Tag Archives: expat life in the netherlands

What are the unwritten rules of Dutch society? A member of the Amsterdam Shallow Man Facebook group asked the following question.     There were so many helpful responses that I’ve decided to pick the five most useful answers. The things I do for my readers! 1. Don’t use any …

Sinterklaas Dutch Vocabulary Guide It’s the happiest time of the year as on Sunday, November 17th Sinterklaas will officially arrive in the Netherlands. Depending on where in the Netherlands you live, Sinterklaas will somewhat confusingly arrive on a boat from Spain with one of the following: A group of happy, …

Dutch Healthcare: how to survive on paracetamol and prayer. I once published the following MEME about the Dutch healthcare system. While a lot of expats agreed with it, some people vehemently denied that it bore any relevance to their experiences of the medical system in the Netherlands. Today, we have …

KPN responds to a racist tweet in a typically Dutch direct manner   What’s wrong with the photo above? It’s similar to the one used by KPN in a recent advert. Do you see what’s wrong with it? No? Well, let me explain. 1. They’re smiling The first problem is …

Dutch Etiquette: Surviving Oma The Amsterdam Shallow Man Facebook group is home to lots of entertaining tales from expats about their interactions with our fiscally conservative hosts. One such post about an expat dealing with Dutch etiquette issues when visiting her kid’s oma (Grandmother) caused quite a discussion. With permission …

UK NATIONALS IN THE NETHERLANDS: HOW TO PREPARE FOR BREXIT The UK will leave the EU on 29 March 2019. The UK’s priority is to secure a negotiated deal on our exit from the EU.  However, if reopening the withdrawal agreement which we agreed to and signed off on in November …

The Great 30% Ruling Benefit Robbery Imagine the outcry if the Dutch government were to announce that from 2019 tax relief on mortgages would not only be significantly reduced but that the change will be retroactive for the previous three years. There would be an orange revolution! The Dutch wouldn’t stand …

The Expat Voting Guide For the Dutch Municipal Elections If you’re not sure who to vote for here’s a brief guide to the political parties in the Netherlands. This simple expat voting guide summarises the core policy of each of the main parties in a simple and easy to read …

Scenes From The Dutch Schoolpleinpolitiek An expat reader of mine who goes by the clever name of Sue Denim has been kind enough to provide her observations of the complex intercultural human interaction that takes place during the school run. The mysteries of the Dutch schoolpleinpolitiek are revealed in this …

The multitude of sins committed on Dutch public transport The Shallow Man has in the past created a MEME or two about the wonderful phenomena of Dutch ladies doing their makeup on public transport.   This has somehow led to the misconception that I have an issue with this. Which …