Hey! I'm a 17 year old boy from Norway (up in scandinavia):
I was wondering if there is special things I need to know if im going to move there? I don't think the language would be THAT hard, since it's kind of close to english and Norwegian!
But is there any other things I should know about the people, culture, etc. I know the standard of living is high, just like here in Norway! Thank you for listening! I have been in Norway, if only on holiday, and I live in the Netherlands.
You will find that you can understand Dutch with little effort, learning to speak will take a little more work, but the Norwegian I met who spoke Dutch spoke it without accent.
(Something English speakers can not manage.)
I found I can understand most Norwegian, written and spoken.
There is a short list of words that have a different meaning, sometimes even an opposite meaning, but I am sure a touristic guide for the Netherlands in Norwegian might help you with that.
The biggest difference will be the lack of space.
Even the most crowded part of Oslo seemed open to me, you will find that each city in the Netherlands has more houses crowded in the same area, more villages and cities in a much smaller space.
Norway has 4,620,000 people in 323,758 square kilometers, the Netherlands 16,296,000 people in 41,528 square kilometers.
When you go outside the towns, specially in the northeastern part of the country, you will find much more space.
The second thing you will miss are mountrains, there are almost no hills and no mountains at all.
As Norwegian I think you can get a working permit, you will have to get the official paperwork sorted before you can get a proper job, specially if you are just 17.
You might think about doing your university studies here, the Dutch gouvernment just announced this week that they want more foreign students in the country.
The standard of living is high, but the minimum wages for an 17 or 18 year old are not, so if you come here to work pretty soon, check what wages you will get before you commit yourself. I think that the minimum wage for someone younger than 20 is not enough to live comfortably from, although you would get enough to get by on a basic lifestyle. Learn dutch! If you are already bi-lingual and are young learning dutch will be easier. You stand a better chance of finding work here if you speak dutch even though most everyone speaks english.
People are not very friendly, but the quality of life is very good. The Dutch appreciate it when you're trying to speak their language, but most of them speak English so it should be able to find your way.
The people are really very friendly and open, especially when you get to know them. They may seem inpolite but they're just very open and honest and you may have to get used to their sense of humour.
The food can't be a problem, since they've got all kinds of world food available!
17 seems a bit young to move abroad, but good luck to you. Hi Frank,
awesome, we'll finally have someone who can help us answer all these questions about Norway that people are posting in the Netherlands section! ;)
Like Willeke said, Netherlands is very much like Norway, just much more crowded and very flat. Why don't you come over and visit for a while before actually moving? Bring your skates!
Oh, also; If you're 17, alone, and not able to speak Dutch, you'll have a very very hard time making enough money to live on... Find a job here first, then move, don't do it the other way round... Unless there's something you're very good at of course, like programming or something like that, and even then I'd find a job first... |
