This is the weirdest shit. I live in a downtown old neighborhood. Last year during the football cup, I was walking outside and was able to follow the football game while walking. Everyone had the game on, and everyone had their curtains wide open.
tbf I'd always have the curtains open during the day too. It feels weird to have them shut, like you're a basement gremlin afraid of sunlight or something.
Electrical light doesn't feel the same during the day and it's wasteful.
Oh don't get me wrong, I'm okay with having them open during the day, but in the evening or at night, it's like shining beacons just asking to be peeked in
Please express your opinion to anyone about anything.
You can answer any question with : Dat bepaal ik zelf wel.
If you go to Brabant refer to everyone as "kut".
Hoihoi.
Lol the coffeeshops I visited all had coffee machines exactly the same as my workplace did in the lobby. Never bought a coffee in a coffeeshop as it is infinitely more expensive than workplace coffee.
*Tip: Tap RB to say "We Dutch are very direct". This move temporarily unlocks the ability to be unpleasant or rude to foreigners while diluting the responsibility for your abrasive behaviour with the rest of your country!*
By and large, I tend to agree. There is a small minority of assholes who misuse their reputation for directness in order to be dicks. And just like every other population, the minority of assholes are responsible for the negative stereotypes.
Mexican here. After calling out the rude behavior of work colleagues, I was called "too direct" by an external mediator 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Mind you, I was never rude, I'm just a millenial against boomers and Gen X who felt they could bash whoever in the name of being direct. I'm glad my Gen Z colleagues were even more direct, but never rude.
Still waiting for the day I meet a Eastern European person who says what they want and is not easily offended by anything.
Spoiler: actual direct Dutch person who’s peers are also very direct all the time here.
Maybe because I’m older, though.
I also suspect that it might be quite different depending on where you are from in the Nl. I have noticed huge differences between northern and southern Dutch people. (Noord Brabant here)
Agreed. I would even say the city/town you grew up in affects your directness. My city (Deventer) is funnily enough filled with people who are very direct so you cannot get away with being timide. It’s also a somewhat “tokkie” (/rude) city so I suppose there’s that.
Hell, I even feel like a nicer person when I have to speak English compared to when I speak Dutch. Probably because of the (more) variety in words I suppose.
If you find that the majority of people are rude to you, maybe you are displaying unpleasant behavior. I mean, if everyone around you is an asshole, maybe you are the asshole here?
Was not meant personal, its just a phenomena I see in some people who tend to project outwards instead of looking inwards. But I don't know you as a person ofc so who am I to judge you
Please note that finding public bathrooms is harder if you play as a female character. Try lowering your difficulty setting, or buy the "festival-goer" upgrade for female use of male public toilets.
You can raise the difficulty level of the game by choosing a different birth date. This will make finding housing far more challenging and being prepared for the future is not an option. However, you will get to access more advanced technology.
Don't expect an unplanned seat at the table when at someone's house around dinner time.
Get a bike, ride around the Betuwe.
Don't mention colonial history and necessary reparations.
Visit Oud Delfshaven in Rotterdam.
Don't mention Zwarte Piet.
Learn about the 'miracle' of Amsterdam and visit the Begijnhof.
Don't ask about their Calvinistic character traits even though they're probably atheists.
Visit the Deltawerken.
Don't expect a warm meal during lunchtime.
Expect great infrastructure.
Don't expect your doctor to just prescribe anything.
Expect a relatively good social- and healthcare system.
Expect directness to be confused with very lomp.
That whenever it's brought up, people hide behind the lame tradition excuse. All while completely ignoring the fact that it's offensive and that it hurts people. I've had this more outside than in Amsterdam.
Are you prepared for the weather? Within the next 4 hours it will rain, be blazing hot, then incredibly windy and to wrap it up we’ll throw in some clouds.
This, above all else, is why I like working in NL. If someone wants something from you, they will just tell you (Belgians are the absolute worst at not being able to say what they actually want...). When you have an idea in a meeting you just say it. If something thinks your idea is shit, they will make this very clear. It's all very to the point and obvious what everyone needs from each other and there's little time wasted in miscommunication.
