Reaction to "Why I choose a simple Dutch life” Does Northern Europe have it all figured out?

Does Northern Europe have it all figured out? Let's take a closer look at the culture, social atmosphere, work life, and policies in Europe. We'll focus here on the Netherlands.
In this video I react to David Wen's video "Why I choose a simple Dutch life as an American". This is a great video you should watch. The link is below.
David Wen's awesome video: • Why I choose a "simple...
Please like, subscribe and comment!

[@longstockings]

Planning is not the enemy of spontaneity. If I plan a coffee with a friend I have joyful anticipation. When we meet I can be spontaneous. When I need to see a friend immediately and nobody is available I go to a pub, or my family. My experience is that there is always someone there who will listen. And I have made some new friends whilst in the pub.

[@patrickcornelius4783]

I love your reactions to this video. You should check out more video’s of Americans who moved to the Netherlands. You will be amazed.

[@eobi-edobi4275]

like not just bikes, Jason has also great video's or buncharterd

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

Thanks Patrick! 🙌

[@LalaDepala_00]

Nothing beats good bread with good cheese.

[@martijnheijstek]

I am dutch and do everything on my bike and i dont need a car so i am saving a lot of money that i can use for other things i like

[@lienbijs1205]

You miss a lot for that.

[@qualitytraders5333]

Happiness. For me it's the absence of stress and anxiety. Northern European countries all have social safety nets, but are being called dirty socialists or even communists. Yet we are happy and pay 40-50% taxes. We know that, in order to get first class services, you have to pay first class taxes. You also know the saying: if it's fast and good it won't be cheap.

[@taal1979]

I live in the Netherlands and i work 36 hours a week which is considered fulltime and it's divided over 4 days (monday till thursday), 9 hours a day. I always have 3 day weekend which is awesome. I commute to work by bike or by scooter. I do have a car but i'm using that in my free time when i go for a road trip because I love driving. But i don't have to use that to go to work. My work is pretty close by. 12 km (7,4 mi) from my house.

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

Sounds like you have a good thing going on! I have to drive into downtown for work, which takes an hour.

[@weetjijwel050]

If you imagine everything around you is WAY closer, maybe you could understand why someone doesnt NEED a car. Every shop is a 5 minute walk away, and the other side of town is hardly more than a 10 mins walk. A car is just not needed 😉. Besides that, we work to live, NOT the other way around 😁

[@irminschembri8263]

It's difficult to compare a country that relies on cars bc of size and infrastructure and suburbian sprawl like the USA to any European country that has its infrastructure and urban structures developed over millenias !! Don't even try ! Take the differences on face value. You have to experience the slower pace, better food, workers's rights we fought for for centuries and the all in all better quality of life for the common citizen yourself to judge. And as much as I like the American ( fake ?) cheeerfulness and friendlyness I'd prefer people who call a spade a spade. Love from Central Europe.

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

You make some good points. Everything is so spaced out here in the US, so driving is almost unavoidable. Thanks for sharing!

[@jeroenrat6289]

​@@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulturethat just sounds as a bad excuse for being car centric. The US used to have European like places, walkable, liveable, lively. But it was to decided to prioritise cars. This combined with strict zoning, bad public transport... then yeah, driving is unavoidable.😢 I like my car and like driving. But also like to get out on my bicycle on a sunny day or go for a walk, whether it's to actually get somewhere or for recreation. I feel like the US has no 'freedom!' no choice of transport. It's not 'hating' , I just feel sorry for the US not being as 'great' as they like to think, and not realy being able to change the course they are heading 📉

[@rmyikzelf5604]

To quote 'not just bikes': American cities were not built for cars, they were bulldozed for cars.

[@tenstoelwinder3101]

@@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture It's not millenia. The move toward bike centric infrastructure started in the 80s after protests in the 70s due to car related deaths.

[@dutchman7623]

Though the US are BIG, very BIG, I never heard of anyone commuting daily between Anchorage and Miami. But I do have co-workers in the Netherlands who live in Germany and Belgium. If your commute is more than one hour, you usually move closer to work, or look for work closer to home. If you work in a city, you go by public transport, it's faster, no parking, and time to study or work while underway. Public transport is efficient, reliable, fast, and usually the employer pays all, or most of it.

[@Ralph_NL]

He's not kidding about the paracetamol. Here most doctors believe the body should heal itself first. And I personally think they are right. Something like Antibiotics is only given in real serious cases.

[@rmyikzelf5604]

Not owning a car 8n the Netherlands is a choice, not a requirement.

[@randar1969]

Not for me born handicapped i just can't drive but it's alright good bike infrastructure and mobility scooters in a city allows me to do everything i need to do without relying on others.

