Making the move to the dam!

[dreama]

So, after numerous visits to the Dam me and the man have decided that it is our spiritual home (as have the masses before us) and we are taking our stoner arses out of England and into the Netherlands.

Of course the fact we smoke means it is a pre-requisite that we would fall in love with the place, however the pure beauty of the 'dam has taken our breath away, and we are now actively doing the groundwork to prepare for a move in summer 11 (at the very latest). Now if there are any expats on the forum who can refer me to any useful sites regarding work/housing that would be great. The man works as a programmer and has found a few possible english speaking jobs which offer a 30% reduction on income tax, and although none are exactly what he wants, he is confident in at least applying. I am looking for something admin-wise, as here I am a qualified NVQ assessor which seems to hold no weight whatsoever over there

Any advice on how to proceed would be great, we are planning on staying for at least five years, and are starting a dutch course in a couple of months at a local college to help (small steps are better than no steps).

Heres to hoping .... x

[hippy_man99]

I moved to the Netherlands about a year ago to go to University so I'd me more than willing to help ya out!...

check out a few of these sites:
http://www.expatica.com
an online expat community with a lot of very good information plus a number of message boards for questions

http://www.justlanded.com/english/Netherlands
Another expat informational website

http://www.werk.nl/portal/page/portal/w ... glish#ID52
All about the work requirements when coming to the Netherlands

http://www.undutchables.nl/
employment recruitment site that specializes in english speaking jobs

Here are a few housing agencies as well... beware that for most places you will have to pay one month's rent as a commission to the agency... Its the usual practice for most of them.... unless you can find a place without the agency... but thats tough...

http://remax-netherlands.com/

http://www.kamernet.nl/nl/ (not a rental agency, but a collection of rooms for rent by normal people.... tough to find but relatively cheap! plus the site is not in English)

hope that helps a bit!
cheers,
hippy

[dreama]

Hippy those links are nice, thanks dude. Will particularly be looking for a job before we go - we live near Southampton to flying over there is pretty easy, providing people want to see us!

Might fire some more direct questions at you in the near future!

Thanks a lot

[hippy_man99]

no worries mate.... ask away i'm always ready to help a potential expat!

[Marco]

Hippy those links are nice, thanks dude. Will particularly be looking for a job before we go - we live near Southampton to flying over there is pretty easy, providing people want to see us!

Might fire some more direct questions at you in the near future!

Thanks a lot

It is going to be tough but not impossible to find a job before you get here. From what you write abot your guy, he is probably eligible for the 30% ruling in most jobs he would be offered....but you have to apply and the result is not guaranteed. BTW. The first 30% of your income is tax-free, it is not a 30% reduction in your tax bill for sure.

I need to be honest, it is very difficult for non-Dutch speakers to find admin jobs. The crisis has hit here just like everyone else and there are more people who speak Dutch in the market. Plus, the Dutch are way more into hiring their own people...despite what you may see on visits, Dutch and Anglo-Saxon cultures are very different. If you live here, life will be good but probably not exactly as you expect it. It can be difficult at times....

As for housing, there is no need to really worry about until 3 months before you come. My recommendation is to avoid the Makelars if you can (real estate agents) as they take from you, one month's rent or more. The best way to find a cheap apartment here is via word of mouth. So when you are closer to the date, let me know and I will ask around.

There is also Craigslist.org, just realize 50% of the ads there are Nigerian scams...you will learn to recognize those since they always offer 'free parking' which is unheard of in Amsterdam.

Monsterboard.nl is how I found my job here...but I was lucky since what I do is pretty specialized and there was only a few jobs I could land here, and I did land one of them...

One word of advice...we all love smoking on ACD but I would be careful for making this your primary reason for moving here. Real life in the Netherlands will be nothing like your tourist visits....

Good luck and feel free to PM me if have other questions.

[Boner]

you will learn to recognize those since they always offer 'free parking' which is unheard of in Amsterdam.

What about Amsterdam Noord it's free to park over there isn't it?

Good luck and feel free to PM me if have other questions.

Or they could just ask here so anyone else who is interested can benefit from any answers you or anyone else may be able to answer.

[Marco]

you will learn to recognize those since they always offer 'free parking' which is unheard of in Amsterdam.

What about Amsterdam Noord it's free to park over there isn't it?

Good luck and feel free to PM me if have other questions.

Or they could just ask here so anyone else who is interested can benefit from any answers you or anyone else may be able to answer.

I meant free parking in your house...impossible with 90% of the apartments. There are other things to that you will notice in the scammer ads, such as air conditioning and stupid low prices.

[dreama]

Thanks Marco thats great advice, especially the language part, I have approx a year to do some home study using a mix of rosetta stone (thanks boner) and a beginniers course starting september.

Can anyone advise if there is an equivalent to NVQ's, work-based learning in which an assessors qualification may be of use? I also have adult learning qualifications. I am pretty sure this will be of no use however. Relying on the geeky powers of the boyfriend seem like the best option

[Marco]

Thanks Marco thats great advice, especially the language part, I have approx a year to do some home study using a mix of rosetta stone (thanks boner) and a beginniers course starting september.

