Red_Wine_Fairy

Yes, she will absolutely be covered for everything. It is illegal for any Dutch Insurer to screen you for pre-existing conditions, or to penalise against you: they must accept everyone who applies. She would probably go on your health insurance (you'd get a slight discount as part of the collective agreement that employers have to offer) and pay exactly the same price as you. If someone is diagnosed (heaven forbid this would apply) with a chronic or expensive healthcare needs, the the government pays the health insurer out of the general tax-pot, so the health insurer isn't out of pocket: In turn, the health insurance can't (shouldn't) operated as a for-profit business.

I had a 'scare' recently and found the care to be excellent. From routine mammogram in a mobile unit to our village, through all other tests in the hospital of my choosing, including biopsy, through counselling, to results, in exactly one week - it was also a very gentle, female-centric experience, for which I was very grateful. I don't think this website will apply if you're over in Eindhoven, but you might find some links to general sites and charities who will have practical information General information in English

Cancer information for newcomers (including aftercare), in several languages Mamma Rosa Organisation

neurotic

I can only speak from my experience, I'm also from Eastern Europe and I also got a job recently in the Netherlands (lower salary, creative sector). For me it was 100% worth it, because of the different role, the international experience, and some of the people I met are now friends for life I think! But I don't know about you, how you'd feel about your new role, career-wise, it's for you to decide.

I only got a temporary contract so my boyfriend, who has a good job in the UK, never came with me and we were in a long distance relationship. It worked because it's a short distance and flying was inexpensive, we met regularly at least once a month. However, he is a homeowner and as such I didn't have to pay rent to two places. Financially it was worth for me in the end but it required a huge investment from the start, perhaps your job offer is ready to cover this. It's a higher taxed country though so your net salary and the holiday money and all that stuff can appear as somewhat disappointing amounts on your account. However, Eindhoven is unlikely to be as expensive as I had it (Amsterdam area) and your workplace seems a lot more generous than mine. Again, it's for you to decide.

From a cultural point of view I had mixed feelings. At times, living in the UK made me frustrated, Britain isn't a modern country, I found their tastes too traditional and conservative and there is too much emphasis on heritage. So for me it was refreshing to move to a country for a bit that embraced and owned modernism and made the most of its circumstances. It's a very smart and design conscious country who are not afraid of challenges and own what they built and are happily inhibiting their man-made land. However, the bureaucratic system and the stereotypical Dutch "rudeness" often reminded me about why I left my European country in the first place. The quicker embracing of modern things also means the quicker disappearance of informal channels because there is a modern and efficient system in place for everything and if you do the wrong thing because of language barriers or you were not paying attention, you are instantly guilty and shall be treated as one, no friendly British-style "tsk tsk" for you But, in the UK I lived in Scotland, who are famous for being a friendly bunch, perhaps you have a different experience in England. I missed the niceness of people and even some of those old-fashioned things that got me previously frustrated I could have done with feeling a little more cosy and the understanding of the jokes, the informality - I'm sure these exist in the Netherlands too but the language barrier left me excluded of those - I never planned in the long-term there, so I never invested in adopting the lifestyle, but you might want to if you like it in the long term.

In the end, after a year my contract ended and I didn't want (and didn't get) a renewal for financial reasons at the workplace. I had my work-related reasons too, but I also missed my old life and my partner so I was looking for a job to come back to. I'm now back in the UK and even though I still don't like all aspects of it, and I'm still anxious about the future (they don't call me neurotic for no reason), I'm really happy how it all worked out. Overall, my Dutch year was an amazing experience and I do not regret it for a second. It was enough, but it was fun and I learnt SO much both in my career and outside it.

