Many of my Dutch friends call it Holland, so I just adopted it pretty quickly from locals :) I asked people much about it, and most said they didn't care. Everyone knows that the Netherlands is the country and Holland are two regions. Holland is easier to pronounce, I guess.
@@icerabbit9419 Don't act so annoyingly oversensitive. When you go to Leeds you don't tell people you are going to visit a city in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Schotland, do you? In colloquialism everybody calls that country England, eventhough England is just a part of it. Besides that, 'hup, the Netherlands, hup, instead of 'hup, Holland hup, would sound utterly stupid, don't you agree?
@@MaartjeTosca Leeds is in England, yeah. I don't see the problem there. Going to Amsterdam is going to Holland, so no problem also. Zwolle is not in Holland, that's what is said.
Most people know where to find the public toilets, mostly in certain shops like the HEMA, or public restaurants and cafetaria’s. Also public libraries and Gemeente huis have public toilets. That’s why Dutch people make sure that the last thing they do before leaving their home is use the bathroom!
The openness and closedness we Dutch people have is easy, we accept that you can be who you are(gay or not gay or what ever). We are friendly to people we dont know but to become someone's friend you have to put in some work to gain that trust so that we(Dutch) open up, in big city's it is harder then in a small village.
In fact, even in small villages, they readily accept anyone who makes an effort. In my town, Woensdrecht, you will find an enormous number of different nationalities. People don't care where you come from. It's about who you are as a person and how much you want to make friends. We literally accept everyone.
Great vid :) good to see it from your perspective. Regarding the openness and closedness: it all stems from personal freedom: to be free, you have to let others be free as well. Although that would allow everyone their quirks and tastes, it goes both ways, and people tend to be reserved with outright judgment, unless of course you ga against this particular grain. Because there is so much freedom, there is no need to express yourself through other means as much, and we find comfort in the experiences we share.
Just subscribed. 👍 Saw this channel for first time. Hope you make more of he Netherlands. Love to see videos seen through the eyes of foreigners/expats from my country. You expats see things we find normal and don't pay attention. Example, every time i hear expats/foreigners say, the streets and roads are so clean and the quality of the roads.
9:59 This putting your slice of ham, cheese, etc on the bottom of the bun, I as a Dutch person adopted. In a Chech hotel, I saw a Chech family doing this and I thought it was effing brilliant. The Dutch usually slice it open and put the topping inside.
Everyone feels happy just because we feel equal. If I'm right, the Russian people long for socialist times, because they all felt equal. Now there are big differences in the distribution of wealth in Russia, which made people start to feel unhappy...
I think people tend to remember good things much better than bad stuff. That's why we have so many "Oh, how the soviet union was great" types of people in Russia. Also, it's mainly from the older generation, and I think they long for youth, too, not for a socialist regime, so their conclusions are just wrong. Equality is terrific and vital, but the methods of achieving it are essential, too. Nothing is good in extremes and worth losing your freedom.
Two Dutch proverbs for you to help you understand the openness and closed offness of the Dutch. One you already mentioned. Doe normaal dan doe je al gek genoeg (Act normal, then you are already crazy enough) and the second one is "Leven en laten leven" which means "live and let live". We don't want to influence others too much with our own judgements. Be aware, Dutch people are judgemental! They will just not harass you with it.
Nice! Thank you for the explanation; I think I'm getting it better now. To be honest, I think many people in the world are judgemental, just about different things 😅 The very cool phrase, "Leven en laten leven," love it!
@@dpashutskii there is another proverb, I think you refer to that one: je hoofd niet boven het maaiveld uitsteken. For most people here this is so very much a part of who they are that they don't even realise it. I'm not sure why it is this way, I do know it's even stronger in Svandinavia. Wiki says this: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maaiveldcultuur Maybe the proverb and the term "maaiveldcultuur" can help you in your search for the origin of this behaviour and/or help you understand the Dutch better. In my opinion the unconsious things are always hard to understand.
We do always eat dinner together in the evening :D that's tradition at least in Brabant, but the food we eat at school or at work is indeed quite simple and easy but as long as its healthy enough. Good that you like it here!. I think its important to chose a country that fits you indeed.
Open and closed at the same time. Yeah, that's us. I think most of us are totally happy to open up, but as a response, not as "being open immediately". It's not always wanted, the deeper interest, and thus we start superficially. Then, if we're interested, openness becomes a thing. But we ARE a bit guarded at first. I think that also is trained at a young age, with the "doe normaal, dan doe je gek genoeg". It's a good thing to keep this balance, to keep a steady mood so to speak. It gives a tolerant society. But oh boy, when we really really want to be heard, we can be loud and open as well. (check out the Dutch soccer fans in Germany, and I think you will see some serious openness) Once we make the connection, we'll open up, but making that connection is up to you, to ask, and be curious and interested. Then MOST people will be an open book. And yeah, we have some hermits too ;-))
I saw yor video on Georgian business registration over two years ago, when I was living in Australia. I just arrived in Georgia after working in Turkiye for two years, and I'm thinking about opening a solo entrepreneur business here in Georgia. 15 minutes ago I thought "didn't Dimitri made a video on that a few years ago?". I come to your channel and you uploaded an hour ago! Now I watch this video first 😅
9:02 Dutch have the happiest kids in the world. Being progressive as a country does help. But I would add the freedom of movement as I believe Dutch infrastructure also has a significant benefit. It's pretty save for kids to take there bikes and visits friends on there own. I lived very close to Zwolle myself and even as a child (from 11 to 12 years old) I biked to school, friends and the town in Zwolle. Having such an independence at such a young age is wonderful and I doubt that would exist here if the infrastructure was not build as it was.
