Daring2GoDutch New Year Update! 🇳🇱Netherlands life update🇳🇱

My family moved to Rotterdam Netherlands July 2022. This VLOG is about our journey through the process of immigration. On this beautiful sunny January morning I am discussing where my family is in the process of settling here in Rotterdam.

[@Ingescreativeworld]

It is good to see that you are settling in. You have a great view from your room! If your goal is to become a nicu nurse in the Erasmus MC. Fully immerse yourself into learning Dutch, both speaking and writing . I would love to help you improve your Dutch. I work at Erasmus MC and am a native Dutchie. Just let me know

[@daring2godutch673]

My ultimate goal is to get back to what I love doing, so I would love to get in touch with you about perfecting my Dutch❤ My email is [e-mail] Thanks for reaching out☺️

[@vanderquast]

Great to hear you are doing very well in Rotterdam 👍To settle in a totally new environment costs time, so take your time for it and everything will be fine at last. Beautiful view you have, I think it must be from the Terraced Tower building, though the background is mirrored in the video because the Erasmus Bridge in reality is at the right side when looking out of your apartment😉

[@RealConstructor]

As an American you experience how difficult it is to park a car in the city you live, especially when you live in the city center. And a car is so much more expensive than in the US. It’s a whole different ballgame compared to the US. In towns it is easy to park your car, but in most cities it’s difficult. You need a parking permit linked to your car registration (so you can’t sell it or loan it to someone else). And a parking permit can be very expensive and sometimes takes a long time to get one. And one car is relatively cheap, but a second car is far more expensive. Your car needs to comply to environmental standards, set by the municipality (some cities require a ‘clean’ diesel, low emission gas car or an electric car). Living in a city center means transport by bike to the office or to the train station to continue your commute. Or take other means public transport (bus tram, metro, ferry, waterbus), which is not excellent, but so much better than in the US.

[@greetjep8466]

Great to hear from you guys.. personally i think a part time job would be nice to do.. not only you have some extra money but you will be able to practise dutch on a daily bases with other people.. Never be afraid to speak Dutch.. mistakes happen and you learn from it.. i never will forget i told me best friend i fell in a poodle with my bike hahah.. i wont make that mistake again.. fall off my bike and say it was a poodle so :))... stay safe.. enjoy every day with your family hugss

[@daring2godutch673]

Yes, I am thinking a temporary part time job is what I may end up doing.

[@RealConstructor]

@@daring2godutch673You could consider a job in a store, shop or cafe, they are not considered low-payed jobs in Europe. The pay is so much better than in the US. There are shops and cafes in your neighborhood and you can ask to work only at school hours. There is a shortage of personnel so you have some bargaining power. And it will be nice to work close to home. They will need to pay you according to the CAO, the Central Labor Agreement. For every line of work you have a different one, so a cafe has a different one as a clothing shop or a supermarket. And you pay for a pension plan and so does your employer. Your part is withheld from your salary by your employer and goes directly to the pension insurance company, together with the part the employer is paying for your pension plan. If you get a job via a temp agency, it is somewhat different, but they can explain it to you. You can find almost every CAO on the internet. For supermarkets it is CAO Supermarkt Levensmiddelenbedrijf, for shops it is CAO Retail-non food, for a cafe it is CAO Horeca or CAO Nederlands Horeca Gilde. You can read everything about salary, holidays, pension, working hours etc. They are in Dutch of course, but maybe they have them in English also. If a CAO is declared generally binding, it applies to every employee in that branch of work. At this moment in many sectors of the economy employers pay a lot more than the wages mentioned in the CAO. A nurse can be in the CAO VVT (Verpleeg-, Verzorgingstehuizen en Thuiszorg, in English: nursing homes, care homes and home care nursing), the CAO Ziekenhuizen (Hospitals) or CAO Universitair Medische Centra (University Medical Centers or Teaching Hospitals). You can do some home studying of CAO’s 😊

[@whynot5698]

I would say learn the language! I emigrated to a country with a different language, and the best decision I made was to learn the language before I emerged myself into society, so to speak. I did a full-time language class. Five months, five days a week. The difference with my friend who came from abroad but did not take the time to really get a hold of the language struggle til this day. Sure, you will pick up a lot while at work, but to have structural knowledge of the grammar will help you later on when you acculumate new words to your vocabulary. Please consider it, now you are still free to do this. The moment you have a job, it will be much harder.

