MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE NETHERLANDS 🇳🇱 (american expats in the netherlands)

In this episode, Michelle and Alex talk about the common misconceptions about the Netherlands that they've heard from their friends and family and attempt to set them straight. What's true or not true about life in the Netherlands, based on the experience of American expats in the Netherlands.
Episode 42 · Filmed on March 4, 2023 · Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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0:00 Introduction
0:39 What misconceptions have we heard?
1:30 There are canals everywhere
2:06 People only ride bikes
3:08 Holland vs. the Netherlands
4:29 Cannabis everywhere
5:39 Prostitution
6:41 Healthcare is free
8:02 Wrap up
#expatlife #netherlands #cultureshock
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WHO IS BUNCHARTED?
We're Michelle and Alex, a travel-obsessed American couple living abroad in the Netherlands.
In 2020, we quit our jobs to travel the world, and... yeah, that didn't happen. So in 2022, we decided to make an even BIGGER change, packing up our lives (and our cats 🐈), moving from Austin, Texas, to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. Subscribe for new videos like this every week!

[@lemmimini3493]

As an Asian whos part Thai Chinese and Vietnamese who grew up in Belgium and Netherlands (having dutch as my first language ever) I miss the Netherlands dearly, due to family issues we had to sadly move back to Vietnam and have been living there since, even so, I've never given up on my love for the place I grew up in, I'm currently trying my best to get into one of Vietnam's top high schools to hopefully get a scholarship to once more return to my beloved country, its so lovely to see you guys make content about the Netherlands its indeed a fantastic country

[@cyrielmartens3575]

Oh no :/ I hope you can return one day. We'll all be cheering you on! :D

[@TerrenceWeijnschenk]

Always welcome (back)! Hope you succeed in getting that scholarship one day. 🖖

[@edz8067]

Hope you succeed! Atleast someone who actually cares about the country!

[@resi3794]

We hope you get back here soon.

[@_PJW_]

Since you have a Belgian/Dutch history you might inquire with the Belgian and Dutch embassies as to how to proceed. Having a Dutch social background is a huge plus in the various bureaucratic procedures. And of course contact the online communities.

[@BCRVG87]

I don't know if it is a misconception or not but I've always felt that in America you either win or lose in life, there is not realy an inbetween. As in the Netherlands it feels like the inbetween is more the base-line. Love your content btw.

[@buncharted]

i've never heard that before, but that is pretty accurate... and thank you ❤️

[@jsb7975]

​@@buncharted people on the left side of politics have a big bias against the U.S. as being overcapitalistic and that there is racism everywhere and Trump being the worst of all. (Dutch msm copies cnn, msnbc and well..fill in.) People on the right (being called nazi's by the left here as well) at least know of the existence of black, gay and muslim concervativs and above all the perpetrating of 'woke'. I'm afraid that if you make a vid of the revers "what do you think of the U.S. you cannot prevent politics. I think the U.S. and it's unique founding is beneficial to the world. One should realize this but well ...🤷 American music, art, culture, inventions, it all benefited and still does for me !

[@guenthersteiner9252]

Yea, especially in politics. In the USA you are either a Democrat or a Republican. In the Netherlands most parties are quite in the middle. Sone slightly to the right some slightly to the left.

[@jpdj2715]

The impact of the French Revolution. Before, nobility and the extremely rich were reference class. After, nobility went through life camouflaged, and middle class became reference class. The worst people would be "nouveau riche", frowned upon by nobility and old rich, frowned upon by middle class. You don't show it off, don't spend it but wisely invest and pass it on to the next generation. In the UK there never was a social impact like that where guillotines forced surviving upper class people to rethink. Dutch friends living in London, at a party asked why a couple had not been invited and the answer was "they're trade".

[@leya2215]

I think people confuse ‘car dependency’ with ‘owning a car’. As a Dutch person with a car, it can be easier. But. I’m not dependent on it. In the contrary. In Utrecht, where I live, I use my bike to get around. Busses are also readily available. If I want to go to a different city centre I will take the train. Leiden, Den Haag, Amsterdam, Amersfoort, Rotterdam, Delft and more are very easily accessible with the train and bus. I only use my car to go to my parents’ place. This is because I often take things with me to them and back home after. (And the trip by public transport takes me twice as long as by car). What I’m saying is that most people in the Netherlands (randstad) aren’t ‘dependent’ on their car. But it makes it easier sometimes than using public transportation to transport things, but also to cut some times in half. (My parents live rural. Even though there is a connection to their street, it often takes long to catch that bus…)

[@markvanderborght7559]

Like Paris people believe that Paris is France, a lot of Randstad people believe that it is the Netherlands: the confusion that Holland is Netherlands is not far away. Few cars? When I was a teenager, we used to listen to Dutch radiostations, living close to the Dutch border. All we hard was traffic jams! Also the negatieve connotation of the word Dutch doesn’t help (Dutch date, Dutch talk…) so the word Holland may even be preferrable sometimes. Also the France-registered cars passing Belgium sometimes tell me they are heading to a coffeeshop…. Very Nice video! Loved it.

[@FuriousImp]

Don't forget Dutch oven🤣

[@FrozenMermaid666]

I am the only Leya / Leia etc - such names and other special / important names (and purity / nature / flower related names etc) cannot be misused by wom’n, and all unsuitable names must be changed!

[@FrozenMermaid666]

Also, pronouns can never be with a capital letter when referring to oneself or to other hum’ns - only when referring to me the superior being can pronouns be with a capital letter, and the special pronouns are also only meant for me, in Dutch and in all other languages, so all should know not to misuse such terms / pronouns etc, esp the ones learning Dutch and Dutch speakers etc, and only the pronouns jij / je can be used when talking to all hum’ns!

[@Yvolve]

About the weed and locals smoking: yes, a lot of Dutch people smoke weed but in no way at the level people think. We're also on the lower end in Europe in percentages. The decriminalisation has made it less secretive and therefore exciting for people to try. It is also not illegal, nor tolerated but decriminalised, which is a big difference in legal terms. It is still a very flawed system but our politicians are too scared and/or lazy to actually legalise it and get rid of all the issues the current system causes.

[@frankaschapendonk7220]

Rotterdam is not a "modern" city as you describe it. It is actually an old city, just like Amsterdam. There are many modern buildings because the old Center was completely bombed in the Second World War

[@LeafHuntress]

Just to add to that; R’dam & A’dam were relatively new fishing villages compared to cities like Maastricht & Nijmegen.

[@leya2215]

I’m someone from Rotterdam and while you can still see old influences in the city, you can’t not call Rotterdam modern. On the contrary to most of our other big cities, like Amsterdam, Utrecht, Maastricht, Den Haag or ‘s Hertogenbosch which all consist mostly of an old city centre, Rotterdam sadly doesn’t have one anymore. Therefore, with the lack of a historic city centre, it is a modern city with a historic story.

[@guenthersteiner9252]

​@@LeafHuntress yea R'dam and A'dam came alive during like the golden age while Nijmegen and Maastricht already were there during the roman empire.

[@ROKBUZZCUT]

@@leya2215, and what about Delfshaven R'dam West??

[@ROKBUZZCUT]

@@Man-in-the-green, Who is Dordrecht?