Oh yes! That's a fantastic benefit, especially in sleeper areas and smaller towns. In our area, kids always play alone, and nobody worries about anything. I can imagine it's much more challenging in something like Rotterdam city center.
@@dpashutskii No, even in cities, there are small playground areas between the buildings here and there, and kids manage to play just fine! ;-) The cities have mostly save biking lanes too, and all of us keep an eye out. (open curtains help with that too.) And if the curtains are closed, you can bet your bottom dollar that we're ready for Pajama's, or intimacy, or we're ill, and then we DO close the curtains, cuz that's private. (for most people, haha)
about the open/closed culture and especially 'doe normaal', I think we just prefer convenience overall. why make things difficult by being special when it's just extra effort and time that's totally unnecessary 🤷♀ it is a bit weird that we're a tolerant country, while also being very conservative when it comes to our culture. I think recently you can see the clash between that getting bigger. From what I notice around me is that people think: 'it's fine if you want to be special, you do you, but keep it away from me and let me do my thing'. we're also very individualistic like that. (also, in the intro I thought I recognized the bridge near Zwolle and then I heard you mention Zwolle so I'm glad I wasn't flipping out. It's just Zwolle is rarely mentioned by foreigners, which definitely confirms your point 😅)
Great points! > prefer convenience overall Another thing that I love about the Netherlands is everything is just so convenient. Yeah! Zwollenaar here :) You're right; there are not a lot of foreigners here. And in general, people keep it secret ;)
About open and closed culture: We are egalitarian liberals. Because everyone is equal, we can treat everyone as equals. But to be all equal, everyone has to be the similar and no one can stand out.
@@dpashutskii So do I. I am just pointing it out. Dutch culture is pretty conformised even though a lot of Dutch people don't realise it. I think it comes from 17 million people all together in one tiny spot.
I doubt any restaurant or lunchroom would refuse you using the toilet. Also second hand stores, shopping malls, offices, hardware stores, light industry, etc will allow you to use the restroom. If you are in a residential area, try some homes. People will allow you to use their toilet if they see you are in need of one. The only places where you would be refused are small or medium sized stores.
@@dpashutskii Ding Dong! Hi! Sorry to ask this, but could you please point me to a nearby bathroom? I really need to pee and I can't find one! Occasionally one would refuse you, but 99% of the people will point you to their own bathroom. ;-)
New subscriber here. I think you should fit in perfectly. Give it some time and try to mingle with the Dutch. It shouldn’t be hard to find some Dutch friends for someone like you. I would accept someone like you directly into my group of friends. Especially in my small town in West Brabant, where a lot of Polish Ukrainian and some Russians live. We are friends with many of them. Try a little harder, and you will be amazed. Maybe avoid mentioning "I'm Russian" at the first meeting. 😂😂
Thank you so much! I am afraid my home country comes up quickly because "Where are you from?" is one of the first questions anyone asks. 😂 I don't mind. I have nothing to be ashamed of. I know where I stand, and I don't think that I have anything to do with this country's terrible leadership.
Toilets: Have you seen how many restaurants and cafes there are everywhere? And each of them have a toilet. It's not uncommon to go to the bathrooms inside a restaurant or cafe; though often they'd like you to buy a drink when you do use their sanitaries. Either way, with that many cafes, public lavatories aren't a necessity.
You will enjoy yourself getting all you need as expat. Nice 🏡 not to pay taxes. Any idea who doesn't have this? The Dutch themselves. We're paying your tax cuts, great to have 2 jobs and still worrying what to pay first, our children must live with mom and dad even at 35 years old. We're on long waiting lists for the hospital and everything is crumbling down. Hope you enjoy yourself
I feel for people in this situation. Finding someone to blame is not the solution; it never is. Getting rid of expats and foreigners will not solve anything; it will only make things worse. It has happened before in other countries, but it has never helped. Also, it's not like we are all kids of wealthy parents or anything. Moving to another country and finding a job in a new environment is very hard, much more challenging than in your own country. Plus, it's extremely expensive until you adjust.
he can do with his (real) coffee whatever he wants , who are you to tell him he cant walk the streets with his coffee ??!! blijkbaar ben jij zo'n type wat overal iets over te zeiken heeft , bemoei je met je eigen leven man !!
Haha, maybe you're right. But I just like walking xD But yeah, the American busy-busy mentality (which is the same in my homecountry) is hard to shake off sometimes. I am working on it.
