Week 44 Easier Said Than Done

Week 44

Easier Said Than Done

Reflections on the use of English

Janny & I had the twins for 24 hours. We were all treated to a pizza (we wonder if they have ever had a real pizza before?) to be eaten in front of the fire and the TV, no less.

There was an ad on TV, repeated quite a few times, that showed a series of mishaps and people saying "shit" as a result. A cake falls upside down on the ground - "shit" say the kids. A Christmas tree falls over as it is being prepared - "shit" says the old couple.

It took me a few times to realise what the whole thing was about - advertising is mostly wasted on me. But, it turns out that the ad is for a laxative - the point being that it (shit) is easier said than done! (They use the "c" word quite freely, as well - here it is the "k" word).

I remember Janny coming home from the swimming pool one day with a story about a kid who kept saying "shit" during the lesson. Janny finally asked him if he knew the meaning of the word? Huh?, no. Does it have a meaning? Nah!! came the reply when it was explained to him. Nah, the swimming teacher has gone mad, or words to that effect. So, now 20 odd years later and the ad uses it innocently in one context as in "oops" or "darn it" - but then quite openly acknowledges that it is really to do with the need for a laxative.

I think that learning a second language has really made me think about the meaning of words - sometimes it just doesn't matter as much as you thought it did. One of the things drummed into the Dutch kids is the need to say "u" (pronounced oo as in too) (meaning "you") as a term of respect for elders or (gasp) superiors. I have struggled with the use of this one; the word "u" doesn't automatically grant respect - only respect itself does that. The ordinary term for you is "je", which quite often sounds like ya as in poorly spoken English - eg what's ya name? or "whatchyadoin". I often cringe at "wat zeg je?" which is a perfectly normal way of saying "what did you say". 
Oh, how I miss "I beg your pardon"!!

More on English (in preference to Moron English!)

With one of the recent stories from "over there", I remembered during the week a series of books by Robert Goddard. The English language is beautifully used, quite apart from the excellent stories themselves. Just as an aside, Anneke was reading the Dutch versions at exactly the same time, so were able to compare notes along the way (20 or more books). I did wonder at the time if the translator had captured the delights of the English language and, in fact, if it was as enjoyable in Dutch, purely on that alone?

The reason I recalled the use of English was that I heard a  letter written by Abraham Lincoln - a message of condolence...(the reader was giving an example of how well condolences could be expressed).

(The letter was sent to the daughter of a friend killed in the Civil War).

Executive Mansion,
Washington, December 23, 1862.

Dear Fanny

It is with deep grief that I learn of the death of your kind and brave Father; and, especially, that it is affecting your young heart beyond what is common in such cases. In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares. The older have learned to ever expect it. I am anxious to afford some alleviation of your present distress. Perfect relief is not possible, except with time. You can not now realize that you will ever feel better. Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what I say; and you need only to believe it, to feel better at once. The memory of your dear Father, instead of an agony, will yet be a sad sweet feeling in your heart, of a purer and holier sort than you have known before.

Please present my kind regards to your afflicted mother.

Your sincere friend
A. Lincoln

Much better than some of the cringe-worthy stuff of late.

Around the farm...

School holidays, again! They just rattle around so quickly these days. This time it is the Autumn break.

The kids make popguns out of PVC pipe and a balloon - ideal for shooting the (inedible) corn kernels. The corn is grown as cattle feed and they usually leave a bit behind - it keeps the kids busy! It seems that they have never eaten "corn on the cob" - we'll do that next weekend (after a trip to the frozen food section of the supermarket).

The New Government

Well, it's taken a while to get it sorted out - who can compromise with what and agree to move on without being too radical? The New Government slogan is "Confidence in the Future".

A few snippets...

Healthcare
In healthcare, as previously announced, the “own risk” excess will remain at 385 euros, as it was in 2017. However, in order to keep own risk at the same level it was last year, the monthly premiums that healthcare providers in the Netherlands offer, will increase.

The government will invest 2,1 billion euros into nursing homes so that these comply with the new standards set for good care.

This cabinet period there will also be 170 million euros available for prevention and health promotion. After this period, 20 million euros per year will be available. A national plan of action, which focuses on smoking and obesity, is being developed.

Climate
To tackle climate change and reduce CO2 emissions in the Netherlands, all new housing will no longer be required to be connected to the gas network. The government has set a goal to reduce CO2 emissions by 49 percent by 2030. Before this date, all coal-fired power plants must be shut down. In accordance with the move towards green energy, all cars in the Netherlands must be emission-free by 2030.

Climate and energy agreements will be incorporated into national law and new plots will be designated for wind turbines in the North Sea. In addition to this, the government will reserve four billion euros for the transition to cleaner energy.

We wonder about this quite often - it certainly comes at a cost to us personally, but then what is the point if the rest of the world doesn't go along? Even if the whole of Europe gets it right, it still won't make much difference. But we do it anyway because it is the "right" thing to do.