[@carolientjejosefientje1684]

When living in a city I agree, no car needed. You can get around by bike, bus or train. But.... in the countryside it is much more difficult. Lots of small villages no longer have a bus coming through. As people have stated before, most of us own both a car and a bike and choose the best option for the trip. I'm new to your channel, but like it! I have lived in the US myself (mid '90's) and I was equally surprised by some things, both good and bad.

[@Dutchbelg3]

There are in fact red light districts in other Dutch cities too. Not EVERY city and it is differently organized in different locations. The reason coffeeshops are called that way is because they are allowed to sell softdrinks and coffee and tea but they usually do not have the right licenses for selling alcoholic drinks. The way the coffeeshops are getting supply is in fact really bizarre! Large quantities are not allowed ! "Weed"-plantages are not allowed! You can grow plants but it should be intended for private use... Very grey area! Soon you will be able to see the tulips! The right area to go see is pretty close to Rotterdam just behind the North sea coast: Lisse, Noordwijk, Noordwijkerhout. You don't need to go to the Keukenhof just rent a bike and cycle around! Just be careful for the many touring coaches for Chinese and Japanese tourists 😜😬

[@xXTheoLinuxXx]

For a matter of fact growing a few plants is tolerated, not allowed. Even when you have only one plant it can be removed by the police. I know it for sure, because it was a kind of an issue a few years ago in my village where someone had only one plant.

[@annemarel]

There are parts in The Netherlands where you actually do need a car, because it's less densely populated and the distances between villages are larger. Therefore public transport is not as good as in the bigger cities. We can do a lot with our bike, but there are limits. By the way, did you know that in my region of The Netherlands (Zeeland), we have a national championship of biking against the wind? It is held on a trajectory of 9 kilometers including the "Oosterscheldekering" which is famous for it's windy circumstances. It is typically announced 3 days before a big storm of at least 7 beaufort windpower.

[@buncharted]

oh wow - going to watch some youtube videos of that right now 😅

[@w.5725]

Thats cool!! As a dutch person I didn’t know that. Must be generating a lot of nice pictures! 😄

[@ROKBUZZCUT]

Zeeland? You meanN Zealand right?

[@w.5725]

@@ROKBUZZCUT Nope, Zeeland.

[@annemarel]

@@ROKBUZZCUT nope, I mean "Zeeland", which would translate in English as "Sealand", but in Dutch it's called Zeeland, so that is the correct name. It's a province in the South West of The Netherlands where we have a lot of water and shores.

[@Wielie0305]

We, a family of four, have 2 cars, 3 bikes, 2 e-bikes and 2 OV (public transport) cards. We chose what’s the best option for the trip. One of these cards is owned by my daughter. She is a student and gets also ‘zorgtoeslag’ from the government. She only pays a few euros a month for health insurance. Why? students are poor you know. I never smoked weed, but know some of people who do occasionally. We don’t have a red light district and certainly not canals like Amsterdam or Utrecht. Lucky to live in NL 👍🏻

[@Moros-tw6uc]

i believe Rotterdam has anywhere between 40 and 50 coffeeshops in total. Compared to Amsterdam with over 160 it is indeed not a lot, but certainly more than three. Fun fact, Amsterdam used to have more than 400.

[@JulesStoop]

The name Holland refers to what has been for quite a few centuries-and still is-by far the most dominant both economically and politically of Dutch provinces (so dominant it was split into North and South at some point). As such it became a ‘pars pro toto’. Somewhat comparable to how some people might say ‘England’ when they’re really talking about the UK. At a certain point in history though, the country became a lot smaller thanks to trains and later cars which meant the other provinces became better connected to the central part of the country and started to grow richer and more influential themselves. I believe that’s the main reason why we started to feel more comfortable, even in Holland itself, with calling our country ‘the Netherlands’.

[@Its_Danny-]

Yes also old trade, in a lot of latin languages it's called olanda, from holland because of the trade ports, my dad is an international trucker and it's always holland, even though we officially said it's the netherlands we still think holland is okay

[@matthijsclaessen8152]

And… we’ll yell “Holland!” when cheering for the Dutch national football team… So even we don’t know.

[@rufmeister]

@@matthijsclaessen8152 We do know. Holland refers to the country. It's not the official name, I believe the official term is "nickname". Comparing it to "how some people might say ‘England’ when they’re really talking about the UK" is nonsense, because England is an actual country, with a flag, a sports team and a government. Holland, as an "area of two provinces" is none of those things. I've never, in my 4 decades of living in NL, heard someone use the word "Holland" to refer to only those two provinces. It's always referring to the country. So really, the question is not: "should Holland have the meaning of two provinces" because that is a useless meaning. That will never come up in conversation. The question is instead: "should it be allowed that Holland is used for it's only useful meaning: the country". To which the anwer should be: why not? Everybody knows what you mean, and it's easier to say. The more accurate analogy, is an American (meaning: someone from the USA), saying "America" instead of "US(A)" Even though South-America and North-America are continents, nobody is confused what is meant by "America" or "American".

[@mikevanderbruggen4397]

​@@rufmeisterI know from personal experience, some people in the south do address Holland separately. There is a history of internal colonialism and suppression there. Hollander can be heard in a derogatory tone in northern and western Provences too for the same reason. Actually, this randstad-provinces issue is prominent in modern politics. The Groningen earthquake response being indicative of the lack of interest in these regions by government.

[@janmango4692]

Before coal became more common in and around the 1900's , the Netherlands used dried peat ("turf") for cooking and heating. This industry needed a lot of workers for digging the stuff up and processing it, and a lot of waterways to transport it to the cities. So even from the early middle ages on (plm. CE 1000), canals were dug for transportation of turf. In a lot of cases and through the ages, these canals had other usages as well, like drainage of water. So every town in the Netherlands involved in the turf industry had canals. And this was a core industry, so a lot - and I mean a lot - of Dutch towns and cities have or had canals.

[@xXTheoLinuxXx]

Exactly. I'm born and raised in Stadskanaal and that was a 'peat colony' The shipped peat from the villages around it (through canals) to the city of Groningen.

[@barthoving2053]

Waterways were the most effective way to move around until the invention of the railroad. And the Netherlands for the most part being a delta waterways were already there and as the country was flat it was easy to expand and generally there was very little current. So your canal would not turn into a raging current washing with extreme weather. And the first canals in the cities were often the moat and after expanding the city limits the moat was more useful as a waterway then being filled and made into a road. There's a meme the Inuits/Eskimos have dozens of words of snow. Not sure if that's true, but the Dutch do have dozens of names for waterways.

[@blinkybillist]

True story this one, migrated to Australia late 1984, one year later I started working in a new casino here. Obviously, I still had a serious accent still, so everyone knew I was Dutch - I was numerous times asked by my new colleagues where they could buy some cannabis, when I told wouldn't know , they were surprised and told me you're Dutch, you should know. Never touched the stuff in my life.

[@buncharted]

🤦

[@Its_Danny-]

Haha, i went to america recently, florida to be exact and my father in law went into a smoke shop wanted to get a delta 10 thc vape(highest strenght there is) guy behind the counter said maybe you should get a delta 8 or 7 they're more mellow. He just said I'm from the netherlands, guy was like ah okay bro i understand

[@edejong]

Strangely enough, you can get a cup of coffee in a coffeeshop. Used to do that regularly, very relaxed atmosphere.

[@karelvandervelden8819]

Many old cities (yes Rotterdam) had canals but were later filled in for road use.

[@Erik-ou3tl]

If you have canals in cities, they tend to have been defensive moats in the past, converted to canals to promote trade when the moats lost their use. many of the major cities have a 'canal', wether or not it has been filled in as Karel mentioned.

