Intro
Living in any country can be hard sometimes, even your own. Every place has its own good and bad things. You have to pick and choose. The disadvantages of living in the Netherlands aren’t as many but worth mentioning. The hardest things that I have faced and some I still do, especially coming from the UAE, are as below in this blog.
My top 5 struggles living in the Netherlands
The weather
Opening times
Housing
Taxes
Social life
The weather
The weather is the biggest challenge for me. To be specific, its the winter times that actually find it difficult. I do not mind the cold at all. Most of indoor locations such as offices, supermarkets, gyms have heaters. For outdoors, a good jacket and nice boots, you can sustain the cold temperatures. My main problems are the gloomy 50 shades for gray skies and the absence of the sun and the sunlight. That effect effect my mood in a negative way. The most annoying part is, you head to work when it’s still dark and you get back home when it’s dark. The sun rises at 08:50 and the sunset is 16:30 which will make you feel like you are living to work. Besides that, you automatically feel tired and want to sleep. Our brains are programmed that way, or at least mine is.
You can do nothing about the gloomy weather but you can learn to live with it. You should see the positive in the negative situations. I usually prepare a hot chocolate ( or protein hot chocolate ) and turn on Netflix series. Always have a candle on, it might not replace the absence of the sun, but it’s something . You could also do productive things. by that I mean fixing things around the house, like preparing the terrace for the nice sunny summer. You can also work on self improvement by learning a new skill, or reading a new book. When its sunny and a bit warm, it starts to look like a magical place, everyone is outside enjoying the sun.
Opening times
Opening times of shops, doctors, deliveries, maintenance work, etc…. you name it. Everyone works and leaves at the same time. I find it very inconvenient that I have to take a few hours off work to receive a package. The delivery guys sometimes they leave your package with the neighbor and leave you a note. I had experienced it where I used to live in the city center and they left it somewhere, without a note. I had to knock on over 20 doors to get my package. Find Waldo much? Some take it back to a specific location, and you have to collect it yourself. If you like going to a café after work in one of the beautiful spot, well I have bad news for you. They all shut down early, except very few. Supermarkets tend to stay a bit later, till 22:00, and only in big cities.
Back in UAE, you might consider it crazy but, you fancy shopping at 23:00, a coffee at 00:00, a movie in the cinema at 00:30? No problem, there must be a mall around that is still open. Some supermarkets and pharmacies are open 24/7 and you don’t have to drive across country to get there. Most of the shops are open till midnight, even till 01:00. You might think this is a bit too much, but trust me, it can be handy most of the times. Late opening timings is not a normal thing only in the UAE or the GCC, but in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
Housings
Taxes
Taxes are not a joke in the Netherlands. A lot of counties have the system and it’s no shock to a lot of you, but to me it was. coming from a tax free heaven to a heavily taxed country was a very hard pill to swallow. The higher your salary, the higher the percentage that you have to give away. Income taxes can reach up to 50% ( only for certain incomes ). After I understood the system and the reason behind those numbers, things made sense.
The only thing that I still cannot get my head around is the taxes on the second job. If you decided to take on a side hustle on the weekends, the tax reach around 50% straight away. To me, if someone decided to put himself in that position, it means that they need that and shouldn’t be taxed that high. I am sure if the government ease this rule, a lot of people will misuse it and abuse it. I do not recommend having a part time job, if you already do a full time job of 40 hours. If you want to make more money, you either look into a better paid job or try to drop and minimize your spending.
Social Life
I find it a bit hard to socialize in here. Don’t get me wrong, Dutchies are one of the nicest and social people I have ever met. Everyone has a busy life and it is difficult to meet friends, spontaneously. Believe it or not, Dutchies ( including me now ) have agendas. You can’t be “hey I am around the corner let’s go grab a coffee”. You have to plan it in advance, and it may take months. People here plan and book everything, and I am not used to it fully yet. I remember when I just joined my previous company and asked the colleagues to go grab a coffee after work. One colleague said let me check my agenda, and I laughed thinking he was joking. He was serious. The earliest date was 3 months from now. bro, what if I don’t feel like having a coffee then?
Bonus
This might be a bit funny, but definitely worth mentioning. Paying to use the toilet. Almost everywhere you go, you have to pay to use the restroom, which is annoying at times. In most of malls, bars, train stations, etc.. Often, you have to pay in cash too. And yes, in some places you can also pay via card.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the disadvantages of living in the Netherlands are are things you must consider before moving here. But don’t worry, the advantages outweighs the disadvantages. I am sure you will be able to handle it and make the best out of it in here. If you would like to check what are the advantages, please check my other blog.