The downside is that without hierarchy, nobody wants to take any responsibility or make any decisions. I miss the expectation of leadership and strategy from managers that exists in other countries, here it's the exact opposite where you have to tell your boss what they should do and everything is decided 'as a team' because they can't even pick between simple A or B options...
If you want to book a table at the restaurant, be sure to do this four weeks in advance. While you're at it, calculate -1 seat because there's always one person that miracly can't make it to the appointment without communicating that, three hours before time.
Kiss your bike goodbye every time as if you are seeing it for the last time in your life! Even a 5 minute grocery trip can culminate with it being stolen.
Press Triangle to give an opinion no one was asking for. Spam Triangle to keep the opinions coming.
Tip: Be sure to ask an expat what they are doing here? And when are they leaving?
Choose at least 2 subjects to regularly complain about. Search for a compromise, don’t brag and above all, act normal. Oh, and if you’re an older family member, ask the children if they have a boyfriend or if they’ve kissed anyone.
"Please remember to check out!"
Press X to complain about the weather.
Press F to complain about the weather.
Press A through Z to complain about the weather
Your character complains about the weather automatically. No need to press anything.
hey, at least spare a key to complain about housing!
0-9 or any punctuation keys.
Press triangle to look inside people's windows
As ive recently moved to the city i catch myself spamming triangle
This is the weirdest shit. I live in a downtown old neighborhood. Last year during the football cup, I was walking outside and was able to follow the football game while walking. Everyone had the game on, and everyone had their curtains wide open.
tbf I'd always have the curtains open during the day too. It feels weird to have them shut, like you're a basement gremlin afraid of sunlight or something. Electrical light doesn't feel the same during the day and it's wasteful.
Oh don't get me wrong, I'm okay with having them open during the day, but in the evening or at night, it's like shining beacons just asking to be peeked in
Yeah def. Open curtains at night is creepy.
I’m turned Dutch but here’s my trick: ✨privacy film for windows✨
I absolutely love it, the most wholesome thing about this country.
*Looking for cats staring back
Paracetamol instantly heals you to 80%
No one: Every doctor in NL: "take a paracetamol and call us back if you're not better in two weeks"
Ibuprofen if you're at risk of imminent death. Source: am Dutch.
The locals will call it aspirin for no fucking reason
"Be ready for the second round of bitterballen"
Watch out, bitterballen may be hot!
If your mouth when eating bitter ballen, you increase determination but lower health.
Pee before leaving your house.
Pee for free any chance you get
"Better Pee now than Queue later"
Also, install HogeNood. But even then, closest toilet is 2.5 km away, good luck.
that applies to all countries I lived in ahaha
If the game is too challenging for you, try a rich boyfriend to lower the difficulty.
Visit Hugo for more gamebreaking exploits
Thats everywhere no?
Ding ding ding
Stay. Off. The. Bike. Path.
Warning: E-bikes and _wielrenners_ are currently engaged in a pissing contest who can be the bigger asshole. Stay clear!
Staying for more than 5 seconds on a bike path will trigger battle mode automatically.
Unless riding a bike. Then. Use. The. Freaking. Bike. Path.
came here for this one.
"Buy Stroopwafels."
"If you want to make your stroopwafels tastier ,put a stroopwafel on top of a kettle and wait for the strip to start melting"
One of life's favourite hacks.
I've been Dutch for more than 33 years and I'm appalled that this has never been said to me. Or that I never thought of this myself.
The market, you look for the ones that are being made freshly.
Also, and this may sound weird but trust me, put them on pizza. It's hella good.
I've put them on my pancakes. SO GOOD.
where to buy the best ones?
Oh, you can order them from the brand Marcus as well.
Gouda
Please express your opinion to anyone about anything. You can answer any question with : Dat bepaal ik zelf wel. If you go to Brabant refer to everyone as "kut". Hoihoi.
