The Expat’s Life in Amsterdam

Starting a new life in any place will have its ups and downs. But how easy is it to start a new life in Amsterdam? Are there special Dutch behaviors to take into account? And how is the main capital, Amsterdam, helping expats to fit in? Two American expats share their story. “The stairs in Amsterdam, oh my gosh!” says 29-year-old Kristen O’ Connell. When she first came to her Amsterdam apartment, it was almost like climbing a ladder. “The stairs were so narrow and steep,” she says. Kristen was also surprised about the ‘elevator absence’ in most buildings. In her home city, Rochester, everything is built on comfort. At that moment, she realized that she had just moved to an old and authentic city. Kristen moved to Amsterdam with her Irish husband in September 2012. What she immediately loved about the city was its biking culture. She says that biking around first petrified her, because it took some time to get comfortable with it. “It’s not a joke. You really have to learn how to move around in the busy traffic.” Now she only sees the advantages. “Biking is good exercise, it’s good for your health and it is so cheap!” she says. In Rochester she only biked occasionally in her spare time. “In Amsterdam the bike is an official mode of transportation. There are special cycle paths and other facilities. Totally not the way I was used to,” says Kristen. Kristen and her husband Stuart this summer during the 'Pluk de Dag Festival' on http://abroadlikekristen.wordpress.com/Emily Vernon, another expat, fell in love with biking. “The feeling of biking around whenever you want and wherever you like. Without a helmet!” she says. The 27-year-old footwear designer moved from Boston, Massachusetts to Amsterdam in August 2011 to face a new work challenge. She values Amsterdam for its openness. The city gives her the feeling that she can be whatever she wants to be. “I could even walk around in a monkey suit and the people on the street won’t judge me,” she says. Emily Vernon on http://103weeks.blogspot.nl/ So is Amsterdam every expat’s dream city? That would be a hasty conclusion. Both expats say that they have their main struggle with the Dutch language. Although most Dutch people speak English, it can be quite unpleasant to constantly hear people on the streets whom you can’t understand. The barrier also poses a challenge in building a relationship within the quite reserved Dutch society. Kristen, who had lived in Ireland, says that Irish and American people are more compatible than the Irish and the Dutch. “Americans will invite people for dinner even if they have met them only once. The Irish share their whole life story with you after one pint. The Dutch are not that easy.” Emily says that she hesitated constantly when she tried to speak in Dutch. She reads Dutch books and watches movies to build up her vocabulary. “But it is not enough to make jokes and just have a laid-back conversation,” she says. Luckily, Emily has recently found a way to improve her Dutch language skills. She joined the project ‘SamenSpreken’, an organization where Dutch volunteers do language training with expats. She says that her self-confidence grows by the minute as the volunteers have the patience to listen and are not surprised if she makes mistakes. The two expats agree that the language barrier is something people always have to cope with if they move to another place. It takes more time and patience, but eventually they have both made new friends. “And, yes, I also have some lovely Dutch friends,” says Kristen. The expats still have to get used to some typical Dutch standards. Emily says she is still not acclimated with the term holiday. In the United States holidays are typically called vacations. In the United States people take vacations not only to travel but largely to relax, and both are done in a relatively short amount of time. In the Netherlands, people take a longer holiday and immerse themselves in a place and culture. “My first real holiday was fantastic! I spent over a week traveling to Budapest and Vienna,” she says. For Kristen, customer service was quite a culture shock. “They just let you wait for twenty minutes if you want to pay the bill in a restaurant,” she says. Further, Kristen thinks that the overall service of the Dutch facilities is not their best point. When she wanted to arrange simple things as getting a health insurance or opening a bank account, she was ignored her and was not offered any advice or help. “But this is also part of the experience,” she says. Kristen and Emily conclude that living in Amsterdam is totally worth it. “There are a lot of possibilities for expats to fit in. Just don’t be afraid to ask,” says Emily. “And don’t wait in your apartment till people come to you. Just go out, enjoy and decide how you want to make your own life,” says Kristen.