[@dutchman7623]

@@randar1969 And you can use a taxi with reduced tariffs (handicapped or elderly).

[@anaguq4651]

@@randar1969Good for you, be very proud of yourself, why? Because you’v earned it a 100%. Is that true or true? 😂 say yes!!!

[@JohnZonneveld]

My neighbors back in the Netherlands, both husband and wife worked partial (both only 3 days a week) tax wise that was more interesting than only one of them working full-time. Now that is meanwhile 10+ years ago, so maybe things have changed. About biking, I worked 12 years at a factory plant that was about a 25 minute bike ride away. But also shops and living is more integrated, no major stripmalls along the Interstates. But smaller grocery shops, but even butchers, bakeries etc within walking distance. Have to admit now here in Dallas when I also just need something small I can walk to a Walmart or Aldi within about 20 minutes.

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

Thanks for sharing John. Hope you’re enjoying Dallas!

[@JohnZonneveld]

@@TaylorsEpiphanyonCultureYou're welcome. Lived 8 years in Brownsville but for work had to move to Dallas. Weather has some more extremes here up north than down by the border. But Dallas has for sure more things to do.

[@palantir135]

No he’s not kidding. Your body is perfectly suited to heal itself and the doctor will advise you take a paracetamol. We don’t need cars in most cases. Great public transport, excellent infrastructure for cycling and walking. The stores you need are within walking or cycling distance. We can work the least hours because we work efficiently. Niksen is scientifically proved to be effective for a person’s wellbeing. The northwest European countries are all democratic social welfare states. Social, not socialist as many Americans seem to think.

[@bepsnet]

We also have spontaneity, I often meet spontaneously, but indeed there are times that are discussed. We actually have more time for creativity and discoveries, just think of Philips or the time when our people were world travelers. In this way we discover and make creative use of our commercial spirit. This is called work-life balance.

[@giselavaleazar8768]

Medical care is available for everyone here, but to be able to sustain that you need to keep medical expenses in check. So no expensive medication when it's really not needed. Paracetamol lowers fever and relieves pain. The Ministry of Health maintains a list of allowed medication and negotiates prices with pharmaceuticals for these items. This drives prices down as many people together is one big customer (at the other side if you offer to low then you'll get supply problems..). Everyone has a mandatory private medical insurance which costs about 150 euro monthly. People with a low income in effect don't need to pay because they receive financial support from the state.

[@Wuppie62]

People with minimal income still have to pay part of the health care costs. The compensation isn't 100%, certain medicines demand a 'fee', and the first 385 euros medical costs in each year are not subsidized and not insured.

[@jackbeauregard4232]