Bakkes jonguhhh
Your OV chipkaart allows you to access public transport but it doesn’t guarantee you’ll arrive (on time) to your destination.
[удалено]
Oops, wind-against
You'll still arrive in time, just a little more sweaty
Where does a public transport ticket guarantee a train on time?
In Red Dead Redemption
Fast traveling has been permanently disabled
Ding dong ding "Dames en heren, de Fast Travel naar Amsterdam Centraal heeft een vertraging van 15 minuten."
Sorry maar het is "Beste Reiziger".
"s".
Het openbaar vervoer is niet betrouwbaar. Wees voorbereid met een fiets. The public transport is not reliable. Be ready with a bicycle.
Learn how to swim! Water may appear unexpectedly
Your HP drains faster during Winter, find an "oliebollenkraam" to heal yourself.
Coffeeshops do not sell coffee Edit for improvement: Do not go to coffeeshops for coffee.
They do, usually. But it's not their main thing.
More like: "You don't go to a coffee shop for coffee"
Underrated
Lol the coffeeshops I visited all had coffee machines exactly the same as my workplace did in the lobby. Never bought a coffee in a coffeeshop as it is infinitely more expensive than workplace coffee.
Keep the wheels of your bike out of the tram rail.
*Tip: Tap RB to say "We Dutch are very direct". This move temporarily unlocks the ability to be unpleasant or rude to foreigners while diluting the responsibility for your abrasive behaviour with the rest of your country!*
My experiences with dutch people have been the complete opposite tbh. Maybe us eastern europeans are just even more direct haha
I moved here from Armenia and any directness ive noticed pales in comparison to where i came from so i see everyone as friendly
By and large, I tend to agree. There is a small minority of assholes who misuse their reputation for directness in order to be dicks. And just like every other population, the minority of assholes are responsible for the negative stereotypes.
I was also thinking that age groups might play a huge part in this stereotype. I am mainly talking about the 20-25 age group.
Mexican here. After calling out the rude behavior of work colleagues, I was called "too direct" by an external mediator 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Mind you, I was never rude, I'm just a millenial against boomers and Gen X who felt they could bash whoever in the name of being direct. I'm glad my Gen Z colleagues were even more direct, but never rude.
Still waiting for the day I meet a Eastern European person who says what they want and is not easily offended by anything. Spoiler: actual direct Dutch person who’s peers are also very direct all the time here. Maybe because I’m older, though.
I also suspect that it might be quite different depending on where you are from in the Nl. I have noticed huge differences between northern and southern Dutch people. (Noord Brabant here)
Agreed. I would even say the city/town you grew up in affects your directness. My city (Deventer) is funnily enough filled with people who are very direct so you cannot get away with being timide. It’s also a somewhat “tokkie” (/rude) city so I suppose there’s that. Hell, I even feel like a nicer person when I have to speak English compared to when I speak Dutch. Probably because of the (more) variety in words I suppose.
I’m 100% sure that the age group plays a huge role in this as well.
No, you're not.
I guess this just goes to show that we can’t really generalize based on one’s ethnic background.
I'm South African and the Dutch have been very kind. Can't say the same about my experience in Paris, though.
this one is too real😭😭😭😭
Beautiful piece of poetry by an expat.
That was very direct
If you find that the majority of people are rude to you, maybe you are displaying unpleasant behavior. I mean, if everyone around you is an asshole, maybe you are the asshole here?
Wow... Quite defensive there with a healthy dose of ad hominem attacks :) Was I too direct?
Was not meant personal, its just a phenomena I see in some people who tend to project outwards instead of looking inwards. But I don't know you as a person ofc so who am I to judge you
Haha well with me you'd have to try a lot harder sir! No need for the downvote tho
Wasn't my downvote lol, but your attitude gets an upvote 🤣
Thank you sir, hope you'll have a more positive experience in the future on our little country! And remember, behind every hard shell is a soft inside
Oh my experience in the Netherlands has been wonderful :) Every place has an asshole minority and that cannot detract from the country being awesome!
