Why I love living in the Netherlands: 20+ years as an American expat in Haarlem

[@viderethevaccinatorfromhol7536]

What a beautiful tribute to our cherished nation. Over the past twenty years, you have witnessed so much. While nothing is perfect, and the The Dutch are known for their candid feedback. Overall, we have accomplished a great deal. I lived abroad myself for quite some time, but I can't stop comparing things to what I am used to. Blessed to be Dutch, although we are far from a religious nation. My second home is Costa Rica. It's the perfect combination for me.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@viderethevaccinatorfromhol7536 Thank you so much for your comment. Indeed, I have seen a lot over the last 20 years. It’s true that no country or system is perfect. But the Netherlands comes darn close. I am so grateful to be here. Thanks again for watching. 😊

[@j.vanderson6239]

Mooie glas-in-lood deuren

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@j.vanderson6239 Bedankt. Ik hou van mijn kleine benedenhuis. 🏠

[@kerby132]

Thank you so much for the really nice video! I just watched your video about how you moved there and never looked back. I had the chance to stay in the Netherlands for 2 months last summer. As a 20 something year old from the Deep South, I never felt more happy and free to just be myself. I’m really happy you got the chance to find a better life in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

[@lydiaheijne1476]

Come back!

[@remcovanvliet3018]

Welcome any time, bro.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@kerby132 Thank you so much for your good words. I hope you have an opportunity to come back to the Netherlands. That feeling of freedom is worth the world. No matter where you may find yourself, I hope you find your happiness. Thanks again for watching and commenting. ❤️

[@andreavantzet1962]

I absolutely love those glass panels. So beautiful.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@andreavantzet1962 Thank you so much. Very kind of you to say so. I love old Dutch houses. My benedenwoning is from 1901. ❤️ 🏠

[@DaniëllaKL1970]

Hey Mike, dutchy here. I love that you talked about more than healthcare. Like the partij voor de dieren en euthanasia freedoms. Loved this video, lovely voice to listen to. 🧡

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@DaniëllaKL1970 Hi there. So sweet of you to say. Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I’m glad you liked the video. 😊

[@marcelv.birgelen2166]

Thank you for reminding us complaining Dutchies that our country, while certainly not perfect, really isn't all that terrible, especially given the alternatives out there. ;)

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@marcelv.birgelen2166 My absolute pleasure. No country or system is perfect, but I think the Netherlands comes darn close. It is a privilege to live here. Thank you for watching and commenting. ❤️

[@stefan335]

I love that you also talked about animal rights, euthanasia etc. Topics other people on youtube don't often talk about. I am personally glad that my mother (who was terminally ill) was able to choose euthanasia. In many other countries, she'd have no other option but to increasingly suffer until it ended.

[@DecibelDr]

I can relate to that. My mother was also terminally ill from cancer and she choose euthanasia, so she didn't have to suffer to the end and she was also able to keep her dignity. Of course the day she died was a sad day, yet it was also a relief for herself and for the people who loved her.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@stefan335 Thank you for your comment. I am grateful that the Netherlands is progressive enough to offer the option of euthanasia. My beloved colleagues were able to transition on their own terms with decency and dignity. My condolences for the loss of your mother. ❤️

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@DecibelDr My condolences for your loss. Thank you for sharing your story in this comment. We are blessed to live in such a progressive country. ❤️

[@RedbadvanRijn-ft3vv]

@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 Its sad to see humans suffer so hard in there last days on Earth. But we can,t handle it if our pet is suffering,so we do help that poor animal.

[@apveening]

@@RedbadvanRijn-ft3vv That is the point, we grant animals a humane end, so why should humans suffer like beasts before the end?

[@Streetsinsideout]

Oldest building in Haarlem is from around 1250. On the main square, de Hoofdwacht close to the statue of Coster.

[@gerhard6105]

Het Hofje van Bakenes is uit de 14e eeuw. Gelegen aan.....de Bakenessergracht, dicht bij het Spaarne. De Sint Bavo is (start) uit de 13e eeuw. Daar langs liep vroeger De Beek. De uitgang/ monding is te zien in de kade bij de Waag.

[@viderethevaccinatorfromhol7536]

😊

[@joanrobijn4118]

Nice video!

