Sarah_89

Without stating the obvious, on an ex-pat forum a lot of what people are interested is what the people are like.

From what I have witnessed in the short time I have been here, I like Dutch people. They speak their mind, they are helpful and practical etc. There is much less violent behaviour (almost none) compared to the UK, and they seem to be nice.

But they are so severe. Did any other Brits moving abroad find this difficult to adjust to?

If I walk into a room and smile at people, even saying "please" or "thank you" marks me out immediately as different and it takes a bit of getting used to.

What do other British expats think?

Being polite and friendly is much less valued than being knowledgable and practical I have seen.

I'm university age and I have to say, the guys seem to be much more open and friendlier than the women, whereas British women are more out there.

I've only been here for a short time though. Anybody have any experiences/advice?

king kong

I lived in friesland in the 80s and found them friendly too , i think most of the europeans arnt as polite as the brits but i reckon thats because we are overly polite and dont like to upset anyone . After 20 years in aussie im way past that polite stuff .

brummie girl

I can completey relate to that Sarah (and I am a dutch born who moved here from the UK).. I so had to get used to the way people behave at work as well. Quite frankly I do not want to get used to it too much as I am scared of taking over some of these habbits. It has been a year now since we moved and I still find people very rude and 'know-it-alls'.. there are exceptions there.. haha.. of course there are!

Casa Santo Estevo

Mmmm so it seems some people would like to live in little Britain abroad now then?

Sarah_89

king kong: That's cool. I found them friendly too and generally willing to help.

brummie girl: Nice to know I am not the only one!

Casa Santa Estevo:
Not at all.

I was merely stating that it needs getting used to. I don't see anywhere in my thread that I preferred them to be like Brits, only that it was different for me.

Are you dutch/living in Holland? If not, why are you replying to my thread?

Casa Santo Estevo

If you read the parts in red you seem to contricict yourself

If you read the parts in red you seem to contradict yourself. How can speaking their mind be severe when they speak their mind and be helpful and practicable too?

The parts in blue are showing you up to be very British; you seem to like that part of politeness in the British. And also do not seem understand why the Dutch do not do the same. The Dutch have other forms of civility that you have yet to discover.

There are no rules as to who can reply to your postings. If you felt my posting was pointed at you, then why was that?

BTW as you can see we live in Galicia, Spain, we took an opportunity to live somewhere different for a change. And as you are being inquisitive-- one of us is Dutch, the other English and yes we have both live in The Netherlands.
I would also like to mention that when you say Holland it is like say every Brit is English to a lot of Dutch as Holland is a province in The Netherlands.
Maybe read this bit from WIKIPEDIA.

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland

brummie girl

hahaha.. another thing just came to mind that if you tell a story.. just in conversation.. nothing major.. people always seem to think they need to give you advise on the matter. Has left me thinking 'yes, alright.. steady on..was just making conversation here.." several times :-)

Invader_Stu

I've been living in Holland for eight years and I find the Dutch people really nice... a little blunt sometimes but still really nice... sometimes hard to impress but nice... sometimes a little to open and honest... but... well... sometimes they talk down to you a little I guess...

Just kidding. I like the Dutch people. They are a lot more open and less violent a lot of the time then most people back home.

grapefruit

Dutch don't like wasting time. Think German efficiency with a piece of cheese, raw herring, and a pair of clogs.

king kong

i loved the rollmop herring in friesland . And seeing the road workers in their undecorated klompens always gave me a chuckle but they surprisingly comfortable to work in with thick fishermans socks on . Mind u never confuse a friesan with a hollander ,the fries hate it .I loved my time there

furkew

Thats actually a good way of describing the Dutch.

German efficient, but relaxed in their own way.

I live now in Australia in a small village with about 60%+ Dutch or from Dutch origin and everybody says the same about the straight to the point bluntness. I love it, but I lived in Holland for over 20 years, so became more Dutch than British in the end.

Casa Santo Estevo

Watch it or Sarah will want to know more about you and why wish to answer this posting!
Long time no hear from. Hope all is well in Australia.

MataHari

http://www.thehollandring.com/dutchculture.shtml

not completely uptodate but a nice read anyway...I am Dutch and I agreed with most of what was said...especially the bit about kroket and frikandel not being suitable for vegetarians, lol...

luvwelly

They love wasting time when repairing roads in the Hague....goes on for months and years and then they start all over again.

furkew

and that never happened in London of course