WHY WE LOVE THE NETHERLANDS (american expats in the netherlands)

In this episode, Michelle and Alex rank the 8 things they love most about living abroad in the Netherlands (after being American expats in the Netherlands for about 7 months).
Episode 32 · Filmed on January 16-17, 2023 · Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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00:00 Introduction
00:54 Trains
01:32 Bread and cheese
02:54 Being outside
03:42 Aesthetic
04:20 Food quality
05:19 People
06:05 Surinamese food (and food review)
08:30 Safety
09:26 Wrap up
#expatlife #netherlands #cultureshock
---
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!

[@atropatene3596]

What I love about the Netherlands is that my young child can take his bike and go visit a friend without me.

[@jurrienvanrooy7469]

I’ve always taken that for granted, but now I think about it, it really is a privilege.

[@collectioneur]

Funny crime story: Once upon a time, some US police chiefs were in Amsterdam, but they were worried because they had heard about the high crime rate there. Imagine their surprise when they found out that the high crime rate was due to the number of bike thefts...

[@Limburg92]

Yeah its bike thefts, drugs and tourist mugging.. Its more when you go to the south and the Rotterdam harbours where the big organised crimes happens. Rotterdam and 5 cities in Limburg are in the top 10. Rotterdam and Heerlen are both equally criminal. And with lower population, the highest percentage of criminality is in Heerlen. I live near Heerlen in Brunssum it's next to Heerlen. There are big muggings, murders, organized crime, trafficing and so on. Their are neighbourhoods that are unsafe as an outsider in the nights. I witnessed a murder a few years ago, and my father was murdered when I was 2,5 years old.

[@andykleingotink]

you're not really dutch untill you've had your bike stolen atleast once

[@Limburg92]

@@andykleingotink yea 3 times a charm over here lol😂

[@RezzurectionMs]

Im from Sweden and i LOVE the netherlands, people are more social and loving and caring. They are chill af and so kind! In sweden everyone is so grumpy and antisocial and depressed because of the weather and the culturale mix sweden doesnt have. Netherlands is all love and a bit better weather than sweden but that makes a big difference for a swede like me

[@B-Meister]

You guys have a way more beautiful country though :)

[@jdj8168]

Im Dutch and I love Sweden, I've been there 4 times and im only 18. I do get what you're saying about people seeming a bit depressed sometimes. Stunningly beautiful nature though!

[@Erika1965]

A friend of mine lived a couple of years in Sweden. She told me they are more focused on family. It was hard to become friends. The neighbors were surprised when invited for a cup of coffee.

[@gijsbertuslaurensvandevooren]

Complain about the weather? It's the only thing that's free here.

[@Snowshowslow]

It's really nice that you enjoyed the poor weather half year in the Netherlands so much 😁 Just wait for when the sun comes out and everyone flocks to terrasjes, beaches and festivals 🌅

[@AlbertZonneveld]

See how dutchies go sit outside as soon as the temp reaches 15 C.

[@Jiriki999]

@@AlbertZonneveld Why wait? It was like 8 degrees today but sunny, perfect for having lunch outside!

[@harmen1832]

If you like the bread, then try some from an artisinal bakery. The supermarkt bread is nothing compared to that.

[@mariannahanley4390]

I’m Dutch, moved to Canada in 1968. I’m still homesick, but moved to Canada because more room for us after the war we didn’t have to many places to live. But yes I will always love my country. So nice to listen to you both. I wish you guys lots of luck. Take care and have fun.

[@dennisvanslingerland2258]

Wij missen jullie ook hier!!

[@LisaKokx]

I spent a short few months in the US and I absolutely missed my bread and cheese, my sense of safety, my ability to go somewhere without a car, and people being more genuine. So yeah, great list.

[@ShirleySenpei]

I'm glad to hear you like living in the Netherlands. I'm Dutch so it good to hear that people that moved here from other countries like my country.

