Starting again

*gulp* here goes

I'm 46 and looking to start over again, having spent a lot of time in Amsterdam/Leiden I'd like to move to Leiden as I also have a friend there so I figure that will help during the first year.

I have no formal qualifications although I am about to begin a degree with the open university. So I can study wherever I am based. I don't have great health but I will have enough finance in place to last a couple of years until I can find work etc

Always wanted to move to Holland and figure I'm not getting any younger.

I have a couple of little questions to begin with,

I have to have an injection once a month, how easy would it be to transfer that and get it prescribed and done over there?

Would it be easy to rent a room in a shared house? I don't need a lot of space and hopefully it would cut down on the cost of rent?

Thanks in advance, have been reading loads of the good advice on other discussions on here

scot47

No knowledge of Dutch and no marketable skill.

What do you think will happen ?

karij1980

That's not exactly helpful advice.

I came here pretty much the same 2 years ago and now I speak enough Dutch to be understood and I have a job.

Amsterdam/Leiden is a good area, a lot of English speaking jobs are there.

For renting, it would be a good idea to rent a place in Leiden instead of Amsterdam. To rent a room in Amsterdam can be anything up to €800 to €1000.

Medical purposes - I shouldn't think it's a problem but you do need to sort out medical insurance as soon as you get your BSN number.

scot47

Not helpful ? Perhaps realistic though.

karij1980

Not really - I've done ok for myself two years on despite only knowing a few words and not having a job....

scot47

Ok it CAN be done but I suspect that it will be difficult. Perhaps doubly so for someone with medical "issues".

Good luck to the OP but do not see Nederland through rosy eyeglasses.

CityLife

Hello 'Starting Again'. Considering that you are studying and you want to live in the Netherlands- why didn't you consider doing a full time MSc whilst living in the NL? I'm currently 'stuck' here and have been for the last 4 months- though I work for a GB firm. I have no interest in this country and I certainly have no interest whatsoever in learning the local language, however if you really are wanting to live here on a permanent basis.....Bare in mind there are plenty of large multinationals with a presence in the Netherlands, I work for one of them and not having any understanding of the language is not really that much of an issue. The Dutch are a clingy bunch of people so unless you start dating a local there is a chance you may feel a little cut off? (only natural if you have a stubborn/bad attitude towards the place like me..ha) But I'd say the NL is the easiest 'foreign' country to live in. Oh extremely easy to find a room. just type the word 'Kamer' in on Google.nl- you'd probs get one in Leiden for 400Euro. Maybe your friend could help you out, register at their address, make an appointment at city hall and get yourself a BSN number (little like a National Insurance Number) you'll need this to open a bank account, health care, blah. Back to healthcare again I'm 90 percent certain your health problems shouldn't be an issue. Good luck. Oh..what Scot47 said about no Dutch and no marketable skill...that's why I suggested maybe studying an MSc to get the whole Dutch love affair out of your system-and then perhaps reassess from there? It's a valid point he's raised!
Again all the best,
Jan

Starting again

Thanks for your replys, I'm hoping to go early next year. I'm a born survivor and have never gone hungry yet, so the move doesn't frighten me. I've spent a lot of time over there so it won't be completely unfamiliar

GeniB

Attitude is everything Starting Again...Being open and positive is very important in NL.This isn't a country that 'does' nannying (unlike the UK) To be brutally honest they are not wild about foreigners.but they certainly appreciate those who try to speak the language.which of course is only polite when living in their country.We Brits are not known for breaking into Parsi or French when a foreigner needs help.so why should they speak English..they do though which is huge in my book.I would advise you to do as much research on courses or possible jobs in and around Leiden BEFORE you move. At the very least take an online Dutch course like Babbel In my long experience of NL Its been those foreigners who have been brought in from outside that get the jobs.Trying to do it from inside the country is far harder.Sounds weird but it's true.The Dutch are crazy about qualifications (justified imo) for absolutely everything .I like that.but it does mean your chances of getting an ad hoc job could be pretty slim.Unless.It was for something an English native would be preferred.Check the English speaking companies Like Philips etc. Medical should not be a worry.

Bottom line! Your 46,you want to do this..so prepare well.use your friends help.and go and do it...best of luck

Red_Wine_Fairy

I'm going to be blunt. What is your degree in? I'm going to be blunter. You will be 50 by the time it's finished, and so you better make darn certain it's in a very in-demand skill, because by then, you're going to need something as rare as rocking-horse-poo to get a foot inside an HR office door.