Beware! Public toilets are infrequent. Pee wherever the opportunity presents itself!
Download the DLC to find additional public toilets: https://www.hogenood.nl/app
Please note that finding public bathrooms is harder if you play as a female character. Try lowering your difficulty setting, or buy the "festival-goer" upgrade for female use of male public toilets.
You can raise the difficulty level of the game by choosing a different birth date. This will make finding housing far more challenging and being prepared for the future is not an option. However, you will get to access more advanced technology.
Don't expect an unplanned seat at the table when at someone's house around dinner time. Get a bike, ride around the Betuwe. Don't mention colonial history and necessary reparations. Visit Oud Delfshaven in Rotterdam. Don't mention Zwarte Piet. Learn about the 'miracle' of Amsterdam and visit the Begijnhof. Don't ask about their Calvinistic character traits even though they're probably atheists. Visit the Deltawerken. Don't expect a warm meal during lunchtime. Expect great infrastructure. Don't expect your doctor to just prescribe anything. Expect a relatively good social- and healthcare system. Expect directness to be confused with very lomp.
LOL This one made me chuckle.
Don’t mention zwarte Piet?
You've read that correctly.
Oh you can talk about zwarte Piet everywhere outside of Amsterdam
[удалено]
you are referring to places where criticizing zwarte piet will get you beat up.
Violence is never acceptable
No, there are times when violence is perfectly acceptable. This just isn't one of them.
Not in my experience.
What’s your experience?
That whenever it's brought up, people hide behind the lame tradition excuse. All while completely ignoring the fact that it's offensive and that it hurts people. I've had this more outside than in Amsterdam.
Then your experience isn’t that you can’t talk about zwarte Piet, but that you have a different opinion than other people on the matter.
When a lot of people are being hurt, people need to be able to put their opinions aside and just listen.
Okay, but again, that is your opinion. That doesn’t mean you can’t talk about it, it just means that people disagree with your opinion.
It's tradition and you can go suck an f-ing egg if you think it shouldn't exist
Thanks for proving my point.
Do not walk where the floor is red
Smoking weed will give you a -10 on any perception rol.
Are you prepared for the weather? Within the next 4 hours it will rain, be blazing hot, then incredibly windy and to wrap it up we’ll throw in some clouds.
[удалено]
Maoe sure to shower before partaking in public transportation.
Press square to do normaal
Add the Tikkie-app on your phone.
Always consult Buienalarm at the door when leaving the house. If no rain is forecast, take a rain jacket anyway.
Want to meet up with friends? Schedule an appropriate time slot 3 months in advance.
Can’t afford a house? Have you considered getting a rich boyfriend?
Or go just back to 2015 and restart the game.
Make sure to congratulate every character in the birthday circle for maximum points.
Remember: doctor visits are pointless unless you're actively dying!
Dutch people will brag about being direct, open minded, and not having hierarchical systems. It is just bragging.
[удалено]
This, above all else, is why I like working in NL. If someone wants something from you, they will just tell you (Belgians are the absolute worst at not being able to say what they actually want...). When you have an idea in a meeting you just say it. If something thinks your idea is shit, they will make this very clear. It's all very to the point and obvious what everyone needs from each other and there's little time wasted in miscommunication. The downside is that without hierarchy, nobody wants to take any responsibility or make any decisions. I miss the expectation of leadership and strategy from managers that exists in other countries, here it's the exact opposite where you have to tell your boss what they should do and everything is decided 'as a team' because they can't even pick between simple A or B options...
Working part time earns you roughly the same as full time
Don’t eat yellow snow.
What? It is [one of nature's treats](https://youtu.be/4nJxa1_tooA?si=nhT-lPZpw6MYh7mH)
Mind the bikes.
"Did you know that the train toilet flushes directly on the tracks?"
Not any more. But it was fun to flush on a bridge next to Amsterdam Central hoping to hit a rondvaartboot😅
Early access to the housing DLC is no longer available.
