5 FAQs about the Dutch | Life in the Netherlands 

1 fact about the Dutch: Dutch people love to watch these kind of video's.

I have a 'favorite wrong answer' to the question on why we are so tall. It's because most of our country is below sealevel, so, just in case all our waterworks fail, we've grown tall enough to still keep our heads above water if our country floods

As a German living very close to the border, I can tell, that the language thing comes from TV. I didn't learn a lot English during several years in school, but then I found it more interesting to watch films and series in original language on the dutch TV (in Germany everything is dobbed). By reading the dutch translations and watching the better sport-broadcasting for sports like cycling I also learned to understand the dutch language withing a few years (if listening to Mart Smeets can be considered as learning real dutch). I still can't speak dutch because you don't lean that by watching TV but the English helped a lot when I worked for an US company in Autin,TX. PS: Cycling makes happy

About curtains: most people do have curtains, we just don't close them. We like looking outside, looking at the people passing, or looking at the weather. I may have something to do with the quality of the houses: when we still had single-pane windows, we used to close the curtains a lot more, but still only in the evening. Opening the curtains is part of our morning ritual: letting the sun shine in. The story of showing off rings true: the room(s) at the street were always the posh sitting rooms, with the general living space at the back where others could *not* see what's going on.

It's pretty well known eating cheese improves one's English. Everybody says so

One thing people often miss about why we speak English so well: Dutch and Fries are by far, by very, very, very far the most related languages to English. A Dutch speaker has less problems reading Old English than an English speaker would.... Basically English is Dutch/Fries mispronounced by a Norman French speaking Noble..... Most basic words are similar and so is most of the grammar. You know all those English words that are spelled so weird (Laugh, bough, enough, sought, draught) ? Now look at the Dutch words: Lach, boog, genoeg, zocht, droogte. They are Dutch words! The spelling is not weird, the English effed up the pronunciation :D

“... met flink veel glas, dan kun je zien, hoe of het bankstel staat bij Mien En het dressoir met plastic rozen.” - Wim Sonneveld - Het Dorp

On the english part: The Netherlands has historically been a small tradiing nation. And if you want to be succesful in trade you need to be able to communicate well obviously. And give the small language base of dutch it is important to learn the major languages of trade partners. In modern day that means we get English in highschool as a mandatory language and French and German as choice languages. Also no dubbing but rather subtitles so english gets ingrained . Dutch is also relatively close to english compared to many other european languages ( the Scandinavian languages are similarly relatively close to english) so English is easier for a Dutch speaker to pick up than say, French. All these things are generalisations obviously, but I think these factors combined probably have a lot to do with the fairly high English fluency

The thing is, when you have those television shows where they go find the parents of a child that was adopted from I.e. Colombia to The Netherlands, the child always towers above their parent and siblings. So I think the tallness is mainly food and healthcare 🤷🏻‍♀️

Actually, I think many people in the Netherlands are quite 'nieuwsgierig' (curious). It's not that we keep our curtains open because we have nothing to hide, but more that we love to look out of our windows and see people walking by on the streets. It's basically the same reason why many of us love to sit on a terrace in the city all day long. We'd like to just chat and watch all the different kinds of people walking by. :)

I think the dutch speak English so well in comparison to some other European countries is because of a at least two things: - English has a lot of similarities to Dutch. - Dutch people watch a lot of movies and series in English with dutch subtitles.

One reason why we learn languages is because we have sub titels on the tv.

My personal theory on the height thing: The Dutch went through their golden age around the 1600 where standard of living went up a lot, and significantly higher than the other countries in Europe at that time. Back then, more food likely meant taller people which in turn meant being tall meant being healthy and prosperous. Perhaps from there it snowballed with people preferring taller people which meant taller people were born and this preference kept preferring taller and taller people. The other options seem a bit weird. There isnt really anything significantly different about the Netherlands right now besides biking compared to the other northern and western European countries... As for the English part: its definitely because we dont translate any English media to Dutch, we subtitle it. From way before i even learned English in school i heard English with the Dutch translation beneath it. My video games were in English. Movies were in English. Series and documentaries; English. Music, 95% of the time English. Hell i mostly read English books after i turned like 13. I doubt the educational system has a lot to do with it. We learn French and German as well in high school and kids rarely speak French at a level that could even be considered average. Hell, i know tons of people who were taught French throughout high-school and are utterly incapable of even forming a single coherent sentence.

Also, just arrived back from France, had a wonderful time there, but oh my goodness, am I happy to be back!! The minute I cross the border back to NL it is no exception a relief to see the tidy infrastructure, the crispness of the road signs, how well maintained everything is, and last but not least, the behaviour of drivers!

