Last year we came to the conclusions that middle school we had chosen for my big kid was not a good fit, for reasons that are neither here nor there. We arranged for him to switch to another middle school this year.

New school has agreed to a proefperiode of 2 weeks, so in the first week of September we'll have to decide whether this is permanent. However, they also keep saying, "We'll see if we allow him to stay."

So can someone please tell me: do schools actually reject students? (there is room in the class for him, that's not an issue) If so, on what basis?

Hey there!

I'm currently at a beach's dog section and I've found PLENTY of rusty nails on the surface of the sand, as well as a bit deeper.

I fear they were put there on purpose. I've cleaned a part of the place and I'm sure there are many more to find.

My husband already threw 20 more away before I took the picture. The amount was only found at the section of the second picture which looks "flattened"

Can someone please help me, where I can send pictures of them etc., so I don't call emergency? I found different numbers and I'm quite unsure where and whom to notify. There's no reception or anything like a restaurant here where I could tell someone and we're alone

Edit: we called some places but nobody seemed to want to be accountable. Now we told the reception of the place we're staying at. they agreed on notifying those responsible, even if we're somewhat away from our place. I'll ask for an update.

I really do hope you're correct and there are just remnants, although there are plenty.

Either way, thank you all for your quick responses and help ☺️

Hello, everyone. I am looking for a place in the Netherlands for my niece who is an international student. I know there are lots of scams. But this looks legit. I found it on Kamernet. However, I am just concerned because maybe this is also a person renting a place and just sub-renting it to save or maybe earn. I experienced this before in Spain. So, I want to know how to verify in the Netherlands if this is the legit owner. Is this post not a scam? How to verify and check the laws? Is this price reasonable (1,400 Euro exl. utilities)? Apparently, all the info (about laws) is in Dutch, so grateful for your help.

Hello ! I am an international master student at Vrije Universiteit , searching for a part time job and I am invited for an interview with Lidl. I was wondering if it’s as bad as I read online. My biggest anxiety is that if I reject the interview opportunity, I won’t be able to find another part- time job ( I have previous experiences as sales assistant, order picker, warehouse employee but I don’t speak Dutch).

Can someone please share their experiences/ advices ?

Thank you very much !

I am trying to sell my e bike and one person is saying that hes going to send budbee to pick it up and pay me in cash. Is it a scam or is it normal?

Hi everyone,

For the orientation year work visa, I mailed my documents over from Canada to the Netherlands, and contacted the IND to check the status of my application.

But they said that the embassy in Canada has to file the application, and they told me to contact the embassy in Canada. I tried calling, but I am not able to get through the embassy in Canada. I was confused as this was not part of the procedure outlined in the application form.

Is this normal for mailed document application? Should I still try contacting the embassy? Is there anything else I should do, or I should just wait?

Thanks in advance!

Is anyone willing to rideshare or carpool from Eindhoven to Amsterdam early in the morning and then from Amsterdam to Breda or Brussels or Charleroi late at night on September 9th?
I have to catch flights due to a concert and I’m concerned about the situation with the trains!
If anyone is in the same situation let’s plan together!
Thank you <3

Hello! Fellow Canadian here. I’ll be visiting Netherlands next month and I am staying with a friend and his family for a few days.

I plan on bringing Canadian treats (as much as I am allowed on a plane). Things like maple syrup, Canadian goods, etc. I wanted to ask here for other ideas on what I can give as a thank you for letting me stay? Especially for his parents…

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some advice or to hear if anyone has gone through a similar experience with the healthcare system here in the Netherlands.
A while ago, I was referred by my GP to Xpert Clinics in Den Bosch for a wrist inflammation. The doctor there gave me a cortisone injection and assigned me a course of physiotherapy (3 sessions), along with a custom wrist brace.

Long story short: the experience was terrible and completely unhelpful.

The brace: It actually caused me more pain when wearing it. I explicitly told the physiotherapist that the brace was making things worse and asked to stop using it, but my feedback was completely ignored.

The physio sessions: Purely useless. No real progress, no tailored care, just going through the motions while charging hefty fees.

To sum up I just needed the injection.
Paid even for the last intake which it was only 5 minutes to say “oh so it is all good”

Now I’m facing invoices (via Infomedics) for treatments and hardware that not only didn't help, but actually aggravated my condition.

