As a Dutchie ive lived in Fresno, CA for 2 years and Simi Valley, CA for 1.5 year and traveled lots of times to the eastcoast. Now I am back in the Netherlands and can tell you; in my humble opinion this guy is full of it. First of all: supermarkets. I could not believe he mentions that supermarkets in the US are ''better'' then the supermarkets in the Netherlands! Its far from better. The products here are so much fresher, healthier and even tho the supermarkets in the US are often bigger, they sell things in bulk, so the products just take in way more space; hence the bigger supermarkets. As an example; check the vegetable, fruits and dairy aisle and you know what im talking about. Then the ''judgemental'' people:..and comes up with an example a Dutchie would think that you shouldnt move to the US because ''its a warzone'' and ''people are dying on the streets''. Mate let me tell you: no one in the Netherlands thinks the US is a warzone and people are dying on the streets. What the heck are you talking about?? You could give so many other examples of how Dutch people look upon the US and you come up with warzone and people dying on the streets? What a bullshit.
Yeah, your comment is accurate. I live in the Northeast US and yes, we are blessed with a lot of cultures and their food. Italian, Mexican, Cuban, Vietnamese, Chinese, German, Japanese, etc, etc. But in no way is the food 'better' in general. To me, you must start with clean fresh food and the Netherlands has a huge advantage over the US in this regard. Doesn't matter if you are dining at a restaurant or cooking at home, the food quality is noticeably higher in NL. On the other topic, and this is just my opinion, I am looking to move to NL because of public safety. Whether it is walking, driving or riding a bicycle, the systems and public behavior (fundamentally caring about others) is also way higher in NL.
The safety net in Germany is actually smaller than in The Netherlands. There is a bigger chance of ending up in poverty in Germany, where NL is ranked 4th in Europe (ranked by least chance) and Germany is ranked 10th. I thought the cost of living was higher in NL than in Gemany but when checking the 2021 numbers for that, this is also not the case. The housing situation in The Netherlands is really problematic though, driving up the prices like crazy. It is clearly a small and densely populated country.
How big a supermarket is says nothing about the quality. In the Netherlands there are so much controling institutes that you know you get healthy and good quality.
@@exploringtheforeignfrom what i've seen all over yt you do have more choices. But tell me why would you want to choose from 40 different brands/flavours of cereal or toilet paper. Plus bulk why would you. And your choices for bread and french produce are way smaller than in a small shop here in the Netherlands. I really think he has been to the wrong places.
I believe the 'Doe maar normaal (dan doe je al gek genoeg)' is often misunderstood. It's more about equality and not being an annoyance to other people. Normaal means 'regular' or 'ordinary'. So be your regular individual self, that's already crazy enough. It's more something to say to someone who acts like the whole world is about him.
@@exploringtheforeign It's not that the sentiment doesn't exist in the Netherlands at all. "Tall trees catch a lot of wind." If you rise high you have to deal with the criticism. And there's the 'kop boven het maaiveld, die gaat er af'. If you stick out above the field your head will get chopped of, but that's mostly used by people who rose to stardom and did something wrong, and then complain they got a lot of stick.
@@DenUitvreter I thought a friend's daughter to make some origami forms, she did it at school, other children went to complain to the teacher that she was showing off. she said that she just wanted to show them how to make it, but she ended being bullied. she came home crying. she was at the time seven years old. i made lunch for my son, after a while the teacher called me to tell me that his sandwiches are too nice and that other children complained about it, so I should tone it down. i worked in service industry, in a big company, and our location was the only one that didn't get any complain from the customers in nine months of it's egsistance, nobody from hq ever came even to see how and why. or to recognise that, we heard about it from a friend who worked as office assistant. how do you explain that?
@@majdavojnikovic So? Of course I can't judge those situation, and you probably can't either. I do know that teachers don't want lunch to become something parents show off with or smuggle treats in, because treats are for special occasions and jealousy is not a positive vibe.
