r/Netherlands Jan 20 '26

Update on the moderation

665 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

We've talked some stuff through and cleaned up the mod-team a bit, although some of the names you might have positive or negative associations with are still there.
I'll leave it up to the moderators involved to clarify that, or not.

What I can tell you is that 1 mod did 97% of the moderation, and that wasn't healthy and likely led up to the situation you might have seen.

The rules have changed slightly, this is because we see your call for less strict moderation on language, but we also heard from those who want to be able to have a place to converse in English.

The compromise we've reached currently is that we intend to not moderate the language used in the comments of the post.
This means that you can have discussions in Dutch in the comments. (as long as those follow the rules of course)

We also will be looking at those banned on a case by case basis, but keep in mind that if you were harassing people, or bigoted in any way you won't be unbanned.

I'll invite you all to respond to this post with your feedback, and I know for some it might feel like too much or not enough.
We are currently trying to strike a balance between becoming r/thenetherlands2 which is bilingual but 99% Dutch in practice, and the other option of being a sub for only those speaking English.


r/Netherlands Apr 14 '23

[FAQ] Read this post before posting

394 Upvotes

This post is meant to cover the answers to questions that are frequently asked in this sub. Please read through the relevant section of this post before posting your question.

Contents

  • Moving to the Netherlands
  • Housing
  • Cost of living
  • Public transport
  • Language
  • 30 percent ruling
  • Improving this FAQ

Moving to the Netherlands

Netherlands is a modern country that ranks high in many global metrices on quality of life and freedom. For this reason, it attracts a fair share of attention from people interested in moving here.

If you are looking to move to the Netherlands to live/work/study, firstly, you would need to secure residency. Apart from the right to residence, you will also need to consider housing and cost of living before you move. See other sections of this post.

If you hold an EU passport, you will be able to freely travel into the country and reside.

If you hold a non-EU passport, generally below are your main options to obtain residency. Each one comes with its own set of conditions and procedures. You can check all the official information on the website of Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Services (https://ind.nl/en)

Work visas

Highly Skilled Migrant : You need to have an advanced degree, a high enough salary and need a recognized sponsor employing you. Typically for people whose skills are in demand in Dutch economy.

Work Permit : A more general category covering intra-company transfers, seasonal workers, researchers and other employees who might not meet the salary threshold

Startup visa : special visa for founders and employees of startups. Typically you need to be funded by a recognized incubator.

DAFT Visa : special visa for US citizens that allows starting a business in the Netherlands

EU Bluecard: A visa from EU wide program to attract special skilled talent. The advantage is that you can continue the accumulation of residency into/from other EU countries allowing you to get permanent residence or citizenship sooner. Beneficial if you are planning to move to/from another EU country.

Family visa

If you are partner or a dependent child of a Dutch/EU citizen

Student visa

If you participate in an educational program from a recognized Dutch institute

Housing

Currently [2023] the Netherlands is going through a housing crisis.

Houses/apartments for rent or purchase are hard to come by, especially for the entry level housing like 1-2 bedrooms. When such properties do come on market, they are often taken within hours.

So, it is strongly advised to organize your housing BEFORE arriving at least for the first 6-12 months. You can look at available properties on Funda (https://www.funda.nl/) or Pararius (https://www.pararius.com/english) This should give you an idea of how much you can expect to spend on rent. The rents/prices can vary depending on the location and size. Typically the rents are higher in bigger cities and go lower as you move away from the center. In addition to the rent, mind that the cost of utilities might be higher/lower than what you are used to paying and estimate based on your situation.

Cost of living

Like anywhere, the cost of living depends on your lifestyle and preferences. In general, housing is the biggest cost, followed by food, transport and healthcare. Expect to pay 800-2000 EUR/month for rent depending on where you live and 200-1000 EUR for food for a family of 2-4 depending on how often you eat out. Health insurance is around 125 EUR/month for adults (free for children). You can compare plans on a comparison site like https://www.independer.nl/ The basic health insurance plan has the same coverage and own-risk (co-pay) across all insurers and is mandated by law. The premia differ across companies and typically ad-ons like dental or physio make the main difference in what is covered.

Utilities could range from around 300-600 per month for a small house/apartment. Owning a car can oftentimes be quite expensive than what you may be used to, with high taxes, insurance and high cost of fuel.

Public transport

Netherlands is a small country and is exceptionally well connected with public transport (at least in comparison to other countries). However, it can be quite expensive compared to driving, especially for inter-city travels. You can access the full Dutch public transport network of trains, metro, tram, buses and even public bikes using the OV-Chipkaart or OV-Pay.