Part of the coalition has put forward a plan to have electric "filling" points every 25 kms - to encourage more people to use electric cars. They argue that "fully charging a car costs no more than 8 euros in electricity. Driving as many kilometres on petrol will cost you around 70 euros".

Income and taxes
As expected, the Dutch government is planning to reform the tax system and move towards a two-band system, instead of the current four-band one. Asset tax will be reduced, as the tax-free threshold will be raised from 25.000 euros to 30.000 euros.

The lower VAT (GST) rate, which applies to groceries, books and entertainment, will increase by 3 percent to 9 percent. This means that households can expect an increase on their grocery bills. Taxes will be increased on tobacco products as well.

On Infrastructure

I often marvel at the amount of infrastructure - roads, bridges in particular, as we drive to Amsterdam. But still not enough, it seems...

(When I first came here, 25 years ago!, I couldn't believe the cost of owning a car and it always seemed unfair and not very logical that the cost of Public Transport was also very high. I thought, "fair go", one or the other but not both! I'm still not convinced one way or the other, but maybe I can now get a Pensioner's Discount on the Public Transport!).

Dutch roads are becoming increasingly congested and the cost to society could reach some €3.7bn a year, according to research by the infrastructure ministry’s mobility institute KIM. The increase in the financial impact of jams is due to delays experienced by both people and road transporters in reaching their destinations, as well as a rise in the number of road users, the institute said. It puts the traffic jam increase at 1.7% this year and 1.2% in 2018. 

This means that travelling times could go up by as much as 28% by 2022 as pressure increases on the existing road networks. ‘When it comes to delays, time is money,’ spokesman Arjen ‘t Hoen told the AD. The new government has earmarked €2.6bn for expanding and maintaining the road network in 2018 and plans to expand the road network by 1,000 kilometres by 2031, the AD points out. The KIM says that some 60% of all kilometres travelled in the Netherlands are by car, including half of all non-business related journeys. Trains account for just 13% of kilometres travelled and bikes 8%.Dutch commuters are increasingly favouring travel by car or bike rather than public transport. The use of the train, tram, bus and metro both in the city and outside has fallen when compared to the car or bike. The use of the bikes to get to work has risen by 3.5% since 2005 due in part to the popularity of e-bikes. The bike is the most popular means of transport in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht but the car is more popular in Rotterdam, the report said.

Buildings falling down...

Ben's building at his University is known as Building X. A sister building in Eindhoven partially collapsed and so they had a closer look at Windesheim. It has been closed until the summer of next year whilst they undertake the necessary precautions.

Further on Ben. He has an extra incentive to finish his thesis on time! We are still planning to go to Australia, but he has been asked if wants to go to Singapore for a couple of months modelling work. All a bit tentative yet, so no point in getting too excited - says boring old Dad!

Week 43.5 All the Lonely People

Week 43.5 

Week 43.5 because I have been in bed sick. Luckily, just Man Flu again! Janny seems to get it first then gives a much-enhanced version to me.

The title also refers to Ben's thesis which he has (finally) decided on in order to finish his University studies. He has had a few ideas floating around and following discussions with various mentors and teachers, has come up with this.

(taken from his "Pitch Document" - which he had to use to convince the powers that be that his project has sufficient merit).

Bijna de helft van de 800.000 inwoners in Amsterdam voelt zich wel eens eenzaam. Hoe kunnen zoveel mensen in zo’n grote stad zich toch eenzaam voelen? En wat is eenzaamheid precies, en belangrijker nog: hoe bestrijd je het?
Almost half of the 800,000 residents of Amsterdam "feel lonely". How can so many people in such a large city feel lonely? What is "loneliness" and more importantly, how do we combat it?

Het aantal eenzame mensen in Amsterdam is het afgelopen jaar nog verder gestegen, blijkt uit een recent onderzoek van de GGD. Eén op de acht volwassen Amsterdammers voelt zich ernstig eenzaam en dat is meer dan het landelijk gemiddelde. Naast de 80.000 inwoners die zich ‘ernstig eenzaam’ voelen, zijn er nog 220.000 van de 800.000 inwoners van Amsterdam die aangeven ‘matig eenzaam’ te zijn. In totaal kampt dus bijna de helft van de stad met eenzame gevoelens. Vooral laagopgeleiden, lage inkomensgroepen en inwoners zonder betaald werk voelen zich eenzaam. Ook inwoners van niet-westerse herkomst en alleenwonenden vormen een risicogroep, blijkt uit de Amsterdamse Gezondheidsmonitor (een vierjaarlijks gezondheidsonderzoek van de GGD onder Amsterdammers van 19 jaar en ouder). 

The number of lonely people rose last year. 80,000 people admitted to being "very lonely" and a further 220,000 said that they were "a little lonely". The majority come from low education, low income, or unemployed classifications. Foreigners and "singles" are also at risk. The Health Services do a 4-yearly research project for Amsterdammers over the age of 19. 

One of Ben's Interviews...of lonely young people???