Can anyone advise if there is an equivalent to NVQ's, work-based learning in which an assessors qualification may be of use? I also have adult learning qualifications. I am pretty sure this will be of no use however. Relying on the geeky powers of the boyfriend seem like the best option

explain more what you mean, I don't understand NVQ?

[dreama]

They are National Vocational Qualifications, that you get through work. For example if you work in Admin you will be assessed against criteria of your knowledge and performance and recieve a qualification at the end of it (usually 12 months). They are also used to train apprentices.

http://www.qcda.gov.uk/6640.aspx

Hope this makes some sense!!

[us2]

We are also thinking it's time to make the move, will be interesting to watch this post. Good luck x

So, after numerous visits to the Dam me and the man have decided that it is our spiritual home (as have the masses before us) and we are taking our stoner arses out of England and into the Netherlands.

Of course the fact we smoke means it is a pre-requisite that we would fall in love with the place, however the pure beauty of the 'dam has taken our breath away, and we are now actively doing the groundwork to prepare for a move in summer 11 (at the very latest). Now if there are any expats on the forum who can refer me to any useful sites regarding work/housing that would be great. The man works as a programmer and has found a few possible english speaking jobs which offer a 30% reduction on income tax, and although none are exactly what he wants, he is confident in at least applying. I am looking for something admin-wise, as here I am a qualified NVQ assessor which seems to hold no weight whatsoever over there

Any advice on how to proceed would be great, we are planning on staying for at least five years, and are starting a dutch course in a couple of months at a local college to help (small steps are better than no steps).

Heres to hoping .... x

[titus wong]

I've often thought of emigrating to the land of the lotus eaters myself, but have been held back by prosaic concerns such as how to clothe and feed myself in a country with a stratospheric cost of living. Or if I ever will be able to learn Dutch, a language which frankly is not only arcane but really only useful in a tiny corner of Europe.

I love Amsterdam, or at least I think I do. But does Holland love me, a buitenlander with a penchant for toking? For all their vaunted tolerance, my impression of Nederlanders is that a lot of them are fairly conservative, at least socially, very focused on their careers, and look askance at open drug use. At my most cynical moments, I'm inclined to believe their tolerance is primarily fueled by the hard currency flooding their country from drug tourism (History would call me liar though).

For a glance at the cons of emigrating, I was gratified to find this external thread, if only to provide balance to the argument. So far, for me anyway, the potential costs of moving still outweigh the benefits.

[Marco]

I've often thought of emigrating to the land of the lotus eaters myself, but have been held back by prosaic concerns such as how to clothe and feed myself in a country with a stratospheric cost of living. Or if I ever will be able to learn Dutch, a language which frankly is not only arcane but really only useful in a tiny corner of Europe.

I love Amsterdam, or at least I think I do. But does Holland love me, a buitenlander with a penchant for toking? For all their vaunted tolerance, my impression of Nederlanders is that a lot of them are fairly conservative, at least socially, very focused on their careers, and look askance at open drug use. At my most cynical moments, I'm inclined to believe their tolerance is primarily fueled by the hard currency flooding their country from drug tourism (History would call me liar though).

For a glance at the cons of emigrating, I was gratified to find this external thread, if only to provide balance to the argument. So far, for me anyway, the potential costs of moving still outweigh the benefits.

I am glad you are realistic but PLEASE do not take seriously the cranks and haters who are on Expatica. Those people are some of the most depressive and regressive unhappy people, most in a relationship with a Dutchie that has gone bad.

The one thing consistent with most of the haters on Expatica is they live in small towns. Really, living in Amsterdam is different and I would highly recommend any expat live here. There is a huge community of internationals and the Dutch here are much more open-minded.

[titus wong]

Actually, I take whatever I read wherever I read it with a grain of salt. To be honest, I don't think any information gleaned from a forum such as this one, is any more or less biased than one dedicated to expats living in the Netherlands. To say that Expatica users are largely jilted lovelorn cranks would seem to indicate a definite bias. That's the problem with the internet -- it's like everywhere else. Or to paraphrase Yogi Berra: 'it's so popular no one believes anyone else any more.'

However, I'm not disagreeing with you. I was just looking for cons to balance the pros for moving to Holland. In that regard, I think the thread is still useful. At least it was for me.

[Marco]

Actually, I take whatever I read wherever I read it with a grain of salt. To be honest, I don't think any information gleaned from a forum such as this one, is any more or less biased than one dedicated to expats living in the Netherlands. To say that Expatica users are largely jilted lovelorn cranks would seem to indicate a definite bias. That's the problem with the internet -- it's like everywhere else. Or to paraphrase Yogi Berra: 'it's so popular no one believes anyone else any more.'

However, I'm not disagreeing with you. I was just looking for cons to balance the pros for moving to Holland. In that regard, I think the thread is still useful. At least it was for me.

Yes, but I personally know many of those people on Expatica and was on that board for a long time before leaving in disgust. Expatica is well-known in the NL expat community as a place here people who hate living here gather. Many have lived here 10+ years yet continue to stay and be miserable.

So you can believe me or not, but Expatica is one of the most biased sources for information on this country.