I picked up English by watching a lot of television. So I could understand English even before my first lessons in school at around 12 years old. Most television shows and movies are shown in their native language, with Dutch subtitles. In lots of other European countries (France, Germany, Spain, Italy, for example) television shows and movies are dubbed. So that takes away the opportunity to be exposed to a foreign language. But would be interesting to see if the older generation gives a different reason, of even to know if they speak English to the same degree.

This is very insightful! Thank you for sharing.

Cheesy vid Eva! 😁 I always heard we are tall happy and healthy bc we work hard but also take time to relax and refresh so we stay productive and healthy. We have good food that is not as contaminated (yet) as it is in for instance the US. And our healthcare is obviously accessable to everyone.

As you know a big part of the Netherlands lies below sealevel, tallness is justy a precaution. :P

Great vid again, well you are most welcome over here :) wish there where more like you.

Nice topic once again, Eva! I’m a relatively new subsciber from the Netherlands. I find it very interesting to hear how you experience my country and the differences compared to the US. You do have a very open and enjoyable way of telling and explaining. Oh and I salute you for constantly naming my country the Netherlands instead of Holland, as some seem to do:-) About why the Dutch seem to speak English so well: all you said about it is true. However, I think there is another reason and that is: because we ‘have to’ (in a positive way!)... Since the Netherlands are so small, and our language is so complicated for foureigners to learn, we find not many people do speak Dutch. So in order to be able to have a conversation with someone from abroad -which we love!- we have to adapt. I think it also has something to do with us not being as chauvinistic as for example the French are. Yes, we do love our country and we are proud of being Dutch, but we also love other parts of the world and are open to other cultures and so on. To us, English is not only the vehicle to communicate with native English speakers, but also with people from all over the world who have other languages as their mother tongue. This goes for connecting in both the real world as well as in the virtual world. And we are not ‘too proud’ to do so, like many French are, well in my experience at least. No offense to the French here, I do love France! The Dutch (well, lots of them, of course not everybody) always have been traveling-loving people. So I think that curiosity and open-ness (if that’s even a word, lol), does help. These are way too many words to explain that I think it has something to do with how the Dutch see themselves in the world and all its people.

In regard to the length: The Dutch apparently have a really good social welfare system which makes sure that basically everybody has access to good healthcare and decent food. This has helped the population to reach its full potential. Curtains: It's all true: the origin story is correct with the "do normal" part, but also, as pointed out by Nadine below: The Dutch are very curious and like to know what's happening around them. So for that, they don't have their curtains closed, to be better able to look around. The Dutch are very happy indeed, but we like to complain about "everything": the weather, politics and often our employers. But that's mostly just small annoyances. The work-life balance generally is really good. We have a saying: We work to live. (Unlike the USA, where it seems like it's more like: Live to work)... English: Since 1986 it's mandatory for primary schools to teach English starting in grade 7 (that's about 9 or 10 years of age). Next to that, most English courses in secondary education not only teach to pass the final exams but have a strong communicative approach, so that students can actually maintain a conversation and be prepared for the Dutch economy: Trade! As that's where a big chunk of our GDP is being made. This is in addition to the reasons you have given in your video. :)

Pronunciation of "Schiphol" was spot on IMO

One reason why the Dutch speak English well is that English is relatively close to Dutch as a language. Another reason is that we are a trading nation, so it is quite natural to be able to speak other languages. All the Dutch people I know where I live, Japan, speak reasonable to good Japanese, depending on how long they have lived here. Americans or Brits: not so much (but of course there are exceptions). So it is just a question of mentality.

In the eighties there were a lot of pirate radio stations in Amsterdam where they played a lot of groovy home-made non-commercial music. Some of it was highly repetitive with voices from old movies through the music. In the "Arena" a student hotel next to the Oosterpark there was house music every week.

People here do have curtains but you mostly only close them at night or in the evening. my take on it its that it's nice to see outside and have the natural light shining inside. Some people do put "raamfolie" on the windows for more privacy.