[@El-Rico]

Lumpia (loempia) was introduced in the Netherlands from Indonesia, a former colony (and as some of the people of Surinam have ancestors in Indonesia, this is why they too have lumpia) The Dutch had several trading posts/fortresses in Taiwan and encouraged the Chinese from the mainland to permanently settle there. Some of these Chinese took the trip to go to Batavia (now renamed Jakarta). Those Chinese spoke Hokkien, and had a specific name for spring rolls: lunpia, which is how the word got spread to Indonesia, the Netherlands and Surinam.

[@buncharted]

that explains it - thank you!

[@vanderquast]

Nice to hear you enjoyed The Netherlands thus far. Even when you haven't experienced the greatest time of year here; spring is coming with fresh green, blossem and tulips 😊🌷and the whole nation comes out of there houses 😉

[@buncharted]

we can't wait!!

[@B0K1T0]

hehe and if you're really lucky enough and you can experience the water freezing over, that really gets the whole nation wild ⛸(and always gives me goosebumps as well

[@patriciaschluter6943]

Yes spring is great, especily where i life. Nearby lisse and keukenhof. U need to visit it in mid april. Then its at his best.

[@marcwilbrink4357]

Thanks for another great video. When I lived in the US, I could only stomach potato bread, as it was the least sweetest I could find. As someone who works at the NS it's great to see that trains made it to your top 8!

[@S.O.D.A.1]

OMG I am so glad you talk about the bread! There’s a huge difference between American and European breads. In fact, there’s a really good article that just came out about the big difference in European breads and how people find it less invasive into their systems. And it’s because European breads are fermented longer in rising process of the dough. Also, I am loving that you’ve upped the videos and are focusing intently on the Netherlands. It’s my home country, but I’ve been away from it for way too long so it’s nice to see all the things that you were discovering and enjoying. Subscribed!

[@amyloriley]

Fairytale towns. You haven't seen fairytale until you have been to these two places. It might be a bit touristic though. 1. Bruges, Belgium. 2. Efteling. This is a fairytale theme park in the Netherlands. Rumors suggest Walt Disney visited this park to get inspiration for building Disney Land. What inspired him? Go there and find out!

[@jessica1yale]

I love old Amsterdam!!! We finally got some in the states, and I went crazy when I show that 😅

[@davidc.w.2908]

What I like about the USA is the nature. In many areas, especially in the mid west, you can drive for long distances without crossing cities and just enjoy the mountains, desert, dunes, forests, lakes and so on. The air is cleaner here and at night you can see there is less light pollution. When parked in the desert or forest I can see that the sky is filled with stars, which wasn’t possible in The Netherlands.

[@buncharted]

yes, there are so many beautiful landscapes in the US. great for road trips!

[@FransvandeKamp]

To put that in perspective. If you travel the same distances in Europe you can find spectacular landscapes as well. Europe countries are just as diverse as the US states.

[@FrankHouwelingBoskoop]

Nice to end the day with some good vibes. Thanks for sharing! :)

[@hanstubben]

Well I´m from the Netherlands, and moved, many years ago, to Brazil. What I don´t miss from the Netherlands is the weather, and how much weather does make an impact on daily basis.

[@krakrakakakakahah241]

The first few seconds I watched your video I had this big smile on my face. It was like watching spoof of all other Americans doing such a video. Michelle was so naughty when Alex started to fiddle with the microfoon. Michelle has this Buffy-the-vampire-high-school-vibe. And the moustache on Alex cracked me up. I could stop watching that thing. But you are serieus and I realized how extremely fluently this video went. Just two people in front of a camera. Did you guy made a script. Amazing. Very professionally done! Not one time you guys were lost for words. No uh's or uh huh's.. Very well done..

[@rachelwindsor850]

Fijn dat jullie het naar jullie zin hebben! Ga zo door. :)

[@BOSExperience]

Nice video. You kept an open mind and that's great. I think being open minded is a bonus most Dutch have.

[@Wielie0305]

Another great video. Hopefully you will enjoy your new home for years to come. How about cycling? Done that yet? It’s something I like the most next to the public transport and good infrastructure 👍🏻

[@buncharted]

not yet - we were about to buy bikes, then winter happened, and now we're waiting to move in the spring or early summer... but soon!

