"Normal" Dutch things that got me | Dutch Culture Shocks | Reaction! 

The basic rule every dutch person grew up with is: when the street light turn on, go home. Parents dont care where you've been haha. Just get home on time

As a Dutch person, I am wondering.. where is a ‘normal’ place for a toilet? Because from my perspective it seems really easy and convenient. It’s a corner of the house, often it has a small window to ventilate. And you always know the general direction of the toilet!

Dutch building laws: It is not allowed to enter a toilet directly from the livingroom or kitchen so in most houses you have to go to the hall entrance to go to the toilet it is a hygiene issue

Toilet next to the front door. Its so easy. There are multiple reasons though. The first one, its for our guests. In the Netherlands we sleep upstairs, the stairway is in the hallway. So that means there isn't any bathroom downstairs. So the toilet is in the hallway. Its the most hygienic place, since we do not want that thing next to our kitchen. Easily accisable. The second reason is the plumbing. Since the plumbing in the Netherlands is located under the streets the most logic place of our toilets in in the hallway. The fastest way for the plumbing to exit the dwelling. Come on people, it aint that hard! Edit: The reason bedrooms are on the 2nd floor. We do not have much space in the Netherlands, we are the most crowded country in Europe. That means, buildingground is so expensive, we go straight up in the air. To give ourselves privacy bed- and bathroom are upstairs.

Every Dutch house usually has a toilet in the hallway thay's just the way it is. And with birthdays I think it's showing respect. Like hey: congratulations with your friend. That way you acknowledge the friendship and celebrate together the birthday of the person you both have a certain relationship with, I like it. We're together, not a group of individuals

when its somebody's birthday we celebrate it with every friend or family member. we greet everyone and give them 3 kisses. i think its because when its someone's birthday we know we had another year with that person. and we appreciate all the persons that have come for that person. its not just a party but its really a celebration of the life of that person. and all the people that love that person

Her dutch pronunciation is so good. And normally you congratulate the birthday person and their family but I guess because people are not sure who is family or not they just include everyone in generosity, versus only doing it for one person, haha. As a female a lot of kissing is involved too, we're used to it. And yeah toilets are in a hall and the hall is where the front door is. There is only one bathroom and that tends to be upstairs. So you wouldn't usually go into anyone's bathroom if you came to visit, just the toilet...with the birthday calendar.

The reason we say Gefeliciteerd to everyone there is that we all sit in a circle around the coffee table. It's an integral part of the chant for summoning ritual for the birthday spirit. Aside from that we stay all around that circle and get up to congratulate newcomers while we ritually sacrifice snacks, beer, wine, and soft drinks.

Hahahahhaa the toilet next to the front door is SO true, toilet as far away from the living space as possible.

We always have a toilet at the front door, rarely anywhere else, when you come home from shopping you can go straight away

The Dutch saying is "Ik leef niet om te werken, ik werk om te leven". Translation: I don't live to work, I work to live.

It takes a village to raise a kid...........The Dutch are social people. We congratulate all people on a birthday/wedding because all of us, in our own way, contributed to the well being of the one who is celebrated. Same with the kids outside playing. There will always be someone who is keeping an eye on them. From a distance, sometimes even from inside the house. And if all children of the neighbourhood play together they all have eyes and a brain to keep the group safe.

I'm dutch, but in our family we first congratulate the person who's birthday it is, and then the family, but not friends. And we sit mostly in a circle, because our houses aren't big and it's easier to talk with whomever is there, without looking at someone's back.

You know, it's very nice to see how people from foreign countries view our way of doing things. So thumbs up for reviewing this.

There is a law that concerns buildings. A toilet should be separated from living areas by two doors. One of the 'smallest room' and another one. The hallway is not a living area. Going through the front door you do not step directly into the living room in the Netherlands, there is always a hallway to keep the cold and draft out. Therefor a very suited area for the toilet, that contains the actual toilet and a hand washing sink. A complete bathroom is found upstairs in the bedroom area or in the back of the house. The hallway is also used for wet rain coats, umbrellas, boots, hats, shawls and gloves, to dry in our sometimes wet country.

saying congrats to other guests is like saying congrats for being nice enough to be invited to our mutual friends party like ''congrats for being able to celebrate our friends party together''

I live in the south of the Netherlands and when somebody celebrates his/her birthday, we only congratulate him/her, the parents, her brother and sister. Not all visitors, we just greet them.

