Dutch Culture Shocks in the Netherlands: A Russian & Portuguese Couple’s Experience

[@S.M.Art_Living]

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[@marten73]

In Amsterdam where I live, I hardly ever see dog poop on the road or sidewalk. Last time must be years ago. Maybe you have one or two stuborn neighbours who constantly refuse to clean after their dog so you experience it on a daily basis.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Lucky you! Many people commented below that it is a real problem in Apeldoorn, so I believe it's a matter of mentality (probably people acting here like they are in the village or the middle of the forest). Probably in bigger cities such as Amsterdam with less nature and green zones, people are more careful and thoughtful about this.

[@DamaxThomas]

For Japan, there are toilets everywhere! Most supermarket and convenience stores (7-eleven, Family Mart, ...) have toilets and with baby changing stations inside the toilet. All shopping malls have many toilets, kids toilets, baby changing rooms and milk feeding rooms. Of course, it is free and it is the washlet with heated seats and the bidet feature.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Exactly! Our favourite movie "Perfect Days" was made to show Japanese public toilets to the world - and I think many countries can learn from the Japanese experience.

[@PrinceWalacra]

I agree on the lack of public toilets, even at highway resting places there are non. And for the dog poop, it might be more a local mentality, in my city people do clean it most of the time.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

No public toilets along the highways? That's a shock, as we don't have a car - we didn't even know about it 🤯🤯🤯

[@jsb7975]

The dog poop , I'm really surprised while I never encounter this....and : every gaz station does have a toilet but yeah it cost you 50 cents which is really stuped, as are supermarkets. But you won't find a hotel, restaurant or café where the toilet isn't free to use.....

[@PrinceWalacra]

@@jsb7975 there are many highway stops / resting places without a gas station, they almost never have toilets.

[@jeandonk8031]

Eens meer openbare toiletten zijn noodzakelijk. Vroeger was dat wel zo. Maar dat werden ook van die stink plekken waar je niet eens naar binnen durfde te gaan. Handhaving in NL moet meer handhaven mbt hondenpoep, maar het is ook een kwestie van beschaving als eigenaren de poep van hun hond opruimt. Je kunt gratis hondenpoepzakjes via de website van de gemeente bestellen en per post krijg je ze de volledig binnen. Leuke video ❤

[@jabo7763]

Hi, i am a dutchy and my experience with the public toilet problem. My wife and me love to walk with our dog (along the beach) on most parkjng places is a public toilet. In the beachclubs you can go to the toilet for free. When we go shopping (Breda, Utrecht, Den Bosch) you can go to any restaurant to go to the toilet. I didn't have to buy any consumption ever. And in the supermarket my son also had to go to the toilet once (age 6 then) they had to call the manager because he had the key of this toilet (it's only for emergency).

[@S.M.Art_Living]

But how does it work with going to toilet in the restaurant where you didn't consume anything?

[@AdvdW]

@@S.M.Art_Living It is not self-evident that this is allowed. You have to ask.

[@jabo7763]

​@@S.M.Art_Livingjust ask if you can use the toilet.

[@framegote5152]

About the rain ... it rains a lot here, but as it is a small country you're never a long way from home (to change into something dry). Only when you're going to work or school and you're unable to change for a couple of hours you'll wear a raincoat (or something similar). You learn that at a very young age here.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Probably the same logic applies to public toilets problem, as soon as you are never far away from home 😅

[@itllbe]

When I complained about the rain as a child my mom always told me that I was not made out of sugar. 🙂

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Hi, Julia here! I've heard this phrase before and I think it deserves a separate video. In Russia, they also say ‘you are not made of crystal’ or ‘no one has ever died from this before’ - great manipulative phrases to shame a person for being uncomfortable or not liking something that society is used to considering as something normal

[@itllbe]

@@S.M.Art_Living Hi Julia. I guess both examples have a sidenote of "The situation is what it is and you will have to learn to live with it". I can imagine that such comments coming from a government, society or authoritative institution can quickly create a dark and grim reality for individuals. Coming from my mom, although also an authoritative figure, it was a wellment lesson that things will not always go your way, and you sometimes have to toughen up a bit. Like when you are 6 and it rains when you have to go to school and there is no car to drive you. I hope, that if you make a separate video about it, you will highlight that difference. It is important from who the words come and what the motive of the speaker is.