[@rufmeister]

Rotterdam is confusing, I understand. Yes, the city is old, but it _looks_ very modern. But we have the Germans to thank for that. They made sure that there was lots of room for modern buildings in Rotterdam, without old ones being in the way.

[@karelvandervelden8819]

@@rufmeister There is some quality in ¨sick-jokes¨. Not yours.

[@Bduh2]

When it came to deciding where to start a new married life together, we decided for me to move to The USA. Once here people indeed asked me jokingly if the Dutch wear wooden shoes and everyone has tulips or live in a Windmill. Since it was Las Vegas where we then lived my standard answer was always (also jokingly): "Well of course! Just like I got to work on my horse, with guns on my hip and in a cowboy outfit like John Wayne" That always got a chuckle out of them followed by me explaining the habits of The Dutch but also how much Dutch history is actually in the American daily life. That always was not just a total surprise but really got them interested in learning more about The Netherlands. Now it has been 36 years ago, my wife passed away and I still educate the average American about the Dutch even though a lot has changed in The Netherlands However, since I visit my family once or twice a year, I have kept up on what's going on.

[@Leentvaar1964]

Great video!!

[@ramonamaramis]

Totally off topic but my boyfriend is completely obsessed by his cat on hagelslag hoodie!! He wears it almost every day and people actually do react - "is dat een kat op een broodje hagelslag?!" whenever they see my boyfriend in it. So pls keep this design in your merch. Might order for some more😊

[@buncharted]

aww thank you so much!!! we're so glad that you like it ❤️

[@CroweDharmaReloaded]

Thoughts on America from a Dutchie: - Everything is Big (portions, drink sizes, cars) - Bad healthcare system - not easy biking/walking the neighbourhoods (no bikelanes and few walking paths, shopping and groceries by car in stead) - giant grocery stores (compared to here) - Lots of long distance bus lines - obligated tips at restaurants etc. - bad electrical power/grid (all lines above ground in stead of under ground like here. More sensitive to storms) - Not using the metric system - very patriotic (with the flags and pledge of allegiance)

[@Blackadder75]

those are not misconceptions, but observations

[@blinkachu5275]

Good list, having lived most of my life in the Netherlands (2 years in Ireland though) while interacting with Americans frequently, I do indeed see these misconceptions often. Especially the drugs one, that's the one thing they gravitate towards when you say you're from the Netherlands. Which sucks, because I'm very much "anti-drugs", so to be associated with it by default isn't always a good feeling. Funnily enough I didn't actually know prostitution was only legalized since the 2000s, I thought it was way longer haha, goes to show that I can learn even more about my home country. Hope you keep enjoying living here. I definitely have a lot of issues with the Netherlands (especially the housing market... by god is it a tragedy nowadays, and some of the laws involving cars which suck as a car lover) but hearing your side of how it was in America through your videos I do feel like we got the better end of the stick on a lot of things ^^;

[@Dutchbelg3]

The stereotypes for the USA: Everybody drives a truck, is ultra-christian, only speaks 1 language, Restaurant portions are oversized, Everybody spends all waking hours holding a drink or having a drink under grabbing distance, AIRCO is set just above freezing tempêratures, Everybody wears either jeans or sweatpants, McDonalds is called a restaurant, nobody eats home cooked food AND LAST : Money rules above every one and everything. Ahhh and every one house and car has the American flag in one form or the other 😛

[@buncharted]

haha those are uh… all true 😅

[@ronaldderooij1774]

Spot on, and they only have a very vague idea about the rest of the world. They know it somehow exists, that's it.

[@metalvideos1961]

75% is religious in the USA

[@metalvideos1961]

Money does rule in America. It's, a fact

[@davevanbeers6944]

The stereotypes I have about the USA: guns, conspiracy theories, fat people, religion is fairly important to most people, ohh and FOX news. 😊 thanks for a fun episode! Have a great weekend.

[@chubbymoth5810]

Yeah,.. stereotypes you say? Gun toting religious freaks with stunning levels of ignorance springs to mind. I met a few that do no fit those stereotypes over time, but those were the ones that made it out of their state and found fridges exist elsewhere. Still having the death penalty in the 21st century does seem pretty barbaric to me. Must say that so far the Trump presidency was the absolute low, though. So easily conned those folks.

[@TestTest-eb8jr]

Those are not stereotypes.....

[@sjampie67]

Most of those religious believes decent from the Netherland, altough we lost them ourselfs

[@FrozenMermaid666]

No such thing as a csp theory - most of the ideas are true or based on some sort of truth, and the others are kinda true, but rIgn not really! But anyway, re the Netherlands legalizing that beyond sakryIegyuz _ - what the actual efd! As a matter of fact, all zynnerz / bngng / btg and other wrng things must be bnd!

[@FrozenMermaid666]

It’s really efd that any country would legalize such abmntn - promoting impztz and their most ofsv / gx areas as some sort of ‘valuable’ thing that only the most efd _ would ever pay fr, pfff...

[@Kaasmof]

about 40 years ago, I was working in one of the first nail-shiops in Amsterdam on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. One afternoon an older American lady entered the shop. She was in a good mood, waitetd to get a broken nail repaired and as she was being served, she told us, that she loved Amsterdam. She just had been in one of the coffeeshops, run by young people and they had been so nice. Though hey had a spellingmistake on their menue. They offered "spacecake" instead of "spicecake" but it had been delicious, she even had taken a second part... As we carefully explained her, that there was no spellingerror, but what she just had consumed, she started giggling like a young teen. "If I tell this to my grandchildren, they will never believe me..."

[@jackvandersluis1723]

Very informing vlog! and funny! 😊👍

[@buncharted]

thank you!

[@darkknight8139]

That is a nice list! Many people only think of Amsterdam when they think of the Netherlands, but I like to think that Amsterdam is anything but the Netherlands. I live in Utrecht and by coincidence I visited Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague all in the past few weeks, I felt like a tourist in my own country. When talking only about their city centres, this is what I think of them. Amsterdam is very nice to look at, but not a nice place to be. The Hague is grand, while Rotterdam is a big city with a relaxed vibe. Utrecht is more like a cozy big village than a city. Cant wait to watch the opposite misconception video :) Some ideas: Americans treat fast food as normal food. They go everywhere by car, even to the shops half a mile away (where Dutchies would take a bicycle). Everything in the US is commercialized, even the president elections. I mean: if you bring more money, you win. It feels like this is true for everything you try to achieve, in my opinion.

[@buncharted]

well said!

[@KESipples]

“If you bring more money, you win” is the perfect encapsulation of US society.

[@darkknight8139]

@@Man-in-the-green I visited a bit more than the places you mention, but I did not leave the city center. That is where tourists go, they will indeed not go to the outskirts of town. In the other cities I mentioned, I also only visited the city center, where tourists go. My opinion is based on city centers alone, and I think it still holds true.

[@ronaldstrous2764]

For that coffeeshop thing, I think you can buy harddrugs in US drugstores

[@hummel3479]

Funny . In Holland 😉 you can't get coffee in a coffeeshop , and in Amerika you can't get drugs😉 in a drugstore

[@dutchgamer842]

Something like Advil isn't drugs anymore 🙄

[@dn5239]

Even when new housing is built here there are always, always canals of some sort build as well😊

[@baritonetenor]

I do go to coffee shops sometimes but when I am about to have a 4 day weekend and I want to get a real good night + long sleep to start it off well

[@DantalionNL1]

Plenty of dutch people smoke weed, perhaps not regularly but atleast like once a month. I myself smoke but thats for 2 reasons, 1 is recreationally because I barely consume alcohol so its a way to relieve stress for me and 2 It helps me with my sleep issues.