[@yamuis]

Great to see you so much more relaxed compared with previous videos. 🥰🥰🥰 And what an awesome view you guys have from your apartment! 😍😍😍 I would sit there and watch it all day long, enjoying! 😉😉🙋‍♂️

[@daring2godutch673]

We don’t turn the TV on very much! We live to just sit and watch the boats come and go❤

[@noabakker3848]

Good to hear it's going well. It seems your family is a good example of how to integrate successfully. And about learning Dutch, give yourself time and don't be afraid to make mistakes or having an accent because no one cares. You are learning our language after all, which can be hard and needs time. Good job!

[@RH-ro3sg]

I think your best option would be to take a (temporary) job that doesn't have the formal requirement of Dutch at some level you don't already have, yet allows you to talk to people and practice your Dutch in a low-key manner. Practice is vitally important, the more the better.... and don't be afraid to make mistakes. That's the best way to learn. Making friends with the Dutch can be a bit of a challenge, unfortunately. It's a problem more expats complain about. It's not that the Dutch are unfriendly, but they're a bit reserved when it comes to accepting new friends in their circle. Your daughter might help you here (of course without her realizing it) by bringing you into contact with other parents.

[@dutchyjhome]

Well finally you guys have settled down... this must be very welcome to you guys... your own home... Your situation: There really is no faster way to actually learn a language than to be in it all day long every day over and over again. So my advice would be: Go do whatever you can and go step into Dutch society all the way, avoid speaking English and use this opportunity to learn Dutch in a very rapid pace.... learning Dutch is no side dish, something one does in the weekends, no, controlling this language is a lifesaver and for you, you entire family has got the very highest priority. So if that means you're gonna do whatever kind of (volunteer) work the coming period of time, than that's the case! If that is what it takes then that's it! Earning money will come later, what you can do however, since this probably will take some time, is try to get your nurse licenses and education and diplomas validated so by the tiem you speak Dutch fluently, the whole enchilada of prepwork to go to work as a nurse is done. Talk to Expat Ellen at her KZbin channel here, she's an American Nurse in The Netherlands as well and she's here for 2 years now I'd say and she's been in the same situation as you are now; diploma/prepwork to get to work as a Nurse again wise-spoken. Becoming a member of a club of your (hobby) interest also is a way to get to know many Dutch people and speak Dutch all the time!

[@hanhenderikse]

Maybe you should try to move/find a house in Barendrecht or so. I've been living there for the last 20 years, enough parking space, relaxed environment and 10 mins to Rotterdam

[@dutchyjhome]

And the last one for today: ask American you-tuber in The Netherlands; Sam, on his channels: Exploring the foreign and his other channel: Exploring the Dutch for how to learn Dutch in the shortest amount of time! Say Hello to Sam from me ;-)

[@ElMariachi1337]

My advise; watch Dutch programs on tv, it will help on your Dutch. Maybe watch the news or even programs for children as they are often more simple and quite articulated.

[@dutchyjhome]

Yeah, about your little girl: Please do not over stress your kid with multi memberships of several clubs since, the more things she does, the less of an commitment she actually can give to the one of her activities she actually is good at. In general kids can excel in only one activity, so by introducing more different activities at clubs the less of a success it probably will be and so the sooner she'll request to stop activities. In the worst case she may want to quit all of her activities, including the one she probably would have excelled in...ask me how I know... ;-( Been there, done that, please do not make the same mistake I did...)

[@ruudvisser712]

Has Elise ever considered joining scouting? Most have young groups as well, starting at five (the Bevers). At scouting the main goal is to do thing together, with each other en for each other. All very playfull and active. Some even have a watedivision as well. Maybe worth exploring?

[@david8953]

How will I reach to you, I want to migrate to Netherland and work . Pls can you help me ...

[@daring2godutch673]

[e-mail] 😊

[@josspronck2175]

An option I din’t hear is volunteer labour in care, there are many options and they look great on your cv, you can practice your dutch, and by the way, don’t mind your american accent, I, as a dutch grandpa, perceive it as quite charming……

[@josspronck2175]

When you get your drivers license I’d like to emphasize, when driving on the “snelweg”, leave the left lane, it’s only for overtaking, the rule is: stay to the right lane.

[@Dasypodidae45]

You can pronounce spare ribs just like you would in English we do as well. Isn't the word spare ribs used in America?