[@SUMERUP]

In Amsterdam it s the opposit. Of course there is always a an exception to the rule but most people do clean after their dogs. Stepping in poop happened to me maybe 3 years ago.

[@Anonymous-sb9rr]

Bank office? what bank office?

[@drekruizinga8696]

Its only water, and we are not made of sugar

[@insignificus]

The wage completely depends on the TYPE of (non-) office job. And then there are other things to take into account such as secondary labour benefits.

[@bertusvanhal8855]

The toilet was in the beginning free and at more places, but people don’t clean or homeless people stay there and don’t want to leave the toilets when the store closed, they always must called the police to get them out. But i agree, they must place more openbare free toilets, especially now people getting older and need more to the toilet. Dog poop is a problem but we work against it, in the city’s its a problem still but in small places there are actions against it. Fine of letting dog poop on the ground is 100€ and if you have a dog you must carry plastic bags for cleaning it up, but in the city’s the police have to much other work to look at it.

[@BartvandenAkker]

Dog poop is a major annoyance. Until recently, I had neighbors left and right who let their (multiple) dogs run and pee and poop everywhere, including in our garden. Their owners are spoiled and arrogant. It is always the owners, not so much the dogs. We moved to Ameland, an island in the north. Because there is a lot of space, there are a lot of dogs. But these dogs are well trained and their owners clean up the poop, even in deserted places. On Ameland, we have problems with dogs of tourists, who do not listen, cause a nuisance, get lost, and poop everywhere (dogs as well as tourists). But I digress... In general, the municipalities indicate where dogs may be walked, and bags are provided to clean up the poop. In Apeldoorn, my mother was already campaigning in the seventies for the establishment of dog toilets and poop-free zones. Disappointing that nothing has changed after 50 years.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Very sad that nothing has changed after 50 years....For people to change their attitudes probably police and municipality should start to control everything 24/7 and issue giant fines or people should report their neighbours to the police as they do in Germany - because I do not see how this issue can be improved the other way

[@ElMariachi1337]

About the dog poop, maybe it has someting to do with Apeldoorn being considered an upper level class city that has lots of families with kids and therfore probably also above average amount of dogs around as part of those families. I don't know the policy when it comes to dogs in Apeldoorn but in a lot of cities it's mandatory to clean your dogs poop and you can even get fined if the police or handhaving sees you are not removing your dogs poop. But then also in those places there are special trash bins around parks and so on, where you can leave the doggie pooh bags.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Hi! Yes, in Apeldoorn there are also special bins for poop - and even free bags - and it still has no effect! I've never seen the police issuing fines for this - and I think that's the only way to do it. I mean really, Apeldoorn has a lot of wealthy people, we live in a neighborhood where flats cost between half a million and a million euros (so it's not some ghetto) and almost all of the people here are local elderly Dutch people - and still almost no one cleans up after their dogs - and we just don't understand how this is possible! 🤯🤯🤯

[@robertvanbeek7387]

Hi, Apeldoorner here. Owners should clean the poop in the streets. (And believe me, years ago it was way worse) Except in the special area's where the dogs can walk off the leash. Mostly in parts of parks and dedicated fields. (There is a sign with a dog) These area's will be cleaned by the city.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

@@robertvanbeek7387 hi! Julia is here! But why it was worse years ago? And why do people not clean? That´s basically our shock and main question because the Netherlands is not a third-world country and it's strange to see such disrespect for cleanliness here.. About the municipality cleaning - I don't know how it works, but in 2 years of living in Apeldoorn, we have only seen it a couple of times. For example, now, many areas are filled with boxes of fireworks - and we know that no one will clean it up, but they will just be there for weeks until a rain or storm washes them into the canal. I don't know if we can do anything to complain on the Gemeente's website - we've never left a complaint regarding street cleanliness before - because we were sure it was the norm here and no one would do anything about it. But since you live in Apeldoorn - maybe you can advise us on something

[@CaBoela]

I'm dutch and in my town you don't find any dog droppings. Everybody cleans. And this is normal nowadays in the Netherlands. I think you live in a neighbourhood with many expats or "new" dutchmen.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Nice that you are trying to blame expats and foreigners even regarding this matter. But no, we live in one of the most expensive neighbourhoods in Apeldoorn where live mostly retired Dutch people. Many other comments to this video confirm that this problem exists in the Netherlands but of course it’s easier to blame expats and foreigners 👍👍👍

[@andrerios_art]

Sometimes racist comments make me laugh.