@@DenUitvreter no, I just made normal sandwiches with cheese, sometimes chicken, and i would put a piece of fruit and a piece of vegetable like carrot or cucumber, in his box, and sometimes a chocolate bisquit, an boiled egg or a pickle. and I refused to change that for, as i learned, one piece of cheese, pindakaas, pate (!!) or nutella (!!!!) between two pieces of bread. if that was clothing, I would comply, ( no need, i took care that he wears the same kind of clothes other kids wore) but what my kid eats is my business only. but you, without even knowing what I did, already decided that i didn't wanted to feed my child healthy food, but actually wanted to show off ( in front of whom i wonder?). you just showed preciselly the attitude that I was referring to. thank you for helping me make my point.
Kind a strange guy...It's almost like he wants to play it "cool"..like saying "hey I'm American".. while in the US he may not be perceived as an American, he may even be discriminated and looked down upon as "foreigner". There are people you meet on a birthday party talking about the stuff they have at home...I mean that kind a person. I don't think he's gonna stay. Well maybe his personality has just being settled within himself, and by that an ego is slowly develloping , first calling out the countries he lived in, as if that would give him some "authority" to make statements according his personal experience, as being "true". I guess the dutch saying "doe maar gewoon.."..doesn really apply to him. Excuse me for being negative, I can't see that guy staying here any longer than nescesairy! The other guy is more happier to be here, safe and well. Is communicating a more positive vocabulary and bodylanguage, and expresses a more willing attitude to the Dutch way of living.
When it comes to bakery you will find out some similarities between the Dutch and American receipts. But food in the supermarkets really differs while in New York food is similar to the Dutch and Hispanic dish, outside the city and towns you will see some more German, Spanish products in American malls.
The only thing I am puzzled by is his judgement on the food. If I see videos of Americans living in Europe, they ALL say how horrible the food is in America compared to Europe (and it has a lot more nasty chemicals in it as well). So, I don't understand that. But, the rest of his points are valid.
From my perspective, I feel perhaps the quality of food is better than in America on average, but I think we're spoiled with far more options on average.. So perhaps that contributes to the perception that food may be better for some. But I can see both sides! :)
@@exploringtheforeign Haha, well, I would rather have the choice between 10 good products than between 100 rubbish products. Besides that, ask any psychologist, the phenomenon "choice stress" causes the customer to be less satisfied with what he eventually chose, because there is always the nagging question: What if I chose something else? That is a real phenomenon!
@@DidierWierdsma6335 Europe is very diverse, and so is food (quality wise). Did you ever smelled and tasted Albanian tomatoes? When they import them people buy them per five or ten kilo's (in Serbia). When I am there in the season I eat two or three on my way home from the supermarket, like apples, while carrying several kilos of them home. When I find them, it is tomato salad for breakfast lunch and dinner till they last, for me. They are perfect, sweet, fresh taste, their firmness, texture and colour just right and with the thinnest skin you ever saw on a tomato. Most Dutch tomatoes have an elephant skin and taste like dishwasher water. Then meat. Meat in Netherlands is so full of water ( with chemicals that connect water with tissue). You know those little bags that you put a piece of meat to cook it in oven? It doesn't work with Dutch meat, as it let so much water that meat actually boils in that water. I had to film it for my friends in Serbia because they didn't believe it, there everybody uses those bags to cook chicken with chrispy skin and avoid making the oven dirty in the process. Produce is better than 20 years ago, but it has far less taste than produce in say, less developed parts of Europe.
Question, when we talk about American food do we base our opinion on native American food and all other food is from outside the US? So why are we judging Dutch food on what Dutch food originally used to be. Do you think the food you get at the Dutch Chinese is available outside the Netherlands? Or the Indonesian food is the same as in Indonesia? So what is US or Dutch food?
This is a great point, Robert. I feel a lot of times when people are knocking Dutch food, they're referring to typical Dutch cuisine, but perhaps it's more fair to consider the entire scope of food here, considering the Dutch have adopted many other cuisines into their culture, just as we have in the US.
I think it's become a thing because tourists like to get to know the authentic local foods, and for good reason in many countries. I don't think traditional Dutch food is particularly bland btw, it's just not very sophicasted or fit to upgrade and serve in restaurants.