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@joanrobijn4118 Thank you for watching, and thank you for your comment. ❤️

[@wouterschijf47]

Hi, I am born in Haarlem, Maxwellstraat 20 1947. Now I live in Guadeloupe, Salut de Gwada, Wouter

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@wouterschijf47 Hi Wouter. Thanks for your comment. I promise to take good care of your birth city while you are away. 😃

[@gertstolk]

Americans always brag about their freedom, but I think the Dutch are truly free not having to worry about things like affordable healthcare 🤔

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@gertstolk You got that right! It seems to me that affordable healthcare is a basic human right. The US would be well served to follow the Dutch lead.

[@smearpipe]

​@@BetterTogether-UnIr1affordable??

[@michelrockp]

​@smearpipe You do realise that a visit to a hospital in the US can actually bankrupt a household, right? 🤷

[@apveening]

Americans have freedoms TO, Dutch (and other Europeans) have freedoms FROM.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@apveening This is fascinating. Very astute. I want to give this further thought. Thanks for the comment.

[@oscardeklijne1]

Leuke vlog Mike!

[@margreetdoodeman1441]

As a child i have been homeless, long long ago. It makes me look differently than you: i see many homeless ppl. Since the eightes the numbers have grown. The homeless know to find me, asking for money, probably bc i look easy to approach. It is not one group, some are addicts, many are from abroad, but also ppl with jobs have no home e.g. when they are divorced. Divorced women with children live in a car. Many youngsters have no home either, e.g. when you fall under the care system they kick you out when you are 18. When you know, you see.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@margreetdoodeman1441 Thank you for your insight. I stand corrected, and I appreciate you taking the time to expand my consciousness on this subject. “When you know, you see.” Profound words. Thank you again for your comment. ❤️

[@margreetdoodeman1441]

@BetterTogether-UnIr1 just remembered: i used to work in Vogelenzang, took the train to Heemstede Aerdenhout. The NS closed the waiting room there bc of the homeless using it. This was in the middle of the nineties. But that is one of the places where they hang around, stations, if they do not have a car.

[@AlbertZonneveld]

About the cost of healthcare you should understand that your employer will also pay up to six percent of your salary to pay extra for healthcare for the healthinsurers and the mandatory wage premiums for low term care (that used to exist) have been moved to the first tax bracket giving a high tax rate for that first tax bracket. Effectively you will get a little lower pay in the Netherlands because the employer also payes for your healthcare (plus unemployment premiums). You may only pay 150 a month here in the Netherlands but healthcare at the Dutch level is not cheap and everybody should understand that the rest of the cost is coming from employers and your high taxerates. Indepent workers that do not have an employer have to pay a 5,5% premium of their income for healthinsurance independant of their healthcare premium each month.

[@-_YouMayFind_-]

Everyone knows it's not literally free but that is how it feels, because you do not pay 1000 euros or 30000 euros for a treatments. We all pay healthcare that is what changes it. If only a few people have health insurance it will be much more expensive a month. My employer doesn't pay healthcare. I don't know where you get that from. Taxes are a better system that is the point. In US people also pay taxes by the way haha, so it is not that they don't pay taxes and their companies at times pay a certain amount of the health insurance costs of their employees, but lots also don't. I think that depends on the salary. Low paid people often don't get that in the USA, and it is often people with lower salaries that get more issues with their health because of the fact that they can not buy as much and can not buy the more expensive healthier food.

[@AlbertZonneveld]

@@-_YouMayFind_- Exactly but I wanted to expllaine how it works that you pay so little for great healthcare. The costs are stil high but the system puts the burden on everyone. Also worth mentioning is that getting a policy at an healthinsurer is mandatory for everyone but children do not pay for the insurance untill 18 If you do not get an insurance of fail to pay a central organization wil collect it from your employers/benefits first (including a fine) as a preferred debt collector. It is extremely hard to get away from paying healthinsurance

[@sylviavanderreijden8128]

❤

[@karelvankessel8805]

Today healthcare costs are about €7,000 per person/year. The typical monthly premium paid by citizens covers only about 1/3 of that, and the rest is covered via income tax. Furthermore, there is a smaller amount of healthcare, e.g., own risk and not covered medicine and treatments that are not covered by the insurance. Furthermore, most of the dental costs for adults are not covered by the insurance unless citizens pay an extra premium.

[@vanderquast]

I can't tell about the difference with other countries because I was born here in The Netherlands 😉

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@vanderquast Lucky duck! 😃

[@MrMezmerized]

Nice video. But after 20 years. amd with dual citizenship and no intention to ever return, the term "expact" doesn't really really suit you anymore, now does it? 🙂

[@mariadamen7886]

Haal die c even weg.

