How liberal Holland is?

Hi qtee,

It depends in what part of the Netherlands you will work as an aupair. There are some areas, specially in the country side they are less liberal but in general you can say that the Netherlands is a liberal country.

It is still by global standards very liberal, on immigration and drugs etc. But things have changed in the last few years, and it has become a bit more conservative again. And of course there is a big difference between Amsterdam and the rest of the country! There are smaller villages which are very small and still very religious and cautious, even while there are wild parties in the capital.

Source: I asked my dutch friends.

Yeah, its still on extreme basis. But I think Its for me to know and for me to find out. The fact that majority of the people there speaks English makes me feel comftable already.Thank you for the kind response.

Magandang Gabi Qtee

Where in the Philippines are you from?

I am Irish, living and working part time in Holland and part time in Asia. I spend a lot of time in the Philippines (it's my favourite country in Asia) and have a some great Filipino friends one of whom came and visited me for 3 months in the Holland.

He had a great time, and based on his experience these are some of the things to think about:

1) Any of the cities in Holland are fun, liberal and international. If you are looking for an au pair job stick to the cities.

2) The weather is very different. You need to understand and prepare for that. Holland in the winter can be anything from 5C to -15C!!! The Autumn & Spring are also cold by your standards 10-18C and the Summer is usually around 20-25C. The length of day light changes (not sunset at 6.30pm every night - As early as 4.30 in the winter, and as late as 10.30 in the summer)

3) The food is very different. You will miss your rice . It depends on your family and what they like to eat. There is a lot of International food in Holland but very little Filipino. In the supermarkets you can buy ingredients for Chinese, Japanese & Indonesian food so you should be able to get close to your own recipes, but they will not eat rice every meal. Much more bread and meat. Lots of potatoes. They also do not have quite such a sweet tooth as Filipinos. No Halo Halo.

4) Everyone speaks English very well but they do not have a good ear for accents and are most used to American English so you will need to speak a little more slowly at the beginning.

5) They are all very BIG (even the girls). You will feel like a fairy standing in a group of giants and it will be very difficult to find clothes or shoes.

6) It is not as brightly coloured, noisy or happy as the Philippines (nowhere is). It is more serious, clean and tidy.

Overall, it is a very nice country. Very safe, very relaxed and a great place to come and visit or work if you can get a visa. It will be a life changing opportunity for you so if you have the chance, take it. Remember You will be a long way from your friends and family and there will be times you feel sad and lonely BUT it will also be fantastic opportunity and you will meet some lovely people.

I wish you good luck Po.
C

Hello there, top of the morning to ya!

I totally appreciate the information you provided, would mean a lot if I get there. I live in Davao btw.. (southern part of the Phil)

Im glad you have a positive outlook about my country. And you must be right, I am just a small girl and i read an article Dutch are the average tallest people in the world, had to look at myself after knowing it. haha.. And for a person like me whos comftable with wearing sleeveless and shorts in my country would probly find it hard to adjust with the weather there.

It will be a great experience for sure. Thank you

DublinerinArnhem wrote:

5) They are all very BIG (even the girls). You will feel like a fairy standing in a group of giants and it will be very difficult to find clothes or shoes.

This is funny for me to read this, I never realized that the Dutch are tall.
Or do you mean with BIG that they are FAT?

The Dutch are very tall and lucky for them also slim (must be all the cycling). Definitely not fat.