@@DenUitvreter funny if you think about it, Coleslaw is authentic Dutch food and sold in the US as authentic American. And thank God it is because it's horrible 😂
This guy is so wrong about the the whole food thing food here in Europe is so much better than the food in America the food here is so much healthier. Europe in general is so much better so glad and blessed that i live here in Europe and not in America no offence. Other than that a great video keep it up👍 and greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱
First, thank you for watching, and sharing your opinion/feedback on the points mentioned! I can see where you're coming from. I think at the end of the day, it's all subjective. But I think everyone can agree that it's definitely healthier here than in the US haha. I appreciate the support!
@@6helloworld938 Relax don't get me wrong i don't hate America but it's not the greatest country's in the world and it's definitly not the land of the free far from it. Am i saying that Europe is perfect no it isn't but it's still way better than America when it comes to quality of live once again America is not the greatest country on earth.
@@DidierWierdsma6335 That's not even necesarily true. I have friends in the US that have the same quality of live we have. But it's more winners and losers there. Those friends have a succesful business and worrked really hard. Now the company is big enough they can take European length vacation, eat freshly prepared food, buy Mexican Coca cola with real sugar ;-) They have good health insurance etc.. However had their business failed they would have been a lot worse off than in most European countries.
@@00wheelie00 Those friends of yours are the lucky ones million's of Americans are not that lucky. Million's of Americans are heavily in debt they are basicaly debt slaves and i'm pretty sure that those friends of yours are debt slaves as well such ashame. America is not the greatest country in the world and it's definitly not the land of the free far from it. Europe is not perfect i know but it's still way better than America period so glad that i live here in the Netherlands and Europe.
I have been to NL multiple times for long stays. I'm also what my parents call a big eater. I really don't know what this dude is taking about. Has he never been to any of the Dutch open markets?? Also, I've never eaten anywhere in NL where I ordered food & was left hungry. Not once! I'm not saying it's not possible but it has been years & it has yet to happen. I hope more Americans see this video & choose to stay in America. NL is a special place that should stay exactly as it is.
It is always interesting to hear how other people view the Netherlands. I have also been reading the comments. And I have to say I was also puzzled by the supermarket food thing. I am not exactly sure what he means. Is it that the supermarkets here are so much smaller? Or just the amount and selection of fresh food? I don't know what a supermarket of New York looks like but I have seen a lot of vloggs of supermarktshopping in Los Angeles. There seems to be so much more chemicals and suger added products. But since you seem to agree with him. Well, maybe it is like that.
@@exploringtheforeign no that is just the excuse you use. More small stores jeans more business owners, wich in turn means a stringent middleclass. Where as big franchises suck alot of money out of areas. They also encourage a spread out Community that takes up more space than it truly needs. This leads to suburbs instead mixed housing.
Would be cool to see a video of what does people from other countries think the netherlands is like and then checking if its true or not, kinda like the Mythbusters of european culture
Good interview, I heard a lot of interesting perspectives . Only thing I find a bit puzzling is the food thing. I’ve heard several Americans saying they miss certain kinds of great American food. Now I have never been to North America, but I’ve had my share of American fast food. The same stuff I can get in any Dutch snackbar (except the plastic toy) only with a very limited choice and lesser quality. So if the USA has this great food, why do they keep that a secret and only presents us the same stuff we already have here? I’d love to try some of this soul food they talk about, where can I get that?
Haha, good question! I would say the fast food chains are just easier to export than the real specialty places we have in the US. But SOUL FOOD is one of my favorites. You can find it all over the US, but the best is known to be in the South.
@@exploringtheforeign yeah it’s like this stamppot thing popping up all the time, while we hardly eat that. Every Dutchy grows up with nasi, bami, saté, pasta etc. If you want to eat stamppot in a restaurant you would have a hard time finding it. I live in a small city and the nearest restaurants are Thai’s, Indonesian and Chinese and of course the Snackbar. So if you don’t like the Netherlands for the food you probably hate Asian food, ha ha. But I’m very curious to the Soul Food culture, I reckon it’s heavily inspired by African food cultures. You got to bring that here, if the Dutch like it, they will add it to the food culture in a heartbeat. We’re nothing like the rest of Europe or the most of the world for that matter. We like experimenting and trying new things.
