Expat Experiences: The Netherlands - Julie, Rotterdam

Who are you?

Julie, 27 years old, French (Parisian).

Where, when and why did you move abroad?

I moved to Rotterdam end of April 2011 to follow my partner who has been transferred overthere.

What challenges did you face during the move?

I didn’t know I must register to the cityhall and give some papers to get the sofi number to be considered as citizen. I needed this number to find a work, to be paid, to open an account, to get an apartment.. for almost everything here. And also, as we are not married, I had to do a lot of paperwork to do more. He didn’t have to do it as expat.

How did you find somewhere to live?

We looked on the website of Pararius and took appointments to visit some apartments.. and found one after 2 months!

Are there many other expats in your area?

We don’t know. My colleagues told me it was an expat district, but I really have no idea.

What is your relationship like with the locals?

It is very fine. Except when guys stop us to know if we are not looking for any weed as we still have a French matriculation on our car.

What do you like about life where you are?

It is quiet and nice to live. The city is modern and also, you can go everywhere if you have a bicycle.

What do you dislike about your expat life?

It is quite difficult to do all the paper without getting any...

Read more about Julie's experience in Rotterdam: www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-netherlands-experiences-rotterdam-julie

The Expatriate Archive Centre - Out of Africa...Asia...America...?

courtesy of The Expatriate Archive Centre

Many of you may have, at the back of your cupboards or under your bed, documents, photos, or journals about your life as an expatriate (or “knowledge migrant’’), living, working or studying far from home. Don’t let these valuable resources gather dust.
The Expatriate Archive Centre, an independent foundation since 2008, exists to collect, preserve, promote and make accessible this collection of source materials. We hold both a digital and physical collection of photos, diaries, journals and blogs all donated by the international community past and present. Is/was this you? Documents and memorabilia which are part of your ‘paper-trail’ become, with the passage of time, the evidence for interpreting expatriate life in this changing world. When you look back on your life ten or twenty years ago, can you believe how it’s changed, especially if you lived in the developing world?

Next time you turn out your cupboards, spring clean or relocate, please consider sending or notifying the Archive of any items which may help it create a historical record: old lists of what you had to take to an overseas location, photos, company guidance, that long forgotten video of the social club musical, a diary recording your emotions or feelings of homesickness, handwritten directions, letters home, school and medical adventures in the middle of the jungle, the desert or the city and particularly the story of how you and your family members dealt with all these hurdles… the Archive is interested in it and will give it a good home...

Article continues www.expatfocus.com/netherlands-the-expatriate-archive-centre

Split between two worlds

Article by Tiffany Jansen


We met. We fell in love. We got married. I moved in with him… to his home in the Netherlands.

For months before the wedding, I was so excited. Nervous, but excited. I had met at least one other woman who had done what I was about to do and she was well-adjusted and happy. Naturally the same would happen for me, right?

The day of the wedding, it hit me. It was huge what I was about to do. My mother and I sat on the edge of my bed and cried together. We agreed that I would give it 2-3 years and then I would move back to the US with my husband. After all, this was my home. I couldn’t stay away forever.

When I got to the Netherlands, however, I fell in love. I met remarkable women in the same or a very similar position to that which I was in and made some really excellent friends. My husband’s family and friends took me in and really made me feel at home. It came as a surprise to everyone – myself included – how quickly I adjusted and came to love my adopted country.

“No way am I going back,” I’d tell everyone (except my mother, of course).“I like it too much here.”

I became overly critical of America and the Netherlands could do no wrong in my eyes. I didn’t understand the other expat women I spoke to who used the word “home” to refer to both the Netherlands and their countries of origin.

As far as I was concerned, “home” was the place I was living. Where my husband and dog were and where we wanted to start a family of our own. When you move out of your parents’ house, you don’t continue to refer to it as “home” for the rest of your adult life. Why should it be any different in this case?

My first 6 months in the Netherlands, I had no desire to...

Read more about Tiffany and her life in the Netherlands at http://www.expatfocus.com/split-between-two-worlds