So in short, as a temporary experience, I recommend it to everyone. For the long-term, it's up to you how close these values are to you.

gras

BritInParis

Personally I would hang on in the UK until have acquired British citizenship and then a move to the Netherlands, Poland or anywhere else is always reversible. Any children you may in the future would also benefit from British citizenship.

gras

BritInParis

Brexit isn’t going to change the rules on naturalisation. After five years of living and working in the UK you can apply for permanent residence. This is under EU law and so will come to an end on 29 March but will be replaced with something similar called settled status.

https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

Once you have held PR/settled status for a year then can then apply to naturalise as a British citizen. Any children you have after that point will automatically be a British citizen regardless of where they are born. They do not need to be born in the UK.

netherlandsexpat

There has been a huge (ongoing) controversy surrounding the 30% ruling...it was announced last year that it would be reduced to 5 years...incl. retroactive reduction to people who had it granted for 8 years. This alone would make me seriously reconsider because it means you really can't count on it. A group was formed (UENL you can find their facebook group - it stands for United Expats Netherlands) and they are trying to fight this but it seems the government is intent on applying this change retroactively at least to some of the recipients (unfair and goes against common principles of rule of law, so UENL will take them to court if the retroactive reduction stands).

What I find interesting is that as soon as this all started the letters granting the 30% ruling were changed so that they now state that the ruling can change at anytime (covering their a** for the future, that is, if you are warned beforehand then reducing it is not considered illegal). So again, this means you really can't count on it.

I am also an engineer although I didn't work in engineering per se. I would stay in UK. Post Brexit it will be harder to get into UK than the other way around. I think that in the future if you wanted to move to NL there will always be opportunities (and probably better than this one!). So if I were you I'd just be very happy that I got a salary increase out of this offer and stay in UK.

If Wolverhampton is getting boring, perhaps negotiate a bit more leave as well? I also subscribe to neurotic's thoughts on the culture/rudeness. I lived there for nearly 6 years and left once I got my EU permanent residence. I still go back frequently and have very good Dutch friends, but I decided that I didn't want to live there long-term (also weather (extremely windy etc), crowdedness and weird money culture were other major reasons I decided it was not for me).

neurotic

Wow, sounds like your employer is already feeling the Brexit fear! Employers in the UK must be really sh*tting it at the thought of their European expertise going away.... Next time I'm unhappy about my salary I will pull the one about the "Dutch offer", see where it gets me!

So what did you decide in the end? Are you making the move or are you settling for citizenship?

Interesting what you say about your social life - it was the same for me too (rural Scotland) and at the Dutch company I really became a busy, fun, party person and I made loads of friends. I do miss the buzz to be honest but it's also nice to be able to relax better at home, something that I could never fully do in the Netherlands - partly due to personal reasons of course, being alone, being on temporary contracts, too much uncertainty (also... see other comments about the crowdedness). Friendships, however, can be maintained with some effort so as long as those people are well and are free for a chat from time to time, I will be fine here I think, and it's always a good excuse to travel to see some old colleagues I crammed in so much inspiration and experience into this year, it felt like some kind of mad Erasmus exchange term for professionals Is that what you're after? Or are you more into settling down now and building your nest?

Some of my colleagues/friends there used to ask this too They would ask if my boyfriend would want to come to Holland if I was offered a permanent contract, or would I still want to move back with him. I would always answer the latter, because I already invested into making another country my home, which also took some effort and I was happy with what I had there when I went for this new challenge. So when I was done with it, I was always going to back, I wanted enjoy the results of what I achieved, rather than start a new struggle all over again. I wanted the Dutch experience as a reward for my efforts I made, rather than another tiring "course", even though it did feel like it at times because new challenges always do. My efforts paid out though and now I do miss it, but it feels more relaxing to be back and reunited with the home I made. Now it's time to take from this and build on it, to reflect on this experience and what I learnt a lot professionally and also about myself and my values too - so it was 100% worth it and I have absolutely zero regrets. But it was a low-risk investment to do as I got my PR in the UK when I made the move, and most importantly I always had someone, and somewhere to come back to! So in short, only do it if you're ready to cough up the money and to go through all the pain of the admin, and all phases of the culture shock process all over again!

calman014

Eindhoven is a great City, but expensive when it comes to accommodation as mentioned. If you have a car you are not so dependent on being in the confines of the City. Eindhoven has a great motorway network around it so you can go outwards in just about any direction when searching for accommodation at a more reasonable price. Health Insurance should not be a problem, but unlike UK it's separate to your taxes, meaning a monthly insurance premium. Poland's economy is certainly on the way up so a good omen for the future. Good luck.