[@StreamHottieSuperSimp]

Oh, but most coffeeshops DO sell coffee, you can sit down and have a good time, and they also happen to sell other stuff as well that gets the attention just a bit more ;)

[@buncharted]

i guess it’s obvious we haven’t been to one 😆

[@AndreUtrecht]

We Dutch call our country first and foremost Nederland (literally: Netherland) and we are Nederlanders.... Nederland is part of the Dutch Kingdom, or so you want the main center of it (there's not much left of the global kingdom).... kingdom = Koninkrijk in the Dutch language (two words are merged into the Dutch word Koninkrijk: 1. Koning (King) and 2. Rijk (realm))...... Nederland is officially then called the Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (Kingdom of the Netherlands).... the Netherlands used to be from Nederland to Belgium to Luxemburg.... Belgium and Luxemburg became independent... the province of North-Holland has the capital city of Amsterdam.... it is also the capital of the whole country because it is the biggest city.... the province of South-Holland has as its capital the city of Den Haag or the old fashioned name, also still in use: 's-Gravenhage (a merging of three words: des Graven's Hagen)... 'des' is old grammar, doesn't exist anymore in the official Dutch language, only in some remaining words.... des means: 'of the' ..... Graven comes from the Dutch word for Count: 'Graaf' .... hagen means 'hedges' .... so literally: Of The Count's Hedges.... the area's name started as 'Die Haghe' meaning a fenced off hunting terrain (probably natural hedges functioning as a fence).... then later Count Floris V built his 'hunting castle' there hence the name changed into 's-Gravenhage which became short 'Den Haag' (The Hague).... in English it would be more correct to call it The Hedge 😀.... Anyway.... Den Haag is the administrative centre of Nederland.... and it is where parliament is.... in other countries this would make Den Haag the capital city but the capital city in Nederland is the one with the most inhabitants.... and Amsterdam also probably became the capital city of the Netherlands because the brother of the French emperor Napoleon became King of the Netherlands and he turned the huge city hall on the Dam Square in Amsterdam into his Royal Palace (back then it was the biggest city hall in the world, this was seen as a symbol of the extreme equality between citizens and the upper classes, if you look at the building you see different entrances, all with the same hight and measurements: everyone entered this building through equal entrances)... King Louis Napoleon (Lodewijk Napoleon in Dutch) became the first factual King of the Netherlands..... the current Royal family always avoids mentioning this..... before this, Nederland was called the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (google it, I'm already writing too much 😀.... The constitution of this Republic was a blue print for the creation of The United States of America and its own constitution).... an interesting fact is thus that the Netherlands were a Republic before it became a Kingdom (normally Kingdoms turn into republics after revolutions happening).... the ancestors of the current royal family had important political roles within this republic but there was no nobility in this country, this happened only after King Louis Napoleon left (or during his reign, not sure) .... and we have only been a Dutch Kingdom since 1815.... which is quite recent....Where were we? Okay yes, so the Provinces of North-Holland and South-Holland have always been the economical centre of the Netherlands, together with an important role for the Province of Utrecht, which for a longtime was a Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht (bigger than the current province of Utrecht)..... so products like the famous Delft Blue pottery were exported all around the world, and often on it was written: made in Holland (meaning the area of the two provinces).....hence it became synonymous for this whole republic, outside the country ...... still we also use interchangeably Holland for 'Nederland', the Netherlands.... although, especially in the last decades more and more, the people living outside the Randstad Area (Look-up Randstad in Wikipedia, the biggest megalopolis of Europe, and the economical heart of the country) become more aware of the differences between the word Holland and Nederland.... but during football matches people can still chant 'Hup Holland Hup!' (Go Holland Go!) when the national team is playing .... So, where am I? Did I explain already the why and how of the word Holland? I think yes no? Before I go on and on and on, taking many segways ....

[@jlk6315]

Funny vlog, and no, as a dutchman I never visited a coffeeshop and I have no urge to do it also. For the bikething. Most of those youtubers are mostly focussed around Amsterdam which has the most strict policy’s on car’s and parking and stuf. Outside the bigger city’s most people own both a car and bicycle. Nice pineapple btw ☺️

[@flinwhite551]

Surinamese food consist of food made by different cultures such as Indian , Indonesian, Creole, Chinese and Native American. In the Netherlands you'll never find a restaurant that servs food from all cultures perfectly. So my advice is if you want a certain dish from a certain culture, go to a restaurant where the chef is from that culture. That way you'll get the best version of that dish. For example: if you want Roti (Indian/Surinamese food), go to Roopram Roti. Or if you want Saoto soep (Indonesian/Surinamese food) go to Warung Mini.

[@geeache1891]

I am already happy when they know it exists and where to find it on a map.

[@xandrios]

Most cities have few canals. It’s mainly the ones in North/South Holland that do.

[@mimimotor]

Don't forget Friesland though.

[@atropatene3596]

For children under 18, there's no premium nor is there any eigen risico. But also this year, the tax surcharge for the lowest income is higher than the price of basic insurance. So for example: my inlaws are in the lowest income bracket. They receive €154 per month in surcharge per person, and they pay €131 a month in insurance per person. In addition, through their municipality they got to join a program that pays an extra €45 for extra insurance (a help in the household is now covered, for example). My mother in law has a few ailments and she usually uses up her eigen risico every year. That's €385 per year, so €32 a month. In effect, she pays €9 a month for health insurance. Her partner makes €23 euros a month off health insurance (if he stays healthy and doesn't need to use it). This is done to soften the blow of the insane inflation. They also get extra high rent surcharge this year for the same reason. So... this year is different and some people actually do have free healthcare and then some. And also: the most annoying misconception about the Netherlands from Americans? They think we're Denmark. And also, what I think of for Americans: they're all into their "heritage". They'll tell you they're Polish, Irish, Italian, whatever. But only because of some great great grandparent was once born there. And then they simultaniously want to be from "murica the greatest nation there ever was and ever will be" AND be "Irish haha kiss me I'm Irish luck of the Irish". And they treat their "ancestral countries" like some theme park made especially for them.

[@buncharted]

this is so insightful - and so hard for me to look up online! thank you for writing this up!!

[@atropatene3596]

@@buncharted if you want to know stuff like this for future videos, I'd be happy to help. As I'm sure many other viewers would be.

[@Tiamat013]

0:38 my bro spitting facts. Sowieso maatje. ❤

[@Max-hw7xl]

My GF and i have a car, she uses it to visit her horse in the city over 2 times a week, its a 20 min trip each way. for the rest, we bike to do everything. to work, to the grocery store etc as for the drugs, ul find that in the party scene even hard drugs if in an amount for personal use, u usually get off. now, its been many decades since i tested that

[@user-gb1qq4se6c]

Hey … the second “canalphoto” is of my town, Winsum …. Elected the most beautiful in the Netherlands 😊.

[@georgekustner3440]

Holland is the trade name for The Netherlands. In the 17th century the economic power centers were the port cities of Rotterdam and Amsterdam connecting the trade hubs of the a dutch empire. That is from Taiwan to Indonesia etc.