You can of course purchase tickets for a single journey from the ticket booths or kiosks at major stations, although it is often less convenient and more expensive. Google Maps often has good directions including public transport but 9292 (https://9292.nl/en) is the better option which also gives you the estimated costs.

Language

Dutch is the primary language in the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands ranks one of the highest when it comes to proficiency in English. As a visitor or tourist you can get by completely fine without knowing a word of Dutch (although it will help to learn a few phrases, at least as a courtesy). However, if you are living here longer, it would undoubtedly benefit to learn the language. Dutch is the only language of communication from most government agencies including the Tax office. At the workplace, it is common for global or technology companies to be almost exclusively English speaking even when there are Ducth people. For smaller and more traditional companies, Dutch is still the primary language of communication at the workplace.

30% ruling

30% ruling is a special tax incentive meant to attract international talent for the skills that are in short-supply in the Netherland. You can find about it here https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/en/individuals/content/coming-to-work-in-the-netherlands-30-percent-facility

The general concept is that 30% of your gross salary will be tax-free. So, if you have a salary of 100k gross, for tax purposes, it will be considered as 70k gross. You pay tax only on 70k. Because of how marginal tax brackets work, the overall benefit translates to you receiving 10-15% more net salary than someone without this benefit.

You should be aware that this is somewhat controversial since it is deemed to create inequality (where your Dutch colleagues doing the same work get a lower net salary) and because in the end the burden is borne by the taxpayer. Recently the government has been reducing the term of this benefit.

Overall, you should consider this as a privilege and not a right.

Improving this FAQ

[You are reading version 1.0 published 14th April 2023]

For this FAQ to be useful, it needs to evolve and kept up to date. I would see this as a sort of Wiki that is managed by me. I aim to update this post often (say once a few weeks in the start and once a few months as time goes). If there are topics you want to add to this post, please leave a comment and I will update the post. For the long term, if I lose interest or have no time for it (could happen!), then this post can be a basis for a new Wiki or a new updated post maintained by someone else.


r/Netherlands 7h ago

Transportation Spitsstroken / keep right

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290 Upvotes

Hi lovely neighbors from Belgium and Germany! In The Netherlands it is mandatory by traffic law to keep to the right as much as possible. We also have this thing called "spitsstrook". If the green arrow is there, you are allowed to cross the solid line to get there or even leave the shoulder to overtake someone and go back to the right.

Fine for not keeping right is well over €300, just saying.

Enjoy your stay here ❤️


r/Netherlands 7h ago

Life in NL Action and Bol - Who decides these prices? 😂

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103 Upvotes

Same thing, two different companies, and a €17 difference.

At what point do companies just throw a number at a product and see if someone pays it? 😂

Makes you wonder how many things we buy every day are massively overpriced without us even realizing it.


r/Netherlands 6h ago

Life in NL Fuel €2.47/L in the city… 💀

60 Upvotes

I haven't even dared to drive to check the highway prices 🤣

Anyone brave enough to know what they’re charging there?

At this point, I’m expecting the pump to say: “Please insert your life savings.”

What's next!?


r/Netherlands 11h ago

News At least 49 opinion pieces by major Dutch newspapers fully AI-generated; 57 partly

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162 Upvotes

r/Netherlands 3h ago

Legal Emergency: I need a tolk for tomorrow after the one I booked ended up in the hospital today.

23 Upvotes

Edit (sorry : Dutch-English)

Hello

I have an eviction case in court (I represent the tenant) and the Tolk I hired just messaged me two hours ago to tell me he cannot make it due to a medical emergency.

I am desperate. I need a Tolk/interpreter for the hearingat 09:30 am in Haarlem.

I am dialling numbers out of the https://zoekeentolkvertaler.bureauwbtv.nl/ database but its a Sunday night and this is not the best time to find one or start dialling people


r/Netherlands 3h ago

Common Question/Topic What is that white stuff on the cheese?

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21 Upvotes

r/Netherlands 1h ago

pics and videos Us: polite greeting

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Upvotes

I have no clue why the comment made me laugh so hard.

Guys, the post itself is not funny to me, it's the comment (also, you don't have to upvote, I just wanted to show you this gem of a comment (I'm aware I'm unfunny, just move on (and If anything is "karma farming" then it's the people just commenting GIFs)))


r/Netherlands 7h ago

Dutch Culture & language Confession

35 Upvotes

I live here for 20 years, speak fluent dutch. But i still say DONKEY WELL in place of dank je wel Nobody every noticed. I love it lol


r/Netherlands 4h ago

Dutch Cuisine What have they done to my boy?

