Well, that’s one sexy title. Doesn’t everyone want to read about energy efficiency on a quilting blog? Actually we’ve been busy in this area after buying an older home. Come hear about life in The Netherlands.
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If selling a home can be long and arduous in America, the opposite is true in The Netherlands. Selling is easy, but buying a home here - that’s the hard part. Here are all the juicy details about buying and selling a Dutch home.
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What is high school like in The Netherlands? Schools are open, schedules are individualized and students specialize at an early age in view of their future career. Here’s what we’ve experienced so far.
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When our family moved from the United States to The Netherlands a year and a half ago, we moved to a country we had never visited and to a culture we only knew secondhand. Here’s what we miss and what we don’t!
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Of course, summer 2020 is not a typical summer in The Netherlands. I’ve heard a lot about how the summer holidays are supposed to go. There have been some nice surprises! Let’s talk.
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Today I want to share what life has been like in The Netherland in the time of coronavirus. I have been struck with gratitude again and again to live in such a stable country during this troubling time. I hope you’ll find this interesting and, perhaps, a bit hopeful.
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September of 2019, Aria (then 14) and Liam (then 12) started at the ISK, a publicly-funded program. The goal? To learn Dutch well enough to transition to regular Dutch schools at the level appropriate to their overall cognitive abilities.
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“What are people like? Are they friendly? How do they treat each other, strangers and even their pets?” Oh, such big questions! And who am I to answer? Just one person, with one limited cultural vantage point and my small experiences.
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Greetings from our holiday, which began in the city of Maastricht and is winding down in the Mosel River Valley. It has been such a treat!. Our trip has involved bus, train and automobile. What a good time, I thought, to share with you the realities of getting around without a family car.
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What is it like living in The Netherlands as newly settled expats? On Tuesday October 15th, I kept a record so that I could share a typical day with you. Welcome to the minutia of our everyday Dutch life!
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Thank you for your questions about our life in The Netherlands. I love writing about these new experiences, and it will be fun to have this record. On your suggestion, here is a little tour of our neighborhood!
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It isn’t hard at all to be an English-speaker in The Netherlands, at least in our experience. Here in our relatively small city, we are feeling more comfortable than I expected with the language difference.
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We knew it would be different. We knew they would be smaller, with petite back yard “gardens” and neighbors close at hand. Coming from the US to The Netherlands, we expected to make compromises as we searched for a new home. But we didn’t know the half of it.
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Ok, so you want to hear about the food in The Netherlands - how we grocery shop, what’s available, special foods and more. Let’s do it. Now keep in mind that I’ve only been here a short while, so these are my impressions as a very new arrival.
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While there have been days where it feels like we’re not making any headway on our goals, over three week’s time we have certainly gotten somewhere. Let me catch you up!
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Eight days ago we arrived in the The Netherlands, a bit jaded from our lengthly travels, but mostly filled with wonder to really be here. This move was such an unusual, surreal project. Now the goal is tangible and the shape of it becomes so very real.
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To transition from “we hope” to “we are” was not a quick mental shift. There was no screaming and jumping up and down. I didn’t phone my family or friends right away. It all seemed so solemn and final and unreal.
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When we first told our family about our dream to relocate overseas, their response was shock, confusion, skepticism and deeply hurt feelings. It was one of the only times in my life that I wondered if being honest was best.
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