[@AnneSpeeFrickus]

As a kid I learnt English by watching tv - you might try that? Or watching Dutch video’s with English subtitles and try to follow it? And your idea to become a breastfeeding expert, a lactatiekundige (lactatie = lactation, kunde = know how, kundige = someone who knows how to..) in Dutch is a good idea!

[@MichelBaek]

Nice update. Good to hear about the progress. Too bad about the parking issue. I hope that you aside from talking about your progress also make more videos of just having fun like going to the Efteling or the zoo or filming Elyse’s hobby’s (dancing, swimming, judo). I love seeing your and Elyse’s smiles. I hope you can find a nice part time job while you work on your Dutch so after a while you can go back to being a nurse. Nurses are the best! ❤❤❤

[@ronaldderooij1774]

I can recommend "learn Dutch with Kim". She gives Dutch couses (free on youtube, but paid for more intensive courses). She gives Dutch mostly in Dutch, slowly and clearly and at all levels with a lot of grammar. Duolingo is (in my view) not good as it neglects the grammar. As for the parking space, you now know why many Dutch families went to the suburbs, haha. It seems you had the worst behind you. Life is settling in and the days get longer. Soon it will be nice weather to do all kinds of nice things in your new country. You daughter will love it here.

[@denisehofland3723]

Try Haags Taalplein to learn dutch. Its close to station Hollands Spoor. You meet new people so you can socialize too. I give you a 👍👍up. All will be fine in awhile.

[@albertlay8927]

The best way to learn a new language, any language, is to get exposed to it. Like your husband is making progress 'cause there is a need to learn, being surrounded by Dutch speaking people. Same for your daughter. So you may want to give priority to just work, doesn't matter what or where, as long as it's a Dutch speaking environment. There is also the option of volunteer work, e.g. at Elise's school or sportsclub, or anywhere. Being with and working together with Dutch speaking people helps you to improve your Dutch every day. And I want to advise you to take a few driving lessons anyway. Exchanging your license to a Dutch one doesn't mean you also know how to handle Dutch traffic and how not to get fines. (Hey, there's one: vlog yourself driving in Dutch traffic in Rotterdam Centre).

[@eddys.3524]

Great to see you look a lot more relaxed and happy than previously! Congratulations on both birthdays. BTW you're living in a nice location. I remember my brother in law living there years ago, before resetteling in the east of the country. About learning Dutch.. you'll only learn by trying and improving on the mistakes you make. Dutch friends could be very helpful in learning Dutch. It also will improve your opportunities to get a job. An employer also could help you with that. If you don't want to be away from your family too much, I'd reconcider wanting to work in Kraamzorg, since that occupation has it's stand-by aspects and you can be called in the death of night.. Try Daring to talk Dutch... some people following you might be interested and helpful...

[@rinynewton8297]

Hi, great to see you so relaxed so much better then in your last videos. Try a part-time job...Best way to learn Dutch!! And that way you have more a feeling of belonging. I think you are doing well. Nice apartment for what I can see with a great view. Through work you also will make new friends. Things will fall into place. Great to see you a lot better. Keep us updated.

[@lizalawsky3055]

There's a B2 Dutch 1 week crash course and you can also do a longer one like a 6 week one. When you've paid for it you can claim part of it back from the tax man.

[@Rob-ee1im]

start any job! You will learn dutch during your work much faster...

[@daring2godutch673]

Yes, it is definitely what I am leaning towards doing!

[@SwirlingSoul]