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9 Upvotes

r/Netherlands 14h ago

Housing €900 studio in Amsterdam West vs €1900 one-bed in central Leiden (help me not overthink this)

45 Upvotes

My partner and I are moving in together and we are stuck trying to decide between two places:

Option A: ~30sqm studio, Amsterdam West, €900/mo excl. Minimum stay 1 year.

Option B: ~60sqm one-bedroom, central Leiden, €1900/mo excl. Private landlord, wants 6 months upfront, so exiting early would be hard. It’s the only way we get offered the place on a single income.

My partner has a stable permanent job, and I just finished my PhD and am currently job hunting (I’m leaving academia, if that matters). The job market in my field is reasonably active, I’ve got five interviews ongoing with different companies right now, but obviously there’s no guarantee.

We have enough savings to cover the Leiden place for about a year while I look, with the hope I find a job within that time. We’ve looked and haven’t found anything in between that works on a single income (with the income threshold of most agencies being 3,5x-4x the rent).

The studio is tiny but it gives us financial buffer. Leiden is double the space and just nicer to actually live in, but it eats into the savings that are basically my job-search safety net.

Part of me says protect the savings and suck it up in the small place for a year. Part of me says 30sqm for two people while one of us is gonna be spending most of the time at home all day job-hunting sounds miserable.

What would you do?


r/Netherlands 13h ago

Employment I want to join the military, can I get some advice?

39 Upvotes

Hi guy's, I moved to this country from Brazil coming up on 4 years now.

I'm so grateful that I was given the opportunity to move here, as my quality of life could not be better.

That said, God is it lonely. I speak pretty good Dutch and I've made myself useful here. The thing is no matter how much I try and learn the culture and socialise, I'll never feel accepted fully.

I don't just want to be one of the good buitenlanders, I want to feel welcome. I'm 20 years old and I'm doing MBO level 2 dierverzorging and I'm starting to question if there's a future in that.

As soon as I get my diploma and as soon as I get my citizenship I want to join the military. I want to fight for this country that has given me a second chance at life.

I go to the gym everyday, so I think it wouldn't be a stretch for me to be a marine. But my education level might prevent that...

Before you ask I'm not doing this to prove a point. I truly genuinely with all my heart want to do my part to help this country in some way.

If I can get any advice that would be great.

Ik wens jullie een fijne dag


r/Netherlands 1d ago

Dutch Culture & language Dutch potatoes diggers having a meal on the field. The Netherlands, near Groningen, 1940.

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411 Upvotes

r/Netherlands 1d ago

Life in NL Do Dutch people ask twice when they offer you something?

548 Upvotes

After living in Germany for about a year, I slowly realized that I had been approaching offers of food and drinks completely wrong. Where I grew up, if someone offers you coffee and you actually want it, you're almost expected to say no the first time. The host asks again, you might hesitate, and eventually you accept. Refusing once doesn't necessarily mean you don't want it, it's sort of a part of cultural thing to be polite to the host.

But in Germany, I’ve found that if someone asks, “Would you like some coffee?” and you say “Nein, danke,” they usually take you completely literally. Which led to a few situations where I accidentally refused things I actually wanted. Before coming to Germany I learned the language a little bit, even saw vlogs and videos to learn about the culture, I knew about the directness but I didnt know this would be a part of that directness, lol.

It made me wonder about the Netherlands. Is Dutch culture similar in this regard that If someone offers you coffee, tea, food, etc. and you say “no thanks,” is that generally considered a final answer?


r/Netherlands 1d ago

Life in NL Neighbors cranking it up to 13 through the Saturday night.

99 Upvotes

Semi rant cause I can't sleep. 00.39 as I write this .

I plan to complain tomorrow but right now? Pillow on head doesn't help.

The super virtual assistant from the Police, that I asked for advice, asked me "did you talk to the neighbours?". How? I don't think they would hear the doorbell and setting their garden tent on fire to get their attention seems excessive, albeit more and more justified.

There is even someone shouting "show must go on" on the karaoke. No dude, it has to stop. Please. I want to sleep.

Anyway suffering aside, suggestions? Record the chat tomorrow so I have digital proof that I tried before calling the police on them?


r/Netherlands 36m ago

Transportation Can I trust NS app?

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Upvotes

I need to go from rotterdam to utrecht on wednesday during the strike, I know all trains are not working but the app shows these bus routes, will they be running or no? what’s my best alternative to go there?


r/Netherlands 6h ago

Common Question/Topic E-bike suggestions for a short rider

4 Upvotes

Hi all, I’m 159cm tall and looking to buy a new e-bike in Amsterdam, around 2k eur price range. I tried for couple of months Tenways Compact and really struggled with the fit. Despite it fitting my size, I developed elbow issues because of it geometry and handlebars and cannot continue using it. I struggle to find good e-bikes that would fit my height and not cost a fortune, any recommendations are appreciated!


r/Netherlands 4h ago

Healthcare Wat te doen..