No clue how you got in my recommended but here we are. Basically Northern EU life offers more choices. You can still work 60 hours, chase a career and become really rich if you want to, but there is no actual need o do so. If you're content with just working normal hours and then have a normal house, normal car, normal normal normal then that is an option. You will not go broke if you do not put in the 60 hours. Not going broke and being able to survive on "just" 40 hours gives a lot of freedom, certainty and with that a lot of time and relaxation and with that relaxed way of living comes health and thus even more time. I think that is the thing that makes NEU appealing: a stable, relaxing life with certainties and fewer orries yo're gonna die if unforseen X or Y happens. To me it's about : what do you want? Do you want a Ferrari and a giant villa, vacations to Hawaii, that means work 60-80 hours, make 100k/y but then that is what you want. To me personally, the only thing I wants is a small house, a fridge that is full and lots of time, so thats 20k per year (after taxes). I'm not going on vacation to exotic places because I dont need to because I'm always relaxed. I want time to visit friends. Make forrest walks. Help my elderly parents. Time is what I want and in NEU I have that choice. From what I heard, that choice is much more limited in USA. Dutch food is potatoes. We dont have 'cuisine' it's just potatoes. It feeds well, it's super cheap, peel some potatoes, open a can of beans, small piece of meat, done. Next day exactly the same but instead of beans you add some carrots. Bread and potatoes is the Dutch food. Boring, but cheap. I can feed myself a week for 10 bucks. I'm not gonna because I want a bit of variation but I could if I wanted to and never be hungry :P Also, peel and cook potatoes for 2-3 days so the 2nd day just microwave it and done. "cooking" is 1x 30 minutes and then next day 5 minutes microwave and if you're really lazy another 5 minutes next day. You can be spontanious with close by friends and neighbors. Thats fine. We alwayshave 30 minutes to drink a cup of coffee. But after that we have plans. Our days are structured. Today I'm gonna go to parents at 11.00, then at 12.30 groceries, then 15.00 fill trash because tomorrow is trash day, 17.00 cooking, 18.00is a show on TV I wanna see, 20.00h coffee. If you're at my door at 14.55h then thats fine I can postpone my trash a bit but yeah... it would be nice if you're out the door bij 16.00h :P Dont worry we're very blunt so we will just tell at 15.55h, to your face, that it's time for you to get out and come back tomorrow (but then we'll have some pie as well during coffee). Bicycle and/or car is a choice. There is zero social pressure about owning a car. Big difference between US and EU. Distances are insanely short in NL. I'm at the grocery storebefore you start and park you car. So you can still go by car. But it's so crowded with cars and bicycle lanes are so incredibly good, you'll soon notice thats its MUCH more efficient (and fun, and relaxing) to just bicycle. I'm talking about 1-2 kilometers here. Everything is within that range. Work commute 10km or shorter, much more efficient to take a bicycle. Saves time and stress because during work-ours 08.00 am there are traffic jams. But going to family in the afternoon 10km from where we live? We all take a car. It'l all about distance. Doctor. We recently privatised our health care but it's not as bad as it is in USA (yet). Our doctors have not been bought by pharma yet. So they are not prescribing stuff you dont actually need. What our doctors notice is that most problems are stress related or very short term. Short term problems like eehhh... twisted ankle. Doctors always prescribe paracetamol fist, then wait 2-3 days. It's exactly the same as Tylenol or Panadol. It's sort of like a weaker version of Ibuprofen, Ibu is worse for liver if you use a lot. Paracetamol can be used longer with fewer side effects. So if you really have something, doc will examine your and be very serious about helping you. But if you walk in there with a limp because you fell off a rock he'll check if nothing is broken, then say: take paracetamol, if you feel worse 2-3 days from now then come back. I think like eehhh.... 99% of people never come back :P 20 pills is 1 dollar so it;s the cheapest for of treatment :P But if you go to doctor with suspicious looking mole, he will be dead serious and do a very good examination. Dont worry about that. Is EU more empathetic? Maybe. I think we're less brainwashed. Work is work. Boss is work. I think we have a better power-balance between boss and employee. If I call in sick my boss cant fire me. That gives me power. It's in the bosses interest to not make me sick. I think the relationship between employer-employee is better in EU because we have a shared interest. I WANT to work. I have no problems working. I like working. But not for some asshat who is a total anti-social dikc who abuses me as an employee and throws me in the trash as soon as I have a mental breakdown. My relationship with boss is: I'll do everything for your if your do everything for me. My mom got sick, I called my boss. He said: shit.. it's a really busy day but you stay home and take care of your mom. I'll figure it out somehow. So a month later we had a real problem at work and someone hoad to work night shift. Of course I volunteered because boss-man had been so good and so flexible toward me a month earlier. That is the relationship I want with my employer. I think that kind of relationship is much much much more wide spread in EU because employees have the option to say 'go f yourself boss man' if boss is a total duck. I have the feeling (but correct me if I'm wrong) if that is different in many places in USA. In EU it;s the rule, I think in USA it's the exception to have a eployee-employer work-relation like that. We work the least amount of hours in the world BUT we're also the most effective per hour. Colleagues of mine went to USA and noticed USA workers were present 60 hours in a week.... but.. my colleagues said it felt like they only did 30 hours of effective working. We work 30 hours but then we work 30 hours. I dont know how to explain because it;s second hand story. My colleagues said they had the feeling USA workers were sort of.. obliged to be at work sooooo many hours but all were very tired and that is why the work they did was super ineffective, messy, inefficient etc etc. This was logistical work from warehouse to cleanroom. Administration, booking, preparing, then sending into the cleanroom as a complete package. Our GDP is high because we were sitting on a huge gas bubble that drove our economy for decades. We're out of gas so ... who knows what the future hold :P Also, GDP per capita says nothing if the capita is not spread out. It's better to have a society where 100 people have 10k in the bank, that one where 1 guy has 2 million and 99 people have zero, even though that latter society has 'more gdp per capita'. And that is where USA goes wrong. It's nice that Musk, Bezos and Buffet have billions but you also have millions of people with zero. Tax the rich. Spread the wealth. It will create a better society for 99% of the people. google: "income inequality usa netherlands" About directness... I think what the guy in the vid means is the hierarchy. Being direct with friends and family is different than being direct to your boss. If my boss has a really stupid idea I will tell him directly and if he keeps inisting his idea is good I will force him to explain to me why his idea is 'good'. And the difference is: I think in USA there is a certain 'now I have to shut up before I lose my job' moment, and that moment is not present in the discussion with my boss. If boss has a stupid idea, I will keep telling him how stupid his idea is untill he drops it because do not fear for my job. And if your new hairdo looks shit I will tell you because I care about you not looking like shit. Thinking about it... I think you should be much more worried about a Dutch person NOT telling you if your hair looks like shit because then that Dutch person is not your friend :P If Bob has toilet paper stuck under his shoe and I see Bob and I dont like Bob I'm not gonna tell Bob. About the happiness thing. Money makes people happy. Spreading that money makes more people happy. Northern Europa has a history of exploitation, slavery etc etc. We robbed tons of countries of course. And now we're using southern Europa as sort of a buffer between poor Africa and rich North. So there is a lot of hidden.... mechanics. History. Politics. Backstabbing. But thats a huge subject for another time :P I subbed #16 because I have no clue who you are.