About the d.j.’s a nice anecdote: last year I was in the hospital for a month. My little dog stayed at my nephew, who is a d.j. My dog always wags his tail. Really always. When close to a hard surface it makes a ritmisch sound, that sounds like a beat. My nephew used that beat in a number. He send me a clip of people in Miami dancing to the beat of Santo’s tail. Another interesting fact of the Netherlands is that we were the first country in the world that didn’t have stray dogs. We have to import our rescue dogs. My dog is a rescue from Spain. About the other points: 1. The Netherlands has a tradition of learning languages. It’s because we are a nation of international trade. So learning languages at school was and is important. I’m 67, at elementary school we learned French. At high school we learned 4 languages. Now that is 2; English and another one. 2. I don’t think it’s natural selection. I have two sisters who differs a lot in age with me. With my 1.74 I’m the little one. They are both larger than 1.80. That difference is not genetic. It must be something else. I assume it’s the food. And it cannot be only the dairy, because that is not something that changed over time . And we have the happiest children in the world. That can play a role too.😀

Nice video again! I really like to watch your comparisons between the Netherlands and the US. Cheese does make is happy! But the work-life balance is really the most important I think. :) Could you make a video about the parts of the Netherlands you already visited? If you didn't visit Zeeland yet, I'll guide you around here! The delta works, and the estuary is really nice to see 😉

My sons already started to get English classes at the age of 4 at school. They do watch a lot of English spoken material as well, which is where I picked up my English as well at a very young age, but I didn't get English classes before going to the HAVO/VWO, so also at the age of 12. My English is also pretty much flawless, also spoken, but I had an Irish girlfriend for a while, so that definitely helped.

Yes we have curtains, but only close them when it’s dark outside. During the day, you want to enjoy the natural light coming in. So big windows, with windowsills full of plants, preferably you’re able to open the window and get some fresh air in. And if you cannot sit outside to watch people, you do it “achter the geraniums zitten” (sitting behind the flowers) And even though you do go gawking into peoples home, you still have a look inside, maybe you get some interior decorating ideas or you can spot your neighbour, wave and go in for a cuppa and a chat.

About speaking English: I started learning English at age 10 or thereabouts. Although I did know some English from English language TV shows before that. However, my English was not very good when I graduated high school, even though I had good grades. I learned "real" English by interacting with native speakers when I was at uni, and by reading lots and lots of books in English. I started doing that because I had to write papers in English for my PhD - It was either that or another English course and I did not fancy the latter. Nowadays I interact with so many native English speakers on the internet that I sometimes find it easier to express myself in English than in Dutch. It helps that I really love English. I love that English is not so much a language of rules as it is a language of idioms. I love that there's often many different ways of saying the same thing, as English has been influenced by so many different languages. I love the idiosyncrasies in British place names and the fact that US English really is different from British English. I love all the different English accents, and I am proud that a friend detected a hint of New Zealand accent in my English - I visited New Zealand a couple of times and I simply adore the iccent ;). Other than my personal story, I think there's a few factors at play as to why we Dutch speak English so well: (1) We realise that our country is small, so we cannot expect many foreigners to learn Dutch. If we want to communicate with the world, we have to learn a different language, and English is the modern-day Lingua Franca, so there's plenty of reasons to take the time to learn it. (2) English and Dutch are quite closely related, so English is not a very hard language for Dutch people to learn.

Great video!

I would love to hear you speak dutch. As when we hear you say a dutch word now and than your really good at it am sure. I learned my english only by watching movies and in The Hague we use to get bbc and anglia british tv channels receved by aerial. Only started reading english books about 12 years ago. ( i'm 52 by the way :) About 4 of the 200 books i have now are dutch. Peter Hamilton's my favorite. Not the easyest to read as my 1st book but its like reading dutch to me now. Well to make a long story short,i really like watching you channel 😘

My Dutch Father in Law spoke English as this fifth language. I’m always impressed how well even those in the less touristy part or the Netherlands speak English, even though I bring my own translator with me just in case. Always amazed how frustrated my wife got however when we visited Germany and Austria when she had great difficulty with that language. I still remember walking into a crowded bakery in Delft talking to my wife in English and proceeded to recite every item that I liked under glass in Dutch while still speaking English I remember getting some really funny looks from the locals. After all my father-in-law’s was a really good baker and I had only ever learnt the Dutch name for all those lovely things I liked. NSW in Oz

About the certains i think it is more about letting the sun come thrue the windows in the winter it can help warm up your home and in the summer we dont neem to put any lights un until 22:00 although in the summer it depends on where the sun is comming from if it shines directly on the window i do close the curtains otherwise it can become a sauna inside my house.

I don't close the curtains usually because I like to look outside. But I have them closed now to keep the heat out. Pretty sure the showing off has something to do with it too (well not in my case). Old homes used to have a special sitting room at the front of the house to recieve important guest. All their nice stuff was in the room. And I learned English from tv mostly. Especially from the Backstreet Boys. Every time they used a word I didn't knew I looked it up in my dictionary.