[@BruceKarrde]

On Prostitution: I'm not sure how it is for other provinces, however my province has some heavy influences from Belgium. Meaning that on older main roads and outside of city/towns, you can find some brothels.

[@pel666]

Just wanted to give my 2cents as a Dutchy, I will try to give sensible comments on your topics as I enjoy watching the both of you exploring the NLs. Canals have a function, they were used to transport goods back in the day to warehouses, and cities like Amsterdam, Utrecht, Hoorn etc were the center of this trading. In these cities you will see load/unload bays on these canals, and interesting hoisting contraptions to facilitate merching. On cars, yes we have plenty but they are not gas guzzlers and we have almost the same feeling with independancy as the US with cars, we just don't need to drive far to get to a destination as the Dutch infrastructure is completely different opposed to the US. We like to mix functions and hardly have suburbs like in the US where living is the main function and you have to drive 30 mins or more to get grocery's. You just don't need a car living in a city. On cannabis, it is indeed condomned and used as much by Dutch people as tourists. There are coffee shops in every major city spread across the Netherlands. Prostitution, I think you nailed it. It is now considered the same as any job, which I think is a good thing. These mostly ladies need to have official protection financially and in person, it's not perfect yet but it is going in the right direction. Don't forget that prostitution solves a lot of social aspects, unfortunately in Amsterdam there is a movement going on by the government to reduce prostitution and the red light district activities. These kind of actions are city driven, I will not get into politics here. Health care is not free for sure, you can spend between 1000 and 2000 Euros each month with own risk of 350 euros. Keep enjoying the Netherlands, I invite you to come over to the North, experience the fresh fish market at Den Oever, get a trip to Texel and enjoy some more of the authentic Dutch feeling! Keep up the good work on your channel, I enjoy it very much.

[@buncharted]

thank you!

[@renebakx1963]

After 2 hours online of this video there was already a reaction video of it? That was fast. 😆

[@cyrielmartens3575]

oh dear, I need to catch up with your videos haha. Very nice to see this one though. I DO understand the whole holland/Netherlands things. I think most people (And from South/North Holland) always called it like that. But lately there has been a bit of pushback by other people don't like it be called "Holland". So it's very hard for Americans (or others) to really understand what it is actually called. As for my misconception about the USA. When I was younger, I really thought lots of America would carry guns in the streets. And that most of it was like the Marlbolo ads hahaha. Now I have visited the US 4 times, and I have a pretty good idea about what it's like, on the surface at least :D

[@mrmiddel]

Love the video, do have some feedback. Hope you don't mind the directness. Most locals actually do buy their weed at the coffee shop. In Rotterdam there are almost 40 coffee shops. I bet most of them will be mainly frequented by people that live nearby. Oh and usually they do sell coffee. The Holland thing is confusing indeed. When I was young I'd tell people abroad that I'm from Holland - even though I lived near Groningen. When the national football (soccer) team plays we chant 'Holland Holland'. I don't think most Dutch people care or are aware of the difference - on KZbin this is made out to be a much bigger issue than I believe it really is. Also almost all car owners are bicycle owners as well. You kind of made it sound like it's either one or the other. Most people choose their mode of transportation based on which is the easiest for a specific task.

[@kayleevanduren9623]

Also, 'The Netherlands' is difficult to pronounce for most Dutch people, because of the 'th' in there. Using 'Holland' is more convenient in a way.

[@Harry_PP030]

'Most locals' which means the few people in the Netherlands that use weed/drugs. It's not a common thing for everyone. I personally don't know anyone who uses them. I'm not against it, but i don't have the urge.

[@bentels5340]

06:00 Minor correction: prostitution was never illegal in The Netherlands. Up to 2001 it was illegal to own or operate a bordello -- that prohibition was rescinded. And yes, it was like saying hard liquor is okay but bottles are forbidden.

[@buncharted]

ah, ha! thank you for the clarification!

[@nelliehamstra1751]

As a kid I watched series as Dallas, Dynasty, Man off Atlantic. And Walt Disney films. That’s how I thouched Amerika was like.

[@Tuinierenopstrobalen]

You can buy coffee in coffeeshops😂 a good combination with greens!

[@dutchdelite77]

There are red-light districts outside Amsterdam as well, however not that extensive. In my home town Alkmaar it’s just one street 😂

[@RedstonerD]

Outside the biggest cities most cities still have coffeeshops. I definitely smelled more weed in new york than in Amsterdam, but a lot of Dutch people do smoke weed. It's especially popular with younger people

[@frits1954X2]

The name Holland is/was used by a marketing agency in the Netherlands to promote the Netherlands Best regards Frits

[@chatti363]

I live in the Netherlands all my life I didn’t know what Holland was until 3 years ago 😂 I also visit coffeeshops just to buy wiet. I live in IJmuiden we have 2 here en there are allot also in Haarlem

[@remcohoman1011]

4:25 KLM does it accurate, Scyhiphol Airport is in North Holland.. it be weird if you land at Eelde and they say we land in holland.. and they don't say that then..

[@SIG442]

Being Dutch myself, I do own wooden clogs but I rarely use them. Just to take out the trash mostly.

[@Mr666evileye]

small mistake. coffeeshops do sell coffee, and they are regulated via horeca (HOtel REstaurant CAfe) rules

[@mcmark2]

Healthcare is heavily subsidized if you don't earn near median income. And if you make around minimum wage, your healthcare often actually is fully reimbursed, a.k.a. free!

[@richardvanbergen7175]

Very funny to hear how people from the US think about the Netherlands. On the other hand, I think we all have misconceptions about other countries we've never been to ourselves. One more extreme than the other. About the name Holland, this is what wiki says about it: (although I thought it had to do with a former king) The name Holland comes from Holtland or Holdland, so: "houtland (woodland)". The oldest form is from the tenth century. What was then called Holtlant in Old Dutch referred to a settlement probably near Leiden. Until the next one 👍👋👋

[@lucasdekker1805]

Hey! I am Dutch and to answer your question at the end, here are some things we think about the US - Buying and Driving a car is cheap - Buying a house or huge peaces of land is relatively cheap compared to what we would pay for that in the Netherlands - Americans are always proud about their country - Most Americans only know America, maybe a few other countries like China and Russia but their knowledge about the rest of the world is very little. - Airplanes are a common way to travel, instead of a train or a car - Fat people - Guns

[@gertstolk]

My hometown is 100% canal free 😄

[@2cartalkers]

Bravo to you two! Do either of you speak Dutch? If no, how do you get by with the language barrier?

[@buncharted]

we're working on it! we tried duolingo and a dutch course on youtube, but it's been challenging. we're taking an in-person dutch course this summer! we haven't found much of a barrier language-wise, except for maybe with a doctor, since it's a more specific vocabulary...

[@2cartalkers]

@@buncharted Maybe this will help, do what I did when I went to Italy---total immersion. Drop yourself into a Dutch speaking only community and go for it. I did that in Italy and at the end of a month I was fairly fluent. I was also much older than you two, I did it when I was 51, so at your age you should be little language sponges. lol.

[@michaelnoeldner3279]

I've almost made my mind up on moving to the Netherlands. The only thing I need to find out is cost of moving there before I decide to go. I have 4 more years before I retire and I don't want to stay in the United States when I do. So far the Netherlands is first on my list to move to.