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

Thanks for the comments! Much appreciated.

[@neoiam3585]

Living in The Netherlands for more than 40 years 💕😎🌷. I don’t have any problem with paying tax! Government needs money to run the world. Money go to the Government or the CEO of companies or Luxury brands goods, it’s the same 😅

[@hiddeterpstra7545]

if you have a burn out in the netherlands. you are going to be checked by a company doctor this way you can't cheat the systeem

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

I didn’t know that! Thanks for sharing 👍

[@thotmorgana]

@@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture And to add to this, the company doctor will often advise taking a longer break before starting work again while the employee will often want to start work again early. lol, opposite worlds but it is usefull and I agree 100% with how this goes in NL.

[@thotmorgana]

Also calling in sick to work, the company cant ask your symptons or other related things. Just say ok and hope you'll feel better. They can't decline sick days either. I know a mc donalds here that does try some of that stuff though but it's definetely against the law and dutch companies know that and don't do that. But they can send a company doctor to check up on you. But if you're not at home because you're somewhere else you can stll just explain so also that is not necessary a problem. But if it keeps happening and they suspect fraud than it can have consequences at some point in time but very hard to get to that point though.

[@urbandiscount]

@@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture There's an entire gatekeeper system in place to make sure people don't cheat. The tax office is notorious in this respect because of its institutionalized (they admitted to this in parliament) racism. Google "toeslagenschandaal"

[@MabuyaQ]

'Niksen' is for your conscious brain what dreaming is for your unconscious brain.

[@rmyikzelf5604]

Note that all of his examples of 'niksen' actually involve doing something!

[@qazatqazah]

True, but not something that is seen as "work".

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

Good point!

[@juloedtb1420]

Yeah he does but he's right!

[@2012inca]

He is a bit exaggerating saying people make appointments 3 months in advance in the Netherlands to get together for coffee. It is more a couple of days or a week in advance. Fulltime is 40 hours of work a week here. We dont do work at home in the evening or in the weekend. Bosses dont ask us for work in the evening or weekend usually. We get around 25 days of paid vacation which are called workers Rights here not Benefits which you need to earn like in the US. Women get 3 months paid leave when they had a baby, some fathers get paid days of as well. When you start working at a company you get 25 paid vacation days from the get go. It is the law in all European countries some people get even 38 paid vacation days. Bosses make people take vacation days so we are well rested. If you dont take vacation days you cant bring them with you to the next year so if you dont take em you loose m. I went to Australia and New Zealand on vacation for a month 4 week paid vacation and my boss was perfectly ok with it. Children in The Netherlands are deemed the happiest kids in the world as it is safe for really young children to play outside without parental supervision. Those young children cycle to school also by themselves as it is safe to do so. The infrastructure for bicycles is so good no one wears a helmet here cycling young kids dont either. They learn to cycle at 3 / 4 yeard old here, It becomes second nature cycling. As an experienced cyclist from the age of 4 years old I know when you fall of a bike you fall on your left or right leg not on your head. This would only happen when you crash with a car as cyclist which rarely happens hrre. All car drivers here are cyclist as well and no matter how crazy a cyclist acts a car for the law is bigger so in court the cyclist always wins therefore car drivers are very careful with cyclists. We have many bicycle tracks beside the road as well so in a lot of cases a car driver cannot even hit a cyclist. If you wear a helmet cycling in the Netherlands is a good indicator for thieves you are a tourist. Guns are forbidden here so no security needed at schools. The only ones who have guns is police and people who keep their guns at the shooting range. Europeans work to live and do nice things on their day off. We dont live to work and dont keep up with the Joneses. In fact act normal to fit in is the rule here, not stand out or brag about stuff about cars, career or whatever then they will chop your head just a matter of speaking. The guy in this video was fired from his job I saw. Not nice for him but he got to experience the social safety net we have in The Netherlands. You cant get fired here without a good reason and if they do you get to take home thousands of euros in compensation. We also have social system in place so in case you get fired the government pays you monthly until you find a new job. We pay slightly more taxes than in the US but we get a lot back excellent infrastruce for driving a car and cycling, no potholes in the road, no garbage on the street, no homeless people on the street Health insurance is around 150 euros a month for everyone that covers all dentist, doctor, ambulance, hospital. Your politician always talk about other countries as if they all get healtcare for free but that is not the case. When everyone in the country pays 150 euro a month to healtcare you have a huge financial healtcare source to tap into. Not everyone needs to go to the doctor or hospital every year so not everyone costs the health insurance company money. This health insurance is just like car insurance the government says that everyone must have health insurance. The only place in the world people are afraid to call an ambulance or go to hospital is in the US. I hear stories from Americans living in The Netherlands that people in the US get charged insane amounts of money for an ambulance ride or hospital stay they can even go bankrupt. I had an emergency where I had to call an ambulance 4 times in a row. It cost me nothing well besides the 150 euro a month health insurance. Your politicians call this socialism. Just because the government says everyone needs to have health insurance doesnt mean it is socialism. It is a social democracy which is the case in most countries of the world with much more affordable health insurance as in the US. 150 euros a month is peanuts compared to thousands health insurance in the US. More and more Americans are moving to Europe because of the work life balance, safety for their children, much lower health insurance. Healt insurance doesnt go via the company you work for. So even if you get fired you still have health insurance. Maybe some YT channels for you to watch of Americans who moved to the Netherlands to stay here for the rest of their lives are. Dutch Americano, Soul to Soul Travels and maybe watch Charlievest his channel. He does a lot of videos about The Netherlands his intention is to move to The Netherlands. P.s. About Dutch directness it can come across as rude but Dutch people are very honest people. They will tell you if you had a bad hair cut to your face otherwise they feel like they are lying. They will say I liked your old haircut better. At work bosses dont sugar coat things. They wont tell you did this and that good but maybe you could take it into another direction. Our bosses or manager will just say that is no good do it like this. Sugar coating stuff you never know what people really mean and it takes much longer to get to the point. So if you come to The Netherlands you know what to expect regarding directness. Lol