As I watch this... 1) I'm Dutch but there are times when I'm at a pedestrian crossing and two stretched up guys happen to be next to me... in times like that I do feel like a tiny rotund circus clown. 2) we are a nation of traders. Of course we speak English to be able to communicate with our clients. And, very important, out TV is not dubbed. It is subtitled wand with the original soundtrack intact. I learned my English by watching the BBC back in the day when it was worth watching)

About the curtains, I just like the sun shining in my life and room. The climate might be part of the explanation. The windows are also quite big compared to germany or Belgium.

I only close my curtains when I’m not fully dressed (yet) or when I put on the television. When I’m reading, cooking, cleaning or listening to music I don’t feel the need for closing the curtains. When watching TV I get distracted by passers by, so I close the curtains. Another reason to close the curtains is for really hot weather (keep the sun out of my not airconditioned house) or when it’s really cold outside (gives an extra layer of insulation, keeps heating costs low).

About the curtains.. It looks really gezellig when its snowing and dark outside and you see all the lights inside their homes, maybe a chrismas tree. You see life :) When i drive across the border into germany everything is closed, it looks dead outside, also dark.. not nice at all..

For 2, Dutch and English, historically we are a nation which thrives on commerce (and still do). Due to the history of europe the most nations we trade with also use English. This elevates the need and desire to have a nation fluent in communication to continue their trading 'ideology'. If I may recommend: the book The Culture Map by Erin Meyer goes deeply into cultural differences between nations. It focusses a tad on business situations, but many situations are remnants of history and also reflect in non-work situations. It is an easy read, yet insightfull.

We always like to know what kind of weather it is outside ;) maybe we have insulated our houses so well, that we no longer need curtains to keep the warmth in

Nowadays, I think a big part of not closing the curtains is also, because you'd want to let natural light in. And maybe also because our houses aren't the biggest (in comparison to e.g. US) leaving the windows open will make it feel like you have more space. Essentially the same way mirrors are used to make a room feel more spacious.

I learned English because of the mentioned movies with original audio, playing fantasy games and listening to metal music.

I don't know when children start to learn Dutch here in the Netherlands officially through school, but the 3-4 year old kids of my friends already speak short sentences very well, and sometimes choose english over dutch to express something. I think it's because when they watch kid tv, its 50/50 english or dutch translated shows. Those shows learn the context in when to use those words very well.

My dad alwaYs said that we are tall because we have a pretty diverse eating habits like eating dairies and many different kind of vegetables, and our housings are really well made so we could grow more.

Nice video again. Why the Dutch can also speak English well, English is also an easy language for us. After Frisian, Dutch is the closest language to English. We pick it up quickly. And why there are so many good Dutch DJs. House / dance music exploded in the Netherlands in the late 1980s and then in the 1990s. We were the forerunners in new music trends. The current DJs grew up in this.

Well, we do have curtains in the netherlands, in fact i have curtains (van het type: Lamellen), but we only close our curtains during the night, before we go to sleep, so sunlight can enter the house during the day :)

The language knowledge is also a part of 'culture' because of the amount of trading in history and nowadays. In (some levels of) high school English is obligated finals/exam subject. In the other levels (where it isn't obligated) it is really encouraged to do English. And if possible please also do finals in German, French, or Spanish. You can do a lot of languages as part of your education/finals depending of with level of high school you do and if your school provides it. The languages are: Dutch (obligated of course), Frisian, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, (acient) Greek, Latin, and Chinese (I thought Mandarin and it is a trial only on VWO education)

Leave gurtains open gives the same effect as mirrors .It enlarge optically the room you are in, because you let the outdoors enter your space.

Regarding the curtains, it has not always been the case. Until about mid '70s I guess, heavy curtains were more common than today. The 'doorzonwoning' (home with a lot of sunlight inside) became popular. Also, the dominant color at the walls became white instead of darker colors. Thus, an increase of sunlight into the house matched the changing fashion of living so curtains became somewhat out of fashion.

You should make a video on how to move to Amsterdam as an American & tips on finding apt, bank, job etc. Much needed lol

I am still so proud our music industry does so well :) And you're reasoning is quite right. Now the list of Dutch DJ's on the DJMAG list is smaller, but still, we are in the lead for so many years now. It doesn't matter. Though to be fair, I don't like generic EDM music. I love trance/happy hardcore though :P

EDM is big in Holland because they pioneered early on it. The clubs Roxy and IT started in the late 80's with the "new" sound of Chicago and DJ's Joost van Bellen and DJ Jean started pushing it. Then ID&T saw money in it and started Thunderdome. There was already a pretty big scene when finally Tiesto entered the stage.

