the country one lives in is simply a matter of politeness and respect. For some reason that doesn´t seem to be clear to Americans.

@agochic 3 жыл бұрын

While this is true Americans are used to migrants who do not speak the language in the U.S. perhaps the people you speak of are trying to learn? I can’t speak for every American but I do agree with your thoughts on this, perhaps they’ll learn by integration and by others not accommodating them with transitioning to English.

@tomhermens7698 2 жыл бұрын

As a dutchman, holland speaks English. Walk on the damrak in Amsterdam and ask the way to anyone in Dutch. The answer you get is in english

@jurgenvoogt1638 Ай бұрын

@@tomhermens7698Inderdaad. Waar is de tijd gebleven?

@ApPot 2 жыл бұрын

Welcome in Utrecht

@camellabailey5548 3 жыл бұрын

I love Utrecht, I did Summer School there at the university.xxx

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

👏👏👏

@rajariaz5928 9 ай бұрын

❤ Utrecht

@nadi737 2 жыл бұрын

Baking soda is in almost every supermarket.. :') Big packages and small. The big one is €1,40

@mariadebake5483 3 жыл бұрын

As for healthcare: the US is used to have the best of the best???? And all those people who haven't the means to pay for it and are going without??? Je bent gek!!!

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

We think the general confusion is that the US ranks #1 on many lists for the best doctors in the world and people confuse that with the "healthcare" overall or "healthcare" system where the US often ranks inside the top 20 in the world. We don't think Darla is crazy. 😜 It's just a phrasing thing. Thanks for watching and commenting. Take care, Maria.

@Harrypjotter7 2 жыл бұрын

America is the problem of capitalism, a patient in my hospital paid so much money for medicines in New York that here a not even 1 euro.

@Brian-vk1hm Жыл бұрын

@@Harrypjotter7 Yeah and socialists tax the hell out of you for it. You pay for it one way or another.

@tomhermens7698 2 жыл бұрын

The centre is pretty. Outside and around utrecht are the businesses. Cool but nice people one warms to. The word is "nuchter".

@ExpatsEverywhere 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing.

@GerbenDub 3 жыл бұрын

Honey, baking soda is called backing soda and sold in all shops...

@KajiRider1997 2 жыл бұрын

We have the same orange packs they got in America...

@tomhermens7698 2 жыл бұрын

Backing soda is half english/Dutch. Bak soda or soda voor bakken or baking soda. Ask.

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

Good to know that one can survive decently on annual income of €30,000 in cities in d Netherlands.

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

Would u know d best ways to get info on Muslim or Halal food in European cities. It's quite easy to get Halal food items in UK from d few online stores, d restaurants n open markets.

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

Great question! In the past 10 years, there has been a large muslim migration throughout Europe, which has meant Muslim/Halal food has become much more widely available in all major cities. We don't have a recommended website or anything, but basically when you arrive, you should be able to start taking to people assuming that you're in any of the cities of decent size. You know?

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

@@ExpatsEverywhere Thanks again.

@Paul_C 3 жыл бұрын

So funny, when Americans talk about a travel hub: The whole country is a travel hub, even the nearest large city, Frankfurt in Germany is just about 5 hours away by car.

@mineralisk 2 жыл бұрын

7:23 30,000 is that gross amount?

@PH61a 3 жыл бұрын

FYI: Utrecht has over 360000 inhabitants

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

Correct and the province of Utrecht looks to have around 1.3 million. Does that look right?

@patglennon9671 2 жыл бұрын

And a shite football team😎

@dutchTea 11 ай бұрын

Ah thanks! I'll pack my measuring cups!!! Emigrating from SA to Utrect in January 2024 after new years. What else do I need to bring (SA is very american we have a lot of the same stuff so just say what you cannot get there?)

@tomhermens7698 Ай бұрын

@dutchTea you will have found out by now. Abundance in cheese at very reasonable prices per kilo -not by 50 grs as in the US. Next step ,go for raw herring (rouwe haring) with onions and smoked eel (gerookte paling) ❤️ Two lovely things to eat.

@TTTzzzz 3 жыл бұрын

It took me 30 years to become kind of Dutch.

@tomhermens7698 2 жыл бұрын

Peter. Makes you unique. As a dutchman I still haven't worked out why some words are spelt with a "ij" others with "ei" . Weird . Lijders. Leiding????

@TTTzzzz 2 жыл бұрын

@@tomhermens7698 What about 'de' and 'het'! Talen zijn nooit 'logisch'. Behalve Esperanto, maar wie spreekt dat.

