trixylou

hi there...just want to get some advice/tips on a possible move to Holland
partner has been in talks about several diff job offers and I need some real family advice on kids...schools...day to day living for my family of 3 young girls aged 7...4 and 19months

one of the job offers is in Coeverden but he would be more than happy to travel 30mins-45mins drive so were are trying to get some feedback on areas/towns/cities that are a go go or a NO go!!!!

any help info would be greatly appreiciated

:-)

Red_Wine_Fairy

What would your priorities be (that's the easier way to approach it) if you had to list your top three or so 'must haves'? Are you planning a permanent move or a year or two?

I had to look Coeverden up, it's that far from ... anywhere ... and saw it was a town half in Netherlands, half in Germany. Would living in Germany not be a better choice, insofar as your children would be learning a more useful language? As a rule of thumb, the further east you go in NL, the less English is spoken.

A cautionary note: it's very easy to get your first job out here, and it's very hard to get your second, should things not go well. For you and your husband, I would thoroughly investigate how suitable this company is. To consider: Why are they located in that area: do they have just a few local customers, or because it's cheaper than the cities? Are they a multinational company or are they almost all Dutch employees? If the second, think long and hard: they might be 'experimenting' with a foreign worker, and if that experiment doesn't work, you will be the ones stuck in a part of the country with very, very few English speaking jobs. Does the company use English as it's business language, and if they say yes, are they being totally honest?

You as a mother will be isolated if you're not closer to a city: Your husband will have his colleagues, your children will make friends and you will be stuck in four walls. The dutch women are curious about foreigners for as long as they'd show interest in someone's new puppy: they are not known for their friendly nature nor their warm welcomes into their social circles, and expats in eastern NL are thin on the ground.

If you have any specific questions that you can't find answers to in other topics, ask away

trixylou

hi thanks for reply!!!
firstly about the company//job..this doesnot worry me as they are a well established international drilling/well service and engineering company with operations in 20+ countries...and my partner is trained and experienced in a very specific area so fingers crossed he is a much wanted man hahahahahaha :-) we would be looking to live there for 3-4 maybe more years@least

its more of the day to day living facts for me and the kids I need to consider.......yes I seen that the town looks like its in nomans land!!!!! a little worrying for me :-( but im told the place he would be working would be Emmen((coeverden is the office))my misunderstanding...whoops!!!!!
from my research Emmen looks to be a university city?? its very hard to find info as mostly people are posting and talking about Amsterdam and the Hague....which both look great but that's not our offer just now

trixylou

REALLY need some help finding a school list!!!!! have searched and searched but all the net if coming up with is the international schools near or in Amsterdam and The Hague!!! does this mean there is no international class offered further up north I look?? is there a local 'council' site I can browse at?? :-) anyone?????

scrubbedexpat0105

Presumably it's CoevOrden, not CoevErden. ;-)

When I moved to Germany to take a job 2 decades ago, I went over alone and my wife followed after a few months, once I'd sounded out how secure my new job was. I'd do the same again and would recommend it. It's easier now to get back cheaply and often than it was then.

I don't really get it with the international schools (but no doubt someone with kids will fill me in). In an "exotic" location like the Middle East I can understand people not wanting to send their kids to local schools, ditto diplomats who move to yet another new country every four years. But on the assumption that you're either going to stay in NL until your children's education is over or return after a few years to the UK, why not send them to local Dutch schools? At their age, the language isn't an issue: they will be bilingual within a matter of months.

Red Wine Fairy has a point about German being more useful, but to me the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Father and the rest of the family will be learning two different languages and will have two mutually incompatible social circles. It will also increase the bureaucracy. It's bad enough getting to grips with the bureaucracy in a new country in which you have just begun learning the language, but working in one country and living in another, and not knowing the language of either, is bordering on the kafkaesque.

Also, in a Dutch school on the German border, the kids will learn German anyway.

I have never lived in NL but my guess is that learning the language is the first step to a proper social life, like everywhere else.

The towns' own websites are at coeverden.nl and Gemeente Emmen: Portaal, both have Wikipedia pages.