The funeral thing has happened to me too, being a native Dutch. At funerals you shake the hand of the deceased’s family and friends and say; ‘Gecondoleerd’ (something like: my condolences for you) which is quite similar to ‘gefeliciteerd’. It was my first funeral and I was a child so the nerves made me say gefeliciteerd (congratulations!)to several people 🤡

I loved it as a kid in the Netherlands, you really feel free to explore yourself!

My boys from the age of six and up were allowed to play outside by themself. I told them how far from home they could go (like two blocks away and when they were older 4 blocks and so on) and they knew if they didn’t stay Within those limits they had the privilege taken away again; I just told them I trusted them and they earned the trust by listening. So they are happy to just walk out the door and see if there are any other kids around to play with. My oldest is 11 and just goes around the village on his bike. When they are 12 kids go with their bike to high school by themselves and That can be up to 10km or more. They get independent, strong and confident that way. Also, my friend moved to Denmark and her kids also just bike everywhere, to school, and stuff from quite a young age, so either she took the Dutch tradition with them or it’s also normal there.

In the past, and currently in many old houses, the hallway and the toilet are both unheated and have stone floors, which makes them easy to mop. People come in with dirty shoes, or someone pisses on the floor after drinking too much, or has any type of bathroom accident, all you need is a bucket and a mop and an open front door to get everything clean. Every street has drainage out front of the house to dump the dirty water in. Also, where else would you want to put a toilet? Modern houses usually also have a toilet in the bathroom upstairs but people generally only use that to pee in the middle of the night or when they really need to go. And downstairs you dont want any smell in your living room or kitchen!

It's a sign of respect when you everyone say congratulation.

Good to know: We, in the Netherlands, have a 'burgerplicht'. Its a law that says its a duty to help other people when they are in need of help. 😁

Yeah definitely react to some vids of not just bikes. He does an amazing job at explaining Dutch road safety infrastructure.

Yes, the toilet is right by the front door. It is in its own ‘little room’, with a door, so it is not like there is a toilet in the hall way….sometimes the toilet fits right under the stairs.

It takes a village to raise a child. We look out for each other’s children and I think it’s great. At least I greatly appreciated it.

2:33 sewer is beneath the street, so the pipe is shorter and less likely to be jammed.. And you don't have the toiletsmell anywhere in the house, because entry hall where frontdoor is, is closed by door.. no poop sounds throught he wall when the rest of the geuasts are having dinner :D

More videos of Casey please, i love how she explains thinks, and i love her enthusiasm, she speaks dutch really well, ..and as a dutchie living in Australia i agree with everything she says...

The reason why the toilet (small bathroom with just a toilet and a little sink to wash your hands) is close to front door is, I think, because it is the closet to the street. It's practical, because it's the shortest distance to cover with the big waste pipe that connects to the sewage system. The big bathroom (where you shower and stuff) is almost always located right above that, so there's just one vertical pipe going down. Every drain in the house connects either to the vertical pipe (for the upper floors) or the almost horizontal tube leading to the big sewer (ground floor).

I am Norwegian and most houses here have a toilet by the front door too, not sure why but I find it handy when "having to" arriving home or when we have people over, not having to let them into main bathroom. I did see this in the US when visiting, bedrooms were upstairs and so was the main bathroom. Congratulating others for a friends birthday, strange, but I do strange things to, I tend to congratulate the parents of the one having a birthday ;)

about why the 'gefeliciteerd' thing on birthdayparties.you actually got the answer already when she told about the funeral. on a funeral you bring your condolances to everyone who knew the deceased. in joyfull events you do the same, you could say; everyone close to the birthday person is being part of this joyfull event because you are part of that persons life

The toilet being next to the front door or the main entrance of a house is the most normal thing in the Netherlands. I don't even remember a house that has it different. It's just a handy place. I often need to go to the toilet just before arriving home and I can quickly go.

For motorbikes we wear helmets 100%, to use your words. Just not on bicycles.

we congratulate everyone because we celebrate each other with being part of something, a group or an event.