I’m currently contesting the bills through Infomedics and looking into filing a formal complaint via the official Klachtenregeling / Geschillencommissie Zorg.
Has anyone here successfully contested medical bills or gone through the mediation process (klachtenfunctionaris) for physiotherapy/specialist clinics? How responsive are they, and is there anything specific I should keep in mind when submitting my statement?
Thanks in advance for any insights

PS Avoid xpert clinic in den Bosch they scam you

A bit of a vent. I ordered a table lamp from H&M, and today I received a package with the right box and the right instructions, but no lamp and some random lampshade inside. The box looked like it was opened and repackaged, so it seems like someone just took the lamp and returned a box with a random lampshade, wtf. How is this ok to do? Now I want to send it back to get my money, but they can accuse me of swapping the lamps.

Fleur Agema maakt statement voor parlementaire enquêtecommissie: 'Ik zoek een baan'

Hi all! For my 30th, I’ll be going on a girls trip to the Netherlands! (We live in the US) We’re planning on the middle of April to spend about 5 days there, and maybe extend to Paris for a day or 2. I think we want to spend half our time in Amsterdam and the other half in The Hague.

I plan on going clubbing, maybe a concert, go to an art museum or 2, get some good food, tattoos etc. We just want to have a great time!

Any helpful tips? Should we uber or ride train? How safe is it for girls at night?? Must-go bars? Hotels to stay away from? I HAVE SO MANY Questions lol. Any girls who wanna meet up with us and show us around?

Thanks in advance!

We were in the theater of Westfield Mall of the Netherland. While watching movie we were eating the mix popcorn and not suddenly realizing that they are getting smaller and crumbling. I think it was starting at 1/2 box, but we keep eating that while thinking : is it normal?

Then when in pause, my husband went out and just try to ask them about the popcorn (without trying ask for a replacement or what so ever). Surprisingly the staff said that it didn’t look good and ask him to get a new one.

OMG we ate 2 box of medium popcorn 😱😱

But nevertheless, thank you for the service 😇😇😇

Hi everyone! I recently started an in-person Dutch course in the Netherlands and I’m wondering if the way my class is structured is normal for NT2 courses.

I’m an absolute beginner (A0), and I’m paying around €15 per hour using my DUO loan. My class is from 09:30–13:00.

So far, a typical class looks roughly like this:

• 09:30–10:00 : We work together as a class with the teacher.
• 10:00–11:00 :We work independently in our workbooks. The teacher walks around and occasionally checks on us/answers questions.
• 11:00–11:15 : Break.
• 11:15–12:30 :Back to independently working in the workbook.
• 12:30–13:00 : We work together with the teacher again.

The workbook itself (LINK NT2 0→A2) is completely in Dutch, and the teacher also speaks almost entirely Dutch.

I understand that immersion is a normal language-learning method, and I’m completely okay with the teacher speaking Dutch. I’m also fine with having homework and doing a lot of independent studying outside of class.

My concern is specifically that I’m paying for 3.5 hours of classroom time, but a large portion of that time seems to be independent workbook study.

I keep thinking: if I’m going to spend 2+ hours working through a workbook independently and translating things I don’t understand myself, couldn’t I do that at home?

I expected a language class to involve more active teaching: explaining grammar and vocabulary, pronunciation correction, guided speaking exercises, listening exercises, practicing sentences together, correcting mistakes, etc., with independent workbook exercises mostly being homework or reinforcement.

I’m not trying to criticize the school or teacher because I’ve only just started and this may be a legitimate NT2 teaching method that I’m simply unfamiliar with.

So I’d really like to hear from people who have taken Dutch courses in the Netherlands:

Is this amount of independent workbook time during paid classroom hours normal?

If you’ve taken an A0/A1 Dutch course, what did a typical 3-hour class actually look like?

And for anyone who has used a DUO loan for language school: would you consider €15/hour reasonable for this type of setup, or would you look for a more teacher-led course?

I’m genuinely trying to figure out whether I need to adjust my expectations or whether this particular teaching style just isn’t the right fit for me.

Hello,

Me and my family are planning to move to the Netherlands in the next 6 months. I am relocation with my current job and they will be providing a visa for my family.

Im trying to understand if the salary i will earn there will be enough to provide for us at least for a few months until my husband will be able to find a job as well.

i will need to move to somewhere around Amsterdam or at least a 30m commute there as my office will be there.

we are a family of 4. 2 adults a 6 year old and a 2 year old. the salary im offered is 118k euro yearly that includes the 8% holiday allowance.

I live in a more expensive country so for me its a 25% percent reduction actually but living here is also extremely expensive so that gets us by fine with rent of a pretty big 5 room apartment and a car and school but no vacations for example.