American fast food is NOT American food. It's like thinking the Kardashians or reality tv stars are representative of Americans 😅. Hell, "fast food" in Chicago is an all-beef Vienna beef hot dog with sweet relish, sliced tomatoes, onions, yellow mustard, hot pepper and celery salt... don't knock it til you try it! The hot dogs in jars and cans here is borderline insulting! And don't get me started on Italian beefs. Just look up Chicago and Italian beefs- it's a whole culture and there's an entire way to order them! 😄 And each region has these deeply engrained, culinary traditions. A great series to watch is "Taste the Nation" with Padma Lakshmi. And a fun look at our not-so-healthy, but *delicious* diner culture is "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives". All this being said, yes, Americans tend to be unhealthy, but it truly depends on where you live and how dependent you have to be on a car. And folks only eat at McD's, Burger King, and so forth if they are addicted to it, broke, or it's the only thing open. Actually, there are more Subway sandwich shops in the U.S. than fast food chains... many very small towns have a Subway as their only outside chain restaurant. Food for thought...Fijne Koningsdag!
@@juliawirch2454 taste the nation is exactly the reason I know there’s more to American food than these tasteless versions of hamburgers and French fries. But you can’t blame us for how the USA is presented food wise. What annoys me is when people are asked about the downside of the Netherlands they start with the food. Now I live in a small city with 150.000 people and we have restaurants from Indonesia, china, Thailand, Argentina, Greek, Belgium, France, Italy, Marokko, Turkey, Nigeria, Surinam, Kaap Verdie, Antillan, Jamaica, Ghana and then some I forgot. The Dutch snackbars are fastfood places, except 5 times more variety than your average fastfood chain. Then there’s an abundant range of fresh seafood. So how you can’t find anything that suits your taste is beyond me. Not many places in the world present this variety. Not that I’ve seen anyway.
Sad that this guy suffers from American capitalism syndrome, small supermarkets are good, people from the town go to the supermarket by foot or bike unlike the US which is car centric consumer hellhole
Food prices compared to the US is relative. If I wanted to buy the same quality fresh produce I can buy in any store here in LA and NYC, I had to look for it and it would be much more expensive. There would be cheaper options, but if you tried to sell that quality here you'd be out of business. Agree on the Dutch 'cuisine' being bland and boring, that's why just about any Dutch family member of friend of mine never actually eats it anymore. Havent had it 20 years, too much options from anywhere in the world in our stores as well as the restaurants.
@@exploringtheforeign My favourites are Surinamese and Indonesian. I'm lucky enough to live over a greek restaurant, across from Surinamese, Italian, Korean, Japanese and Spanish restaurants. I also have a proper Hamburger place nearby, not named Burger King or McDonalds 😆. I also like to eat at a Nepalese or Chinese restaurant in Amsterdam, but I have to travel there so those are more rarely visited. You can also get all the ingredients from those kitchens in the store to cook it yourself. If you're in the 'Randstad' you basically never have to deal with actual Dutch foods.
@@00wheelie00 I hear a lot about these different foods you mentioned and how good they are here. I'll soon be living in Amsterdam soon and really looking forward to exploring all of those foods.
I see Vince fits in the dutch culture just fine i like his directness, he is totally right though i got to say he has more of that dutch directness than Samuel its okay.
So you don't like the food, you don't like the weather, and you don't like the Dutch people , only those from other countries living here like yourself, it sounds like... You're like some English people moaning about there being Spanish people when they go on holiday to Spain! :D
What I understood was that he ment that the supermarkets were bigger in the Us and that they had more choice in products. I don’t remember him saying the food was better. If he said that, it was wrong. The food standards in the EU are better than in the US and our bread, veggies and dairy are much better. But the range of products in the US is much broader because of the big supermarkets.
i think a lot of judgement comes from the fact that the USA is supposed 2 be the most wealthy and developed country and when u are not delivering then yh.... a lot of controversy stems from the USA as well , and since most of the world is watching the USA for things like , economics, overall health / care , media , infrastructure , tech/innovation etc. it is easy 2 point fingers and say ,well this is bad , this is not what is good'', this is not what we want . that is the burden of a country in a spotlight . it is the same for actors, the more you are known , the less u can say , without getting flack.
Netherlands is cool if you want to make a decent salary and have a average life. If your willing to work hard and want to make some money, i would pick the US anyday