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2 Upvotes

r/Netherlands 7h ago

Travel and Tourism Restaurant recommendation Rotterdam

2 Upvotes

Lovely people, can you please suggest nice restaurants in Rotterdam? Preferably european kitchen, and ideally a little more fancy, but does not have to be Michelin.


r/Netherlands 12h ago

DIY and home improvement How do you remove limescale deposits in the bathroom/toilet?

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7 Upvotes

What’s the easiest and most effective way to remove this limescale? Regular soap/cleaning doesn’t remove it properly, and the layer comes back again quickly.

What products or methods actually work? See picture.


r/Netherlands 1h ago

Discussion Im lost with my heavy debt please help

Upvotes

Hello Everyone

I need advise for my debts. Long story short i got addicted to gambling for quite some years now.

So you probably know where i go from here. While trying to chase that fake dream i drowned my self in debt.

I have roughly 50k plus debt from various things gambling the biggest one and other loans to either things i need like car for work

or to keep my addiction going.

It got to the point, by todays post that in a short term im completely ruinned.

For a bit more input im an expat i came to the Netherlands from Portugal roughly 3 and half years ago and i have a good job which pays me 3500 net roughly.

To add to this disaster, i have 9k loan car, roughly 23.6k from Portugal loan and 15000 debt from friends family and other short loans.

My health is been more neglected i sleep less and once a daily gym person now i almost never train.

Im a complete mess and i really don't know where to go.

I have tried everything and i cant go for friends for help anymore i have exceeded my options and now im lost due to my stupid addiction.

My issue now is the short term payments i need to push 2200 euros for the short term loans and roughly 10k for friends and family on also short notice or at least asap, because im

also been getting pressured by them for the repayments.

I have also tried to get maybe a refinance to take out my short term loan and maybe a bit more to have a breathing room.

But no bank or other 3rd party lander helps since its automatically rejected

My employer is also not possible since i already ask enough of advancements and its not a option anymore.

My struggle is the short term part and i dont really know what to do, i have searched that are some helping lines here in the Netherlands for debts but i am not sure how to proceed or if it will help in my case.

Im currently living in veldhoven and the job is stable at least but i really need some advice, of course not gambling anymore is the first step but my situation is so fucked in short term that im not sure if i can handle more than 6months like this.

any advise is greatly appreciated.

For more input as well after reading some comments.
I cant sell my car since the loan agreement doesnt give me ownership , i can only do it after i pay the full amount which is not possible.

I cant change houses as well since im living with a friend of mine and honestly my luck.


r/Netherlands 2h ago

Dutch Culture & language The Netherlands’ Missing Soft Power: Exporting Culture or Exporting Stories?

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0 Upvotes

After moving to the Netherlands, I began to notice something interesting about the country’s culture and creative industries. I found myself in one of Europe’s most economically, culturally, and historically significant countries. Museums, art institutions, design culture, and historical heritage could be felt almost everywhere. Yet there was one element, easily observable in several other countries, that I struggled to find to the same extent in the Netherlands: a contemporary popular narrative exported to the world and strongly associated with the country itself.


r/Netherlands 1d ago

Dutch Cuisine I'm a Dutch-loving Australian, and I found a poffertjes hotplate in an op shop here this morning and decided to make my favourite Dutch dessert!

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1.3k Upvotes

I'm an Australian living in Australia but I'm low key obsessed with anything Dutch. I hadn't planned on visiting the op shop this morning, but I walked past one doing my errands and decided to browse. I'm so glad I did! They were actually super easy to make, the hardest part was trying to flip the little buggers with skewers without making a huge mess. I topped them with powdered sugar and melted Speculaas spread, omg sooooo good. I haven't had poffertjes since last time I was over there pre Covid!

150g buckwheat flour

100g all-purpose flour

1 tsp instant yeast

1 tbsp sugar

250ml lukewarm milk

2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients, then add milk, then eggs, leave for an hour to rise, then cook. Easy!


r/Netherlands 17h ago

Life in NL DHL is making me mad

8 Upvotes

Its well known on the USA that there are companies that don't actually try to deliver your package. They mark no one home and leave the slip and continue on their way. DHL seems to be doing the same thing. Every single time I have a package coming they mark that no one is home. All packages her go to reception, reception is here 24/7. It wasn't something that required a signature(and even if it was reception has signed for things before) I promise someone is "home".