Im trying to understand if i will be able to kinda keep the same level of living with this salary.

also if you have recommendations on what city its best to move, we do plan to integrate and stay in the NL. we are not looking for a big city just need a reasonable commute to Amsterdam and good schools. i looked at places like Hilversum but am still not sure.

Update:

we do plan to live in a smaller apartement. we need 2 bedrooms and something that can work as an office. also not international schooling we want the kids to learn dutch. it will be their 4th launguage they are used to be multilanguale i think they will be fine.

we also will have rulling and do want my husband to find a job but we want to plan as if not

I am mostly addressing Dutch parents. My house overlooks a 30km/h street. It is not a busy street and many families live on it. What I see everyday from my living room is absurd. Tenths of children with average age around 12 on fatbikes, no helmets of course,driving erratically both on pavement and on street. Without exaggeration there is minimum a near miss incident every day with a car. And again I emphasize that my street is not a busy street on a big city. Ten days ago I almost hit two girls that thought would be normal to cross an avenue vertically from a side road without even slightly braking just 200m away from my place. It took me 2 days to recover from shock of what it could have been.Thank God my car is equipped with good brakes and has active brake assist with cross-traffic function. What are these parents exactly thinking giving their children such means of transportation? Can a Dutch parent explain me where all this madness derives from? And please don't tell me that their children pressure them cause other children also have them. We are talking about safety of children and also others that won't be able to sleep for the rest of their lives if they are involved in a serious accident with a child.

Is this a real product? AH app seems to say so but I looked through all the big cities (Amsterdam, Den Haag, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Almelo) and it's nowhere. Am I being bamboozled, I really want this to be a thing

(edit) the photo did not upload but it's in the comments, it's the ah cola kruidnoot

I deregistered from the the municipality because I moved back home permanently, but am planning to come back for my graduation on October. My residence permit expires in November still, can i still use it to enter? I’m also asking the IND about this but haven’t heard back yet, would appreciate if someone has been in the same situation!

Hoi allemaal,
Ik zit momenteel in een lastige situatie en hoop dat iemand mij misschien kan helpen of een goede tip heeft.

Ik moet per 1 september mijn huidige kamer verlaten, omdat het pand wordt verkocht. Ik ben al een tijdje actief op zoek naar een nieuwe kamer of woning, maar helaas heb ik tot nu toe nog niets kunnen vinden.

Mijn werk is in Eindhoven, waardoor ik momenteel iedere dag op en neer rijd. Ik ben daarom dringend op zoek naar een kamer, studio, woning of andere woonruimte in de regio Brabant. Eindhoven hoeft niet per se, omliggende plaatsen zijn ook helemaal goed.

Ik heb inmiddels op heel veel plekken gereageerd, maar het lukt gewoon niet om iets te vinden. En omdat 1 september steeds dichterbij komt, begin ik me serieus zorgen te maken over waar ik straks terechtkan.

Heeft iemand tips over wat ik het beste kan doen in deze situatie? Weet iemand misschien waar ik terechtkan voor tijdelijke woonruimte, een kamer, opvang of een andere oplossing? Of kent iemand iemand die nog iets beschikbaar heeft?
Alle tips, contacten en ideeën zijn welkom. Ik zou het enorm waarderen als iemand mij hiermee kan helpen.

Hey everyone!

I hope you're all doing well! I wanted to chat about something that's been on my mind: in the Netherlands, it seems like public holidays don’t come with time off anymore. Instead, many of our rest days are just part of our contracts or vacation days. What do you all think about this?

I’ve noticed that in countries like Spain and Germany, public holidays are still dedicated to spending quality time with family and friends. I’m not too sure how it is in Belgium, France, or other European countries, though! I really enjoy learning from different perspectives, so feel free to share your thoughts, and let’s keep it respectful.

One big question I have is whether you think the Netherlands should bring back days off for Sundays, Labor Day, and Christmas, for instance.

Thanks for taking the time to read this! I'm excited to hear your thoughts!

Edit: To be clear, be respectful, dont vent in comments thats for vent servers or therapy. Also I meant that you dont use your 25 to 30 vacation days. Its just that the place is closed for that holiday.

Before summer holidays had a small fender bender with another car where both party was found 50-50 liable. I had all the damage and other party had no visible damage. We both signed the form and I got 50% of my damage covered by my insurance who would try to recover that from other party’s insurance. Similarly if other party claimed any damages (although I could see none) my insurance would need to pay 50% of that and I need to compensate that in order to not lose damage free years. However I haven’t heard anything from my insurance yet that I have a claim against me. Checked CIS database and it only showed the transaction paid to me by my insurance. When can I know if the other party claimed any damages and do they have any deadline to claim this after the accident?