Expat Life

Moving abroad isn’t easy. There are so many things to arrange and think about. The rules are different in almost every country, and you have to be very patient. This is no different in the Netherlands. What you need to arrange for moving to the Netherlands depends on your nationality, where you were born, whether you come alone or with family, and if you have found a job already. I will tell you a bit about how things are going in the Netherlands and where you will find more information. I will give you direct links to websites with more details on the subject. I hope this will make your move a little less hectic. As perhaps the most important rule I would say, start all your preparations on time and ensure all papers are in order when you move to the Netherlands. Being well prepared will certainly help you and save you a lot of stress. Can I move to the Netherlands without a job? Depending on your country of origin, you may need an entry visa, a work permit, and a residence permit. You will also need to register in the Personal Records Database to obtain a Citizen Service Number (Burgerservicenummer – BSN). The Netherlands makes a distinction between EU-Citizens and Non-EU citizens. So let’s start with these differences. EU citizens If you come from an EU country or Lichtenstein, Norway, Iceland, or Switzerland, you have the right to move to another EU country to work without a work permit. You then only need a valid passport or a valid ID. If you want to stay in the Netherlands for longer than four months, you need to register your details in the local Personal Records Database (BRP) within five days after arriving. If you register at a municipality, you will receive a citizen service number (Burgerservicenummer – BSN). Your city or an expat center can provide more information on registering. Non-EU citizens If you do not come from one of the above countries, you can only work in the Netherlands under certain conditions. For example, you must have an employer who will bring you to the Netherlands to come and work. If you’re a highly educated specialist in your field, work in the Netherlands will also be possible.  A Dutch company needs to prove that you’re uniquely suited for a job for which they can’t get a European. There are also special rules for students, artists, and asylum seekers from outside the EU. Check this page to read more about these special rules.  If you come as an entrepreneur or with your own company, this website of the Dutch government will probably help you with the necessary information. The Dutch Government has a questionnaire on its website.  Answer these questions, and you will see what you need to arrange if you are coming to the Netherlands for work. Before moving to the Netherlands Before moving to the Netherlands, you need to arrange several formalities.  First of all, I would like to advise you to renew your passport in your home country to have a long time before renewing it. This is, of course, not an obligation, but it is so handy that you don’t have to worry about it the first time. Also, check whether your driver’s license is valid for at least six months after arrival. Financial Visit your bank and tell them about your move. Ask them how things are handled during your assignment.  Make sure that you have sufficient money at your disposal during the first weeks in the Netherlands. You will not be able to open a bank account in the Netherlands immediately, but you will already have to make various payments.  Don’t forget to cancel all your automatic payments if they are not needed during your absence. Inform your tax advisor or tax office about your move and fill in any necessary forms. Think about an E101 form if you are an EU citizen and want to pay for your social security in your home country. Formalities for moving to the Netherlands Check which documents you need to submit for your work permit and residence permit. Think of birth certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, etc. Have all documents legalized and translated if they are not in Dutch, English, German or French. You can already apply for work or residence permits before moving to the Netherlands. Click here to apply for your work permit!  Click here to apply for your residence permit! For more information about different permits, you can check this website. Healthcare in the Netherlands Request your medical information from your doctor and take the vaccination information with you from everyone who moves with you. If you use medication, take enough with you to bridge the first weeks. A clear printout of the medicines you are taking may also be helpful. Check your travel/health insurance and make sure that you are covered at all times. Also, during your trip to the Netherlands and your first weeks. If you have an employer already, check with them for the possibility of collective health insurance deals.  Social Security If you are an EU citizen and wish to pay social security contributions in your home country, obtain an E101 form. You can find more information about this E101 certificate here. Children Children between the age of 5 and 16 must attend full-time education in the Netherlands. By clicking this link, you will find more information about the Dutch school system and the international schools in the Netherlands. The Dutch education system differs from that of the rest of the world, so I recommend reading more about this before choosing a school for your children. Check-in time whether the schools you are interested in have a waiting list. Register your children early to ensure a spot. The same applies to childcare organizations. At most schools and childcare centers you can arrange all this via e-mail. Don’t wait until you are moving to the Netherlands. Collect the latest