[@atropatene3596]

@@buncharted buy the bikes. Winter or autumn that doesn't matter. You need bikes rain or shine.

[@RemKaioh]

thank you for making these videos it really keeps me excited for when i move to the netherlands with my girlfriend in the next year

[@eddys.3524]

Thanks for the video. About "Surinaams eten", Surinam used to be one of the Netherlands Colonies, just like current Indonesia. Because of that several groups of people came to live in Surinam besides the indiginous people. Chinese and Indonesians where one of those groups and ofcourse they also took their own cuisine with them.

[@buncharted]

it’s a difficult history but it brought such delicious cuisine!

[@eddys.3524]

@@buncharted it absolutely did !! Hail Fusion !

[@chefanaisamannies3042]

❤

[@VDMOOLN]

We need to be clear about this…..Slave trade. Its a black page in our history.

[@chicks-on-the-loose]

You made me look at my own country with a new set of eyes :)

[@squarecircle1473]

A typical type of bread is "fries roggebrood". You may not have seen anything quite like it (except perhaps in germany). Its easy to miss as a foreigner because its packaged in a plastic box, oftenly. I recommend trying it if you haven't yet. If you try to eat it, I recommend eating it with butter (no margarine, but actual butter) and one or two slices of belegen gouda cheese. Its very delicious and really fills you up a lot more than the white bread (although that is ofcourse also very delicious!). I really like your video, and im really happy you guys are having a good time in the netherlands! :)

[@B-Meister]

To clarify, that's rye bread. My recommendation would be to put whatever you want on there, put it on a plate and then with a knife carefully slide it off the plate right into the garbage because that shit's just nasty xD

[@jackvandersluis1723]

Love that you like it here! Nice vlog! 👍🙂

[@BrazenNL]

Glad you like it here, seems like you made the right choice! When I worked in the US, safety was something that was _always_ on my mind. Here, I have piece of mind walking the street, which to a Dutch person will probably sound strange or even incomprehensible. Would love to see an update video from time to time. Oh, and with regards to safety, or piece of mind, we also don't just cut your power … E: Oh, and we do have seedless fruit!

[@Yameta67]

A biggggg yes to a video on Surinam food. I'm interested in any foods on the former or present Dutch colonies!

[@jasmingovers4403]

Yeah, I would love to see an update❤😊

[@meticulousgeek]

Haha tijgerbrood and cheese for the win! My goto meal. Glad you feel safe here and hope you stick around for a while.

[@ezz625]

You guys are so cute. Happy to hear you’re enjoying this country and feel safe here! ;)

[@buncharted]

❤️❤️❤️

[@rf5210]

Great video guys. I also lived there for a few years and mostly enjoyed it. Have a Chocomel for me!

[@porschedoc1]

Please try the sourdough Bread from Jordy’s Bakery…..first the white, but do try the ‘meergranen desem’…..that is whole wheat sourdough……you will love it!

[@buncharted]

oh man, we love jordy’s - will do!

[@hallo12345198]

As a dutch citizen from Amsterdam i would recommend you guys try out the morrocan cuzine in the west side of amsterdam osdorp its very delicious i think yall would really like it

[@Leonievanderzee1]

I just found you guys on KZbin. I love your content! If you want to visite some places in the Netherlands maybe consider Leeuwarden. It was the cultural capital city of 2018. Especially in the summer the city is just overflowing with tourists, students and locals enjoying the scenery. Leeuwarden is a city in the Provence of Friesland and because it’s more in the north of the Netherlands, you will notice some cultural differences like different kind of pastry’s and we also speak two languages here. Frisian and Dutch. ❤ Thank you for posting content about the Netherlands. It’s so refreshing to see and experience our habits, food and scenery through your eyes! 😃

[@buncharted]

thank you for the kind words ♥ and for the tip on leeuwarden! it sounds great. we are really looking forward to seeing friesland this summer!