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

This is excellent commentary. Thank you for sharing. I’ve had first hand experience with large hospital bills here in the US. It’s a major stressor for some families.

[@2012inca]

Thank you glad you liked it.. I forgot to say we do earn lower salary in the Netherlands then people in the US but everything is much cheaper here. Food, rent, healtcare and people in cities like Amsterdam dont need cars only a bicycle which costs you peanuts. They can go everywhere in the Netherlands and Europe by bus and train if it is too far too bike. I heard about rent in New York for a closet of a house that is crazy. My dad earned 24000 euros a year around 24000 dollars and my mom worked parttime. We lived in an average house with 740 euro / 740 dollar rent, had two cars and a sailboat and a lot of free time to enjoy vacations to France, Greece, Portugal, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and America. Lots of weekend trips with the sailboat. It is like you said Americans coming to live in the Netherlands / the rest of Europe and exchange time for money aka a lower salary but not really, because everything is much cheaper here. Regarding money making opportunities in Europe. In Monaco live the most millionaires in the world. Just to be allowed to live there you have to have half a million euros / half a million dollars in your bankaccount orherwise you cant live there. One of the richest women in the world is from The Netherlands her net worth is 14 billion dollars so money making oportunities are here as well. I once heard an American couple say we found the American dream by moving to Europe. They did not mean they were rich in money but rich in having more time for their family and enjoy life more. Like taking a break from the rat race . They also said freedom is knowing you wont get shot here as nobody has a gun. I never encountered someone with a knive either. Charlievest on KZbin is a guy who really loves The Netherlands from watcing video's about it. He plans to move here from the US, he has lots of videos about The Netherlands on his channel. Soul to Soul Travels and Dutch Americano talk a lot about moving here from the US and what life is like. Maybe interesting to know but there is a special arrangement the Dutch have for Americans coming to live here. I believe as long as you have a job in The Netherlands or your own business you can stay here as an American.

[@irenejones4082]

He was being sarcastic.

[@mavadelo]

You make some good comments but allow me a little tip for you. If you write long comments like these (I do so often myself as well), try to break it up in alineas a bit, this will make it much more easy to read.

[@thotmorgana]

To be honest as a dutch person, some coffee appointments can be made on a shorter time frame like this week or next week, but at least a good 70% of my coffee appointments are made months in advance because everyones schedule is full lol.