I myself started learning English at school at age 4. I am dyslexic and had a pretty hard time with it for a very long time. Until I was 15 I couldn’t have a conversation in English or couldn’t understand most of the English conversation I heard. This is because I had been avoiding English my entire life. my reading wasn’t good enough to read the subtitles in series and movies. This all changed when wanted to watch Dance Moms. I really like dance and this way it was still entertaining even though I couldn’t understand most things. The result is that my English is very good now at 17 years old. I barely watch any Dutch stuff because there is more English stuff and so the chance is bigger I will find something I like. Yes we get in contact with English at a very young age, but school is only a starter for learning the language. Spending our free time watching and listening to English stuff really makes the change.

We have curtains, but we only use those at night. It's nice to let in the natural light during the day, I didn't know this was a weird thing tbh. Like why have windows if you're not gonna open the curtains haha.

It seems you have all the answers already. My compliments! A few additions. Length comes from DNA. Most Dutch people from north of the Rhine come from Saxon or Danish descendancy. They are big people. And then we feed them with dairy products until they really are satisfied until the children are big. Result: Long people (north of the Rhine). On happiness, it starts with raising the children. According to the UN, the Netherlands has the happiest children in the world (and happy children learn English better as well). Dutch parents give their children a lot of freedom and responsibility for their own lives at a very young age. Children are allowed to play outside unsupervised until dark from 5 years old. They also go out with their bikes unsupervised from 10 years old. Nowedays with the I-phone at hand it may even be a bit younger. They are not punished if they make mistakes. Dutch parents evaluate, not (generally) punish what went wrong. And we try to raise the children in a positive atmosphere, so not saying what they can't do, but what they can do. Lastly, the good work-life balance is mostly there for the children. Fathers and mothers usually spend a lot of time bonding with their children compared to most other countries.

My son is 6 years old and he has now started English lessons in primary school.

To the music part.... More important as the festivals is the party scene. Already at a young age we go out in the weekend. And almost every city and town has his own spot. At this way it becomes part of the culture and are youngsters encouraged and supported in such a carreer. (Dj) The indeed, due to festivals and summer parties there is to earn good money in that scene. Dutch are not only having a lot of good dj's also the sound technicians are pretty good. So its a combination of things.

We were one of the first ones how makes housemusic and festivals, like 25 years or longer, And in the milk and cheese , we had 50 years a go to mutch milk , so everybody needs to drink milk, but the milk and had hormons, That’s why ,I understand Nice to hear you speek about the Dutch people

In the past even children programs weren't dubbed in Dutch, they always used subtitles. Only in the last 10-15 years they dubbed foreign childrens tv in dutch. They also teach English in elementary school. We also had the VOC. If you convert the value of that company from the past, it's bigger than the 3 top companies together in the world (apple , Google etc)

About the height: when you go back to the 19th century and before, the Dutch were among the smallest people in Europe. After the Second World War (especially), the height of the Dutch skyrocketed. As far as I know (and I must say I am no expert in this area), there were two reasons for that: prosperity, and natural selection. After the Second World War the Netherlands was in shambles. Luckily wehad two things going for us: 1. We received a lot of Marshall help, and 2: we discovered natural gas in the North Sea (yes, the gas came a bit later than the Marshall help, but still, it contributed a lot to the prosperity). There is a story about Marshall visiting the countries in Europe, to see how much help is needed. I don't know if it is true (probably not, but it wouldn't surprise me if it is), but it is nice anyway. This story says that Marshall went to Italy, and was received with a lavish banquet. He then thought: wow, the war didn't impact them that much. Then he went to the Netherlands, where he visited the prime minister. He was received in the afternoon, got one cup of tea, one cookie (and no more!), and then had to leave before dinner. He then thought: wow, the Dutch have been hit really badly, they need a lot of help! And so we got a lot of help. Regardless if that story is true or not, we did receive a lot of help after the war, which helped us to rebuild our country. The hunger winter of '44/'45 had also hit the Dutch psyche hard. Before the Second World War, the Netherlands was a net food importer. This never should be the case again: we needed to be ablo to grow all the food we need. So plans were enacted, and research was done, and a lot was invested, and now the Netherlands is one of the largest food exporters in the world. This has certainly helped with our prosperity. The natural gas we found, made us a lot more energy independant. We could sell the gas too, which really helped with the prosperity levels. But ... we didn't invest the money like the Norwegians did. We spend most of it. In Norway, where they set up funds with their oil sales, they call this the 'Dutch disease'. Anyway, our prosperity level rose a lot, and research has shown that if many generations eat well, the average height of the population rises. The reverse is true too. Just compare Koreans from North Korea and South Korea to see what effects many generations of malnutricion have on the average height. The second thing I mentioned was natural selection. Dutch women prefer taller guys (in general). This means that the taller guys are more succesful, and get more offspring. I read a paper a while ago (I don't have it at hand) that shows that this has played a major factor since the Second World War. With multiple generations, this has a noticable effect. Now you can ask yourself why, if Dutch women want tall men, didn't the natural selection produced a very tall Dutch population before the 20th century? Well, that's due to the prosperity. The combination of readily available food, prosperity and a preference for tall people led to the Dutch from being the dwarves in Europe to being the giants they are now.

