Party Vibe

http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=24070&name=Is+the+Netherlands+expat+friendly%3F

Lesley Thomas asks whether expats are running up against an impenetrable barrier erected by a Dutch society which just doesn’t want strangers around here no more.

Complaints by expats in the Netherlands are nothing new, but an internal survey by the International Organisations Staff Associations (IOSA-NL) set the cat among the pigeons recently.

One of the startling findings was that 70 percent of the expat staff of international organisations based here do not want to stay in the Netherlands.

The main messages were that the Netherlands is unwelcoming, too bureaucratic and not at all ‘user friendly’.

IOSA Secretary, Eva Ekstrand, said IOSA knew interest in the survey would be high (the results of which will be made public on 12 October) but was surprised that more than 60 percent of the workers represented by the organisation responded.

IOSA-NL’s members include the European Patent Office, European police agency EuroPol, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

Complaints

Two experts have been asked to give their opinions on whether the survey results — which were leaked to the press — reflect a general attitude of expats living in the Netherlands.

Some of the specific complaints include dissatisfaction with the Dutch bureaucracy, childcare, language and housing.

The difficulty of getting the correct information from public servants drives many expats to despair.

“I swear the officials in Wageningen municipality, where I live, don’t know the rules. If they do, they have a hard time informing buitenlanders (foreigners),” says Canadian expat Barbara van Maanen.

Having been quoted the incorrect fee for a non-Eu citizen applying to join a family member, she received a second demand for EUR 397. She was given 30 days to pay this or risk having her application thrown out and losing the original payment of EUR 433. “Between lawyer fees, IND fees, my residence permit will cost me EUR 1,600,” she says.

Managing Director of Expertise in Labour Mobility, Nannette Ripmeester, an expert on international work issues, remarks that she found it particularly Dutch to carry out such a survey. She said could not imagine that in other countries such surveys are carried out.

Director of Access in The Hague, Hazel O’Dea, wonders just how representative the IOSA workers are of the rest of the expat population. IOSA staff workers make up 20 percent (± 5500) of the total expat population in The Hague (27,000).

Hazel explains that because of the security needs of the organisations which fall under the IOSA umbrella, most of these expats are inward-focused, as opposed to other expats who interact daily with Dutch society.
It isn’t clear to Hazel just how long the workers who took part in the survey have actually lived or intend to live in the Netherlands. She finds it hard to speculate about a report which still has not gone public yet.

Realism

ACCESS, an English-language organisation which helps expats adjust to the Netherlands, thinks organisations involved with sending expats to the Netherlands should paint a realistic picture of the Netherlands.

Part of this picture is the increasing Dutch wariness of immigrants since 9/11. The degree to which an expat is confronted by this distrust depends upon an expat’s skin colour and the language an expat speaks.

“Many couples with one Dutch partner feel that Holland is less open and far less accepting or tolerant than the Dutch say they are. The level of disinterest, unhappiness or even rudeness is far beyond acceptable,” says expat counsellor Rj Nuis.

According to Nannette, prospective expats perceive the Netherlands as an open, tolerant and friendly society, and are shocked to learn that the Dutch government is one of (unclear) rules and regulations.

This conflicts with a foreigner’s expectations of the Netherlands. In Moscow, she explains, you know beforehand that you will be up against bureaucracy and in Italy that you will have to face red tape.

Dissatisfaction is also high with Dutch healthcare – another regulated system with a very down-to-earth approach foreigners do not like.

As Hazel puts it, the ‘wait and see’ attitude on the part of the Dutch doctors comes across as unsympathetic. Having to visit your General Practitioner first before being able to get a prescription irritates some expats.

The Dutch school system deviates from other countries. Kids who are not placed in international schools come home at lunch and again at three o’clock in the afternoon. For a mother who is French or Scandinavian and works full time, this probably doesn’t live up to her ideal of modern childcare.

Schools

On the other hand, Hazel remarks that the majority of expats have their children enrolled in American, British and international schools, which do offer day programmes. Childcare in the Netherlands is scarce as well as expensive, she adds.

Expats complain about a lack of suitable housing. Nannette coins this “spoilt” expats. These expats are used to larger homes which are just not available in the crowded Netherlands. Hazel says that in addition to healthcare, housing is very subjective. A Brit wants a large garden whereas an American needs a large kitchen.

Nannette emphasises that no matter where you live in the world, speaking some of the native language is important. Even if a foreigner feels the Dutch speak good English, he or she should be prepared to speak some Dutch as well.

Greg Seltzer, content editor of the ‘Yanks Abroad’ website agrees on this point. “I don’t feel the least bit unwelcome in the Netherlands, but I do see that they don’t care for it when someone comes with no intention of learning the language or at least partially assimilating to Dutch culture,” he says.

Nannette: “The Netherlands has for the past few years been caught up in a negative economic spiral. The country used to have a good infrastructure and a good healthcare system which justified the high taxes.

“That feeling of being well taken care of has disappeared. Not only have foreigners felt this downturn but the Dutch government has not succeeded in selling the positive aspects of the Dutch culture.”
29 September 2005