netherlands

What is Sint Maarten?

Sint Maarten (or Sint-Maartenavond) is a traditional Dutch children’s holiday celebrated on the evening of November 11th (or sometimes the 10th). It’s most popular in the southern provinces of North Brabant and Limburg, but you’ll find celebrations in other parts of the Netherlands as well.

The holiday is named after Saint Martin of Tours, a 4th-century bishop known for his kindness and generosity. According to legend, Martin once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar, and the holiday celebrates this spirit of giving.

In April 2022 there are several official holiday days around Easter and Kingsday. At most companys you would not have to work on these days.

Good friday

The friday before the Easter weekend starts is called good friday and will be on the 15th of April 2022. Good friday is also known as holy friday and is the Christian holy day to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary.

Netherlands the land of the bicycles you could say. There are more bicycles in the Netherlands then there are people living in the Netherlands. The Dutch people learn to cycle from very young age and are used to do as many things as possible with the bicycle.

Renting a bicycle

For renting a bicycle there are several options dependent on your needs. If you need a bicycle to go from a central train-station to a location and later you come back at the train-station you can rent an ov-fiets. It can be good for easy bike rides and short distances. Expect a sturdy heavy bicycle which just works. The bicycles have good locks also.

I will explain the process of buying a car or renting a car in the Netherlands and what you need to arrange before you can drive.

Buying a car

Registration of your car

Can a foreigner buy a car in the Netherlands you might want to know, to start with. A foreigner can buy a car in the Netherlands if they meet the requirements for registration of the car. Every car needs to be registered at Netherlands National Vehicle and Driving Licence Registration Authority (RDW).

One of the good things about the Netherlands is that it's very easy to get a food delivery to practically everywhere you can imagine. The choices of the food can be depended on where you live. Typically the Dutch people have a tradition to order Fries, pizza and Chinese food. The chance is very high you are able to at least order one of these foods. I will explain in this blog post how you can order, how you can pay and what you can do if delivery takes a very long time.

How to order food delivery

I will explain how it works with one of the biggest food delivery service. I will also name some alternatives, the procedure will be approximately the same with them.

This blog post is intended to help you find a Dutch provider for your sim card in the Netherlands. In search of providers which had a good translated website I could not find any. KPN did try partially, but it is poorly implemented. The Netherlands T-mobile did not have it. Vodafone also not. It is recommended to do a right-mouse click to translate the site for you. All providers in th Netherlands will offer you call, texting and internet(4G and 5G) possibility's.

Update: The measures in this article are currently released and not valid anymore. See for the latest advises the following link to government information.

The information about corona measures in the Netherlands in this blog post is based on the press conference of prime minister Mark Rutte from the 18th of December. These measures will be effective immediately until the 14th of January 2022.

In the Netherlands there is a healthcare system for everybody, it means every citizen of the Netherlands who is living and/or working in the Netherlands needs to have insurance for health care. This is required by law.

Health insurance required by law

This required health insurance is for basic health care, every year there will be decided what will be in the basic package and what health care is additional. If you want additional health care you can add an extra package to your health insurance. Dental care is also provided in an additional package. Additional packages are not required by law.

You are free to choose your healthcare insurance company. At the end of each calendar year(December) you can change to another insurance company for the coming year.

When you found the dream job in the Netherlands you want to apply for, you want to show you have the skills for the job. You can be creative in showing your skills on your resume. Remember that mostly the skills wanted in a job advertisement is a wishlist and you don't have to check all the boxes. As an expat coming to the Netherlands you want to make the best impression. 

Lets start with skills you have gained from previous jobs. If its regarding specific techniques or skill you can explain how and in what project you have use that technique or skill. If you don't have the experience yet, you can very easily take a course and put the course on you're resume. 

After I received my Dutch resident card(MVV), It was time to open a bank account and to recieve my debit card.

I am familiar with two banks in the Netherlands: ABN Amro and the ING bank.

I did open my account at ABN Amro bank.

How to open a bank account at ABN Amro

In 2019 when I applied for opening account, I needed to make an appointment and bring my documents to the bank. But nowadays because of the corona situation, you can do complete application of the bank account online. Look at the website of the bank for the exact documentation you've need to complete the application. Usually the bank needs some copy of your identification.

Recently with these three steps you can open account in Abn Amro bank: