5 Things Dutchies Complain About (But I Secretly ENJOY) 

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Dear Lady i am german so i do love my netherland brothers and sisters. We germans are the world champions in complaining,its true ❤❤

I see (or don't see, depending on how you look at it) the way the lack of taxes affects daily life in the USA. The USA's obsession with low taxes is hurting so many people.

هولندا رائعه وشعبها شعب راقي ..الناس لطيفين لاتفارقهم الابتسامه ..رغم بعد المسافه فانا احب واكن لهذا الشعب كل الاحترام والتقدير...

Nice to see you again Jovie! I agree with you on the taxes. You gave an example, the cleanliness, but you could also have mentioned the infrastructure. Compare the condition of the roads....

Loved,loved,loved this video Jovie ! You make us Dutchies realise ,how priviliged we are to live in this country!!! Lia

The quality of our society comes not only from tax money well spent, but also from volunteers. Today I saw a group of volunteers collecting litter. Much praise for this group of people within our society who care about quality of life. 👃💗👍

I was in Belgium last week. You can definately tell that they do not prioritise infrastructure. I mean roads, bridges, trainstations, roadsigns and more examples that havent been maintained for over 20 years. And its very very dirty. There is rubbish/trash everywhere. Obviously not in the beautiful historic city centres like Gent and Brugge but definately outside of it. Plastic, tin cans etc is everywhere. And its like there is this yellow or dirt glow on all the buildings. It all looks like it needs a wash or some new paint.

I love your video’s. There is a general rule that the happiest people live in countries where the taxes are high. You explained very explicit why.🌺🌸

Yes there she is again, you're talking so relaxed about things, thank you! 👍

You tube favorite aunt. Great video that you have shown us that watch your channel. Outstanding job young lady. Thanks for sharing.

If you think Dutch people can't wait in a line, go to the Efteling on a sunny not too hot summer day and try out all the popular rides.

We also like to complain about the amount of rain, until it is not there (in this and previous summers). Then we realize we kinda need it...

I'll try to keep this as short as I can :) 1. I don't understand people complaining about paracetamol. I think paracetamol is the best drug there is. It's better for your health, it's more efficient mostly, it's less expensive for our healthcare system, you don't get antibiotics for everything and it's not addictive like most pain medication. And mostly that's all our body needs to feel better in the end. 2. I love paying taxes. I have a high income job so I pay more taxes over my income but I'm proud that I do. You really can see it all around you if you look beyond your own bank account. Better infrastructure, affordable healthcare / education, pretty clean cities, great public transportation, social programs for people who can't afford it, the rights we have as employees etc etc. 3. Bureaucracy I party agree with. Because it's very hard for people to know and understand. For a lot of vulnerable people it's just s too hard to understand. Which means that they don't know their rights and some will get in big trouble because of this. And as a psychologist and especially before when I was still a social worker you'll notice how hard it is for those people. 4. I love Dutch politics as well especially comparing it to the USA system. To be honest I think there are a little bit too much political parties. There are lots of one issue parties and it sometimes feels more about activism instead of coming together. They have to work together after elections and that's noticable most of the time. I love that there's a mixture of political parties in parlement. Like for instance at this moment there's VVD (who is a right liberal party), CDA (who is a conservative middle but a bit more right party), D66 (who is a progressive middle but more left party) and CU (who is a conservative left party). The biggest problem is that it can be hard to solve problems because everybody needs to agree. And there's a growing group of people that don't feel like their politcal party did enough to respresent them because they wanted to find a middle ground, which result in activism and more radical parties (both left and right) and followers in the Netherlands as well. 5. Don't think this annoys a large group of people but I don't know maybe some have their doubts about the safety and privacy. 6. Love your Schiphol comment. Yes people don't like waiting. We're always in a rush and our standards are really high. We're not used to wait a long time, everything is designed for this standard. In public transportation there's a bus or train every 10 - 15 minutes. And we still complain when a train is delayed, while more than 90% comes in time or within 5 minutes. We expect our packages to arrive the next or sometimes even the same day. And when you forget groceries in the city you can get it delivered in 10 minutes. But you're right our attitude needs to change especially because we've got a shortage of employees so it's more likely we have to wait a little bit longer than we're used to.

You are definitely one of us now. Complaining, but quietly loving all this. Recently I watched some of your earlier vlogs. You are really good at these vlogs and improving. I love them and see many recommendations of your vlogs in other expat videos.

Cool, it makes me realise again how high the living standard is in The Netherlands compared to most other countries in the world. About the last one: I'm afraid that the chaos in Schiphol is not going to teach 'us' how to stand in a line :(

I enjoyed the video and I agree about taxes - when I want to complain, I look around and shut up. Compared to all I've known, this is a huge improvement on standard of living for me,

12:48 tennaamstellingscode? We come up with those words to screw around with foreigners. :p

Loved it!!! Especially Schiphol, you are spot on!

I totally agree about the tax thing. You see the return. As a visitor I’m just blown away by the quality of the roads and cycle paths. Virtually zero pot holes and cracks. There are a lot more construction staff around during road works, and it’s faster. I totally agree with the quality of public parks and recreational areas too!😄

one time i went with my son to Belgium bij train. He asked me where the border was because it was all trees around us. 'That's simple' i told him. 'As soon the traintrack gets dirty we're in Belgium' . So after a little while my son said...'o , we are in Belgium ma !' ( sorry for my englisch)

Sweety Pie, whére did the rest of you go?! I think you are gorgeous in every shape or form, so any way is lovely. But it’slike I am seeing a totally different Jovie. Welcome back!!😘

Als ik buiten Nederland ga dan iriteer mij mateloos aan de wegen aldaar, als ik dan terug Nederland in komt dan springt mij hart bijne een gat in de lucht....If I go outside the Netherlands, the roads there irritate me immensely. when I come back to the Netherlands then my heart just jumps a hole in the air ....

Let someone drive you to Belgium while you're blindfolded. You know when you've crossed the border. I don't mind paying taxes, nor medical insurance. Nothing is free, so we all have to pay for things to be accessible to everyone.

Yes, DigiD is quite handy! But as others have mentioned: it is only a portal for authentication. After you have proven that you are who you claim to be you are redirected to the website or database of the organization you want to interact with. So your data is not centrally stored. In fact, sharing your info (by them) is strictly forbidden by law.

I totally agree! I sometimes think of it as "Dutch grumblings". And I find it almost ... adorable?? Hear me out - the Dutch will grumble about, for example, health insurance premiums and deductibles. Coming from the US, I find that so adorable because we have such insanely high premiums and deductible. I also find it more like the Dutch are making sure they keep the govt/country in check and don't get to prideful. But that might just me because I love the Dutch people and love the Netherlands! 🥰

The taxes, bureaucracy and politics are interconnected. Exceptions apply, but Dutch bureaucracy is quite competent across the board and is less susceptible to political currents than in many other countries. It is the reason why taxes are generlly well spent, why there is little corruption and why "the welfare state" hasn't been stripped bare yet. I say "yet" because NL is increasingly falling victim to the neoliberal plague that is spreading in the Western world and undermining our democracy and freedom. We will have to become less complacent and more vigilant, or we may soon loose all the priviliges we currently enjoy.

As a Swede and tax I totally agree with you and also the other stuff. It seems the health care system is very similar. Also the digital ID system for close to everything, doing taxes takes less than 3 minutes. We have Swish in Sweden that transfers money between phones directly doesn't matter what bank you have, and I love it. You can buy things at a store or just give money to a friend.

Right on. I think paying the taxes is totally worth it when the society and quality of life is better for everyone

Great video I really liked it. Just don't forget to complain it's the Dutch way to make improvements

As a Dutch person I can agree to all of them! Nice video!

Hahaha as a Dutchie living in the UK for ages the standing in line bit is just hilarious 😭

I love DigiD too! 👍😁

Loved the video. Always drop whatever I'm doing ti watch your video's.

Paracetamol is addictive and causes many additional problems - like liver an kidney failure Simply if you take too much paracetamol you get a head ache and of course you take more of the drug to cure the headache The problem is that you can get it in every drugstore and there is not limit .