[@Grasnek]

@@S.M.Art_Living Didn't anyone warn you that you were moving into the dog poop capital of the Netherlands? I'm just kidding of course :) To be honest I'm not seeing a lot of dog poop here. My neighbours own 2 dogs and I always see them picking it up with little plastic bags. But yeah I think it does happen that people don't clean after their dogs. I think it could possibly be so noticable to foreigners that there's more dog poop than they're used to, because the Netherlands is a rather densely populated country compared to other European countries, and with quite a lot of pets on top of that. That just makes it more important to actually clean up though..

[@S.M.Art_Living]

@@Grasnek After your comment we will probably will call one of our next videos "Apeldoorn - is the dog poop capital of the Netherlands" LOL It is very funny and probably it is true 😅

[@florantunespereira9596]

Portuguese here. These are the things I found the most different from my 40 years experience in Lisbon. 😊 The Netherlands is an amazing tiny country I love it, even the weather ☁️

[@mjokhoe573]

Why you think your Portugal is a big country.

[@tvaandering]

Most people here do work 36-40 hours. At least almost all the men I know.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Yep, it is normal that amoung your colleagues or friends this is not common, but if we check stats - www.iamexpat.nl/career/employment-news/half-employees-netherlands-work-part-time-jobs we can see real numbers (half of country works part-time)

[@TheJoaveck]

Yes, people that work in factories earn almost the same as people that sit all day. Let me tell you why because this will be a worldwide trend soon: We have good if not the best education worldwide. And if you can make more money by doing less (yes, office people really do less), and education is not expensive like in America, then the choice shouldn't be hard. BUT... If everybody wants to make money sitting on their @#$%, the demand for people that actually do labor becomes higher. Prices are based on offer and demand. That's why I make more money in 4 days as a truckdriver than the average office person does in 4 days. I hope this shift will continue to spread worldwide because soon we will have a lack of technicians, mechanics, plumbers, builders etc. They people that do physical work should be payed higher than the ones sitting in a chair. And they should get their retirement earlier. Unfortunately the ones that tell how much we should get payed are people that also sit in a chair all day.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Hi! Julia here! As a former ‘office worker’ who never lifted anything heavier than a pen and a mouse - I agree that people in offices and people in supermarkets, cleaning, factories, etc. should be paid the same wages. Some would call it socialism, but we should remember that people who work in factories and other hard jobs - in addition to their time, they also lose their health every day - and this should certainly be financially compensated.

[@bepsnet]

Happy New Year with lots of positivity. You can translate the page into your own language using a right mouse button. It may read a bit strange, but then you will have a better idea of ​​what is meant. Paying for a toilet visit has always been an irritation for the Dutch, just like you said. There are already municipalities busy requiring shops to open their toilets to visitors. But whether they will actually do it is still the question, because then they will be stuck with the extra costs.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Thanks for the wishes! All the very best to you also in the new year! I agree that toilets should be provided either by the municipality or by shops and organisations. After all every shop has a toilet for employees - and it doesn't cost such a huge amount of money to open it also for customers.

[@RemseyYT]

Everything that costs money, you will not see in the Neddies. Everything that earns us money you will have an abundance of.

[@leanderbuijtendijk6241]

Totaly love dogs but sadly enouth must agree with the dog poop problem. Of cource you need to clean this if you have a dog. Also never understood the toilet culture in the Netherlands but sometimes ask a restaurant if I can go there and most of the time thats no problem.

[@viderethevaccinatorfromhol7536]

That's weird. In my small village, there are dog watchers, and you have to carry poop bags. There are poop trash cans on every corner. No dog poop is on the streets. It depends on the city rules i guess.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Wow, I wonder how that works, these "dog watchers"? Is it volunteers or representatives of the police or municipality?