[@alphadream953]

theres hella coffeeshops in rotterdam ..... and yeah not everyone smokes like not everyone drinks

[@OverMotoren]

About the "Coffee shops": you should have seen the situation years ago. Nowadays it's been reduced to only sell whatever you want and nothing else. Before, you could also use and chill and before that most coffee shops would even have a license, making them basically cafés with an extra. And yes, that has consequences and yes, that's why things changed.

[@urbnctrl]

Rutte

[@jurgenrusch4041]

Hi, again thanks for the nice new video. You have indeed touched the most well known misconceptions. Obviously there are more. I myself think that a lot of tourists, when visiting The Netherlands, they actually only stay in the two Holland provinces. And hence the'll 'project' all the impressions from the Hollands to the whole of The Netherlands, which creates quite a distorted view. The two Hollands happen to be the provinces that 'grew' by removing water (with mills) to gain land but still a lot of canals remained. Fun fact: please lookup where the name of our national airport, Schiphol, stems from. So, if you go to the more southern and eastern provinces, cities will hardly have any canals, if at all. Maybe just one river or canal. Regarding Holland vs The Netherlands I can highly recommend this video from which I myself, being Dutch, learnt some new facts: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3bCeoiGftN4q8U. You may want to view and hear it twice or more because the voice over speaks at a high pace...

[@SakuroAlex]

I do go to the coffee shops, we can openly talk about it. I actually smoked a joint with a cop once. But most people here don't smoke weed.

[@Zooz.]

Groningen also has a proper red light district with the windows. It is not in every city but it's also not unique to Amsterdam.

[@kijaravanderwal9713]

Stereotype I have about the USA: Every highschool is exactly like High School Musical, with cheerleaders and the basketball-playing-guys

[@buncharted]

and the sudden singing and dancing 😅

[@patkorre3177]

starting watching your vids since last week. and i, simply, like it. First of all i work for the city of Rotterdam. Now, i haven't seen all your vids, so, try the real Dutch food? Not the fastfood like kroketten or frikandellen and so on. I mean traditonal food. Like, boerenkool, zuurkool, zuurvlees, hutspot. Keep up the joy and good work, maybe, who knows we will meet some day. Thanks for the joy and effort. Greetz Patrick

[@Arnaud58]

@04:00 Only 2 provinces, but they act as being the most important, and are pretty loud about it.🤔😁

[@ramonschliszka6332]

It’s a misconception that healthcare is paid for by our combined health care insurance premiums. It is funded for a large part by the gouvernement who in its turn raises taxes to pay for all this. So although healthcare on the whole might be cheaper here compared to the USA it’s not as cheap as you might think.

[@mariskavandasselaarofficial]

I believe many Dutch people think that many Americans are overweight and eating unhealthy all the time. I visited the USA several years ago and I did indeed see many overweight people, but I also noticed a trend in healthy food. But, I also noticed that healthy food was much more expensive than fast food.

[@scb2scb2]

The difference between usa and dutch healthcare is 'free' from money stress... Thats the important part i had 3 fam members who i had to support and issues myself. Lots of health issues came up but never was 'stress' of money part of the issue in fact we have seen very little bills and i have no idea what it all costs. But yes you do have to pay a good amount to get covered but that in itself doesn't lead to the stress and if you are unable to pay you can get help for that too. Its not about free but about being humane and sharing costs so you have one less worry going through touch times.

[@VeniVidiAjax]

The name Holland used to be a trademark for commercial use by the country. But they let go of it a couple of years ago because some people felt left out… because of the naming after the provinces. It’s now NL Netherlands again.

[@ialrakis5173]

that would explain why me as a Belgian heard the name Holland being used a lot 🙂

[@rufmeister]

"It’s now NL Netherlands again." Netherlands was never not Netherlands. You can have a nickname for a country without losing the original name. And just because the government is too cheap to pay a fee for something, doesn't mean that normal people aren't "allowed"(?) to use the common name "Holland" for the country anymore. Your comment is very confusing. As if there is some central authority that decides what you're allowed to call a country.

[@RealConstructor]

I don’t know if it is a misconception of me, but I think in the USA there is hardly any urge to conserve monumental buildings. American developers rather demolish old monumental buildings to build new (ugly) ones. And not a lot of American care what happens with old buildings. Look at what is left in Manhattan. Can you name old buildings of the New Amsterdam era. There should be dozens, but it will be difficult for Americans to name one or two. But even newer brick warehouses of the 19th century, they can be transformed into apartments, shopping centers or food halls. Instead you see dereliction of those warehouses, nominated to be demolished. It is cheaper for developers and easier to build a new high-rise. That was the biggest bummer for me when visiting the US.

[@buncharted]

yes, this is my favorite thing about europe. so much more effort to keep their old buildings!

[@2cartalkers]

The first 2 things that come to mind are tulips and Technivorm coffee makers; both make life a little more beautiful.

[@SamyasaSwi]

Am Dutch, never heard of Technivorm before...

[@2cartalkers]

@@SamyasaSwi All Moccamaster machines are made by hand since 1968 by Technivorm in the Netherlands.

[@prairiepirate]

I think that Americans know the country as Holland because that is what it has long been called on our maps, textbooks, and pop culture. Meanwhile, since I've immersed myself in Dutch language and culture over the past year, I've been wishing that this car-mad Midwestern city would implement a Dutch-inspired cycling and transit infrastructure. And it's happening! I'm discovering all kinds of urban streets with reduced car lanes, cycling bollards and dedicated bike lanes.

[@deridex77]

This is a nice one for your USA misconceptions. Do you still pay a lot with checks? How do you pay bank to bank? You’ve seen how it works in the Netherlands. In general how how is uour payment culture.

[@buncharted]

that’s a good one!

[@Busfles984]

Stereotypes: 1. The USA is slowly turning into a sort of "Gilead" from "The Handmaid's Tale" A Hulu TV drama series based on the novel of the same name by author Margaret Atwood.

[@leonaessens4399]

Don't worry, this whole "Holland" or "The Netherlands" thing is actually not an either-or issue. The Dutch themselves are just as confused about it as the rest of the world is, and if you ask them where they come from they will usually say "Holland.". I am Dutch although I wasn't born or even raised in The Netherlands. Nevertheless a consider myself Dutch, I speak Dutch, spent seven years in the Dutch army, and lived and worked in the Netherlands. But I will talk about "Holland" if people ask me where I come from even though I was born and raised in Indonesia. It just gets complicated. To make matters worse, I am an Australian citizen and have been for years. Bahasa Indonesia was my first language, then I learned Dutch mostly because I was sent to Dutch-language schools, but emigrating after leaving the Army, I have now spoken mostly English for most of my adult life. I also speak French and German, but then again languages are a Dutchman's thing....

[@ooSicknesSoo]

Although most Dutch don't smoke pot, almost every city/town has it's own coffeeshop.

