Sunday, May 02, 2021

What is the best country to live and work in the EU, out of Belgium, the Netherlands, or Germany?

Mathieu Ahlstrom 

Let’s already frame this: I’m comparing the more-urban areas of all three; the countrysides in any will be tough for an outsider to really feel comfortable.

I’ve lived in all three and certainly for my preferences I would say The Netherlands..

It has a very high standard of living and the compactness means that job opportunities are geographically easy to find. You can pursue a varied, and ambitious, career path without necessarily having to move house each time.

The geography links it very easily to the rest of the continent; from Schiphol you can get just about anywhere in Europe (and the world) with a direct flight. And even if it’s not Emirates, KLM is a very solid airline.

The public transport network is dense and generally reliable, with very active rider-interest groups that holds the various bodies to account when they fall short.

The people are generally honest and open, and won’t hassle you much about where you’re from. Chances are there’s already a community of folks from your home country that you can connect with for those “homesick” moments.

No matter what kind of culture you’re into, it’s never more than a 45-minute drive away. Pretty much every music act, big or small, comes through at some point. Art exhibitions, performances, dance, it’s an unbelievably rich offer.

The “vereniging” (social club) culture is a wonderful feature of civil society. There are groups of different levels of organisation/formality for just about every hobby and interest. It’s a great aspect of a healthy civil society, and is one more way to connect with people and/or learn Dutch.

Dutch is effectively optional (though highly recommended for the sake of simplicity); everyone speaks enough English to get by and most services (mobile providers, energy companies, etc.) have some version of an official English customer service. For example when Ziggo (the cable company) sends a snail-mail letter about upcoming maintenance in the area, there will be a website mentioned where an English translation can be found.

If you have kids, there are international schools of all stripes to send them to - and nowadays even English-language public schools if school fees aren’t your thing.

Government works. It seems like a boring simple thing, but it will make your life so much easier. You generally get what you pay for tax-wise, and the needle tends to be set on a more generous end for subsidies and social programmes that actually make life pleasant (even despite austerity measures of the past ~10 years).

Everything has a downside: it can be expensive, especially if you live in a city centre location. The same open dynamic that makes it easy to connect on a basic level doesn’t necessarily extend to the deeper friendships; there are so many foreigners who pass through, many Dutch don’t see the benefit in building a close relationship with someone who’ll move away in a while.

And some foreigners find navigating the healthcare system a bit offputting. The quality is very good, but you sometimes need push a bit harder to get the treatment you want. Bedside manner is often perceived as tough; don’t expect too much sympathy or coddling.

Being a small country also means getting passed over for certain things.. for example there’s still no real local Amazon site or Amazon Prime (though the German Amazon site has some localised features). And before the EU forced harmonisation of mobile phone roaming, it seemed unfair that you could go all through Germany/France without paying roaming charges whereas the Dutch contracts only covered a sliver of territory.

There are, however, certain advantages to the others..

Belgium has a certain warmth and quirkiness, even as the language politics drone on in the background and bore the foreigner. You’ll certainly eat well pretty much everywhere you go. Be prepared for lots of bureaucracy though. English is generally fine in Flanders, but much less in Wallonia. And outside of Brussels it will be tough to find work unless you speak one/both of the local languages.

Germany is a huge country with many different facets. It is big enough to be worth learning the language (which is still necessary for much of the day-to-day), but is generally affordable. If you enjoy cars, you will be at home. Unlike in the Netherlands where big/powerful cars are not only heavily taxed, but also frowned upon socially as ostentatious and spendthrifty, you can indulge in big engines and high speeds with a clear conscience. But like most large countries, it has an inward-looking tendency.

Hope that helps! And if it’s a three-way tie, I’d say the Netherlands still wins because you can easily get to both Belgium and Germany if you really want to change it up.

EDIT: Some points to add.. the 30% tax rule is another sweetener for expats in NL. If you meet certain criteria, the first 30% of your income is tax free. The thinking is that you will not use Dutch social security in retirement, so need to make alternative arrangements. It is granted for five years with the possibility to extend for another five. After that you\"re just local and start paying into social security.

Also the variable quality of housing stock is worth pointing out. It\"s just not that great in terms of quality, especially compared to Germany. Poor insulation, cheaper materials, etc. Older houses can be very charming but have lots of maintenance issues. A Finnish friend says that the Dutch live in tents.

Dutch attitudes are also not everyone\"s cup of tea. As a commenter pointed out, complaining about everything, being rude and talking about getting things cheaply are key themes.

The weather also generally sucks. Spring and summer can be really nice but can also be wet. Winter is just dreary and waterlogged. It\"s the number one complaint.

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