I am similar to you Jovie; For I too was once a fan of the Dutch, during their dominant reign over Europe in 1689. They truly had substance and conveyed a powerful and deeply moving message about unrelenting Christian faith. However, as of today it appears to me that the Dutch that I once loved, have devolved to non-Christian, morally corrupted lifestyles. Coitus, alcohol, cannabis and delusions of grandeur have polluted the Dutch who were once upstanding, truly divine, we all adored the Dutch. As famous motivational speaker Tom Smyth once said, " The Devil says to the warrior, " Are you prepared for the storm? The warrior responded, 'I am the storm.' " The tragic Dutch once possessed this ravenous mentality. Unfortunately they are now truly lost. ~ Randolph Wilson ~

I havnt check in with you for about 6 months due to things of life and changing country, but wow Jovie how much more confident you have become ...no more slightly embarrassed and apologetic Jovie and your confidence has made you more beautiful. You go girl...almost a proper "Dutchy" .....almost 👍🤣😂❤

Nice to hear that you got used to many of our Dutch ways, all those compliments, it's crazy!! It might be better than in the USA, but it's not all fun and games in The Netherlands. And I think it is a good character trait of us Dutchies, to always be curious and find out if some things can be better. And there are a lot of things to improve in the Netherlands, so we complain :).

I wish my country had everything so well organized for paying taxes and medical care etc.

You missed one: the NS! Everytime I'm abroad I appreciate the public transport in the Netherlands. Trains and busses go everywhere and often, are generally on time, the timetables make sense and are easy to remember, the train stations are easy to navigate, the customer service is great, you can use the ov chipkaart everywhere so no need for a dozen different apps, ticket prices don't fluctuate and you don't need to make seat reservations! Using public transport often really sucks abroad.

I liked the video very much. And you did not do it as an outsider, but as an insider/citizen. We complain a lot but Forgot to see the benefits. As specialy americans seem better equiped to compare. We tend to dislike when outsiders judge the netherlands. But you didn’t do that. A compliment to you.

The thing about the lines at the cash registers is indeed annoying. I can’t understand why this is happening. Everything is so organized in our country, but not the cash register lines in supermarkets. Thank God for self scan and self check out counters. At my local supermarket we have 4 manned cash registers, 6 self scan counters (if you need to scan your items at the counter) and 6 self check out counters (if you scanned your items in the shop, you only have to pay there). But in our local Hema we have one line for several cash registers, so it does happen and it works just fine for everybody.

A very good example between Dutch tax and Belgian tax that's literally visible watch how the road condition on the highway changes exactly on the border... Dutch side smooth road with clear directions and road markings..Belgian side? you need a 4 wheel drive off-road car with GPS 😂😂😂😂

The public transport,is maybe the best we have in Europa

You can drink tap water everywhere in Europe, but it's not usually recommended for foreigners due to different bacteria which would result in some quality time with the toilet

Yep...love to complain..true..but I also wanna wish you Merry christmas...to you and all your loved ones!

I loved those lines at Schiphol too. So much schadenfreude. 😝

My parents and I moved to New Brunswick Canada in 2008, and I'm now in the process of moving back to NL. A big reason is the taxes. I pay about the same in taxes here, but have absolutely nothing to show for it. And not only that, my sibling needed some gov't support and there barely was any available. So as a high earner I get very little in return for paying taxes and the less fortunate aren't getting any support either.. A city of my size would have at least one tram line in NL, if not two. Here we have a barely functioning bus system that takes 1hr to go 10min by car, 30min by bike. It just doesn't make sense. Of course New Brunswick has a lot of expenses because of the density. i.e.: 28 hospitals for 700K people. And a 10Km road to service 5 people. But maybe property taxes for rural should be higher instead of cheaper than the city to pay for the actual cost of rural living. But the denser parts of Canada aren't affordable anymore.

The queue! Yes! Went abroad, had a little item to get on return to Schiphol. Someone cut the queue, my husband and I immediately said to each other "welcome home honey".