So if you're studying something to do with Pharma, or IT, or International Law, proceed. If you're doing sociology, or English, or History, forget it. If you're doing something not directly transferable to a trade, the Dutch will wonder why you just wasted 4 years of your life. Bear in mind that a compulsory internship is not part of the British graduate system, and you're at yet another disadvantage instantly compared to home-grown graduates (who will already have two or three languages under their belt) who have proven themselves to have on-the-job experience in their profession already.

Now you think I'm rude, and I think I'm just being Dutch-direct I'm going to say something that would upset some people, and makes them totally freak out in the UK. If at the end of your study you don't find work, don't worry. Yes, you'll be an jobless immigrant and you might find that the public feel the same about you as the Brits do about their immigrants, but you have a legal right to live here and benefit from the welfare system, in the same way a Dutch person moving to the UK would.

Your health insurance will cost you around 95-115 per month. Without work, you are instantly entitled to zorgtoeslag, which is a tax rebate (yes, even if you never paid tax) of around 80 euros pm towards that health insurance. People might say you can get it cheaper, but if you already know you're in poor health, you don't want to saddle yourself with a very restrictive policy. No company under the Dutch basic health insurance can turn you down if you apply due to pre-existing conditions: that is a government rule. For exceptionally high medical costs, the insurers are reimbursed from the government anyway, so they don't care. Nor will you have to fight with the insurance for treatment your doctor says you need to have done. Some medications are not covered, but when I tot up what I've spent, it's less than I'd have spent on the equivalent number of NHS prescriptions. When you register with a huisarts (GP), make sure you (1) ask about the availability/cost of it, and (2) bring a letter from your GP listing your medical history and the repeat medication you need.

Leiden is a great place and half-way between all the Randstad cities, giving yourself a wider job search area. In Leiden, you might be able to get yourself a studio, which will work out cheaper than a room in a shared house because - with your own front door - and if it's below a certain square meter area and under 700 per month, you're possibly entitled to huurtoeslag (rent subsidy) which means you're paying roughly the same amount each month in total. This is entirely possible in Leiden, and virtually impossible in Amsterdam. Kamernet.nl (free registration) is the biggest independent advertiser of rooms and studios. Beware any website that asks for a joining fee; they rarely have anything original, usually the all use the same database(s). Your friend in Leiden might have local knowledge of independent makelaars (estate agents) who might have some options for you. Also, join some facebook groups for Leiden 'te huur'; you'll get no joy this week because it's the peak week for desperate-Uni-students who left it until the last moment to look for somewhere to stay, but in 6-9 weeks, you start to see the rooms going cheap because someone dropped out of their course.

Good Luck. Stay Positive. This is a great - and quirky - place to live

BEVS

Oooo. Red_Wine_Fairy. Blunt and blunter but not as blunt as some that are blunt beyond being blunt.


Being blunt. Lovely helpful post. Karma your way.

Red_Wine_Fairy

Sorry if I was blunt. I just know firsthand the reception someone in their *cough* prime of life receives at the hands of a Dutch HR manager. Occasionally their application don't end up straight in the bin, but it's been a rough ride for those of us made redundant.

I was just listing areas where she might have a better chance, because these are areas where the Dutch aren't churning out enough native graduates (for example, there's always jobs for Clinical Trials Assistants, but almost never jobs for monolingual Admin Assistants). Degrees like business management, comms/social media, or psychology are worthless because it feels like 50% of all 20plussers leave with one of those degrees.

But without a doubt, someone approaching 50 is going to have a fraction of the opportunities a 20 plusser will get, so the OP still has time to consider the future value of the course she's about to study (ie. change it slightly to be more vocational). It pays to have a specialism they can't find among their own. The Dutch don't get the concept that someone can work outside their degree specialism; eg, if you qualified in accounting, why would they be expected to interview you for a operations role? The mentality is different here to the UK, in that respect.

The Dutch are just as ageist as other countries, and are especially wary of tying themselves into permanent employment contracts due to their financial obligations to sick employees (and they assume a young person will have less sickdays).

Dizzyp

Why not look at Dutch universities? Many teach in English and the fees are much, much lower than the OU. I looked at doing a Masters at Radboud Uni (I did my BA with the OU) here in Nijmegen and was surprised at how much cheaper it was even with the reduced fee I would have paid the OU since I was a continuing student. However the internship part put me off as well as the much greater work-load than the OU Masters. I'm still deciding whether to continue with the OU (only need 1 more year to complete my Masters) since my degree is pretty worthless (Art History) and I'm over 50. But I knew that from the start and just wanted to prove something to myself, which I have. My time is probably better spent on trying to learn Dutch!

Also worth considering is that the OU may charge a higher fee once you move to the Netherlands. And there will not be as much support from the OU in the Netherlands, such as attending monthly tutorials, although the OU is reducing the number of courses that have these.

Good luck!