Hi all, As above, I may be moving to the Netherlands with my OH as she's been accepted to do a masters at Wageningen, we were planning on moving regardless, and so I have been looking for jobs, but am now looking at either remote roles or those in the Netherlands. Neither of us speak any Dutch at the moment, and I was wondering how much of a barrier that might be for me job wise (I'm looking at software engineering roles). Any particular recruitment firms that do stuff in Europe/focus on remote would be handy as well. Our original plan was to move this summer and buy before the end of the year, that may still be our goal but we've no idea about property in the Netherlands so any advice for places to look/information would be appreciated! In general was just hoping to maybe get some general advice or some dos/don'ts etc
As a primarily English speaker that's made the move to a non-English country? Start learning the language ASAP. Whether it's a barrier to employment or not, having a starting point before you get there is definitely a better position to be in.
Yes, if you're planning on staying, learn the language. Even though you'll find you might get along on english quite well. Buying…. depending on where you come from, you'll find prices are quite steep. Wageningen is not quite as bad I suppose as it's quite rural.
Oh no doubt the intention will be to start learning the language if we intend to stay, even if just for the two years to be honest, just that it's only just become an option and we've only got a month or two to get everything sorted so just trying to get some ideas. I won't be moving until I have a job sorted is our current plan, but if I won't be able to get a job until I have some Dutch then I'll just look for remote roles since at the moment I don't really have time to add that to my plate, so my OH may move and I'll stay where I am until I'm sorted potentially. From a quick look renting seems super high but haven't spent enough time yet to know really.
I opted to learn "on site" as it were, and really, I'd suggest also looking for language schools near wherever you're going to end up. It also depends how you learn.. I attended a school that the teachers didn't explain in anything but the language we were learning and to grasp some of the more complex aspects of the language (Which, I suspect, are gonna exist in Dutch as well) I really could have done with an English speaking language expert. There might be local tutors or students (Since I guess you're gonna be near a uni) who do tutoring on the side, but I'd suggest researching those options before getting there too. You might also find some expat forums or websites that cover generic stuff like TV, driving license, health care, etc. A priority for me was changing my license to German while there's still an equivalency in the licenses. If you're not planning already to stay forever, then that probably isn't an option, but definitely worth knowing what you need to do to if you plan to drive anything. Might just be paying for an international license, but it might also not - Thanks Brexit - so.. Good to keep track of changing goalposts. Time or not, if I had my time again I'd be learning the language even ten minutes a day before coming here. It'd have made things so much easier being able to ask a person who can explain in English. Also, IME, "Everyone speaks English" applies to, pretty much, the major cities and in very limited numbers of places. I think there are phone app type things that match you up with someone trying to learn your language so you can help each other out. Might be worth investigating. IE: A person working in a bakery? IME, no English. A suit shop in a major city? Plenty of English. Duolingo gets a lot of praise, but Duolingo can eat my ass. IME it might give you key phrases, but in terms of carrying on a conversation? Nah. Too much nuance in the real world that just isn't covered by Duo..
Having worked with a great number of Dutch colleagues in the tech biz (and many SW engineers), any approximately one million trips to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven and surrounding areas, never had the slightest bother with English other than the odd taxi driver. IME only bettered by Sweden in terms of overall English ability from basically everyone, of all education levels. I'm told by many it's because there's very little in the way of decent TV and films that dubbed in Dutch, so motivated learning starts super early. That said, clearly learn the language - you don't want to be that jerk that makes everyone speak English all the time in their own country. I hate always being that jerk :/
Hello, Portuguese living in the Netherlands here. Best place to find a job in the Netherlands is LinkedIn. Wageningen is expensive because it's a university town, one of the more important towns at that. Surrounding towns are bible belt. For the most part, especially in your (our) field, English will suffice. Dutch will help a lot for day to day stuff. When everyone's English is so good, they'll default to it once they realise your Dutch isn't good enough anyway. Do learn it though. Once you do get a job, or when you're in negotiations with HR, ask about the 30% ruling. It's a situation where, for specialised foreign workers, you can get up to 30% of your initial income tax-free.
Sorry if it didn't come across in the OP, but if/when I move I'll certainly be aiming to learn the language, it was more how much of a barrier it would be in getting a job before moving (since I can't afford to move without one), I see job description either in English or Dutch, but often with no mention of what language requirements there are in the descriptions themselves. What do you mean the surrounding towns are bible belt?
I mean the towns surrounding Wageningen are strict catholic. Shops will close on Sundays, even some supermarkets, and may not be foreigner-friendly. Wageningen itself is fine. As for the jobs, if the description is in English and there's no language requirement mentioned, assume just English is fine. If it's in Dutch, obviously Dutch is a language requirement, but it's worth still applying if your skills best suit the role.
You're in luck. Dutch isn't hard to learn. You'll pick it up in no time. If you really want to lean fast, as a couple, put post-it notes on everything in your house now with the Dutch word for each item. Give yourself a few weeks to learn every item's name and then take the post it notes off. Force yourselves to say only the Dutch words when referring to them. That will get you started.
Could you expand on 'not be foreigner-friendly'? We're an interacial couple and so obviously a potential concern
I have no use other than to remind you if you're currently an employee to fill in a P85 once you get your P45 as you might get some tax back (PAYE is usually calculated as if you were here for the full year; by leaving your annual income will be less than 12 x 1 month so there could be a refund).
Also keep in mind due to Brexit you'll have a couple hoops to jump through, instructions from the Dutch Government to get the necessary residence document are here: https://ind.nl/en/Pages/Living-in-the-Netherlands-after-Brexit.aspx#now
So I think we've 100% decided on doing it, and so now accommodation is the number 1 priority, there doesn't seem to be a single nice site like rightmove, but lots of different ones, and there doesn't seem to be much available/what is seems very expensive. Am I missing something or is renting just very expensive/super limited in that area? Our plan was to buy later this year, but I'm guessing if renting is super high then house prices are also probably going to be rather high.
Pararius.nl and Funda.nl are the main housing sites. Student rooms or shared housing is another matter and an absolute **** show. Availability is probably bad in Wageningen (and most other cities). The Netherlands is very densely packed and has a serious housing shortage. If buying, you should consider assistance from a realtor (specific to the region) and an independent mortgage broker such as Viisi. I'm currently in the market as well trying to buy in Amsterdam so I'm on top of this topic right now.
Don't forget that the Netherlands unlike the UK has functional public transport... Arnhem is an easy 30 minutes commute away and will have a much larger selection of properties than out in the sticks of Wageningen.