After four great years as an expat family in Taiwan, it was time to move back to our home country, the Netherlands. The kids will be graduating in the Netherlands in the coming years and will find their way in life. Bert and I will work hard to make our dreams come true and retire early to travel the world together. That special feeling of freedom we experienced in Taiwan has made us reflect and change our outlook on life. In this post, we will share how we experienced moving back to our home country. I also give you tips about things that we have experienced as very helpful.  Moving back or relocating is always a challenge and is accompanied by a lot of emotions and tension. But it’s also a new chapter and an adventure where we learn a lot along the way.  Read here our experiences and tips that can be useful for your next move. We had an emotional last year The past year was a tough one where we had to deal with many different emotions. It all started in October 2020 with the unexpected death of my dad. An open heart operation did not go as suspected, and due to additional complications, it all went very quickly. We flew to the Netherlands urgently, and despite the whole covid situation, we were, fortunately, able to be with mom and arrange the funeral.  It was a difficult time, and after three weeks in Belgium, we had to go back to Taiwan and get back to our daily life. Processing the death of a loved one while you are so far away is difficult, but unfortunately, it is also part of the possibilities if you choose a life as an expat. Because we are also in our last contract year in Taiwan, Bert has to look for new options within the company he works for. Are we staying in Taiwan, are there options in other countries, or are we going back to the Netherlands for a few years? So many questions but no answers yet. This period of uncertainty always demands a lot of energy. It’s nice to dream about new countries with every option that presents itself, but after a few months, you’ve had enough of this and want clarity. But the whole covid situation doesn’t help here either.  So we decided to take the plunge ourselves and choose to return to the Netherlands for at least two years.  Moving truck in front of our house Ambassador Hotel Hsinchu View from Hotel over Hsinchu Relocating our stuff and furniture In 2017 we chose to move to Taiwan and bring our furniture. We thought this would create a home feeling because we had our own bed and such at our disposal. Now I dare to say that it is not the furniture that makes a home, but the people who live in that house. Even with small accessories and some personal stuff, you can create a pleasant living environment, and your furniture makes no difference in this. Bringing furniture also means that they have to go back to the Netherlands in a container. We have scheduled three days for a company to come and pack everything. Due to the typhoon season in Taiwan, the moving company advises not to plan too tight, meaning when there is no typhoon, we will stay in a hotel for over a week before we fly to the Netherlands.  Precisely this was the case which turned out to be the perfect decision. We have plenty of time to enjoy these last days. We say goodbye to friends, and the children have time to hang out with classmates. We cancel the mobile phone subscriptions and close the bank account. On the day of departure, our car is the very last to be handed in.  This planning could not have been better, in our opinion. We would really recommend that you consider this if you are also facing a relocation. Plan a week between packing stuff and leaving the country. This will give you time to terminate subscriptions and contracts that are still running and to say goodbye to friends. This helps a lot to end your adventure in a relaxed way. Expat Tip Moving back home We flew with KLM to Amsterdam. On the flight, we were surprised by a lovely gift from the crew. We told them that we were on our way home after living in Taiwan for four years. Because we come back in a period with little supply and high house prices, they solved that problem by giving us ‘two houses’ and a postcard with lovely words written on it. So incredibly thoughtful of this KLM crew. When we arrived at Schiphol, another surprise was waiting for us. Some of our lovely family members were standing there to give us a very welcome home. The first tears of the day were there, and they weren’t the last. It is nice that there is some extra attention for your coming home in this way. It is and remains weird. It’s called coming home, but you no longer have a home in your home country. This feeling will have to grow again and needs time.  Temporary housing Because our furniture is shipped to the Netherlands, we stay in temporary accommodation. In our case, a super tiny apartment where it is reasonably necessary to take each other into account to live there. But we can’t complain and are lucky that the company arranged this for us. The first weeks are tough. We want to have space and sometimes need a place for ourselves. After all the family visits, we decided to go out for a few days and rent a holiday house near the water. We went sailing, fishing and had some good chats. We all needed these few days outdoor. Housing Tip! In the Netherlands, there is a housing company that provides short-term accommodation. Very useful if you move to the Netherlands and didn’t find anything yet.   If