[@mavadelo]

Sorry mate... this is a long comment incoming. Some interesting takes that are clearly an indicator for how your environment forms your views . Food:Understandable you do not know what we eat. A simple cheese sandwich (white or brown bread, butter, cheese) is certainly a favorite, another thing we are famous for are our chocolate sprinkles on bread )not to be confused with how you know sprinkles). Our breakfast and lunch are generally simple affairs with bread topped with cheese, sliced meats like ham and jams, peanutbutter or sprinkles. 3:56 You can't because your life isn't tailored to it. We can because it is inegral to the Dutch lifestyle. I am planning things, my friends are planning things, my work is planning things... everybody is planning in some way even if they think they don't, However it sounds way more of a thing than it really is. Spontanity is a thing among close friends and family. It is more when dealing with those outside the inner circle. 5:07 weirdly enough, same cause as above. Your lives are not tailored to it. You do not have the OPTION to do your daily things on a bike, or walk to the store. You have stupid zoning that don't allow for shops and restaurants in residential areas, you have stroads to deal with, no proper cycle or walking infra, often not even in residential areas. Your public transport in most places either sucks or is non existant. I sound harsh but that is what the Americans and Canadians show us. If you are forced to live a certain way, your views will reflect that. 6:40 uh.... yes..... but also no. In a way he is blowing it a bit out of proportion but paracetamol is a go to for many doctors in many situations. There is a reason for that.... it works. Many simple ailments don't need fancy medication, they might need rest and and patience and some pain or anti inflamatory aid. This is where the paracetamol comes in which helps for both. The Dutch are among the healthiest people in the world. And of course if there is need for more drastic measures or longlasting ailments, they will prescribe fitting medication. Maybe our doctors know what they are doing? As for "wouldn't we be using it too?".... my brother in Christ..... you are an AMERICAN.... You know... from the land where live is a microtransaction. Do you really think the pharmacutical and insurance lobby would ever allow such a thing? you need "socialist healthcare" for that. Burnout: A burnout or "Overspannen" as it is called in Dutch is not a "socialy accepted" issue, it is a medical issue. It is officialy recognised as a mental issue. It is not something you just say, it has sympthoms and a diagnoses. The doctor or psychologist will tell you to stay home because of a burnout. Many people suffering from burnout don't even know they have one. As with all aspects of life, I am sure there will always be people abusing a system. As for "are we more empathetic"... I don't know but I am confident enough to say, in some ways perhaps. But I have seen Americans can be empathic as well. I also think you missed an important line at the start of that segment. Basically... if you are sick... you stay home. There is no concept of "sick days". You are sick for a day, you stay home for a day... sick for a month... you stay home for a month... a year... same. You can not be fired, you will get your pay. If it takes a long time, the government will aid your emploer by giving you some of it. Only after two years, your employer ca ask the judge if it is ok to let you go.. the judge might deny that. 10:06 Work smart, and hard..... during your work hours. If my contract says 9 to 5, I leave at 5 sharp. Unless explcitly mentioned and agreed upon during my solicitation interview and subsequent acceptance, there is no calling me in my free time. If I need to work more hours you ask nicely and pay me 50% more... if I work overtime on sunday or national holidays you pay me double. I have a legal right to 4 times the amount of weekly hours. If my contract says 40 hours a week, I get 160 hours vacation. I have the right to join a union, the unions will negotiate a CAO (Collective Arbeids Overeenkomst or Collective Work Agreement). This will set minimum and maximum wages, extra vacation times and otherimportant things. If I am not a member of the unions, I still benefit because it affects all employees, not just the union members. I am 55, I have worked many years but due to circumstances now deemed disabled. A doctor from the social insurance has "marked" me 100* unfit for work. This is a legal classification which grants me a certain type of Social Insurance income. In fact, I am not even ALLOWED to work with this designation. Imagine that in your country....... what for life someone most likely has..... got it? Now my situation. I live in a nice rental appartment where I have high speed internet and tv, all ammenies. I can buy food for myself and my cat every day, pay for some of my hobbies. I have everything I need including all sorts of insurance like health and for my things. I have no debts and I go on holiday once a year. Yet.. my income is considered bottom 5% 12:20 I love "Niksen"... and weirdly enoughyou can do niksen while doing something. I am an avid cycler and walker. I can spend hours on my bike. When I drive through a forrest or along fields and meadows just.... cycling... I consider that "niksen". It is not really about doing nothing, it is about having nothing on your mind except the path right before your eyes. 14:18 Whahaha that was a good one... wait... you are serious there? You think Americans are direct? hhmm... compared to the Dutch... no. Dutch directness: Don't bullpoo me, don't waste my time, don't beat around the bush. And keep the small talk to your friends. If you ask me how your hair looks and it looks bad I will say it looks bad. We will not walk up to a person and say it unrpovoked. We are direct, not rude.. there is a difference. If you want to see more of my country from the view of Americans living there the following channels are recommended. Soul to soul travels Buncharted Exploring the foreign Dutch Americano I made your like count "nice" (yes... 55 but still a juvenile) and subbed. Greetings from Utrecht, the Netherlands.

