- You'll be looked at really funny. If you hate vacation, don't
come to the Netherlands. So leave your guns at home. Welcome to A Wanderlust For Life. I'm Jessica, and this
is my expat life series where I talk about different
tips or just things that you may want to know if you are thinking about
moving to the Netherlands. it's based on my life
in Amsterdam since 2014. And yeah, I'm just gonna kind
of give you a bunch of tips. So this is specifically for Americans, just because it's a
comparison kind of between expectations in life there versus here. But obviously if you're
from anywhere else, you're welcome to watch the video and see if it relates to you. You'll hate the Netherlands
if you're American if you think it's a 24 hour party. First of all, Amsterdam, which is where a lot of
the nightlife happens, is not the entirety of the Netherlands. So I just wanna, first of all, say that. Amsterdam is the capital
of the Netherlands, but actually there are
other cities, surprisingly. Said sarcastically. We have Rotterdam and The Hague, both of which I'm sure
you'll find nightlife. I've just lived in Amsterdam since 2014. So this is like what I can relate it to. You can certainly find raves and nightlife and all kinds of stuff here,
but it's not a 24 hour party. It's a pretty quiet city, actually. If you don't like big brother, the Netherlands may not be for you. So everything's kind of
interconnected through your numbers. So we have a BSN here, which
is your social security number. I went to the physiotherapist, and I gave them my BSN and my address. And they had my insurance
information that just popped up, which I love. I know some people won't like that. They don't like that things are connected, but I think it is absolutely perfect. So all your medical stuff, all your tax stuff and
everything is just in one system. I think you can opt out of some things, but I find it to make life a lot easier. So weapons are not such a big thing here. You may or may not know that. We don't really have a
gun violence problem. Do we have guns? Yes, we do have some. And it is taken so seriously. If you commit a crime with a
weapon here, it's a big deal. Like it makes national news, it's crazy. You can probably get a hunting license, but it takes time and effort. It is not as easy as in
the US, and handguns, I don't even know if you
can purchase them here. If you're Dutch, because
I know some of you are watching this, you seem to love watching my expat videos to see what I'm gonna say. But if you know the specific
rules when it comes to guns, please leave them down
below or link something for people to check out. But yeah, they're not
such a big thing here because we don't really
fear for our safety. So the whole I need
personal protection thing doesn't really fly here. So yeah, so leave your guns at home. Before we keep going, I want to remind you to
go ahead and hit subscribe if you want to see more expat life videos, Amsterdam videos, and we'll
be traveling soon videos. And if you like the video, hit the like button and
leave me a comment down below if you have any other questions
related to expat life, because I will keep doing
these kinds of videos throughout the year. All right, politics time. If you love your two party
system, it's not that way here. We have a king and we
also have a parliament. So that connection is
still a bit fuzzy for me. My understanding is
the king typically goes with what the parliament says, unless he's like really,
really against it, but I think he's like in talks. But generally speaking, the parliament makes
the rules and the laws and enforces them. But it's not a two party system. There are so many parties, and at election time, you
really have to take your time if you're allowed to vote, I am not allowed to vote
as a permanent resident, I am not a citizen of the Netherlands. But you have to take your
time and really figure out what your interests are. And we have parties that
cover all the interests. And yes, we do have
super, super conservative. But my understanding is even
the conservative parties here are more liberal than like, the center parties are in the US, so take with that way you will. And moving to that, another thing people don't like to talk about is taxes. If you're not willing to
pay your fair share of taxes in a society that uses taxes
to make a better society, then just stay in the US
because here you can pay 40 to 50% in income taxes
and our like sales tax is called VAT, value added tax is 21%. And all of that goes to
making, I don't know, a society that doesn't worry
as much about everything. We're not worried about roads being bad or getting in an accident
or, I mean, just like, it's like a weight lifted
off your shoulders. So we've always been willing to pay more to have that peace of mind
and to have the infrastructure where it's like the kind of infrastructure where you don't even think
about infrastructure. Does that make sense? You're not like, oh,
that's really crumbling. You just kind of expect it to be okay. And if you see something wrong or if like the trash wasn't picked up, you call and stuff gets done. That's my experience. Again, somebody may
have another experience, but generally speaking, stuff just gets done here and
it gets done fairly quickly, which is kind of amazing in my opinion. Be prepared to file at least,
at least two sets of taxes. You will need to file
taxes in the United States if you live in the Netherlands. And because I'm from a Commonwealth state, we actually have to file three sets. So we have to file state tax as well because they don't let you leave. I don't understand this system. Almost every other country in
the world except two or four lets you deregister and
therefore you don't pay taxes or you don't file taxes. Now there is a limit. I don't know what it is. It's like a hundred thousand