My suggestion would be to take temporary jobs, that improve your language skills. Go work at the vegetable market with some of those very friendly sellers for four weeks in a row..., tell them you're there to listen! Learn what the people say! It is SO important to be proficient. You can DO this! I know it's hard, but try to find small happy jobs, that will help you with that basic understanding, turn on dutch radio all day, tv too, try to do these vlogs in danglish....every dutch word you come up with, USE it, we will understand just fine. Let go of perfection, add enjoyment, allow yourself some silly mistakes, and go for it! Accept all the corrections and explantions you'll be getting all over, and do absolutely read your stories to your child!!! It doesn't matter that your dutch is imperfect. Your child will hear enough dutch to get it right, and hearing you struggle with it, will not make her dutch worse, it will give her a chance to help YOU, and gosh will she be proud to do that! Please let her help! I know she's only six, but at that age learning come so easy, and Elise helping mom learn, ...and share growing up with Dutch? that is priceless, don't give that away to the baby sitter. Sorry for the rant, but dear you, you deserve these loving moments with your daughter, and if she laughs at your dutch or tries to improve with you, so what? that's just more love of doing things together. Maybe I'm a softie, but the first thing I'd want you to throw overboard is the insecurity about yourself. You are an awesome person, you have so much to offer, and it's okay to take six months and say, I'm going to do whatever I can get, and open up my ears and listen where ever I can! It will also be awesome on your resume. Odd jobs for language integration. Perfectly explainable spending of your time. Make it fun, or you lose your will to learn something, and if being that NICU nurse is your life? then go do everything you can to GET that back. You know you need the Dutch? then surround yourself and immerse yourself. Go do Judo with your kid too perhaps. Or accompany her to listen to the lessons. It's the action that breeds the motivation, because motivation will only be sparked by that action, and I think you deserve to find your happy again! Ribs and Italian sausage are an awesome start! Keep at it! You're doing great! So normal to have a major period of adjustment. I don't think anyone will judge you negatively for that at all. I for one am awesomely proud of you for where you are right now, considering all the difficulties you had to go through to even get here. You don't have to learn everything in one day, but if working is what you miss, start working, and do it in such a way that you enjoy the language at the same time. I hope you find something awesome! 🥰 Ps: Parking. The Netherlands is not a car based country. You can use a car just fine, but you can see the negatives now. This is a SMALL country, and not everybody CAN have a parking space, like in the USA. The USA is SO Huge, compared to NL, ... lots of things are designed for human size, and the car is not always the first thing we try to use. I know it's convenient, but we do 90% by bike. And if you do want a car, it has consequences, like a 260 bucks parking fee a month. And that, is the luxury of living in the middle of Rotterdam or similar places. You pay premium prices for everything. I you live in for instance Delfzijl, Assen, or Emmen, (northern provinces, more rural) you find yourself in a free standing house, with plenty of parking for way way less money. And with rural I mean about 180.000 people. Large village/reasonably big town. We have almost everything here and what we don't have we order online. Now, I do understand loving city life, but you pay for what you want. The high life in the centre of a city is expensive. First world problems eh? Finding a parking spot for the Volvo ;-))

[@philsarkol6443]

Wat fijn om te zien dat het goed gaat. Je ziet er ontspannen uit, trouwens mooi uitzicht. Gelukkig nieuwjaar en gefeliciteerd met de verjaardagen!! Ik vind het fijn te zien dat iedereen hier jullie het beste wenst! Tip; koop een woordenboek NE-ENG en ENG-NE grtjes. Phil.. How nice to see it is goin well. You look relaxed, nice vieuw outside by the way! Happy new year and congrats with the birthdays!! I am glad everybody here is wishing you well! Tip; buy a dictionary DUTCH-ENG and ENG-DUTCH greetings Phil...

[@bertbaur3066]

What a beautiful view of the northern part of Rotterdam!

[@daring2godutch673]

Thank you! It was definitely worth the struggle and the wait! We love it! No need for watching much TV! We sit and watch the boats come and go!🤩

[@xFD2x]

@@daring2godutch673 Perhaps the TV could help you with the language, by watching series you already know with the dutch subtitles. And regarding the parking problem, this should entice you and Alice to start using bicycles. In the inner city you really should at least have the bicycle as an option.

[@erikmulder2574]

Good to see a happy and relaxed face again, must mean that you got everything organized. If I were you, I would take extensive Dutch classes, it will help you for the future and you can see it as being at work. There are very good options, which will cost money, however it opens doors which currently are locked. Dutch is not an easy language to learn, al the G sounds will be strange to you and also our grammar is a bit different, we build sentences in a different order I can hear you already speak a bit of Dutch, so that is good. Parking garages in Rotterdam are actually cheap, when I go to Amsterdam for a day I pay up to 60+ Euro and that is for 8-10 hours. So 230 or so for a month is cheap. 😊 but a lot of money. For next videos I would like to see your efforts learning Dutch, searching for a job and making friends. Just the simple things and let us know if things are strange, different than in the USA better, worse, unexpected…. Well you know the drill. Also I would like to see you do real Dutch food like poffertjes, drop, haring etc. The things we love and expats often don’t well, except for poffertjes, everyone likes those.

[@1969JohnnyM]

Good luck in the Netherlands, if in difficulty ask the locals the Dutch usually speak better English than the English themselves. Like anything somethings are better, some worse, some cheaper, some not but one thing Europe is and that is its far safer with lower crime and stronger safety for average working people. The saying working to live not living to work is very appropriate in Europe After work we value time for ourselves, our family and our friends.