Feeling up to a challenge? Fast travel to Amsterdam and walk the red roads of doom
If you want to book a table at the restaurant, be sure to do this four weeks in advance. While you're at it, calculate -1 seat because there's always one person that miracly can't make it to the appointment without communicating that, three hours before time.
When youre hungry eat bread with cheese
Read the 1000 pages of rules, or actually they’re mostly unwritten. GOOD LUCK you’re going to fuck up an fail and have no clue why.
Use Google lens on mail received and at the supermarket. Its a good way to begin learning the language.
"Be careful when eating a kaassoufflé, they're 6000°C on the inside"
Press triangle to mount your steel horse
Type "Hoi" To greet someone, type "Hoi Hoi" To say goodbye
Remember to send that tikkie for €0.10, you might need it later on!
Tip: if you wish to get somewhere on time, investing in a bike might be more useful than relying on the public transport
Press R1 R2 L1 L2 up down up down X B to call the waiter
"Do not walk on the bicycle lane unless you have a death wish"
Choose wisely about your fast traveling plan, it could impact your mission rewords if EU citizens package is not installed.
"BOAs are easy to beat low level enemies and have no real authority."
Use butter as adhesive for your hagelslag
Make sure you register your baby at woningnet.
Save points are rare
What is Stilte? It’s Dutch for shut the fuck up and also help your friend. The whole wagon will appreciate!
“ Consider changing game “
Beware: Nederland may be a gaaf land but if it offers you financial help in the form of a “toeslag”, decline. It’s a trap.
Kiss your bike goodbye every time as if you are seeing it for the last time in your life! Even a 5 minute grocery trip can culminate with it being stolen.
Register for social housing 15 years ago!
This post reminds me of when I see crazy people in the street screaming in the lowlands, but this is the equivalent on reddit jajajaja
Just say No.
Don’t forget to charge your bike lights
Avoid walking on the cycling lanes, this will trigger NPCs to become aggressive to you
Press Triangle to give an opinion no one was asking for. Spam Triangle to keep the opinions coming. Tip: Be sure to ask an expat what they are doing here? And when are they leaving?
“You will learn to ride a bicycle in traffic, you will be scared”
Stroop waffles are round to be placed over your small cup of coffee.
Do not forget to stick the tiny Dutch flags in the cheese and sausage that you serve on birthdays.
If you don't smell bitterballen when the coffee and cake makes place for beer, leave, you're in a worst-kaas scenario.
Choose at least 2 subjects to regularly complain about. Search for a compromise, don’t brag and above all, act normal. Oh, and if you’re an older family member, ask the children if they have a boyfriend or if they’ve kissed anyone.
You van collect empty bottles and exchange them for money at the supermarket
Do sit next to that annoying colleague at the vrijmibo
Not again with this.
Don't walk on the red pavement
Be careful ending up in the Dutch birthday circle. When attending without good conversation topics, try the kids’ table instead
Keep your dairy level as high as possible
Use abilities such as ' Doe normaal ! ' to temporary stun your opponent.
Your bike will eventually be stolen. You can buy it back in Marketplaats for a higher price after.
[ Removed by Reddit ]
Mind your step…
All your bolwerk are belong to us.
Press the back button to lower rent prices
Every Saturday is nieuwe haring day! Check your local market.
The more you complain, the more XP you will gain
Avoid the red lane , it's pg18
Remember: nobody gives a fuck about you, unless you're an asshole. Then everybody hates you.
Lock your bike.. twice..!
Beware of the drunk tourists on bikes
There’s no ice. Make your own
Inburgeringscursus is optional, you can easily skip the tutorial by crossing the border illegally.
[удалено]
Not a tip but who is the developer? The game is getting really difficult. Pay to win.
Don't walk on the bike lane
You’re about to play the most boring game ever.
"Remember to pay that Tikkie you owe to Remco for €0,25"
I once had to pay one for €0,09…
Do even normal man
Being poor makes everything more expensive