[@Leonievanderzee1]

@@buncharted you’re welcome! If you visite Leeuwarden. I’m happy to give you guys a tour! ❤️

[@Leonievanderzee1]

@@Man-in-the-green haha geen enkel probleem! 😂 Iedereen is welkom in ons mooie stadje! ❤️

[@Paragon643]

with carnival coming up ye should definitely come to the south (Limburg) and experience it!!

[@capncmbk]

Great video. I love your guys quirkiness.

[@frankgeurts3912]

I like in my country,that everything we need we have and works and is maintained 💪

[@buncharted]

SO true!

[@starsparkle5369]

Love the video! You guys should try Gouda cheese (black wheel). It's my favourite ^^

[@conniemendeszoon9789]

Suriname food is one of the most populair food in the Netherlands, everybody loves it My favorite is Roti, original from India, but its the most populair Suriname food, you should try it, So good Love the video

[@iamfuser]

KZbin feed brought me here. Always fun the see how Expats have their own view on the country I live in. BTW, is that a random pineaplle? 😇😏

[@MrWilborts]

A nice and tasty cheese is "Stompe Toren" extra belegen (semi old) or oud (old). It's not available in supermarket but try a local "kaasboer" 🙏

[@pjdebeer8325]

I absolutely love that Stardew Valley Back ground poster!!

[@robmulder7966]

Suriname has a very diverse population due to the Dutch trade (and enslavement) efforts in the Golden Age. So, their cuisine is a mix of Dutch, African, Indonesian and Chinese.

[@huubengelen3462]

Go to the city of Venlo ( limburg ) on the 18 of februari and visit the carnaval there, is incredeble !! The hole town is filed with people in differend costums !! SUPER NICE !!

[@RocketJr.]

Very great to hear as a Dutchie!! So many talk about typical nice dutch foods, like stroopwavel, kroket, harring (yuck 😸), but i would say Dutch applepie is the best, together with poffertjes (but i think that's more a northern netherlands thing). But i really want to reccomend eating whole grain/volkoren bread, over white bread, it's way healthier, sorry 😺 Now i know yall living in Rotterdam, i really hope you two get some impressions and get in contact with some people of the country-side too, in the future! Glad you like it here for sure!!

[@biancawichard4057]

1 food tip, go to a chinese/indonesia restaurant and order a rijsttafel (rice table, you get rice obviously and a large amount of side dishes its absolutely amazing. e njoy

[@quirijndegreef]

They already did 😉 (I think the den Bosch video, not sure)

[@JulesStoop]

Nice video and some great observations. As for cheese 😅 Ask a local specialty ‘kaasboer’-be it in their shop or on a street market-for an aged (‘oud’ or ‘belegen’) ‘boerenkaas’ (or a ‘jonge boerenkaas’ if you need one that melts in your tosti). Boerenkaas means ‘farmer’s cheese’ and it’s a protected designation for cheese made from fresh, unpasteurized whole milk. Once you’ve had a taste of one or a few of those, you probably won’t want to go back to old Amsterdam.

[@cloggy010]

great thanx!!

[@RichardGobel]

Welcome to the Netherlands. Have fun. You guys are fun.

[@DigginBlue]

Lmao 😂, nice vid ❤

[@Rope257]

Definitely go to one of our local markets and find a cheese-stall. The selections there are much, much better compared to the grocery stores.

[@Mesmancer]

Good to see you are adjusting well. I work in Rotterdam. quite near the center (I think the restaurant with the Surinamese flag on it is in de Witte de With straat. If you have doubts about pronunciation, don't hesitate to ask. I can help if you want :)

[@GeorgeSaint666]

As a person who worked at a bakery for some time... I am sure you love "tijgerbrood".... but it is actually just normal bread with a paste of texture put on it prior baking. But comparative you pay more for it. So just go with the regular bread. It is exactly the same bread.