dollars or something a year. If you make over that, it's about that, you can check the tax code yourself, then you may owe taxes
in the United States. But you still have to file, so don't try to get around it. And if you use an expat
service to file your taxes, it's expensive, it's like ridiculous. But if you do want a company
that we've been using for five years now I think,
it's called Taxes for Expats, I'll leave an affiliate
link in the description, so I will get a commission for it, but you pay the same price. If you hate vacation, don't
come to the Netherlands. Because we get so many days, I think federally, it's 20 or 21 and then most companies add to that. And then if you're sick, you just take time to get the healthy. There's those sick day this. Again, my personal experience, and I believe that is the law. If you are sick, you just take time off. You are not docked for that. And if you have, if you need a long-term or
even a short term disability, that is doable here. People understand that if
you're sick, you need time off because you're not
gonna be your best self. And not to mention, you have more of a, you have a more positive
view of your employer because they take care of
people generally speaking. So, yeah, and if you don't
ever wanna take your vacations, you'll be looked at really
funny and you may be forced to or you'll lose them. So those are kind of your options. If you love your car and
you're moving to Amsterdam, maybe don't live in the
center of Amsterdam, like live in north. Hey, come to north, I have videos on it. I'll leave the link up there. Yeah, you'll wanna live in an area where you can actually park your car, but most of us will cycle or take the bus, the Metro, the ferry, trams, you know, like normal people. We do a parking garage around the city. They are expensive. Cars are expensive here. The taxes are high on them. Parking, you have to pay for
parking, things like that. So if you love to drive, maybe Amsterdam was not the right city, maybe in other place
is, but you can always, we have plenty of those kind of like pick up on the
street kind of cars with apps. So if you're interested in that and you wanna be sure
that you could have cars for the weekend and stuff like that, that is definitely an option. One I would consider
if I were you actually, because then he don't have to pay for all the insurance
and stuff and parking. You don't pay for any of that, you just pay for when you use it. And then if you wanna
go out of the country, then you just rent a car like normal. This should be super obvious,
as some of these are, but if you don't like diversity,
don't leave your bubble. And I'm saying that like
pretty forcefully too because Americans, there are many Americans who are kind of known for
living in their own bubble and they just don't want anything else. They don't like change. They don't wanna see anybody
that doesn't look like them or they feel threatened by anybody that doesn't look like them. And that's a reality. And it's kind of disturbing to me, but I won't get into that today. Amsterdam is one of the most
diverse cities in the world. There are many languages spoken. And if you can't handle
that, you won't like it. If you need your Americanized
society, you won't like it. And like I said, that's
probably pretty obvious. But even though Amsterdam has a lot, a lot of foreigners to the
point where a lot of the Dutch who live here get quite frustrated with it because they don't even try to assimilate. It's still not an American city, and you can't expect it
to be, that's not fair, and you're not gonna get that experience. So if you're not willing
to embrace diversity, embrace hearing other languages
and eating other foods, that's some of the reasons
that people move here, then don't because you won't enjoy it, and you probably won't make friends, and it'll be a really hard time for you until you moved back home. And I'm saying that as genuinely as I can, because you have to want
to move to a new country. And I want you to do
it with eyes wide open. And along with that, if you don't wanna hear
another language every day, don't move here. 'Cause Dutch obviously is
the most spoken language. Can you get around with English? Yes, but it's so much better
if you know some Dutch and it's just, to me, I love hearing Dutch when I'm other places. Dutch are such travelers,
they always have been, they have a history of it. And so no matter where we go, we always find the Dutch
people, and I love hearing it. And finally, if you are not prepared for a cut throat rental
market, don't even bother. There are different companies that can help you with
this, but it is rough. And I tell you this
because I really feel like you have to want to be here. You have to want to go through
the immigration process, you have to want to go through
the finding a home process. And I mean, it's one of
the reasons we bought. It's as simple as that
because it's so frustrating to look for a new place. And just to give you an idea, even buying, we would run into, in an open house, like
20 to 30 other people. And that's when you've
actually had a time slot just to be looking at it. And when it comes to the rental market, a lot of times you have to prove that you make five times the amount. There's a lot that goes into that. That's not everybody, but it's just, do a lot of research before you move here so that you know what you're getting into as far as the rental market's concerned. Well, I hope that was enlightening
and eye opening for you. I don't wanna be negative because you know how much I love Amsterdam. So if you want to move here and these things don't bother you, I encourage you to. If you can move here legally, absolutely give it a try because it is the most amazing
place I have ever been. And I hope that you found this helpful. If you did, please go ahead
and click the like button and subscribe if you aren't already, and I will see you in the next video. Bye!