On the curtains. For me, curtains also limit the ability to look OUT the windows, andI love to see people walk by and the weather change (all the time, could be a reason aswell)

The fun fact about us Dutchies speaking English so well, we are taught English as from the age of 6 or 7. We're still, at that age, are learning the Dutch language, but yah, English is quite mainstream in our hierarchy. As for the other reasons, it's mainly from (online) gaming. I started programming on a Commodore 64 in 1986, when I was 4. Amiga OS wasn't available in Dutch back then yet, so I learned the first basics of English at age 4 :)

We are Weekend Warriors! 👊🏻

The learning English at an early age is definitely a thing, but now even more than back when I was a kid x) My son can speak understandable but broken English at 5 years old, it's really funny to watch. I couldn't do that when I was that young, or even a pre-teen. The Internet played a big hand in the quick bilingual development here, since a giant amount of things on there are in English. Dutch TV also makes use of subtitles instead of voice overs, so kids hear the original languages of series.

Dutch were early adapters of EDM/house. Check so called "gabber house". When a new upcoming music genre sets in early with its own local style it raises a generation and thus cultivated talent

I am 41 years old now, but my first English lesson I got at my primary/elementary school when I was 9 or 10, it was of course very simple yet. Of course, it was for me very helpful I was already exposed to English at a much younger age through television and music because I have bad hearing and I am also dyslexic. So my passive English skills are very good, my active English skills are ok. (Bit to shy to speak English)

I live in the east of the Netherlands, we were thought English from the age of 10. Last year I did an Erasmus exchange and my English level was rated at c1 which is the highest except for native speakers. Which is rated at c2.

I think the tour guide in The Hague was right; originally, the front room was for visitors, and it was more lavishly furnished than the rest of the house. So it was about the only acceptable way to show off your wealth (most houses' exterior in the Netherlands is quite sober), and people left the curtains open. Later on, with housing shortages and smaller families, the custom of the 'front room - visitors only' was abandoned, but the curtains remained open (for some - personally, I don't like the idea of others looking into my house). And some people still like to exhibit their little treasures in the windowsill.

I'm 32 and started learning English at school, at the age of 9! So even in my generation there are some who've learned it earlier then mentioned. Perhaps it differs in location and school? My school was located in the city center of Rotterdam

DJ's and happy, simple answer...: WE LOVE LIFE!!!

its the pop culture rock and roll in the fifties and early sixties the English invasion in the seventies when your young and exited about pop-music you sing along all day, what also helped was the fact that most all English and American tv shows were broadcasted in English and subtiteld same goes for movies in the movie theatres

It's the low lands below sea level, in case of flooding we have to be taller to survive.

One thing I'd like to add when it comes to EDM and their Dutch DJ's... You've already mentioned we take the genre very seriously, but I'm not sure I agree wholly with a conclusion that basically says 'you've got more chance succeeding because of that'. Will you be heard? Yes. That's an advantage, for sure. But honestly I think it's more likely to be the other way around, you really need to excel at this if you want a career - there are SO many DJ's, and we've heard it ALL. The Netherlands and house culture were intertwined from the very beginning.... starting in Chicago, the Dutch VERY soon followed in the late 80s, and never looked back. It has been a huge part of our musical landscape ever since, resulting in, for instance (like you've said) many, many festivals, but also many record labels, most notably one that was founded in the late 90s but is still relevant today (a.k.a. one of the world's leading EDM labels), Spinnin Records. In my humble opinion, that label alone contributed to the rise of many Dutch DJ's around the world (Tiësto, Don Diablo, Hardwell, Afrojack, Oliver Heldens, R3HAB, Fedde Le Grand, you name it). But there are others as well. We've got quite the (EDM) history. So much so that (on a personal note) when I went to my brother's 40th birthday last year with my best friends (1 American, 1 Welsh, 1 Dutch)...and my 40 y/o brother made his 9 and 12 y/o kid listen to his 'EDM 90s nostalgia tracklist'...both my Dutch friend and my niece and nephew were like 'this is honestly SO outdated *eyeroll* this has got to be a dad joke'....while at the same time (I'm not joking here) my lovely American and Welsh dudes looked at me with a face that didn't only say 'WTF is happening, are y'all for real, are we being punked and are you in on this'....no, they were GENUINELY shocked by how (especially) the kids could shrug this EXTREMELY fast and supremely loud EDM off like it was nothing. Worse, like it was Old People Music! I honestly can't recall many times I've almost pissed my pants laughing, but that night everyone surely did their part 😂😂😂😂😂