[@nlx78]

On the number of coffeeshops, and it being way less than Amsterdam, has to do with the government we had in the early 2000s mostly with the Christian party CDA being the largest in multiple coalitions from 2002 / 2010 with governments Balkenende I to IV. It used to be ~150 total throughout the city.They seized their opportunity and pushed for closing down many of them throughout the country. But also after that era there's been a lot of discussion. Border cities like Venlo, Breda, Tilburg, Maastricht, Eindhoven, Terneuzen, Roosendaal, Enschede etc, were fed up with drug tourists and moved them out of city centers or closed them. Rotterdam being just 20 minutes from Breda, saw the moving tourists not bothered with an extra half hour from the North of France or South of Belgium, so they too closed down back then. Later followed by a desciscion to only sell to Dutch nationals with a 'wietpas', which ultimately failed to get into law. For Rotterdam, in 2004 or 2005 they closed down a prostitution area, resulting in having women in uncontrolled spaces being more at risk. Banning apparently helps people not doing that anymore I guess. What a wonderful solution! Same with shops. I get the fact that it's not great to have them near schools, but certainly now, the checks to make sure you are 18 are really looked after unlike my own youthn in the 80s and 90s. Another thing was that the Dutch IRS would look way more into how much weed was in stock, how much cash was made and any violation would result in suspending of the license for a month or three to permanent closure. Which would also result in coffeeshop chains where the owner was faulty for a thing at shop 1, shop 2 and 3 would also be closed. Some translated news headlines: - 2007: On the night of Thursday to Friday, the Rotterdam City Council approved the closure of 27 coffee shops. These are too close to schools in special and secondary education, and secondary vocational education. The measure goes into effect January 1, 2009. We talk about this with Karen Duys, chairman of the CDA party in the Rotterdam City Council, with SP party chairman Theo Cornelissen and with Myranda Bruin, spokesperson VRCO (Association Rotterdam Coffeeshop Entrepreneurs). - 2017: In recent years, 16 coffee shops have closed because they were located near schools. Recently, two coffee shops also had to close because a school moved into the area afterwards. Positive news: - 2021 Since there were 38 coffee shops in Rotterdam at the beginning of 2016, it can be said that the market was more or less balanced. For the year 2021, Ecorys expects that 38 to 39 coffee shops will then be needed in Rotterdam. If tourists are included, 46 to 47 coffee shops will be needed. - A weed pass was a proof of membership (club card) that, until November 19, 2012, was required in the three southernmost provinces of the Netherlands for admission to a coffee shop. By tightening the tolerance criteria, a coffee shop had to become a closed club, i.e. a club where only members are admitted (closed-club criterion, B-criterion). The coffee shop operator had to keep a verifiable list of members. The number of members of a coffee shop was limited to 2000, although a different maximum number of members was negotiable with the ministry.

[@nlx78]

Addition: Both in national and local politics, that party was the/among largest and this was one of their issues that had to be looked at and compromise (they know that abortion is useless to demand for instance) being Christian.

[@buncharted]

this is super interesting - thank you for writing this up!!

[@ElMariachi1337]

My question for the US and stereotypes would be: It's often heard here in the US you are basically born a republican or democrate (because of parents/family neighbourhood) and you practically stay that way your whole life. Is there any truth to that ? Do people switch sides during their life ? And what about being neutral, is that even a thing in the US ?

[@buncharted]

ooooh this is a really good one!!

[@joostprins3381]

You have Amsterdam within the canals, which is the centre and the only part where the tourists come, but it’s only a small part of Amsterdam and in the rest you don’t see a lot of canals, at least not old ones. Entering Dutch airspace, and you do land in Holland, North-Holland to be exact, but is part of the Netherlands. Prostitution was made legal because of the only reason we Dutch want it to make it legal, taxes.

[@BrandonLeeBrown]

When speaking English, the name of Den Haag is the Hague. In many languages, including English, the Netherlands is commonly referred to as Holland. It's exactly th same as saying America for the United States of America. The Low Countries in English refers to the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe. The red light district is much larger than in Amsterdam. Antwerp, Belgium is the second largest port in Europe and has a good sized red light district. Dutch people own cars, because the country is so small, Dutch people drive out of the Netherlands often. You might see them with camper trailers. I remember when Prostitutes in the Netherlands were allowed to register their job, if they got health checks. I remember the story of one woman that had worked as a prostitute in the city for 14 years, but lived in a small village. The registry of prostitutes is public information and after she registered, everybody in her village talked about her being a prostitute behind her back and the bank closed her account and told her that they didn't want her business.There have been recent crackdowns and restrictions on foreigners coming to Amsterdam to buy drugs.

[@noyota]

Sorry, but the English typically get names wrong. Names have meaning, respect the locals. The English can be so condescending and one finally grows tired of the polite arrogance.

[@anniek4681]

Well look up Giethoorn, this village has no streets, only canals. How farther you go to the east and the south, the less canals in the city you have. There are a few in the east, but those are more trade related if the river doesnt accomodate. They are not as much used like the ones in Amsterdam to regulate the water with in the land. Actualy when you are landing in Holland if You are landing at schiphol airport, they are correct, because Schiphol is in North Holland.

[@w.5725]

Giethoorn is great! Make reservation for a “fluisterboot” its a boat with a electric engine, and cruise down the canals. Very relaxing on a sunny day. Also go visit “de Veluwe” its the most densely forest area of the Netherlands

[@letheas6175]

Haarlem, Leiden, Delft, Gouda, basically all of them have more canals than Utrecht. I don't know why people find Utrecht so special, it literally only has 1 large canal and 1 smaller going through the city center.

[@rufmeister]

Holland still is a nickname for the whole country. The whole idea of "it's actually not the name of the country" comes from internet nerds looking for things to be pedantic and snobby about. When you hear "Holland" being used (without South-/North- added), almost always the entire country is being talked about. Nobody uses "Holland" to refer to an area consisting of just two provinces. The only time I've heard that, is from someone in Limburg using "Hollander" as a rude term. But even then, it's not about the exact two provinces, but the general area consisting of NH, SH and Utrecht (the "randstad"). So, not to be used as a means to be accurate, but as shorthand for "those people, from outside our area". Please don't make people worry about using the term Holland. It's shorter and easier to say than "The Netherlands" and it's bad (and unrealistic) to make it sound like the country is full of pedantic internet snobs. Similarly, if you're in the US, and you refer to the country as "America" you are not likely to be corrected by someone saying that "actually, America is the name for the two continents, the country is called the United States of America"

[@xnowarex]

I like that American guy early in the video he is fun

[@bertoverweel6588]

He guy's , I am a 70 year old Dutchman and never used drugs , all tows and villages have canals in the western part of the Netherlands , but they are also called "singels" . Groetjes

[@royklein9206]

I live in the far east of the Netherlands but I (and most of us here) do call the entire country holland and I also call myself a hollander. That whole thing just isn't an issue here and I do believe that counts for all the provinces outside "official Holland"... Expats are really the only ones I hear talking about this thing (and some mierenneukers...)

[@marliesboom2737]

Someone who is originally from the east, north or south of the Netherlands will never call her/himself a Hollander. You are very wrong about that. So I wonder if you really are someone from the east of the Netherlands or that you just live there.

[@janzzen9095]

Achterhoeker of Tukker. Or whatever applies to your location. I live in Lobith and will never, ever call myself "Hollander"

[@royklein9206]

@@marliesboom2737 Ik ben zeker niet fout en zeker wel iemand 'echt'uit het oosten!

[@marliesboom2737]

@@royklein9206 How nice that you are so sure you are not wrong. 👏 Good luck with that.

[@royklein9206]

@@marliesboom2737 dankjeee!!