And if we don't have anything to complain about then we complain about not having anything to complain about. 🙄😁🤔

Luckily data isn't centralised between government agency's. DigiD is just a centralised authorisation and authentication way 😁, this is something different than that the data is centralised

You were totally on point in this video (as always, but this was a strong one)! 👏🏻 Time passes quickly! Is it almost half of a decade already?

"I like that our human rights are not being stripped away by our government." Well, except for the toeslagenaffaire, where children were taken away from their parents because of baseless fraud allegations by the tax departement, who also purposefully made it impossible for those people to object to the allegation. Politicians knew about it, but tried to sweep the problems under the rug instead of doing something about it. Or the asylum seekers that have to sleep outside because there is not enough shelter space, while at the same time not being allowed to work, so they can't earn money to take care of themselves either.

I agree, the Dutch love complaining it seems. But then: in my parents home we had this plaque my father had brought home after his air force flight training in the USA. It says: "As a rule a man's a fool. When it's hot he wants it cool, when it's cool he want it hot. What it is, he wants it not" Sure, this is applicable for the Dutch. But it came from the USA ;-)

I didnt noticed it in other countries that much.. I dont travel that much though... But is share you philosophy on paying tax.. I am a strong believe in the solidairty principle... We all contribute to our society.. and make it a livable and social place for us all... I rather make 40.000 a year and live in a place where all people are content.. then a place i make 150.000 and we all fight for a piece of the pie and leave the weak behind

It's probably not just the taxes but the mentality that provides for well maintained public spaces. Go to Switzerland and you'll see a country that is in better shape with way less (income) taxes

Tenaamstellingspapieren;-) good one for Scrabble! hihi

@14:53 Have you been drinking? LOL! Just kidding, another great vid!

Never looked at our country this way . THX

Bureaucracy: have you seen the "purple crocodile" commercial on TV?

I laughed so hard when you mentioned the queues. Because that's just very true, if we don't have to wait any longer, we just won't.! And if we see a spot and you don't, yep, we'll take it. a comedian here once made a funny representation of that and also how we react to it. If we have the place first, we are very happy and proud that we have seen beautiful. If someone else takes precedence, we say "Oh, I'm not in a hurry" hahaha we always talk it right for ourselves. What is also true is that you notice how well you actually have it when you go to another country. Then you really appreciate what you actually have. But in the Netherlands itself, we sometimes don't see that, because we think it's normal and it's noticeable if it isn't there or is not self-evident. Idd we like to complain about the tax, but I am also very happy to see where and especially what is being done with it. The Netherlands is a very clean country, that's one of the first things I notice in other countries, why is it so dirty here and why is all that garbage around here. No we don't like that.

When people complain about the rainy weather, I always say: it is good for the garden. Complaining takes time it's not worth it. Thanks for the video!

Netherlands seems great. Seems the government ACTUALLY cares bout its ppl’s welfare and environment. What a Novel idea. Imagine if all governments did this

Hi Jovie, love your blogs. Nice to see you are realy getting more and more a Dutchy! You stated that you love the long lines at schiphol and you let out the 32 disclaimers you would have put in a few years back. You own what you say. Well maybe that's Dutch directness. Yep definitly one of us now! And yes we complain a lot but exactly like you we love our contry for all the things we take for granted but are not in many other countries.

Love the line one, lol

Paracetamol is a painkiller and decreases fever. For a viral infection , paracetamol will decrease symptoms , but will not heal you. People with a bacterial infection most often need a anti-biotics treatment. Taking to much and to long , paracetamol , can cause 'rebound headache'.

There are places in the US where consuming tap water is actively discouraged...

I love the dutch

Yep, we do ! 😀

I live in the US (Hawaii) and I very much enjoy paying taxes, because a group of men appear on the curb of my house at 0700 twice a week and whisk my rubbish away! I so wish our state and country worked as well as the Netherlands government.