[@schiffelers3944]

I grew up with Americans because of the military base (AFCENT) and because I was raised LDS/Mormon. So, "weird" combinations; peanutbutter & jelly (jam) is a thing I got from them, Skippy and American jelly, not the same as Dutch jam, and the sweet white bread. Or the American "sandwitch"; slice of bread with musterd, cheese, ham, chips and mayo on the other slice of bread. Things like that. Cool-aid, grape soda, and stuff typical for Americans, like mac & cheese, bacon & American pancakes, there once also was this other base that had offices, city hall (or how it was called) American supermarkets, Theater, bowling, parks, dentists, etc. Also they had Halloween there with Halloween ofcourse. A weird combination with Dutch ingredients/things I like is having the cheese spread - goudkuipje - and chocolate sprinkles. on a tijgerbrood, wit. Or to have chocolate spread with cheese. I don't really eat a lot of butter/margerine so I use the cheese spread as butter to make the sprinkels stick. Dutch pindakaas with choco sprinkles. Maybe you enjoy these taste combinations as well on the tiger white bread.

[@abcgoeshome5177]

As a kid our favourite food on market days would be 'Vietnamese loempia'. It's a kind of spring roll.

[@B0K1T0]

You said you live in Rotterdam? In North "we say cheese" is my go to store. They have really nice cheese and if you bring your own box, the eggs are relatively cheap (which is a rarity these days) (and of course try the "Rotterdamsche Oude")

[@Michael.Barath]

Hi from South Africa. Did you know that Indonesia was a Dutch colony. Only subbed recently and been binge watching episode. Great channel ..

[@buncharted]

oh yes, of course! fairly recently as well welcome to the channel :)

[@spinshade]

Have you tried the cotton sweets grapes from Albert Heijn yet? They are amazing I would highly recommend them!

[@buncharted]

we haven't but we will have to give them a try!

[@krieseljoris]

Rotterdam is great. Lived there from 1977 till 2017. Great to see you love it.

[@krieseljoris]

@@Man-in-the-green we had to for work. Went to the east side of the Netherlands. I even like it s bit more over here right now.

[@Tsuma_Vento]

I'm on the brown bread team. More succulent, nutritious. And no belly aches after consumption. But yeah. Our bread and cheese rule.

[@ShadowDrakken]

Lumpia is Filipino, and there's many many different versions of it. My favorite is Shanghai lumpia, which is maybe what that is? It's ground pork and/or beef with carrots, cabbage, onion, salt and pepper, and soy sauce. And the best dipping sauce is Smilejenna sauce, which is just 1:1 water and brown sugar, with some garlic and red pepper flakes :D

[@MarkGelderland]

7:00 love your hair, great looking.

[@Rogier7305]

Try buying bread from a bakery instead of supermarket. The quality difference is really big. Also....having 4 season make you really enjoy spring. I also sense a "the grass is greener at the neighbours lawn". If i go to another country as a Dutch person i also have the feeling everything is nicer , greener en healthier.

[@marielvanhees9531]

I miiiiiissss the bread. My Dutch uncle visited us in Philly PA a couple years back and he complained how US bread smells too sweet. Even if you walk into the bread isle at a US grocery store, I agree with him that it smells like just sugar. AND my grandfather, owned a bakery in NL, during WWII as well, so my family knows the difference. And a simple daily sandwich with butter, cheese and salami or bologna will never escape me. 😁 Now we have a family member with a gluten allergy sooo... The only brand I know if in NL is Schär. And that in the US is pricy.... I'm curious how my grandfather would have handled that for his allergic grandkids?

[@georgesouilljee1729]

thanks for your compliments haha, nice video. maybe you can try something else in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is famous for its many festivals. in particular the house parties such as mysteryland, decibel, defqon one, awakenings, etc. i am so curious what an american thinks about this. keep up the good work!

[@gerrygrouwe70]

Tijgerbrood you must eat volkoren brood mutch healtyer more fibers

[@didierjouret7538]

Or sourdough from a good bakery ! More expensive but i’ll like the « elasticity ». You only need 2 slices instead of half a loaf to fill your stomach :) When in a good bakery certainly try a “pain au chocolat”.