Four years ago, we decided to say goodbye to our busy life in Belgium, leave for Taiwan, and become an expat family. We had quite a good life but longed for more financial freedom to travel and show the children more of the world. Moving abroad was our chance to make a dream come true. An assignment for the company where Bert is working made this possible.  We hope with these tips to make the step to live abroad a little easier for you and to experience this incredible adventure as a family soon. Busy Family When I look back on our life in Belgium, it was mainly a feeling of being lived. School, work, and all the children’s hobbies took up many evenings and weekends. There wasn’t much time to really do things together and if we wanted it to be planned well in advance. This busy family life is probably also why people have difficulty taking teenagers out of everyday life and moving abroad. Family bonding We did it, we moved abroad with our children, and I can tell you it has been the best decision of our lives. Not the easiest of challenges, but all four of us now look back on a great adventure and have a whole new perspective on life and the world. And what I’m most grateful for is the connection we have with our teens. I can call the family bond that we created during these four years abroad unique. Expat Life is an Adventure With these tips and the experiences that we share on this website, I hope to help you take this step and have a lovely adventure as an expat family. It is all possible, even if the children are not very young anymore. You will be amazed at what you can achieve as a family by stepping out of your comfort zone and following your dream. Sharing emotions Before sharing all our tips, there is one more thing I want to say.   Communication is the keyword in moving abroad with kids. Of all ages, teens will undoubtedly be the most challenging group to move overseas with. Both for the parents and the child, but it is perfectly possible. As a parent, you are the one the children should be able to count on in the first months after the move. And you will experience that this will work mutually. Sharing all of your experiences and thoughts, both positive and negative, will create a close bond between you and your child that’s so special.   There will be challenging days but also days that you will experience that feeling of freedom. Living in another country and experiencing different cultures is something I wish for everyone. It really is life-changing. Tips for moving abroad with children! Tips to follow before relocating overseas: Get your kids involved right from the start. I believe this is the most important advice I can give you. Lotte and Pepijn were 12 and 10 when we moved. When we told them we would most likely move to Taiwan, Lotte was very enthusiastic, and Pepijn immediately said he did not want to go. He couldn’t miss his grandparents and his friends. By the time we left for Taiwan, it was precisely the opposite. Lotte didn’t like it anymore, and Pepijn was very enthusiastic. These changing emotions are part of moving abroad and will undoubtedly be something that you will also experience. Try to be honest and open and accept these fluctuating emotions. Just be there for them. Ask them regularly about their feelings. I always tried this when I was alone with them. The rides back in the car from school or the sports clubs were a perfect moment to start these conversations. The day trips were also when I had the best conversations with them and when they were willing to talk about their feelings. Let them talk, you listen. Let them know that you cannot feel what they are feeling but that you understand that what they are going through is hard. It’s a new experience for the whole family and it makes sense that you won’t be able to answer many of their questions because it’s going to be new for all of you too. Let your child walk around in their new country via Google Earth. These virtual tours are a lovely way to get an idea of the new country. Often your child will go to an international school close to where you will live, but if you do have a choice in schools, it might be an idea to involve them in making a decision. Check out the school’s website. Often, many photos or videos give them an idea of where they will spend a lot of time. Make a notebook in which you compile lists of all great places to visit in your new country. Think of amusement parks, national parks, unique buildings, beaches, etc. Have them look it all up themselves on the internet. For children who like to write, it might be an idea to keep a diary. I know that there are also books available to keep track of their move through fill-in pages. These books are a lovely memory for later. Check out this website www.meandmybigmove.com for an excellent workbook in different languages. Organize a farewell party for friends and family and don’t forget the friends from their class and the sports clubs. Saying goodbye is something that comes with expat life. It may not always be easy, but it is also part of this life. Tips to follow after relocating overseas: Let your child decorate their new bedroom. They can find great ideas on Pinterest. Then look together what is and isn’t possible concerning the rules of the landlord. But you can often come a long way to create your child’s unique place.  Technology will keep it more accessible to stay close to friends. There are video calls, chats, social media, and

