Pros and cons about living in Holland from an American's perspective

It’s been over a year since I moved to Holland. After some deep self-reflection, I came up with this list of pros and cons of what makes Holland so great to live in, and what makes me want to take the next KLM flight back to the states. These are just my own perceptions and opinions.

Pro: Long summer days! It doesn’t get dark here until 10 pm in July.

Con: The sun rarely comes out, even in the summer.

Pro: Excellent tap water – best quality in Europe, hands down.

Con: You can’t ask for a cup of tap water at a restaurant; you always have to pay for the expensive bottled kind -- you know, the kind that comes from sacred springs in the mysterious mountains of probablyjustaplainolbottelingcompanypretendingtosellyousuperexpensivewaterthatsjustsuperfilteredandnothingelsetoit.

Pro: Hardly any windows have screens built in because bugs here have better things to do than to pay you a visit. Well, except for mosquitoes and the occasional fly. But that’s when my cool bug zapper thingie comes in handy.

Pro: You don’t see many big-boned people in Holland; most girls and guys here are pretty super-model skinny. That really motivates me to stay in shape.

Con: A lot of those supermodel-skinny girls have muffin tops – probably due to all the cheese they eat here.

Pro: Food at the grocery store is on the cheap side, but the quality is still good!

Con:The food here is generally on the not-so-healthy side. People aren’t very health-conscious. No one really knows how important it is to avoid foods that contain artificial flavors, MSG and other flavor enhancers, preservatives, and other crap (and if they do know about it, they probably just don’t care). Lots of food is jam-packed with this stuff. Pretty nasty.

Pro: Besides being skinny, everyone is always so stylish. You won’t see anyone here who looks like they woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. The fashion sense of women here is really great.

Con: Everyone has pretty much the same style; whatever trends are hip at the moment, people stick to them like flies to a Pb & J sandwich.

Pro:Insane seasonal sales at stores. A couple of days ago I bought a decent-quality top from H&M for 5 euros.

Con:During non-sales, clothing and shoe prices are super high. Don’t expect to pay anything less than 40 euros for a good top. As for shoes, everything is at least 50 euros and above.

Con: No stores stay open later than 11 pm at most. 24 hour shops? Ask a Dutchie about those and they’ll give you a very perplexed look. People have their spouses and kids to tend to, ya know. As for me, I prefer the US style of doing things.

Pro: Clubs don't close until dawn! And there is hardly ever a cover charge... and no need to show your ID, EVER!

Con: You can only throw your trash out about 2x a week. The rest of the days you just have to keep piling your trash outside in your backyard or something. Very annoying.

Con: The service here is low. This is definitely not a please-the-customer type of society.

Con: To hang out with people you have to make "appointments" with them. Whatever happened to spontaneity?

Pro: If you look lost on the street, or you have a flat tire, or an asteroid suddenly plummets on top of you, people always come and ask if you need any help. Bottom line: very friendly people here.

Con: Some people are super judgmental even though they say they’re so open and accepting of others. Yeah. Right. But I guess you can pretty much find those types of people everywhere.

Con: Too many annoying junkies are allowed to roam the streets; that can get really bothersome.

Pro: Talented folks often hang around in the city center playing their cool music. You don't get that kind of treat in the states.

Pro: Everything is within walking distance, especially if you live close to the city center. It’s about a 5 minute walk from my house to get to the Movie Theater and to all the shops in town.

Pro: Checks? What the heck are checks? Everything in Holland is done through online banking – paper checks are a thing of the past.

Con: Many students here lack the drive and determination characteristic of American students. In other words, don’t expect to feel motivated by the people around you in class.

Pro: Despite being lazy, many students are REALLY bright; they’ll make intelligent comments in class and question the teacher. But they’re just too lazy to turn in their work on time. So choose your group members wisely, otherwise you might just get stuck with doing all the work yourself while they’re out partying. Hey, to them that’s a top priority.

Pro: Great student life; lots of groups to join, lots of activities all the time, lots of partying, lots of socializing, and did I mention lots of partying?

Con: Getting high grades is not something to be proud of here; you’re often looked down upon for being a N.E.R.D!

Pro: The government takes good care of its students by offering them generous financial aid packages. And when I say generous, I mean giving students more money in grants (keyword: grants… not loans) than their entire tuition cost. Plus, they give you a cool card that let’s you use public transportation for free (and you’ll need it, trust me!)

Pro: Basically everyone in Holland speaks English, making it easy to get around

Pro: Jobs are generally relaxed and the atmosphere is not over-the-top-competitive..

Pro: Companies are willing to help you develop if you’re not doing well; you don’t get fired here very easily.

Con: Insanely high taxes, which probably helps pay for all the grant money we get. If you’re a regular dude in his 30s with a decent job you’ll be paying somewhere close to 40% tax. That means you’ll need a few more years before you go off and buy that BMW.

Con: Prices of cars are super expensive. It seems like nothing sells for less than 25,000 euros.

Con: Overpriced restaurant food. If you’re really hungry, I don’t recommend going to a restaurant in Holland (or Europe for that matter). Portion sizes are small and food is generally expensive. Hardly any buffets in town, but that’s probably why everyone is so skinny here.

Con: No great Asian or south American restaurants; and what happened to all the sushi? It’s way overpriced and the quality is mediocre. There’s one all you can eat sushi place here that costs like 30 euros. I miss the all you can eat sushi buffet in my university town Davis where you paid $14 for fantastic quality sushi.

Pro: Almost no two houses are alike here; everything is so different and the culture here is so rich. No boring townhouses that all look the same.

Pro: Great coffee! Need I say more?

Pro: Does your trash bag usually contain 70% grocery bags and 30% regular trash? You'd never find something like that here in Holland because everyone reuses their grocery bags, and it's actually weird if you use plastic bags. Think green, people!

Pro: Excellent bread. I mean super delicious healthy whole grain fresh baked bread. And cheap, too. Nothing in comparison to Wonderbread, which makes you wonder if what you're eating is actually bread and not bread-flavored foam.

Con: Everyone expects you to take off your coat whenever you're inside a building -- whether you're at school, at someone's house, etc -- otherwise it's a bit "rude". Yeah, but what if your house is just too freakin' cold? Am I supposed to turn into a popsicle just because it's the "right" thing to do? It's not my fault you can't afford a heate!