Saying Coevorden is in "Holland" might not be advisable btw. ;-)

Red_Wine_Fairy

Apparently Emmen does have a Universiteit (or rather it's a hogeschool which is a polytechnic in old English )

It seems the only closeby international school to you would be Ommen, which appears to be a fully private (and boarding) school with fully extortionate fees, no doubt. If, like most expats, you would be hoping for a government subsidised international school (so the fees would be nearer to five thousand euros per child per year, rather than fifteen thousand), it seems your nearest are at either Groningen or Enschede. That's quite some commute, and playdates would be impossible. To help you look further: SIO is the list of both private and subsidised schools.

I'm absolutely with Watchpost - they will pick the language up very fast, so long as you don't leave it much longer (in your older daughters case, as she has less time to pick up fluency before vital exams). It's also worth noting recent stats showed Netherlands to be the 10th in the world for Maths (well above all other western countries). My daughter started in the first class with no Dutch whatsoever, and is leaving this year with top marks in Dutch. I asked if it was a temporary or permanent move, but I don't think it really matters if you give your children the gift of another language: research has shown it helps them in all aspects of their learning. They will not learn languages the same in an international school as they will not be immersed which might be more of a hindrance to their feeling of 'fitting in' locally. It is, of course, your choice as parents and I'm only giving my personal experience, as I had two sons in international school (due to their age) and two daughters in local schools.

You should be able to find local schools in the gemeente (town hall) guide, the link to which Watchpost posted above. Sadly, it has the world's most unfriendly user interface, so here is a link to the Openbare (public) basisscholen (primary schools, must start the Monday after 5th birthday at latest, although most kids start at 4): LINK
If you wish to choose a religious-based school (still non-fee-paying schools, but with a slight slant to a particular set of values), you will need to choose from the list on the right hand side menu here.

Now, what about your needs? From the perspective of a trailing spouse, I understand the need to stay home and be 'the friendly face' that your children come home to after school. But that doesn't keep you happy for very long, especially when the children come home, dump their schoolbags, and rush to be with their new friends on the nearest park or out on the bike. (Oh! Bring any bikes they and you have - a bike is as essential as a car, and both are twice as expensive to buy here as in the UK) You might make friendships at the schoolyard (I found a couple of friends there, mostly those who had also moved to the area), but what do you think you need in the longer term to feed your soul?

Netpon

I moved to Hoek van Holland last June. My son, who is now 10, was at the international school in rotterdam to start with but just didn't settle there so we moved him to a local dutch school and he is really thriving. He is picking up the language quickly. He has a private dutch teacher who gives him 3 hour long lessons each week ( we have to pay her as there was no funding available any more) and she liases with his class teacher to help him with subjects like History, Geography etc. He is lucky that there is a boy in his class whose mum is english so he helps to translate when my son gets stuck but after just 2 months there, he got the highest score in the class on his history test, which shows how quickly he has caught on.
As for me, I met several mums through his football club and at school and I have found them to be really friendly. I have been on outings to the cinema and for high tea with them and we are planning a girls only weekend soon. My neighbours have been really friendly too and we have been round for dinner etc. You do have to put yourself out there a bit (which I found hard at first as that's not me!) but every one has been really friendly and helpful towards me.

trixylou

hi all...sorry yes its coevOrden!!! my bad!!! but his job will be in Emmen lol so a little further up north in Holland we are looking@the school and living in Groningen as seems to make sense NOT to isolate ourselves too much we understand this will mean an hours commute for his work but we will have to give on something and its either isolate me and the kids or for him to suck it up and drive a little further to work :-) after much research there is just more facilities//groups//chances of me studying..working when time comes//and options for housing in Groningen
as the children are still young im still swayed to go with international school just for the sake of easing them into the new move...my 7 year old started off in the international class here in Denmark and after 5 months was moved into 'regular Danish class((in same school))which I think was a great help with and easy smooth transition for her its a big thing to move countries and schools I feel it just helps with making them feel@ease as for my 4 year old am I right in thinking she will be going straight into elementary school?? first year??? as just now she is in daycare.....which is very different here in Denmark.....there is NO pre-school......just play and no preparation for school as they don't start till 6 years old!!!!! this concerns me alittle :-(

it is amazing how quickly he children can adjust and thrive if given the right environment and support to do so

we are hoping to make this a longterm move as not 100% about permanent
I am currently on the PTA Danish equivelant and its good for me to have something else to focus on and gets me mingling with the other parents so hopefully there might be a chance to do something like that...whether@the school or pre-school with my youngest when its her time to go