[@RichardHoogstad]

Glad you're enjoying yourself and welcome to Rotterdam.For apple pie, get some Dutch friends the best ones are homemade and most Dutch folks are able to make it. If that one is to hard try the Dudock one in the city center as a second best option to that. As for the confusion about Suriname food is like a blend of Indian, Indonesian and Creol food which differs a bit from the original forms. Not better or worse just different

[@rico3580]

If you want you can try "Roti" (choose between chicken, lamb, beef or vega) or "Pom" at your local Surinam Restaurant, both are our absolute favourites

[@B0K1T0]

Beware that the plain "chicken" usually includes bones, so choose the "kipfilet" option if you prefer just pieces of chicken breast. I can highly recommend the lamb though 😃

[@philsarkol6443]

On the topic of food in the Netherlands; may I suggest you go and visit the southern part of this small country. Visit the provinces Noord-Brabant and Limburg...known for it's good food and restaurants, drinks and specially wine vignard and beer breweries. Also known for special bakeries and chocolatiers!!

[@hoboogre8023]

The saunas are great for the cold. What about the sun? I spent a winter in the PNW and only saw the sun a handful of times in 6 months. I'm guessing it's worse there?

[@Antonio---]

Its great to hear the things you like, in one of your previous videos you said you do not like dutch ketchup (heinz), which i agree with so i have a tip. Always buy ketchup at IKEA, yes really they have 50% less sugar or so and every time i go there i always buy a couple, don't forget the frozen meat balls (bordeau rode zak) its great stuff when low in groceries ammo. Some time back i have seen the video regarding MRE, when shit goes down in case of conflict I recommend "Coertjens | Chili Con Carne" I always buy a few cans(blik) when at the Makro but you can buy them online to, It goes well with dutch knakworstjes and some olive oil but thats just my personal opinon, cheers guys have a good one

[@Blackadder75]

ikea meatballs really? I tried them once.. blech never again...

[@Antonio---]

@@Blackadder75 There are three different HUVUDROLL meatballs, plant-based, chicken and air fryer. I like the Airfryer edition bc It's great food to have at home just in case, they also have other stuff like Swedish fish sticks, it's something else I dig it.

[@Blackadder75]

@@Antonio--- ok thank you, I'll try them again some day, maybe I had the wrong ones

[@VV-mq6cq]

Just randomly came across this video and I really like to hear how you guys experience my country and to hear another perspective on things. I sometimes don’t really agree with your opinions, such as bread from the supermarket and sliced cheese and such, but that’s just my personal perspective on things as a Dutch-born woman and I won’t go into that. But I must comment something on the Old Amsterdam cheese. I get why you guys love that kind of cheese and I do too, but what I’m about to say next will blow your minds. Old Amsterdam isn’t actually an old or aged cheese. It’s made old. It’s actually a normal cheese like Gouda, but there are certain additives that gives Old Amsterdam it’s distinctive taste. There are better matured cheeses out there, even in the common supermarkets such as Jumbo and Albert Heijn (I’m team Albert Heijn as I think that “Appie” has better food quality). So my unsolicited advice would be to look for the actual mature cheeses, especially the ones that are too hard and old to slice up. I like old cheese with a hard whole grain bun, toasted in the oven with a little spread of Dijon mustard to enhance the taste of the cheese.

[@raffyvanheteren7320]

Nice to see you enjoy yourself.. You should really go to Utrecht one time..

[@deetgeluid]

Come on Dutchies! Sliced cheese from the supermarket is fine. People saying there is better stuff probably buy it everyday themselves. Btw. I love experimenting with tosti’s. Tosti Katenspek is my new favourite.❤

[@annh.8290]

We have lived in Amsterdam for over 7 years now, (wow just typing that seems strange, it sounds like such a long time, yet...) anyway, I find that we feel much like you guys do, and yes, safety is big, I have taken trams, ridden my bike and walked alone on many occasions at night, and have never felt unsafe, it's a wonderful feeling. The people have been friendly, no matter where we have been from small towns to large cities they have been more then helpful, even putting up with our very bad dutch. Not having to have a car is also big, as well as actually having health care, we lived in a small town in Calif and the small hospital could only do so much, they would fly you out, if the weather wasn't too bad, as it's a 2 hr drive to get to a "large" city with a proper hospital, and public transportation, a bus leaves twice a day 7AM and another at 10, but you won't make it back till 19:00. Love the food, and the culture. We love it here.