We don’t say gefeliciteerd on a funural. But we say gecondoleerd/sterkte Sounds almost the same

Toilet location is for practical reasons . As the front of the house is directed at the road , and under that road a sewer system . Therefor we can use short straight pipe lines to connect the toilet to the sewer . Also we don’t have to come up white eleborate pipings trough the house “ if toilet would have bin located elsewhere in the house . So its practical , simple , not much effort , and cheap in construction . Thus efficient and effective in manny ways . Also handy when leaving the house , as you pad trough the hallway to your door you can make a neccecery pitstop before leaving . And if you bin out long and return , you can quickly relief yourself if needed .

About the toilet thing: It's true, most houses do have this indeed. For the house I currently live in most people use the backdoor (it's where you park the cars and it also has a doorbell) to enter my house. When they want to go to the toilet they always automatically walk to the backdoor hallway, but they can't find a toilet there because it's the backdoor. I then have to redirect them to the frontdoor hallway. No matter which house you are in (with minor exceptions) you can find the toilet by going to the front door, both in old and new houses. If people see your backdoor as a frontdoor they will go look for a toilet near the backdoor.

The toilet one sounds like there is a random toilet next to the front door in the hallway, haha. In a lot of houses the front door enters in a hallway that has a door the toilet, a door to the livingroom, the stairs, and usually a little door to the utility room/closet. Don’t know why that’s perceived as weird. It’s nicely tucked away with a nice separation from the living area. It beats having to listen in on someone taking a dump because the toilet is connected to the livingroom!

2:23 yes, that is the answer. If a stranger wants to use your toilet, he can, while not going beyond the fore-hall of the house! For the mailman, or children, or just for yourself when you get home.

The reason why we congratulate every single member of a party is because we are happy/excited for the people close to the one whom's birthday it actually is. Its like saying: "I'm are happy for your friend/relative, and also happy that you attend his/her birthday, this must mean you're close to him/her and." Congratulating the whole party shows you're commited to a certain friendship/relationship, or "honor" your family. It's a pride thing. Think of it like being the opposite at a funeral and saying "Sorry for your loss" to all the people who are close to the person who passed away. It's all about showing empathie and letting people know you care.

The toilet had a reason like its in every house the same, so everybody knows where the toilet is. So visitors ask if they can use the bathroom not where is the bathroom.

The toilet next to the front door is by design because the plumming and water and electric comes in the house there. There is also the fusebox next to it.

No toilet next to my frontdoor 😂. But I agree: I’m not living for my work, I work to live. And I love that children can play freely and explore their own opportunities make their own mistakes and overcome their challenges and take responsibility.

What i believe the situation is with the toilet is: Because of the fact that our bedrooms are second floor, our bathroom is also second floor. (Toilet, shower/bath, sink, mirror) so if we only had 1 toilet in the house every time we are in the living room (ground level) or the garden we need to go up the stairs. Since the stairs are in the hall (where the toilet is, the metercloset, front door, where you hang your jackets) its quite a travel from the garden. Though having it near the front door is still a ways away but no stairs luckily 😂 So the toilet downstairs is small and only has a toilet, small sink and maybe a small mirror. Very functional. We actually have a different word for gefeliciteerd at a funeral: “gecondoleerd”. It means im sorry for your/our loss, be strong.

And.., as finishing touch, evolution created the Dutch!

most people on weddings or birthdays are family and we always congratulate the whole family

Productivity is very high here. When we work, we actually work hard and well organized. We get a lot done in a short time.

1 toilet in hallway by the front door, Hallway is usually a sort of hub for toilet, shoes and coats, the connection to the living room and stairs. 2 is like a congratulation to the parents at a wedding, you congratulate them for the happiness of the person they’re connected to.

When you put a toilet against an outer wall you can fitt a tiny window for fresh air. So it was either the hallway or the kitchen. :p

Casey is good! She has the ability to make me look less indifferent to the "normal" Dutch stuff. I subscribed to her channel a minute ago. BTW, your cats need a hug xx

i'm dutch and was today years old i found out the toilet is not normally near youre front door but let me explain when you enter your home you enter like a hallway where you put youre jackets/shoes and you have a control cast for electrisity/water/gas and then you enter the living room/ kitchen and we rarely have bedrooms on the first floor edit the most houses in or around city's with expensive land have 2/3 or sometimes even 4 floors because we are a crouded country so we have expensive ground

So funny. In old houses (the not cookie cutter houses) the toilet can also be in a very different place in the house, often in the back, far away from the front door. The gefeliciteerd thing is something that is done in certain area's in the Netherlands, not where I grew up. I didn't get it either when I first saw it. Most places are indeed very safe for kids to play outside together.