@bundasriharyani698 2 жыл бұрын

American expat living the Netherland of coure deffrent culture but future same something most beautiful

@therealdutchidiot 3 жыл бұрын

What strikes me about these people is how even after 10 years they're just not even trying to integrate.

@mariadebake5483 3 жыл бұрын

Yes I agree

@MegaShrinkage 3 жыл бұрын

Maybe it’s part of the human condition? There actually is research on how Dutch migrants to Canada, Australia and New Zealand did after moving there in the 40’s and 50’s. Even after being explicitly told to learn English and try to live among the english speaking natives, integrate as much as possible, many people from this 1st generation still didn’t speak English and huddled together in Dutch communities, had Delfts blauw on the walls, heavy oak furniture and small carpets on the table. It seemed that they were stuck in the decade they left the Netherlands, clinging to what they remembered about home. Very much like the first generation of migrant workers (gastarbeiders) from Turkey and Marocco in the 60’s/70’s in the Netherlands. The point was that maybe people migrating to other countries hang on to their cultural roots as a psychological neccessity to be able to navigate their new environment. What they know basically grounds them psychologically and provides a basis to adjust. So maybe integration is a process covering generations, starting with basic adjustment by the first and sliding into real integration in the following generations? And if so, it may be quite normal not to be fully integrated even after living in the new country for years, meaning that judging or demanding integration is quite meaningless and maybe even counterproductive.

@mariadebake5483 3 жыл бұрын

@@MegaShrinkage In many respects you are right, but for one thing in my opinion. They should absolutely learn dutch. Just as the first dutch immigrants in the countries you mentioned should also have learned English

@MegaShrinkage 3 жыл бұрын

@@mariadebake5483 My comment was trying to explain an apparent fundamental human process when in a new environment, in relation to the comment by Ben van Velzen that "they're just not even trying to integrate". Apart from the fact that it is unclear what definition he uses for 'integrate', the point was to maybe lower the bar a little bit in terms of demands. Of course any sensible person living in a new environment would do well to at least try to learn how to express themselves, as this would make adjusting so much easier. That being said, people differ in learning capabilities and environments differ in 'flexibility'. Many of the migrant workers were illiterate, hired to do unschooled labour in the Netherlands. I think you may understand why learning Dutch may be a tall order for these people. And the fact that almost all Dutch people speak at least some English does not really motivate migrants/expats from English speaking countries to learn this difficult language, because they're already able to express themselves quite well. I think my main point is that simply stating that foreigners are not willing or trying to 'integrate' seems like an oversimplification and may not be a very usefull way of looking at this.

@duartemonteiro7463 3 жыл бұрын

😊💪💪💪😊

@utopistmsoc 3 жыл бұрын

30.000!? Hey Darla, I save money even with minimum wage (21000) so everything is possible.

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

Good job!

@utopistmsoc 3 жыл бұрын

@@ExpatsEverywhere this is something your viewers should know: you can live OK in Utrecht with minimum wage. It is designed that way. Maybe in a shared house, but everything is so beautiful here that you don't care.

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

@@utopistmsoc thank you.

@roel123456 2 жыл бұрын

Health care system in the US best of the best????? Hahahaha…. 😳

@Bramfly 2 жыл бұрын

Funny you still call yourself an expat even though you were/are just an immigrant 😇

@roblindstrom797 2 жыл бұрын

Expat?? Immigrant

@tomhermens7698 2 жыл бұрын

Ex pat is ex patriot like me. Immigrant is someone from outside that has applied to become a Dutch national. All EU people (including illegals) in my book are immigrants

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

D Netherlands is such a wonderful country. Would love to visit Amsterdam one day, better still, working n living there. Thanks for this video.

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

So far, only had one experience working n living abroad, in Mumbai, India for 3 years. Not what expected, as I was aiming to go to one of d wonderful cities in West Europe, perhaps in d near future.

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

It really is! You should. You're welcome! Thanks for all the comments and support.

@ExpatsEverywhere 3 жыл бұрын

What did you do in Mumbai?

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

@@ExpatsEverywhere Thank u again for d wonderful video.

@Yasin_Affandi 3 жыл бұрын

@@ExpatsEverywhere I was attached to MIDA, Malaysian investment development authority. It's a govt agency. MIDA Mumbai was a new centre n I assisted d director setting up d new office. I was d office secretary, handled all d office HR & administration, budget & 3 sets of accounts, secretarial duties, clerical, filing, renewing contracts n agreements etc. I also helped organized 3 trade n investment delegations from Malaysia. 2008 in Bengaluru, 2009 in Chennai n 2010 in Mumbai. Previously I was d executive secretary to d COO/MD of d KLCC Project.