Bert had traveled to Taiwan for several years before we started this journey. He fell in love with Asia and came home after every trip with lovely stories and pictures. So our curiosity about Taiwan and being an expat grows. At the end of 2016, Bert came home from work with a proposal to go to Taiwan for two years. We finally decided to jump on the bandwagon and go for it. If we didn’t like it, we’d be back in no time. So we left everything behind and followed his leads to the other side of the world to start our expat life. Belgium In 2008 we immigrated as a Dutch family to Belgium. We bought a lovely house, and the children went to school. We had a wonderful life with family close by and lots of friends. Bert always had this wish to work and raise the kids in another country. I always listened to his dreams and ideas but dismissed them. We had a house, our parents and family and friends. No reason to leave all this behind for a life abroad. Bert himself has always traveled for work. This wasn’t always easy with little kids. So many of the responsibilities ended up on my shoulders. This changed luckily after a few years in a new position within the company where he did not have to travel as much. We both knew that being together as a family was important to grow closer to each other again and give our relationship new vibes. We had grown apart in recent years, but giving up was definitely not an option for us. The essential thing in life is our family. The big decision With this need in mind, Bert’s wish to work abroad, and the proposals he received at work, I decided to sort things out myself. What would this mean for us as a family? What benefits would this bring to the future of our children? And how great would this be for Bert’s future? I myself had been looking for a nice job for years and still hadn’t found it. I actually liked the idea of being at home and taking care of my family.  And that’s where our journey started… We sold our house, told the children about our plans, and informed family and friends. All this did not take us a year. In October 2016, we got the offer. In April 2017, we had the official go for Taiwan, and on August 12, we got on the plane. Towards our new expat life.   Becoming an Expat For the first two weeks, we stayed in a hotel. A container with our furniture was on its way, but it took a while for it to arrive. Until then, we had to rely on a hotel room. Bert started working, and for us, it was mainly a matter of getting through the day. Green Grass Lake We discovered a large lake close to our hotel, great for walking around and experiencing life in Taiwan. The first thing that weighed on us was the weather. So extremely hot and especially the high humidity made us exhausted after an hour of walking. The air conditioning in the hotel room was, therefore, very welcome upon return. We drove to the apartment complex during the weekend, where we would come to live, and discovered that area. The longing to be able to go to our apartment and start our life here was great. During the week, we visited the new school, and we started to discover the city. All the other smells and the fact that every sign is in Chinese make this challenge great. The children were not positive yet that this will work out. They preferred to pack their suitcases and fly back to their ordinary life in Belgium.   Our apartment Once we have the key to our apartment and started unpacking and furnishing our home, everything became a bit better. We discover the restaurants and shops nearby. We walk between the rice fields along the river close to our apartment. We are amazed to see how many people come here to relax at the end of their working day. Children play in the playgrounds, and people jog and walk the paths along the river. And that while it’s already utterly dark at 6:30. We were becoming aware of how life here differs from that back home. We behold it and adsorb it slowly. That’s the best we can do because the culture shock is big. A few days later, there was also the first day of school. Lotte and Pepijn got picked up by Taxi, and Bert leaves for work. So here I am, all alone. Not knowing if my children arrived safely at school. This is going to be one of the longest days of my new expat life.   Groceries shopping The first weeks passed by, the kids to school, Bert to work, and I spent hours shopping. I was just pointing my phone at all pockets and hoping for a decent translation. I never knew that grocery shopping could be such a challenge. I soon found out that I should not start making dishes from the internet or the cookbooks, but that it is better to buy ingredients that seem familiar to me and prepare something tasty with them. Fortunately, this is a lot easier nowadays.   Exploring Taiwan We started discovering the surroundings of Hsinchu, and we visited Taipei. We learned a lot from Taiwanese culture, and life was getting easier. The kids were doing very well at school. Both were making giant leaps with their English, so that helped a lot for their self-confidence. Of course, there were still tricky days and doubts sometimes, but they also enjoyed their new friends, and the first parties and play dates were there. Lotte had even gone shopping with friends in the large shopping mall in Hsinchu. So nice to live in a country