Thanks for welcoming us Dutchies.

Several connections enter a house at one spot. Electricity, gas, water, internet. It is the closesed to the street and main tubes. So also toilets get placed near the frontdoor.

A couple of years ago I lived in street with a lot of little children. When I was working in my front garden the kids automatically assumed I was the responsible adult. When they got hurt they came to me, when there were some problems between the kids they came to me to complain. Funny thing was that they spoke dialect, so I didn’t understand what they were saying. Especially because this were toddlers still learning to speak . But that didn’t matter at all. Since I watched the video of Casey, now I also think it’s crazy to congratulate everybody. And I don’t do it anymore. I just wave when I enter the room. (Also to avoid giving everyone three kisses)

I think the main reason they putted the toilets next to the front door here is that it's the cheapest. Because it is the closest near the street. So you can use a shorter sewer.

Yes everybody has a toilet close to the frontdoor, you probably dont realize but here you dont immediately enter the livingroom. Every house, condo, appartement and so on all have a toilet in the hallway.

The congratulation thing: well you know the person whois birthday it is. We all celebrating that. So we say in extention version: Congratulation with that person. So we are all glad we all know that person and having a year with us so we can celebrate together. And the same with dying: you say "condololeerd". Cause we all known this man/woman, and we grieve all together with this loss.

and indeed our toilet is next to the front door haha and yes our bedrooms are on the 1st and 2nd floor.

The toilet in the hallway also makes sure that the bathroom doesn't stink up.

When someone dies, you give your condolences, because we understand that when someone dies, that's not just a bad thing that has happened to them, a bad thing has happened to those who love them as well. Congratulating close friends and family is just the other side of that coin, when someone good happens, it doesn't happen to you in isolation, you're a unit, a group, you share in each others happiness, one persons cause for celebrating is everyones cause for celebrating, so we congratulate each other.

Toilet next to the front door is closer and cheaper if something breaks u can acces it better. We also used to allow strangers to ring the door to use the toilet. the congratulations is a formality u celebrate together that Ur friend/fam survived another year and u hd the pleasure to enjoy life among that person The kid story so real 😹

Something else about this. The pipe going from the toilet to the sewer will be no more than 5 meters. Houseowners are responsible for this themselves. Every 30 years the whole area is lifted up at least 75 centimeters. This includes the main sewerpipes, cables, tubes, everything. You pay a lot for the couple of meters outside, underground that connect your pipe with the main drain. Think about that.

Toilet near the front door=shortest, therefor cheapest, route to the main sewage system. The second toilet in the bathroom (if there is one) is right above, linked up to the same pipes.

back when interior plumbing was just coming into vogue the resistors to the trend would say "i don't want anybody shitting in my house"....if you think about it.....

It's the same in Ireland. If there's a toilet down stairs it would often be in the entrance hallway.. or if there a passage at the back of house with a utility room it would be beside there. Either way we generally just call it 'the downstairs loo'

In the old days it was like having an indoor out house. It's easy to empty the bucket outside.

At my last job I worked 40-hours spread over 5 days (and occasionally worked on Saturdays as well ). Since September I've been working an IT job in the Dutch healthcare and went from a fulltime 40-hours job to a fulltime 36-hours job. They gave me the choice to work 7 hours and 15 minutes for 5 days a week or to work 9 hours for 4 days a week and have a three-day weekend. Eventually I chose the latter This really made me more well rested and relaxed :)

Saying gefeliciteerd on a birthday party to everyone is basically a choice of youre own and mostly only said to people close to the person that has to be congratulated some people use it to break the ice

At parties and birthdays I will just yell congratulations to all!! Instead of congratulating everyone specifically. I think with covid now, it's getting normal😂😂😂

To make sure "visitors" to your house are not going into "private" places in your house ( like bathrooms, bedrooms etc. ) there is a toilet downstairs, usually in the entrance hal. Also, if you ask for the toilet in a house in the US, they tell you to go upstairs and use the toilet in the bathroom. Now that means that you are downstairs and a "visitor" to your house is rooming the upstairs ...??? That is what we, in the Netherlands, find weird!!!

