Dutch views?

If you looked at the France section, my question is similar. Like I said, this is for the Dutch. What do y'all think of everyday life in the netherlands? foreigners would like to visit (if i may call it) holland and are fascinated. but what do you think of living in holland?

I'm Irish and lived in Groningen (in the north of the Netherlands) for six years. I would have to say that those were six very good years. It's a really nice country to live in, most people are pretty open to foreigners, and linguistic needs are catered for in the sense that there is a whole industry for people learning Dutch as a second language.

What I find very sad is that everyone equates the Netherlands with drugs and prostitution, and those who do have it so wrong. What drug-dealing that is permitted is strictly policed, as is the prostitution. Dutch people enjoy the arts, going out and having a laugh, having a coffee ...

Me personally, I always associate bicycles with the Netherlands. If you're ever in Groningen during Keiweek, which is the week that the local university starts its academic year, you'll see EXACTLY what I mean. To sum it up, my father came to visit me during this week, and the first time he turned onto the city's main market square his reaction was visceral: "Oh my God, look at all those bikes!"

Living there was good for me, and I would go back and live there again. For a while anyway - the only thing I didn't like about it was that compared to Ireland, even the more rural province of Groningen was very built up.

I would have loved it, if my country would have been situated
on the Bahamas.
But the weather is the only complaint I have about it.