What is expat life about? What are the obstacles that I will encounter? How do I find new friends? Can I get used to the new culture? These are all questions that are part of life as an expat. All things that I wondered about when we moved abroad in 2017. With very small steps and many challenges on our way, we have become accustomed to life as expats. It is not an easy road that you travel but we have really come to love this life. It has changed our lives enormously but also ourselves. We are not the same person anymore as when we left.   You can only grow by stepping outside your comfort and that is certainly what we have done. I would love to help you with your adventure abroad by sharing our experiences. Only by sharing this, we can help you. You’ll still have to do it yourself, but these tips will certainly help you during your adventure. It will be a wonderful journey for sure, so try to enjoy it. Family bonding I can tell you that moving abroad isn’t easy and comes with lots of difficult challenges, but it is the most wonderful adventure we ever had in life. Along our journey, we experienced different emotions like missing family, loneliness, and anxiety. We had to deal with a totally different culture and had to learn a new language.   When this all comes together you will experience a pretty tough challenge in your life. When you do this as a family you also have it times 4 or 5 depends on how big your family is. A possitive thing is that you are all in this together.   By talking and sharing your thoughts and feelings you can help each other. You will experience that this will result in a warm and special family bond. Especially during the first months in another country you will be together and do things together as a family so often.   The fact that we could only talk to each other in our own language made that we shared everything with each other and that we grew so close without really noticing it. Stepping out of your comfort zone We were lucky to be able to explore a new country and to learn from another culture. Expat life is so much more than just moving to another country for work for a few years.   It is about stepping out of your comfort zone and letting you grow as a person. We are discovering who we really are and what we are truly capable of. This all gives us a new vision of life.   Are you still in that phase of doubt and orientation I can only encourage you? I’m not going to say it’s going to be easy, it’s definitely not a long holiday. You will have to be there for your family and a lot will be asked of you, but you get so much in return.   Prepare as best you can by reading a lot and try to find families who live or have lived as expats in the country you are going to. Contact them and ask them everything you want to know. They will be very happy to help you and answer all your questions. After all, they were once in the same situation as you are now.   Take this first step out of your comfort zone, it is such an incredibly beautiful experience that you will only grow through and that counts for your whole family. Expat life is about Loneliness In the first months of our life as expats, we were very busy unpacking and organizing our new home. Discovering the neighborhood in which we lived. We had to get used to the weather, the food, and the differences of this new culture. And as soon as we all found our way, loneliness hit me. I missed family, friends, but especially a conversation with someone who knows and understands you well. Who knows how to comfort you or who can make you happy with a few words just because they have known you for so long.    Accept these feelings of loneliness and connect with people through work, school, or take a cultural class like cooking class, dance class, language class. Be open to new friendships. New friends will certainly be able to take away some of your loneliness. We can tell you from our own experience that everything gets better in time. You will find new friends and it all start to feel like home a little bit more in your home country.  For more tips to fight loneliness, you can also check this blog post. Expat Life is about Family As an expat you start in a new country where you usually don’t know anyone yet. If you end up somewhere with your family, you are mainly dependent on each other. You spend all your free time together. You discover everything together and support each other during challenging moments. The family bond will become very close.    You share so many different emotions with each other. During daily life but also on the trips together to explore your new country. We would definitely advise you to go outside as soon as possible and get to know your new country better. By immersing yourself in the new culture, it will be much easier to adapt to it.   After a few months, social life will slowly return. You meet new people, and the children will have their first parties and dates with friends. This is good, and it should be like this. It is great to be able to experience an adventure like this together as a family. Expat Life is about Exploring Bert had traveled to Taiwan several years for work before we started this expat life. He fell in love with the country and convinced us to move to Taiwan for several