We have mostly 2 toilets 1 downstairs by the front door 1 upstairs in the bathroom.

It's pragmatic to have the toilet near the door: it's close to the street sewer, shorter pipe is cheaper and almost none of it runs through the house in case of issues, though modern houses can have them anywhere but usually still only have one, rarely more...

we have indeed more free time than people in america, i was shocked how many hours they work. i always say i dont live to work but work to live. 8 hours work, 8 hour free time, 8 hours sleep, 5 day's a week.

Toilet next to the frontdoor had the opportunity for a little window. Smell will disappear. I'm from the north, we are not saying 'feliciteerd' to anyone else than the person him-herselve. I noticed that habbit in the west.

Gefeliciteerd is translated to Congratulations. but litterally it means Felicitations, meaning; an expression of celebration. And since everyone is at someones birthday party to Celebrate, Felicitations are in place :'D

In American houses you enter the livingroom directly when you go through the front door. In Dutch houses you first have a hallway with a door to the livingroom, a staircase to go to the upper level (bedrooms and bathroom(s) most of the time), a toilet and a 'meterkast' where all the electricity, gas and sometimes internet is distributed from into the house. In the bathroom you can find a second toilet most of the time.

yes most houses have a toilet being the first room you will find after entering the front door hallway. i was riding my bike to school at age 6 , all alone no helmet no nothing for about 5 KM (3.1 miles), in a pretty urban area.

Toilet by the front door is like toilet next to the mudroom, since the front door is usually in a hallway with doors that lead to other rooms in the house. Also probably a thing that originates from the time when toilets were still outhouses in the yard and/or not every house had its own toilet so several homes shared an "outhouse".

It’s not weird at all, when you come in our corridor when you walk trough the front door, there is also a toilet downstairs, the most houses have three levels, 1th, corridor, living room, kitchen, garden, 2nd, three rooms, bathroom with 2nd toilet, 3rd floor is for storage, like Christmas stuff, Hometrainer an x’tra bed etc. and it works perfectly, and the children all play in our front yards, with each other and together with the parents they learn to cycle at very early age, over all we are very happy over here, love your reaction 🥰

The ground floor usually has only three spaces, the kitchen, the living room and the hallway. Sometimes there is an extra room or more, bu the question remains the same: In which one would you prefer the toilet?

you know whats more shocking... all our toilets are dressed as little rooms, with trinket paintings thingamabobbys ttiny sink and towel and obviously the birthday calendar

Dutch houses are most of the time with downstairs living room and kitchen, and upstairs the bedrooms and bathroom. So they have a toilet in the bathroom upstairs and one downstairs.

The toilet is not close to the frontdoor but is the closest to the main sewer connection in the street and therefor most cost effective

Gefeliciteerd and "gecondoleerd" (my condolences) are similar sounding words, especially for a kid its easy to make that mistake as you normally just congratulate people.

Saying gefeliciteerd is one of those cultural things that is hard to explain and has several meanings. If I say it to family and friends I congratulate them also with this joyful day because they are part of the (inner) circle. Followed by hugs and kisses. If I say it to a stranger at a party in a small setting I am just being polite without having to introduce myself. And because you congratulate family and “close” friends it it not polite to exclude someone you don’t know at a party 🤪

In Holland it is very normal to have two (or three) levels in your home. Getting through the front door will lead into a small hallway, where there is place to hang coats, there is the stairs to go to the levels above, and there is the toilet. And there will be a door leading to the living room. As normal as kan be. I’d prefer having a toilet in the hall, than having it in the living room…. Some small houses will have a small bathroom (usually the only bathroom) on the ground floor, in those cases, the toilet might be there, in the bathroom, at the back-end of the living room; near the kitchen. I do believe there is also a practical reason for these locations: keeping the water pipes close together as much as possible to a single entry/exit of the house.