[@mr83961]

Bread and cheese is perfectly normal breakfast or lunch :). You should put some mustard on it, or ketchup, really good!

[@shootingsportstransparency7461]

And the Netherlands love you both

[@Meine.Postma]

I'm a little bit on a binge.. see you at another old video!

[@Registreur]

You're right. Crispnes is like Christmas.

[@D0G_CN]

you are right, with city's up to 2000 years old we have preserved a huge amount. then again, we used to build to last untill 4 bussines men invented to law of obselence. (light bulb manufactures) plenty was destroyed by germans in the second world war tho, the whole of rotterdam's inner city was flattend for example. what's not to love about living in the netherlands?

[@quatra1000]

The Dutch tend to prefer the "bread at the baker, meat at the butcher's and vegetables at the greengrocer's" idealogy. No processed stuff. But then, I live in Mexico, am retired and have time to spare. But also back when I lived in The Netherlands, I would follow the same doctrine. Never buy your food in a supermarket. I like to know what goes into my food and how it's prepared. Who better than I?

[@Un4_given]

Stompetoren kaas is hands down the best cheese in the Netherlands, if you want to surprise some Dutch friends, get that one. There is a shop in Capelle who sells it.

[@Linda-hs1lk]

The church in Rotterdam is the Laurens Kerk (church) and the one tallest building is... The White House!

[@Siriusly_Sirius]

Mmm lumpia 🤤 and is ackschually from the Philippines. (Unless I’ve been lied to!) Y’all are so fun. Thanks for sharing your NL experience!

[@TheExplorder]

Vietnamese to my understanding

[@peterf1]

1. Just the fact that you can say "Bread and cheese culture" says so much about the Netherlands. 2. Exercise. Your movement quadrupled? That's both amazing, and a sad commentary about the car culture that plagues US towns. 3. Nobody thinks of NL as a place for foodie culture, BUT the sheer quality of basic items refutes that. If you're an aspiring home chef like me (don't take that too seriously) you KNOW that food quality is the foundation of everything. I'm commenting on this because in my list of priorities in "places to retire to" access to quality food, both restaurants and grocery, is on the short list. 4. Safety. Yeah, I couldn't agree more.

[@buncharted]

100% about foodie culture! the quality of every single meal we make at home improved dramatically just by moving here (and every ingredient is often cheaper than the US)

[@moniquevanlill528]

Thank you for all your awesome videos - We are planning to leave South Africa 🇿🇦 and make the Netherlands 🇳🇱 our new home - do you have a video on how to stay warm & what the weather is like ? Is it true that the homes are warm ? How expensive is clothing to stay warm ? How bad is the winter 🥶 ❄️ ? Thank you for your time and making all these wonderful videos ❤

[@buncharted]

we talk about the clothing and winter in our latest video! the homes tend to be warm, yeah. make sure to check the energy rating when looking at apartments or homes though -- older, unrenovated homes won't keep in the heat as well.

[@moniquevanlill528]

Thank you @@buncharted 💕🌷

[@jonathanlynch4151]

Can you discuss more about the financial situation when you were moving? I’m interested in exploring but want to see how aligned my finances are to yours! I’m looking at the Leiden area

[@buncharted]

we have a "cost of living in the netherlands" video you should check out :)

[@ianklinkhamer9720]

Store brands in the Netherlands are usually A-brands in different packaging.

[@metalvideos1961]

pretty much all Chinese restaurants in the netherlands are Chinese-Indonesia restaurants. got to do with our colonization of Indonesia. so its kind of a mix. most of the products you find in the Chinese stores (afhaal chinees as we call it in dutch Take away chinese) sell products that you cant find in china period. most of the stuff is not chinese nor Indonesian. its mostly some sort of dutch creation. But we do have real authentic chinese restaurants though Rotterdam and amsterdam got a couple i believe. we also have a Cantonese Restaurant not sure where that one is located. but the normal Afhaal Chinees stores/restaurants are not authentic chinese.