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

These are some great comments. Thanks for sharing!

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

I’m still very curious about Dutch directness too. More to come on that.

[@mavadelo]

@@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture I see another typical Dutch thing in your comments... a Dutch invasion. It seems to be inevitable.. you make a video about the Dutch and the Dutch will come and nitpick anything in that video heheheheh. reading my comment back I noticed I should have done some proofreading before hitting the submit button. I hope it wasn't to hard to read lol.

[@randar1969]

As an example how dystopian different Northen Europe is... paid vacantion yep you heard that right your salary just continues while on vacantion and no not 2 weeks in a year (after you have to work a full year first) but 2 months each year. Usually 6 weeks in the summer some of it during other holidays like X-mas.. o yeah end of may you get 8% of your year salary also extra paid out. This is law here. Basicly we get 3 extra months of pay over americans , but we pay high taxes. For example to pay for low cost education of everyone. Pay a basic income for those that cannot work (1300 dollars/month+money to pay for health insurance and help with rent if they don't have savings) and much better roads and cheap healthcare. So you get it back as well in one form or another. Hardly no homeless people either well compared to the states. We have a few thousand people being without a home in the entire country if you leave out refugees from other countries. Most of them addicts that don't want help. But occaisionally someone will fall between the slips unfortunly nothing is perfect. Sorry for my bad English old dude with less education in English then our younger generations had to learn from the internet. There are problems as well especially the housing market as we are only 1/255th the size of america yet having 18 million people that need homes. And a lot of refugees as well as expats put enormous pressure on the housing market.

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

Thanks for sharing. I heard the housing market was becoming saturated. Appreciate the insight!

[@juloedtb1420]

You take a pay-cut but you also move to a cheaper country. Paracetamol is a pain reliever. But for serious illnesses, you'll get everything you also can get in the US. Believe me, you 'muricans are NOT direct. If you don't want to know the honest answer, than don't ask a Dutchman. Unless you haven't bin here once, you will never understand our culture. On the other hand, I lived in the US (Ionia county, MI) for 9 years and was glad to move back to Netherland. Only when your rich, you can have leisure time and not worry about your job. We also have the happiest kids, according to global research, less crime, etc. So whatever you do, drop it and come visit (not only Amsterdam) and go to a local pub or restaurant and enjoy. As long as you can behave like a normal person, not being loud and obnoxious, or think you US laws are superior to ours. You will be treated and greeted with respect and than some.

[@urbandiscount]

I'm afraid David Wen has a very unrealistic view of Dutch life

[@user-zw5he5bd7j]

When a dutch plans a Coffee 3 months away they actually meens they dont want a Coffee with you ( must be a generation wooky they all miss dutch directness gene off just saying no ore why )

[@Kristiaan75]

The Netherlands is Western Europe not Northern Europe! There are several definitions for Northen Europe, NON of which ccontain the Netherlands! Reversely there are several definitions of Western Europe which ALL contain the Netherlansd! You couldn't be more wrong if you tried, so all your theories about how "Northern Europe" has it figured out make no sence at all. Countries in Northern Europe have a distincly different culture!

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

Good point. I thought about this too. I’ve see a few sources that do indeed include the Netherlands in Northern Europe. I can see how that’s incorrect or confusing though, considering most sources cite the Nordic countries as Northern Europe. Still, the Netherlands is ranked highly on most metrics I’ve seen, along with the traditional northern region of Europe.

[@LalaDepala_00]

The Netherlands share some Norse culture. Don't forget that Frisia was a viking settlement.

[@Ralph_NL]

You can count The Netherlands as Northern Europe. Southern Europe is Spain, Portugal, Italy, Northern are the more colder countries. The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia. It's just how you divide the countries.

[@devroombagchus7460]

According to Hofstede, The Netherlands is culturally close to the Nordic countries. Please give references.

[@jve89]

I'm Dutch and I actually moved away from the Netherlands because I was in a constant fear of doing something wrong in the eyes of the government. Just the slightest mistake in your tax declaration and you'll be completely crushed by the government. They ruin your life and that of your family without hesitation. As a tourist it might be nice but as a citizen, it's horror. You'll be robbed of your money constantly and it's very hard to live comfortably. I now live in Eastern-Europe and my quality of life has drastically increased. Here you can be really free. Not in the Netherlands.

[@Wuppie62]

What a lot of nonsense.

[@moonshine2308]

Pretty impressive to make a mistake on your taxpapers.... They fill it in and all you have to do is fill in your extra income or assets. And if you own a company you can get a boekhouder to do the work for you....