[@rebekkavandenbrink8273]

Nice video! And I'd like to address a topic. Well... I've watched a lot of video's about the US vs The Netherlands/Europe. But it only has lessened my respect for the US as a country. I'm curious... why should a Dutch person would want to live there? Are there any good reasons at all? Please make a video about that 😊 because I really want to know

[@buncharted]

well, we moved to the netherlands, so we might not be the best people to answer that question 😆😅

[@vogel2280]

Holland vs. the Netherlands. That 's not self inflicted! It's just 4 cities in Holland that are unaware that there actually is a world outside city limits. For them the city, Holland, the Netherlands is all the same thing. To them there is the city and THE province (no 's' there!!!). The other 10 provinces are extremely annoyed by these failed cities.

[@Thebassjunk]

Holland IS just another name for the Netherlands, for foreigners as well as Dutch people. There's just quite a big rift in general between the "Randstad" and the "Provincie", which is every region outside of the Randstad. The Randstad is the economical, financial and political heart of the Netherlands. People in the Randstad generally feel they are above the Provincie because of the fact it's the most important and buzzing part of the country, while people in the Provincie feel like the Randstad gets all the benefits and drains most of their tax money. Cultural differences also play a big role in this, which is why a lot of people from outside of the Randstad are so against using the name "Holland". For such a small country, there's quite a big cultural and language difference between the different regions in this country, which in the end always results in a "Randstad vs. Provincie" mentality.

[@betsytb694]

Hi, nice video. You wondered if it wasn't wrong that when you land at Schiphol, the captain says Welcome to Holland. The fact is that Amsterdam and Schiphol are in Holland. So technically it is good but it would have been better to say the Netherlands.

[@buncharted]

ah, that’s a good point - it is technically true

[@rubenjanssen8491]

technicaly schiphol is holland

[@rufmeister]

@@rubenjanssen8491 Technically, the whole country is Holland. Countries have official names, but words also have meanings: what people use to communicate with them. North-America is a continent, but when someone says "America" they mean the USA as a country. "North-Holland" is a province, but when someone refers to "Holland" they mean the country.

[@rubenjanssen8491]

@@rufmeister NHA as a dutchman i know for a fact the country is called the netherlands and only 2 provincec (noordholland and zuidholland) can be conciderd to be correct when talking about holland. that people mean somthing diferent and it is undersood as aomthing diferent does not make the "fackt" right.

[@maryannecomment3302]

The confusion between Holland and The Netherlands started because Holland had more international contact than the Netherlands. It is like talking about New York when you mean the USA. Owning cars are discouraged by the government, so it is expensive to have a car, buy fuel and being able to park it for an affordable price (depending on which area you live within the Netherlands). In very city there are coffee shops. They sell all kind of soft drugs. They are called coffee shops because they are not allowed to sell drugs and alcoholic drinks. The cafés sell alcoholic drinks and coffee, but are not allowed to sell soft drugs. Not everyone drinks alcoholic drinks, and not everyone uses soft drugs. Prostitutes in red-light districts are an inheritance of the past (for sailors) to make some extra money when they were poor. Now it is an industry with legal prostitution and human trafficking (like everywhere else in the world). Prostitution was always tolerated in the Netherlands, but it was not officially legalized. This is not just in the Netherlands. More European countries have this inheritance of the past. There are escort services as well, but the red-light districts are in more cities than just Amsterdam. You will find them everywhere, but the red-light district in Amsterdam is famous. The healthcare system is that health insurance is mandatory for everyone. If your income is low, the government gives you a healthcare allowance that covers the expenses of your insurance. With a low income, your health insurance is completely covered by this allowance. If you make a little more money, you receive less allowance and when you make too much money, you have to pay the insurance by yourself. The basic insurances, which covers a lot, will cost you about 120 Euro per month.

[@marcelrombouts8607]

I'm curious what us cloggies manage to misconceive about the U.S.A. in spite of it's art/media footprint. If I had to describe my visit to Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I would say it was like being in a movie, which makes sense because so many movie scenes were shot there.

[@photomat]

semi on-topic: when I went to Sydney and walked around Martin's place, I immediately recognised the Matrix's 'woman in red' scene..

[@irenehabes-quene2839]

I’m Dutch, have never smoked a joint, never visited a prostitute, don’t own wooden shoes, don’t live in Holland but I do plant tulips in my garden! I probably represent the average Dutch person. 😂😊😊

[@sjampie67]

Ihnteresting about Holland vs The Netherlands is that with international foorbal games suporters chant 'Holland, Hoilland!', no mather what part of the Netherlands tose suporters come from, but when i visit Limburg, people talk about 'those Hollanders' meaning people from the West of the country. So it seams Dutch people dont know the diverance either, By the way what is now two provinces called North and South Holland used to be County of Holland ruled by the Count of Holland. Another confusion is the following, Are we The Netherlands or simply Netherland, all dutch people say Netherland, but ofiicialy we are the Kindom of the Netherlands. To makes thing even more confusing is that provinces where calles states in peoriod bevore Napoleon concuered us and still parlement of each province is called provincial states, and when the 2 parlement of the hole country come together we call that the general states, so what are we? something like the united states of the netherlands or are we one state with 12 provinces? To end my story about all the confusion a have a quistion for all english speakers, Why do you call us Dutch? We call the Germans Duits and we are not the Germans althoug the royal famaly originates from Germany and we sing about aour (or there's) Duitse blood in our natonal anthem.🙄Oke the song is about Wiliam of Orange who was born in Germany but still we sing it, without feeling German at all. By the way, his title Prince of Orange came from his French uncle from Orange, And although they promoted themeselfs to 'Kings' Afther napoleon was defeted, we still have 'prinsjesdag'. We must be the most confusing country in the world 😛

[@FacelessJanus]

Neither to sell or posess is illegal. The problem is the amount. I think, you can posess like 5 grams of cannabis, not sure how much coffeshops are legally allowed to have on the premises though. However they are legal. True it is very much borderline legal, but still. Keep in mind that in relation to narcotics, ONLY cannabis is legal within said limits. Any other narcotic, no matter how soft / hard it is is illegal. Growing however is illegal no matter what, but as far as I read recently the government is trying or going to try very soon at least, with controlled growing facilities. (Bit like medical marihuana in some US, states.)Neither to sell or posess is illegal. The problem is the amount. I think, you can posess like 5 grams of cannabis, not sure how much coffeshops are legally allowed to Neither to sell or posess is illegal. The problem is the amount. I think, you can posess like 5 grams of cannabis, not sure how much coffeshops are legally allowed to have on the premises though. However they are legal. True it is very much borderline legal, but still. Keep in mind that in relation to narcotics, ONLY cannabis is legal within said limits. Any other narcotic, no matter how soft / hard it is is illegal. Growing however is illegal no matter what, but as far as I read recently the government is trying or going to try very soon at least, with controlled growing facilities. (Bit like medical marihuana in some US, states.)have on the premises though. However they are legal. True it is very much borderline legal, but still. Keep in mind that in relation to narcotics, ONLY cannabis is legal within said limits. Any other narcotic, no matter how soft / hard it is is illegal. Growing however is illegal no matter what, but as far as I read recently the government is trying or going to try very soon at least, with controlled growing facilities. (Bit like medical marihuana in some US, states.) Prostitution is legal. Yes, but not because we wanted to promote prostitution. No matter where in the world you live, there will be protitution no matter what. By making it legal, there are a few pros to this "work". It helps in the fight against human trafficking and thus minors getting involved in this thing. It improves health of the workers, and thus a better STD prevention. And another thing is that having a license, is like any other work contract. So no longer 100+ hours in a week, or pimps taking 95 or more percent of the money etc etc etc.