Agree with many things. Mostly the Dutch complain about it because they don't have much comparison. That's not saying the complaining should stop, there's always room for improvement. My complaint about the doctors? I always ask them to write something in my medical file, I don't think they've done it yet. Don't tell me to take a paracetamol and come back in two weeks if it's still a problem. I already did that. In fact, I waited four weeks and took paracetamol as needed, and used some common remedies. I'm here because nothing worked and it didn't go away on its own. While I understand your 'staying in line' bit, most of the time I do it, it's because that register is free and no one moves to it. This is absolutely something that happens at the supermarket I frequent, because one register is kind of hidden when you approach, so people tend to ignore it. Then they stand in line and their brains switch off. Mine do too, so I can't really blame anyone there. You can all see it's free. And I'll wait ten, twenty seconds to let someone in front of me go there first, but I am not going to wait patiently in line when there's a free register and everyone is too zoned out, or too polite, to go there. Same with announcements like 'this register will be opening soon'. Depending on where I am in the line, I'll give others some time to react, but I'm not going to wait forever. But, as usual, there are always people who take it too far

Damn,.. line training. Again!? Good to see you're having fun at our expense,.. you're quite Dutchified That reflective little snark deserves "Tien Inburgeringspunten!". I totally get the supermarket line dashing skills of some are remarkable and quite annoying. When lines are more of an requirement, Durch people tend to behave quite well though. Skipping the line is really considered not done unsocial thuggery, Skipping a row however seems free reign. It is easier for the last in line to move to the next row without the hassle of making space for someone else. When things are becoming pragmatic, rules bend towards the pragmatic here.

That is true, Dutchies do not like to wait in line. I remember how I was rushed to put all my groceries in my backpack because the cashier and the person behind me were looking at me as if I were a tortoise! Thank god there are now selfservice cashiers in the supermarket! :D

I love to see how well you're doing. Oh, and that word you were tripping over...let me divvy it up for you: te-naam-stel-ling, with emphasis on "naam."

It's probably because of all the sunlight but I thought that this video was a little bit overbelicht. Maybe something for Daan to take a look at. 😉

Dutch people tend to be very aware who's turn it is, even if they are not standing in a line. When someone 'cuts' in front of them, they are not shy about claiming their rightful spot. It doesn't happen often, but if it does, they are not getting away with it, at least not with me.

Nice subject Jovi, Dutch that complain! We even have a saying about it: ' Klagen is geen nood! ' - who complains is not in despair... which makes you think when people get quiet.

Taxes: just drive to Belgium. The roads are so bad there.

and with the play ground one close to my house climing thing some steps where lose kids could get there foot stuck was fixed in monday i called saterday

Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

To me, the main function of going to the 'huisarts' (GP) is to make sure that my ailment is actually nothing serious that needs quick medical intervention. So, I don't usually _expect_ to get a prescription right away. I just want that check. Unless the pain and discomfort would be such that I really, really can't stand it, but if in that case, if the GP would still be waving me away, that's more a case of the GP not taking his patient seriously enough. Of course, the GP sometimes also misjudges cases in which it later turns out medical intervention was necessary. (Neither of these has ever happened to me personally). But I think those are more problems and errors on an individual level than an intrinsically flawed system. I've been in about 50 countries, all over the world. The more I travel, the more I appreciate my own country. Not everything is perfect here, but there's a kind of guaranteed basic level of services, quality of items you work with, and general safety that won't suddenly give way from under your feet and it's far too easy to take that for granted. I had the impression that in several 'poor' countries I visited, the root problem wasn't even poverty itself, but _corruption_ - (profits of) the resources that could have made the average person much butter off disappearing in the pockets of the powerful and wealthy. And the degree to which it was accepted. ('Yes, of course they're pocketing the money! Wouldn't everybody, in their shoes?') Making sure the general population _stays_ poor even if their poverty could have been alleviated.

Your videos are so nice and informative. Wish there were more. May i learn which city/town your lovely house is?

Hey Jovie je bent zo Nederlands geworden. I have watched you over the years and the transformation is almost complete. Den Haag is toch een mooi stad? Ik heb mijn 55 jaren in dit land bereik en ik zo blij dat ik als een jongetje van 17 een poging hebben toen genomen. Trouwens ik ben total met je eens over je opmerking. Wij Nederlanders kan makkelijk klagen maar in algemeen hebben wij heel weinig over te klagen.