The toilet in the same room as the front door is simple. That's the place where the sewer Comes in to your house. Same as al the other cables and exises

I'm not a builder, but I think that the place of the toilets here have something to do with building regulations. When you opened the front door, you enter some kind of hallway in which there is a toilet, some closet with the energy meters, a door to the living/kitchen and the stairs to the bedrooms. There's never a toilet with a door in a room, always in a hallway.

A bunch of people are saying building codes require there to be 2 doors between the toilet and kitchen (which sounds reasonable considering what an explosion of bacteria and fecal matter flushing ones toilet is). But I also recall that the Brandweer (feels weird to call it fire fighters or fire stations) requires you to have your utility room close by the front door (since the water mains go through it and have a connection point there). Thus making near the front door a convenient place to put a toilet since the water mains and drains are right there too.

topic 1) as a Dutch we usually have the toilet room near the exit/hall due to the fact we have (not all) more high-level floors. we don't want to have the wc (toilet) in the living room or near the kitchen (hygienic reasons). so the best place will be the hallway. on other floors we have them near the stairs. Funny fact, the toilet entered our houses not that long ago. Before the 1950's we had a small wooden hut outside the house ("het gemak" the convenience) because the houses were pretty small. (check it on the internet) in the 50's they started to implement the toilet into the house, like the shower place. (which we didn't have that time too, we used a small tub in the kitchen). 2) we do congratulate each other at weddings as being connected with the wedded. 3) road safety, this is something we are also concerned about. We need helms at transport going (motorised) faster than 25 km-h. at the moment we have a public discussion about do the speed peddles (faster than 25km/h ) need to be on the road instead of the cycling-lanes (yes that's normal for us to have special lanes for cyclist's. 4) it used to be normal to correct (someone’s ) kids on the street if they were doing wrong. I’ve been corrected many times by strangers. But nowadays we have a climate where it's hard to correct kids. first of all they have a big mouth. they have no sense of politeness nor rules. The parents both work and don't spend too much time on their kids. Therefore they let them play on the street until they need to go to bed. I don’t want to polarize but it’s usually not the native kids, I know it’s a culture thing too. 5) I do love our 42 hour working weeks and have time for kids, hobby’s and Holliday’s. We as employees are pretty good protected against abuse from our boss (time and load related) but it can still be a hussle.

Toilet near the door gives you a private poop away from the busy livingroom

Toilet in the hallway isn't just the ceramic pot against a wall in the hallway, it's actually a small room with a door. But it is near/next to the front door In the young boy's defense: gefeliciteerd (happy b-day) and gecondoleerd (condolences) are two difficult but very similar words in Dutch for a 9 year-old

jup toilet next to the front door. In almost every house I lived in.

yes we also have cookiecutter houses, most are designed and build en masse

The "rijtjeshuis" design of houses only have a front and a back, the sides are closed in by the neighbours. You want your kitchen and toilet on the ground floor for sewer and water/gas pipes. These two need ventilation, one for the smells when your cooking and the other needs it for other odours. So without electricity they need a window for ventilation purposes. And they need to be apart for hygiene reasons. And because you want to sit in the garden, the kitchen is in the back. The smells of the toilet would ruin the experience.

The funeral story is not about the confusion about the situation, but confusion about the words used, which is a common mistake. Gefeliciteerd (Congratulations) and Gecondoleerd (I'm sorry for your loss) look alike SO SO much in Dutch that it happens more often than you think. Almost all funurals I've been to I had someone congratulating me instead of saying they were sorry for my loss.

The toilet position may have to do with the draining system which is close to the street, another and more probable reason , of what i remember, in the old days there is fresh air from a little window (for the smell) and the houses are build in a way that it does not have much wall space to begin with but it would be a convenient spot next to the entrance door for the layout of a house . super cold btw, and where I got my habit from to wait as long as possible to go to the toilet as I hate the cold at my bum, now I have ( to no surprise) a a Japanese toilet seat with heating 😂

I earlier days they saved space by putting the toilet underneath the stairs and the stairs where in the entrance hall. It stayed that way ever since then. Remember we have small houses.

Gefeliciteerd - You only say that on a birthday party to family in general, on a wedding to the direct family, parents, grandparents and brothers, siters.