[@dutchdisney]

Wait till you wander into Dudok and try their appeltaart...

[@buncharted]

oooooh we've been meaning to go for a while!!

[@dutchdisney]

@@buncharted Dudok appeltaarten are also available at some Albert Heijns

[@Jasphur]

I’ve been watching your videos since a couple of months now. Especially since a close friend now lives im Canada. But it always amazes me what we Dutchies take for granted and complain about is not even the basic standard in other countries. Also: really curious as to what you giys think about smaller “big” cities like my hometown Deventer

[@buncharted]

we love deventer (if you couldn't guess from our vlog there, haha). we really wanted to move there but couldn't find the right spot to rent (but we also love dordrecht, where we live now, which i'd say is another smaller "big" city in the netherlands!)

[@Jasphur]

@@buncharted omg you went there already!? Still catching up on your vlogs. Gonna prioritize the one about Deventer :P I also lived in Breda near Dordrecht for a out 12 years. Dort is pretty nice and has kind of the same vibe as Deventer.

[@mariskavandasselaarofficial]

Somehow I always feel hungry after watching your video's. 😅

[@brian5154]

I would advise using brown wholemeal/volkoron bread........

[@dabbiedeejee4804]

Ok.... Please buy Bread at a bakery....its waaaaaay better then supermarket Bread. For cheese Go into a cheese shop and taste. Both Can also be found at markets in the city

[@LeoBliksem]

Old Amsterdam is my favorite cheese aswell

[@BabzV]

Go to the local markt for your cheese, so good and affordable. 😊

[@schiffelers3944]

I hope you can read Dutch a little bit 😉 Exposure is one way of learning it. Er zijn verschillende redenen waarom voetgangers hier veiliger zijn op straat. 1. De auto's zijn een ander model, hebben een ander design vanwege andere regels in de EU. Er moet een hogere overlevingskans zijn als je word "geschept" (ik kies bewust dit woord) door een auto. De grotere auto's in de VS zijn dan ook meer een "botsing" met een auto. Test dummies. 2. De infrastructuur en dus stoepen, en wandel gebieden en mogelijkheden, alles is compacter en dichter bij elkaar. Dit hangt ook samen met de geschiedenis en het leven, wonen en het groeien van de dorpen, steden, etc. In theorie moet het leven zonder een auto mogelijk zijn, en je moet dan toch overal kunnen komen waar je heen zou moeten gaan. Omdat we hier leefde en dingen nederzettingen hebben gemaakt toen er nog geen auto bestond, en het vandaar alleen gegroeid is in bevolkingsaantal, met pieken en dalen. Daarnaast zijn wijken gebouwd in tijden toen er bijvoorbeeld een auto was, maar dan een auto per gezin/huis, wat je terug kan zien soms in het gebrek aan parkeerplaatsen waarbij huishoudens tegenwoordig vaker meer dan een auto hebben. Lopen hebben wij mensen altijd gedaan, of met paard/geit en kar, etc.

[@Darkanimeking23]

do you guys miss things from back in the states? and you guys do talk a bit of dutch pindakaas and tijgerbrood good job

[@buncharted]

we miss chipotle 😆

[@Darkanimeking23]

@@buncharted hehe I can understand that

[@darrellbeets7758]

Dont wanna hate on ur settup, but the sm7b, isnt meant as far proximity mic, its exteme close proximity. If u wanna have a mic of to the side or further away theres 1000s of mics better suited, Its doing fine becouse its a amazing mic but u could save a couple 100 bucks and get a better result. Also noticed that at least one of them is mounted upside down creating extra tension on the cable, and really restricting its movement.

[@buncharted]

nah, i appreciate the feedback. i actually think we need better mic arms that look good on camera and get the mic closer to our mouths. i just haven't found any that i like yet that are reasonably priced here in the netherlands.

[@darrellbeets7758]

@@buncharted ahh understandable. Hard to find the right gear🤣