Sounds very much like Norway. I'm living in Utopia. We fantasized about this in school in the sixties, when we didn't even have computers. Never did I think back then that this would happen in my lifetime. I don't bother about tax forms, except confirm it's correct, which it is. Stocks and funds are automatically handled. So are pensions. And any other payment from the state, or to the state. Whether I go to my doctor, the hospital, the dentist, some specialist service, or whatever, it's all automated, and now I usually don't even have to bother to pull out a card. Paying for parking is almost entirely automated, through an app and GPS. Manual toll roads are of course long gone. I don't know what our current cash looks like. I don't receive snail mail from anybody anymore. I was laid off during the pandemic and had a really great time with no significant net loss of income. Some friction in the bureaucracy there, but it was sorted out nicely. These days many people in Norway are a bit scared about so many rich people grabbing all their money and fleeing to Switzerland. Perhaps that's an indication we're doing something right here ... as soon as we fix the tax laws so that they pay their due tax before moving.

About to move to the Netherlands...after looking how much they deducted my money for taxes, I was heartbroken but slightly relieved upon hearing your experience in the Netherlands. Can't wait to work and visit the country.

the water is good thing yes you pay tax for it but you dont have to buy water to drink its even better then plastic bottle water when they transport them they get hot in the truck in the summer above 50c they say to not leave those bottles in your car whe car gets hot 50c the plastic will go in the water its only a tiny bit i would still drink it but just showing the tap water is better to drink

I don't like paying taxes but I do appreciate doing my taxes takes about ten minutes in the Netherlands.

lol great video, i agree about the waiting in line , dutch ppl really need to learn not to cut the line it is really rude

love the last one :D

Actually I rarely hear people complain about paying taxes. What people do complain about is that "their" tax money is being wasted on stupid projects by - mostly - the cities and the spending on welfare benefits for people who should be working. I agree that mistakes are being made. But these are incidents. Cities are run by people, people like you and me, and people can make wrong assessments. And there are some people living of welfare benefits who just don't want to work. But for the other 99,99% of the government spendings I have to say that it is money well spend. First problem is that the revenues and returns on the investments are either to indirect or to far in the future for people to see the merits. And second that most of it is so normal that people don't see it and take it for granted. But nothing happens by itself. Someone has to do it, take action and put money into it. That's what the government, and cities upfront, is doing with the tax money. It takes someone from the outside, e.g. expats, to see the effects, like good schools, good roads and no masses of homeless people living in tents on the streets.

Maybe antibiotcs are easier discribed in the US coz most people can't afford to be too sick to work.

About taxes, yeah they are a pain but a lot of times they are used for a good cause. Abroad I'm sometimes shocked how bad the roads are. Holes and such everywhere. And don't even mention the sidewalk or cycle lane if they have one, that's just dangerous at times. And last time I was in Belgium I was annoyed by the lack of direction boards along the road or simple name plates for streets. Sometimes you could only see where to go when you must sort before a traffic light and then see you need to go right instead of left. That annoyance is now mostly solved with navigation but still.

Jovie, I wish 20 years ago I immigrated into Germany or even 30 years ago!

hi usa topeka kansas here you are forgetting number one we dutch love to complain a boud the weather its cold here in topkek f 40 so ja lekker koud love your videos makes me home sick, have to say enjoy watching it groetjes van sofia

Isn't the "the doctor only prescribes paracetamol" a bit of a myth? Yes, in the Netherlands general practitioners are very reluctant to prescribe antibiotics and heavy painkillers, but recently I broke my elbow and it took several days before I could undergo surgery. In the meantime and after the operation, I took oxycodone (heavy painkiller) for the pain. Of course, Dutch doctors are not bogeymen who want to make people suffer, but they are very aware of the possible side effects of heavy painkillers (addiction) and/or antibiotics (resistance).

I am Dutch and I actualiteit agree with all of these haha ☺️

thats why everything is well organised here ;p

This episode is "een open deur intrappen" (kicking in an open door). No complaint about the weather ? Not Jovie's best work.

Hi Jovie, i was wondering if you will do the province travels again ?

In a way complaining is our parotitic duty to improve things ;p Of course it "works" because of the combination of our directness and the way we see hierarchy not as a gap between people.