I personally always have the feeling curtains take away sunlight. And sunligth provides vitamins and health. So no curtains contibutes at a happier life. And in general most people in the Netherlands have curtains, but are usually only closed at night, and due to how houses are build here you rarely see them when they open, they hide pretty well. We really only close them when we want it to be gezellig or cozy, or just need that extra bit of privacy.

About the language thing: it is indeed, I think, all to do with exposure from a young age. When I was 6 years old, I could speak (though not yet fluently) Dutch (of course), English, German and Hungarian (having a Hungarian father). Later I studied French in school and Norwegian and Italian. I still follow classes in Hungarian (some say the most difficult language on earth) and Italian. It’s also a mindset, I guess, when I’m on vacation in another country, I always feel the urge to learn the language ...

In the younger years I learned English by watching movies and series, sometimes without subtitles. Also music and computer games played a big role those were mostly English. In fact i cant recall any NES game that was translated in dutch. Not forgetting to mention scholing itself ofcourse. And I had a refugee girlfriend from south Africa that gave my English language also a bit of a boost. Its not perfect but good enough to travel anywhere i would like and make myself understandable.

As for the curtains part. The reason we (as in me and my partner) leave it open, is because of the light shining in. I have something against lights from lamps, because it's miserable. Nothing beats real earth light. So yah. Of course, when the dark is due we have to turn on some lights. I prefer my ledstrips though. Cheaper, colorful, stuff people don't usually have :) Fancy I guess.

I think that you are right about work- life balance. We try to live according: work hard- play hard. It also helps that in comparison to the rest of the world we have a good health insurance and a social security system. We have a good education system. Because we are a small country family is on travel distance. Lots of opportunities to (learn to) make music, there are choirs at about any level, several sportsclubs you can engage in for every level. Not only for the talented atletes. Many opportunities to engage with a hobby in a club. A well organized country.

All Dutch people i know have curtains. We have them open during the day to let the light come in and i can look outside. I close them in the evening when it's getting darker. I don't have curtains on my garden side. Since that is facing North, no need to close it ever.

About speaking English, The Netherlands always have been a nations of foreign businesses. We trade a lot with other countries so it is very important to speak other languages. That's what is told you at school. Even kids of 7 years old are learning English at primary school nowadays. At my age, we just started to learn English at high school for 3-4 hours a week (that's why most people of 45+ still have some difficulties about speaking English - even my sister (2 years younger) got English in primary school so it is educated there for at least 35 years now). And because we are a pretty little country, most English programs at TV aren't dubbed into Dutch (as they are in French or German but just got subtitles. So many people have to understand (and train) their English to understand the TV-programs.

At my school we were taught English from the start, so when I was 4.

I don't know where the curtains thing comes from, but a heard it before from foreigners. I have curtains, al my neighbours have curtains, my friends, family, practicly everybody i know have and use curtains. Strange that we have such different perceptions.

An important reason that reasonable English is spoken in the Netherlands is that films have subtitles. In many countries they have post-sync. Hearing a lot of English through films and television series makes people familiar with that language. And that ensures that children learn English faster and better at school

I learned to speak English even before I got it in school, and all from television. I could only speak it of course. Writing it I did learn at school. Especially when you're young, this goes really fast.

Back in the days allot of kids show where in english ans subbed english thatbis how most older dutched learned it. Also we start learning it at pre school.

To video that in this heatwave Pfff looking even fresh ..👍

On the succes of dj's, it's not just that there are a lot of festivals but also a lot of venues where dj's can hone their skills. A lot of smaller towns and villages have a local youthcenter where they organise different activities, these could be live bands or dance nights often with local bands or dj's that are just starting out. If a dj get's more succes it's easy to travel the country to these places as it's rarely more than an hours drive to get there, two hours tops.

The question about the dutch curtain behavior is precisely the reason why I watch these things. It is good to question these things. As a dutch person I have never questioned why the curtains are open all the time. And they are definitely there. They're just open. It just seems to me like something you do when you get up. You let in some light, look at the weather etc etc. Or maybe its just our general cheapness. Maybe we just don't want to spend money on electricity by turning on the lights? Or something.. I now also notice/recall that my parents have curtains in the living room, but I've never seen them closed. I actually (re) hung those a few weeks ago and, until now, I have not wondered why I was bothering with it.. Well thank you..