[@dutchladylover]

I think if you want to learn Dutch and maybe make some friends you may consider a part-time job in hospitality for a while. Like a cafe or a restaurant. They don't always mind the staff not being fluent in Dutch and often greatly appreciate staff that is fluent in English. In Amsterdam centre for example try ordering something in Dutch at some places. Even if the staff is Dutch, they will continue to speak English or they will get in trouble with there boss. (Annoys the living daylights out of me sometimes, especially when you can tell they are Dutch themselfs, but that's a different story 🤣) Also this sector is suffering from staff shortages (as many others) so pretty sure there is a place that will welcome you with open arms and you get to meet a lot of people and practice your Dutch. Maybe the work hours may be a bit of a thing to work out, but it's just a suggestion. 🤷‍♂ And yeah, parking in a densely populated city🙈 Good luck with that one..... The only thing I can say about that is: learn to use your bycicle when you don't absolutely need the car. It suc..... (ahum) takes a bit of getting used to (😇) in the beginning, I know. But it's the best advice we can give you. Stay safe, and good luck 👍🏻

[@wvdl4905]

Do you know Jovie's Home? She has answered a lot of your questions in her video's. Just a thought, maybe you will find some answers there.

[@wimschoenmakers5463]

Nice to hear from you again. Looks like you are settled in now, but there alway's will be new choices ahead for sure. Just go for a parttime job, so you have time to handle stuff at home and learning Dutch on the job, so you don't get stuck in de famous 'Expat bubble', speaking mainly to native English speaking people. 🤔 And don't worry to much about your girl. She will doing fine as her Dutch improves. Kids are way more flexibel than the oldies! 😆 Thanks for recording that nice view of Rotterdam, but recording with your back to the sun almost messed up your video. That window bar saved you butt ! 🤣

[@conniemendeszoon9789]

Hi Diane, nice to see you back again, Happy Birthday to Micheal and Elise, and Congrats to Micheal with his job posistion Happy to see you looking way more positieve, and you are finding your way in your new woRld Things take time, even for Elise, and she will have lots of friends

[@monnica7005]

Glad to see you're settling in! love to hear more about finding a home in the Netherlands; like, the process. I've heard the housing market is crazy so any tips for another Hoosier planning to relocate would be fab.

[@margreetanceaux3906]

Perhaps you’ve spoken about this earlier, but haven’t you considered a private course, preferably cut out for your profession?

[@D0G_CN]

looks like you guy's got things on track, you look way more relaxed, rested and in your comfort zone. take it easy, one step at a time and all things will fall into place eventually. things don't need to be perfect to be good, but striving for perfection is never wrong. we say "do your best, that should be good enough and you can't do more" so.... relax your doing fine ;)

[@willemsaedt9464]

Great to see you and your family finally are settled in a nice home. Hope you have a great 2023 with nothing but positivity for you and your family

[@Michiel_de_Jong]

A very very unique view..! The view is breathtaking, ... ... and in mirror-image.

[@hkelder1956]

Goed om iets van je te zien. Ik zou adviseren te focussen op Nederlands leren. Dat helpt uiteindelijk het meest om je meer thuis te voelen. Je dochter leert waarschijnlijk sneller Nederlands dan je verwacht. Een collega van mij woont sinds de zomer in Noorwegen en zijn kinderen kunnen zich al aardig redden. Wens je succes en o ja, post vaker wat hier

[@jackvandersluis1723]

Still daring 2 go, well done, keep daring! You will succeed! 👍🌞

[@margreetanceaux3906]

Scharrel, irt the slager, means the animals were more or less ‘free range’ (not sure what the exact terms are).

[@david8953]

I love your simple narratives and way you speak ..

[@bertoverweel6588]

Hallo lovely people , see , everyting is working out well , just give it time to learn Dutch.

[@StefanRink]

You look less tired, that's a good sign. 👍

[@alcidesforever]

I love the view from your apartment. I'm glad you found a place you can call home. ... and you know, I am not even going to ask you. I wanna know, but I am not gonna ask! 😊 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYnHf5qFbpmlgbM lol

[@daring2godutch673]

😂😂😂

[@deheermailmum5036]

Keep enjoying the Netherlands. Tot ziens

[@BrazenNL]

Sounds like progress to me!

[@wagelink]

you smile, that's a good thing