Great, I really like it here. Mostly because for the most of my careers I've been working next to highly educated people, so my perception is that the Dutch are much smarter than the English. Plus I'm usually not the smartest person in the room (thankfully!). None of that small-minded idiocy that I see at home.
The culture is great; they're direct like the Americans, commercial like us Brits and diplomatic like the Scandinavians. The directness suits me, and I can use my British politeness when needed too. More tools in the toolbox.
> What is your particular career?
Software Architect (the good kind, who can code) though I'm trying to start up for myself.
> What were your moving expenses?
About 10k EUR, moving was 1k but you need 5k for a cheap 2nd hand car and 1k for health insurance and other costs.
> How much is your rent or did you buy?
Buy, 1.2k EUR a month mortgage on a house in an average town.
> Where did you move to/from?
UK to Netherlands to be with my dutch girlfriend (now wife). That was 8 years ago.
> How are the schools?
Excellent, because they're split by capability (vocational, technical, university).
> Have you become fluent in the native language and was the language barrier difficult to overcome?
I'm fluent through a combination of not fearing saying something stupid and investing 3k EUR in courses at a local university.
> How long have you lived in this country? Are you a permanent resident or
> do you plan on moving back to the US?
I want to bring my baby up here. Much better than the UK.
> What was the process like to become a permanent resident?
EU to EU is very easy.
> Did you have to already have a job when you moved to that country?
I had a low-level job arranged, found a better job within a month.
> What's the cost of living compared to where you moved from? Has your quality
> of life improved or not? How and why?
Cost of living is much higher: the social system here is better, the taxes are higher and more progressive. My income is high enough that it means that I'm paying about 25% more tax. Plus in the UK I could probably earn more because I could easily switch to Sales.
Great, I really like it here. Mostly because for the most of my careers I've been working next to highly educated people, so my perception is that the Dutch are much smarter than the English. Plus I'm usually not the smartest person in the room (thankfully!). None of that small-minded idiocy that I see at home.
The culture is great; they're direct like the Americans, commercial like us Brits and diplomatic like the Scandinavians. The directness suits me, and I can use my British politeness when needed too. More tools in the toolbox.
> What is your particular career?
Software Architect (the good kind, who can code) though I'm trying to start up for myself.
> What were your moving expenses?
About 10k EUR, moving was 1k but you need 5k for a cheap 2nd hand car and 1k for health insurance and other costs.
> How much is your rent or did you buy?
Buy, 1.2k EUR a month mortgage on a house in an average town.
> Where did you move to/from?
UK to Netherlands to be with my dutch girlfriend (now wife). That was 8 years ago.
> How are the schools?
Excellent, because they're split by capability (vocational, technical, university).
> Have you become fluent in the native language and was the language barrier difficult to overcome?
I'm fluent through a combination of not fearing saying something stupid and investing 3k EUR in courses at a local university.
> How long have you lived in this country? Are you a permanent resident or > do you plan on moving back to the US?
I want to bring my baby up here. Much better than the UK.
> What was the process like to become a permanent resident?
EU to EU is very easy.
> Did you have to already have a job when you moved to that country?
I had a low-level job arranged, found a better job within a month.
> What's the cost of living compared to where you moved from? Has your quality > of life improved or not? How and why?
Cost of living is much higher: the social system here is better, the taxes are higher and more progressive. My income is high enough that it means that I'm paying about 25% more tax. Plus in the UK I could probably earn more because I could easily switch to Sales.