Bit random but as a Canadian who lives in the US am looking to learn dutch for family history and knowing a lot of dutch people online, any recommended ways to start learning a dutch? So interested in learning! Just not sure what programs is best or if you already created some video already.

I am a Dutch man and 1.72 (small parents as well). I have been called little all my life (those ten centimetres extra would have been welcome, but are not going to happen for sure). There is a different theory to the growth of many of us. I am surprised you haven't heard: the hormones in the meat we eat. As with the peeking, I do that as well. Sometimes I get grumpy faces, while they were already are staring at me as well ;-)

When I was a child, I watched tv dubbed, pokemon and nickelodeon etc. When I got older, my bedtime shifted and they'd switch the language at 9pm from Dutch to English with Dutch subtitles (at least nickelodeon did). I used to watch a lot of tv.. so I think thats how I learned English. I remember the first English word I learned in school (I was 11), it was "roundabout". I thought it sounded really funny so I was curious about other English words and if they would sound funny too :)

Concerning our length, you can understand why the series"Tall Girl" was kind of a fluke here :) About the DJ's: it's basically due to our stance in music. We've kind of gotten this notion of "seen this, heared that"-kind of vibe. Not out of arrogance, but out of the variety in quality we get exposed to. As much as the Belgians and Germans do, if you look even further you are able to notice that there is this trinity going on, if you will. Back in the 60's throughout the 90's, if you wanted to make it big in Europe as an artist outside of the European continent - go to the Netherlands. If you were received well here, you didn't need to worry about the rest of Europe. This brings about a certain standard we seem to be used to as well. If you get through that standard and get the Dutch, Belgian and German crowd going - you're golden.

Most dutch people have curtains or a different kind of window covering,but we only use them for the most parts at night time. You btw can have a quik look inside during the day time but just don't stare because that is considered rude.

My view on the Dj question is that back in the early 80's when housemusic made it over from the States and later England it changed the clubcultere completely ' cus at the same time XTC was introduced.Those raves both legal or illegal needed dj's and in just a couple of years they were the stars the parties evolved around.Lots of money was to be made so I didn't take that much time to start education both in the organisation of the parties and the dj's.If you want to check it in Utrecht you. will find the Herman brood academy. Love your Chanel Ava

Also Dutch is the second closest language to English after friesyan with is also spoken in the Netherlands in the province of Friesland. Dutch, English, frysian, German and Afrikaans are all part of the western gernanic language branch. I just find it really easy to learn English and I actually enjoy learning new words.

When I was in college my parents had a few friends from the UK over as guests and they were quite curious why we spoke English like we were some creeps. We explained that's how our English teachers told us to speak English. When we switched to speaking English like we learned from TV they said we spoke it much better. Of course we didn't forget to tell our teachers what English people said about our pronunciation....

In the Dutch educational system you have 3 language English / German / French of which English is compulsory the other you may choice in general 2 language or normal lately also Spanish is available

As a 2 meter tall Dutchman this has always fascinated me. Height may be because of a combination of good healthcare at the right moment. Growing is front-loaded, how long you can theoretically grow is completely determined by how well you start. At a certain age you stop growing so there's no making up for lost time. It's known that you pause growing when you're sick. It's also known that a lot of growth happens in short, intense bursts of a few days every few months. If you're sick during such a spurt then your growth spurt and all others after it get delayed. But any that get's delayed to after your growth phase is lost. So childhood illnesses are a huge factor, but NOT the amount of illnesses but their duration. The longer you are sick, the higher the chance that your illness intersects with a growth spurt. A good start also points to good post-natal care and we have been doing well at that for decades now. It may be as simple as a culture of keeping sick children home to get over an illness instead of toughing it out at school that makes all the difference. Parental leave after birth will be a big factor there, as can our culture of having a kraamverzorger (nanny) after birth so a child is well looked after while the mother is recuperating. Having a healthy and rested parent when the child starts it's growth phases will count for a lot.

Heey Wonder! Love your vids! Just an add on about the windows…did you know that in history taxes were paid for having window view? The more windows. The more tax. So having a lot of windows indicated that you had a lot of money aswel…because of that reason you can also find a lot of old buildings with bricked up windows. So. You see there is a window but its filed up with bricks. When people would do that there taxes would drop. Luckily thats not the case anymore! 😅 keep up with the vids! And stay healthy!!