[@ChristiaanHW]

i want to give some context to the "negatives" in this video, to explain why it is that way. - the toilet situation: the paying for toilets is in part for the cleaning of that toilet. and in part it ensures only people who have to use it will go, so you will have less people going into the toilets and making a mess of it, or hanging around in them for fun. also supermarkets don't really need them (customer accessible toilets) as most people live close to them, so they go before they leave home, or they hold it or a few minutes and are back in their own home. but cafes, restaurants and the likes do often have customer toilets. and there's always room to make exceptions for shops if they feel the customer should be given access to the employees bathroom. so it's something Dutch people are familiar with and we don't really think about it as strange or inconveniently. - the dog "stuff" it depends on the municipality, in some towns/cities you have to always clean up after your dog. but in most you have designated area's where you can leave it. go to the cities website and look for the information for dog owners, here you're likely to find the rules about cleaning up, and if you're lucky they even have a map where you're able to see the different rules in different area's of the municipality it the same as the rules around using a leash, not every city has the same rules. and often there are area's where they aren't needed. but that said, there are always some people who don't care and who let their dog go wherever it wants. (like right in front of your "schutting door")

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Thanks for your comment! Yes, I think all these differences are just part of the local mentality and of course the locals don't even notice it, but when you come from another country (where for example there are free public toilets on every corner) it can sometimes be difficult to adapt to it

[@SUMERUP]

But toilets yes there are simply no toilets in public areas and supermarkets, let’s admit that. About poop in Apeldoorn I know nothing. But here in that’s unthinkable.. stepping into poop is always possible but the last time that happened to me is maybe 3 or 4 years ago

[@TheJoaveck]

Yes, you can call yourself sick without going to the doctor. But if your boss doesn't believe you, he can ask of you to go to the 'Bedrijfsarts'. This doctor is hired by the company but should be neutral. So it's not like this doctor would tell you to go work if you can't just because they got payed by your boss.

[@ellyvandenhoven823]

You don 't earn the same money at all in the netherlands Not at all!!!

[@tommynyberg2122]

Nice to hear about your lifes in NL. God information then I going to NL next time. I live in Sweden and no poop in the streets or park. The dogowner has to pick it up and throw it in certain trash bins.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Thank you! Yep, I believe that here as well dog owners should clean up, but as soon as police doesnt control it and issues big fines - nobody cares :(

[@TheJoaveck]

In The Netherlands we have the same rules. You HAVE TO pick it up and throw away. But unfortunately not everyone does this. Personally I wish for our government to raise the tickets you get for not cleaning up. People will think twice if they risk a €500,- ticket instead of €50,-

[@t.corazon6350]

Toilets! Yes BIG problem! You have to go to restaurant, buy coffee and you may use toilet

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Yep, if you need to buy a coffee in order to use a toilet - it is a really great problem indeed.

[@albertusklijn]

I live in Amersfoort and here we do not have this dog poop problem. We have allot dog fields especially for dogs, there will be allot of poop. The playgrounds and parks are clean. In parks is like 80% clean from dog poop.

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Lucky you! I guess this should be different from city to city and unfortunately we have to face this problem here, in Apeldoorn :(

[@jooproos6559]

About the dog poop,it rains a lot in the Netherlands. So when a dog poops and the rain comes within a hour,there is nothing left of the poop after the rain.That is the nice thing about the lot off rain we have.😆😆😆 And about the rain,we have the saying that walking in the rain will not melt you.Its even better for your hair..😆😆

[@S.M.Art_Living]

Okay.... But as we can see from the footage in our video - this idea that rain washes away all the dirt and poo from the streets - it doesn't work 😕

[@jooproos6559]

@@S.M.Art_Living Well,i live in a street in Almere-Netherlands.When the people want to walk to the dike with their dog,that dog will defecate some times in the road were i live.And how it happens i dont know,that is gone very soon.I guess it dries out because off the wind through the street.And then a rainstorm and nothing is left.

[@SUMERUP]

Sorry friend, poop on your shoes is a very unpleasant experience and the rain does not wash it away. The poop in lawns and parks is certainly a nuisance you have no children I guess