[@petervanderwoude6316]

In Netherlands there is no need to wear anything on your head if you are indoors 😉

[@bastonor]

Ik draag een muts in huis om stookkosten te drukken. Nodig? Nee. Economisch? Ja.

[@jaapster1273]

Dat mag hij zelf bepalen vind ik. Typisch nederlands om zoiets te zeggen trouwens.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

😁

[@sonnylatchstring]

Het staat hem goed. Maar blijkbaar mag je dat van jou enkel als artiest op tv of podium

[@gerhard6105]

Binnen(shuis) hoor je inderdaad been hoofddeksel te dragen. Maar je, het is zijn huis. Ik had ooit een werkgever die tegen een stageloper zei dat hij toch zijn petje af moest doen.

[@mariadamen7886]

Alsof ik naar een amerikaan zit te luisteren.

[@thomastoadie9006]

🥳

[@wouterschijf47]

Are you aware of the History of New Amsterdam/Netherlands and that we owned Manhatten, bought from the Lenape Indians in about 1624, read the books of Russell Shorto.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@wouterschijf47 Yes, I have read about that. Wasn’t Manhattan traded for Suriname? Something like that, I think.

[@rollinstone5217]

I should hope you at least are able to speak and understand Dutch. It's called good manners.

[@DaniëllaKL1970]

Who says he doesn't! The biggest audience on yt understands English and for sure not Dutch.

[@williamgeardener2509]

It's not only good manners, it's essential when you are living in the Netherlands. This guy said that it's easy to be lazy because everyone speaks English, totally disregarding that a lot of Dutch people CAN speak English but really do not WANT to speak it in their free time. Most of the times a conversation will start in English but end in Dutch, because native speakers will always fall back on the language they grew up with.

[@DaniëllaKL1970]

@williamgeardener2509 YES he said easy to be lazy but who said he doesn't!!!!! Not judging upfront is also a good manner.

[@joanrobijn4118]

​@williamgeardener2509that's total nonsense.

[@Wamubodo]

It's not that I disagree with this video but it lacks some nuance. Abortion and euthanasia are strictly regulated. I think the big difference is religion. While the Dutch try to live with different points of view (religious or not) there is this understanding of the meaning of 'choice'. Nobody's forcing you and the government facilitates your choice. It's difficult to understand and I can understand this view of "freedom". But just the idea you are at work and knowing your cousin is dying at that moment? Or "the moment" being postponed for a week? How to deal with that? I don't think it's about tolerance but about accepting. Can you have friends with different opinions and agree to disagree? How to deal with personal emotions if some relatives decides to euthanasia? It is still emotional. But with understanding.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@Wamubodo Thank you for your insight and clarifications. With regard to euthanasia, I only meant to point out that it is an option (which I regard as humane) in the Netherlands. This is, unfortunately, not the case for most of the United States. It is, without a doubt, an emotionally charged choice, as you have noted. I appreciate your feedback. Thank you. 🙏

[@MoraqVos]

Expat? You mean immigrant.

[@papagaaiish]

The English and Americans can’t be immigrants, you should know that.

[@remcovanvliet3018]

Both. Expat (short for expatriot), as in somebody who left his country of origin. Immigrant, as in he came here from abroad, and integrated into Dutch society. Two sides of the same coin.

[@papagaaiish]

@@remcovanvliet3018 “A business expatriate, she says, is a legally working individual who resides temporarily in a country of which they are not a citizen, in order to accomplish a career-related goal (no matter the pay or skill level) - someone who has relocated abroad either by an organisation, by themselves or been directly employed by their host country.” And “Immigrants are usually defined as people who have come to a different country in order to live there permanently, whereas expats move abroad for a limited amount of time or have not yet decided upon the length of their stay,” I mean he’s been living here for more than 20 years and started his life here without a career goal and has Dutch citizenship ship now. That makes you an immigrant and not an expat. Btw, in my opinion there’s nothing wrong with immigration, although I sometimes get annoyed by people from western backgrounds who place themselves above other immigrants by calling themselves expats.

[@MoraqVos]

@@remcovanvliet3018 I know what 'expat' means, it's used by white/western/rich people who are uncomfortable with the word 'immigrant'. There is no real distinction, but the fact that a distinction is made is racist.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@remcovanvliet3018 Indeed. Perhaps it’s a distinction without a difference. Thanks for your comment. ❤️