[@rambok-gi7zp]

@@Wuppie62 Really they are stil looking for those 1200 kids the gouvernement took away for taxevasion , but your probably one of those who voted the VVD for 14 years who stil can't find their own receites ! Your probably also one of those who supports the European Parliament who take our money and give it to others so we have to beg for our own taxmoney back from them . Your short memory bank doesn't work very wel and neither does your long , but we the Dutch have a pill for that and you know which one that is because there can only be one ! And at the same time they are closing al the hospitals ( al while the plandemic happened ! ) so when you really need one you need a car to get there . The gouvernement also keeps warning everyone that the internet is not save for your personal data yet they are making everyone id themselves through the internet , aren't they funny or just plain stupide ! ?

[@rambok-gi7zp]

@@moonshine2308 so if they know everything about you then why are you stil doing it ? You pay taxes for you wages from which you buy stuf that is also taxed and when you leave your wel urned money to your kids they tax you again ! When youre actually someone who wants to work for a nice live while youre still living they tax you 75% of the money you make , which shows you that they don't want you to work or urn money . And al tha tax money goes to Brussels were they sold our constitution to ( which actually stands for treason and should be dealt with accordingly )

[@moonshine2308]

@@rambok-gi7zp while also giving you a shit load of money for your kids every month and even more every yearly quarter. Everybody knows about erfbelasting so most people have loops to avoid paying that. Elementary school and high school are funded by the government because everybody pays taxes.

[@ylvafreijters2535]

You talk too much.

[@shortoneverything]

then don't watch troll

[@carlylejones1023]

No one asked

[@internetbully100]

Im dutch and I don’t plan anything lol

[@thotmorgana]

Lol I thought this video would be stupid but I kind of love it, makes me wanna add in on almost every bit you are talking about haha. But yes we dutch people are known for being very direct and have very little hierarchy. Personally I am also very allergic to strong hierarchy relations and don't like corporal work environments. Even when compared to other countries that are known for being also direct they feel incredibly less direct for me and most dutch people. I definetely do not view america as direct or low hierarchy at all.

[@thotmorgana]

Also the paracetamol is a real thing haha. Dutchies have a tendency to keep everything moderest. We try to not do too much medicine but this paracetamol thing is just a simple painkiller that every household has and you take it when you have pain or fever or anything. That is seen as a simple house supply. For all more serious things like antibiotics or other medicine a lot of people would prefer to avoid that when possible. You have to get it through a doctor and they also prefer to not subscribe medicine too easily. But ofcourse when it is necessary you go to a specialist and they will give you whatever you need to fix the problems asap.

[@thotmorgana]

Concering 'niksen' that is actually absolutely vital about dutch life if you'd ask me. I certainly do niksen like 50% of the time and I would not fuction without that. It is also known that having stress lowers your IQ by like 17 points making an average human with 100 iq closer to a chimpanzee with 82 iq. Also if you are overcrowded in work it is hard to focus on what to do and you more easily lose track of things and deliver sloppy work.

[@thotmorgana]

Considering the burnout being taken advantage of, IMO that is not really happening at all. Nobody wants to be having a burnout, it is not a fun experience. It is known that having a burnout causes permanent damage to the brain. It might be a bit more of a taboo in places but here we all want to avoid that and if it happens we all want that person to recover from it so yes there is empathy for it when you need it nobody will question it but I do not have any experiences or thoughts that it is being abused at all. We prefer having happy working life feeling productive and building experience over feeling burned out depressed at home missing out on society.

[@thotmorgana]

You have to go by a doctor for the burnout check in though like every month or so. People will often want to go back to work earlier but the doctor who is supposed to check if the burnout is actually valid and not misused will 9 out of 10 times be the one to recommend that they need to take some more time to properly recover before actually getting back to work again and only than start building it up very slowly, often with like 2 hours per week like once a day and keep adding a few days and few hours over time when it feels good.

[@thotmorgana]

What does seem to be abused a bit more though is the social securities network and people not working at all for whatever unvalid reasons. There is always a small percentage of people that prefer to not work. But our social security and leveling equity is so far out of control that those people not working at all are in many cases financially even better off than people working full time. In fact the amount of time you work actually does not matter at all very much in the Netherlands. In many cases if you work 2 days part time and prefer to start working 5 days people do not do that because they will earn less for working full time than they do part time because of how absurdly out of control our equity redistribution systems have grown out of control. Nobody likes this. Those people not working though is not because of burnout, it's just being jobless never finding a job they want to do or maybe finding reasons to be incapable if work because of ADD or something or working in art sectors doing fun events and filling up on art benefits and social securities.

[@janottens6755]

Damn your good , keep following this guy you learn a lot 🥸👍👍

[@TaylorsEpiphanyonCulture]

Thank you! 🙌