Expat loneliness and missing family are the difficult things in life as an expat. Especially when you just arrived in your new country and don’t know a lot of people. Missing family is something we have to deal with as long as we want to live this expat life. But that feeling of loneliness will get better in time especially when your social life starts to grow. I’m sure these tips will help you to create a group of friends around you.   Expat Loneliness In the first months of our life as expats, we were busy unpacking and organizing our new home. The hubby and the children went to work and school and I did my very best to create a warm home. A place to feel safe and to relax. A place to call home. We went out to discover the neighborhood in which we lived, visited the restaurants, and did our grocery shopping at the supermarkets. The weather, the food, and the different culture were also things that we had to get used to. And as soon as we all found our way, loneliness hit me.   I missed family, friends, but mostly a conversation with someone who knows and understands you well. Who knows how to comfort you or who can make you happy with a few words just because they have known you for so long.   Distance gives us a reason to love harder.    I missed the spontaneous visits to my parents. The tea chat with my friend. Chat with your neighbors in the supermarket during your weekly shopping. The conversations with other mothers along the soccer field. The social chats at the school gate. Those little simple daily things now turn out to be so valuable.   I believe that expat loneliness is one of the things that everyone experiences when moving to another country. Especially if you travel for your husband’s work and you don’t have work yet or if you are not able to work in your new country. Therefore I want to share some useful tips with you so you don’t have to struggle too much in this new life as an expat wife.     10 tips to fight Expat Loneliness The best advice to give you when you experience the same is to accept these feelings of loneliness and try to connect with people. I will provide you with 10 tips to get in touch with people easily so you can go on with enjoying your new life.   1. Connect through work Connect with people through your work or your husband’s work. Most of the time, there are more expat families from the same company. They were all in the same situation ones and usually willing to help you and answer your questions. It is also great to go out together on a lunch date or meet each other at a nice coffee shop. This is also a way to get to know the city better. And how nice if you can take your husband or the whole family to that one restaurant that you already know.   2. Connect through school Pick up your kids from school to meet parents at the school gate. You all have so much in common and conversations are so accessible. Join parent’s meetings and school activities. More often the parent’s from your child’s class are united in a group chat on Line or WhatsApp. Join that group and introduce yourself. This also helps to recognize moms at the school gate. Ask your child’s teacher about these group chats.   When I miss you, I re-read our old messages and smile like an idiot.   3. Start a hobby Take a cultural class like cooking class, dance class, yoga class, language class. Try to find the same activities that you also joined back home. Or that you wanted to join but never found the time to do it. This is your chance to meet people with the same hobbies as you have.   4. Go outside Go to a park for a walk, take your camera if you like to take pictures. Visit a playground if you have kids. These are very social environments. All the kids can play together and you can have a chat with the other parents. You all have little kids so enough to talk about I think. If you don’t have kids great the people you meet in your walks through the neighborhood and you will see how easy it is to start a conversation. And I know this is scary especially when you are an introverted person like I am but it really is the way to meet other people. You will feel so proud once you step out of your comfort zone and meet your new friends.     5. Connect with other expats online Families in global transitions.org is a website where you can connect with other people living a globally mobile life. You can become a member and connect with people online. They also have affiliates in many cities and host an Annual Conference in different locations around the world. Take a look at this website and become a member if you like this. There are also other groups to reach out to on social media. Especially on Facebook, you will find these groups to join. Search also for foreign groups in your new country. You are all in the same situation.   6. Join or visit events If you search on Facebook for these groups in your new country as I told you in tip #5 you will also find more information about events that take place in your area. Especially in the periods around Easter and Christmas, you will find events like markets or places to celebrate together. There are also often groups with photographers who go out for a hike or to visit beautiful spots. These are great opportunities to meet other people.   7. Skype with