Care Professionals in Amsterdam have a program of "experiments against loneliness", running until July.

https://www.amsterdam.nl/zorgprofessionals/aanpak-eenzaamheid/experimenten/

So, we await the results of Ben's thesis! We are planning a trip to Melbourne in order to celebrate his Graduation. Long overdue to catch up with family and friends.

Meanwhile, around the farm....

We had the warmest October 16 since 1949! We and just about everyone else went for "that last walk in the sunshine before winter", across the heath.

In our rebuilding works of the late 90's, the most expensive room was the heating, boiler and technical area behind the toilets and showers. I shudder to think now of the cost but back then we had just begun with refugees and everything had to be done and could be paid for.

18 years later one of our heaters stopped working and was beyond repair. We asked for a quote from our regular installation company - they did the work all those years ago.

Normally, we would "just get it done". Having developed a bit of a "feel" for what things should cost (it's quite often MORE), I had a funny feeling about the quote, so we asked a smaller, local company. Their quote was about HALF the price! So much difference that I thought I must have made a mistake in explaining what I wanted! But no... so we got the work done.

The 300-litre boiler still works but is out of the system until required. 

That and the heater have been replaced by a much smaller (and cheaper) combination unit - with a wifi-controlled thermostat!

More from Ben...

More modelling work...

One of Ben's Agencies arranged for him to visit another couple of Agencies in London. Ben had the feeling that they were "too" nice - almost creepy over the top.

Whilst in London... (where he also met up with Georgia!).

Ben also had photo shoots at Schiphol early in the week - and early in the morning - 0500 hrs!!! They arranged for him to stay at the Citizen M Hotel, which we have also used before for early flights.

And finally, the boat is ready for the winter...

(I wonder what will happen with Global Warming? Maybe we won't need to winterize the boats - but then again, we will need the boats...)

I also managed to finish the base of the new toilet. My boat specialist is going to cut the hole for the ventilation pipe AND look at the leaking fuel tank - around the end of February if there is no ice. ie. I can take the boat to his workshop. So, all in hand, except for the timing of our trip to Oz.... and the trip to Maastricht. My Man In France will also be pleased to hear that I am investigating the installation of diesel ducted heating. The Boat Specialist just makes it sound sooooo easy!

Week 42 The "Adult Day Care" Edition

Week 42

The Adult Day Care Centre - an Audit

My heading this week is plagiarised from a Podcast that I listen to regularly - I think I have about 20 regulars - it was about events in another place that would be bordering on the comical if they didn't have such serious consequences even here in sleepy Wijnjewoude.

On a less controversial note, it made me think of what we do here - we too run an Adult Day Care Centre, so there!

The Quality Hallmark Audit

Last Thursday, we had a woman come along to audit our premises - from top to bottom, including the paperwork. 3 years ago we had the same thing done by an older chap (at least as old as me! - I forget that sometimes) - he turned the place upside down for about 6 hours, slept at the local hotel restaurant and came back the next morning! 

Janny was expecting more of the same this year and had been working with one of our qualified employees to get everything up to scratch. I was tasked with outside stuff - cleaning up, basically - and Fire and Safety issues, of course.

In the word "zorgboerderijen" - the base is the word "boer" which means "farmer", "boerderij" becomes "farm", "zorg" means "care" and the "en" makes it plural. 

Thursdays are always our busiest days and so it was good to see it all in action. One of our clients gave the "guided tour" whilst having a talk about "how things are" for a client.

Suffice to say that it all went well and Janny was palpably relieved! Although I am happy to go on record to say that my scones with our morning coffee probably sealed the deal!

The woman pointed out a few things that we can improve on and she actually commented on the good atmosphere and enjoyable working environment. Some farmers only do it for the money as an adjunct to their farming work. For us, it is "what we do". One interesting note was that the rules become even more demanding if we have more than 25 clients - currently on 19. We probably couldn't handle any more than 25 without employing somebody full time - and that is another can of worms!

More on Trees "Crossing the Road"

As part of a safety campaign, many roads with trees are being considered for changes, ie removing the trees. Needless to say, many people are up in arms to think that "our" trees might go. The research has been done and somehow or other Janny ended up with a huge roll of drawings depicting the trees.

I've (very) roughly drawn our place in - the dots and squares representing the trees along our stretch. All the squares represent trees which are closer than 80cm from the road surface and theoretically should go. The darker dots are classified as "old" - not sure how old. The smaller dots on the right are beech trees planted about 8 years ago - alongside the cycling path. They were fairly big when planted so they might be, say 15 years old. In the 5km stretch of road between Wijnjewoude and Bakkeveen, there are 8 trees classified as sick and these will be removed. There are a couple of places where it feels uncomfortable to be so close to the trees when passing an oncoming car. In my opinion, these should be removed. The speed limit is 60 - this could be lowered. Many trucks use the road as a bypass - these could also be restricted. In any case, an interesting process to see what they come up with after consulting everyone and their dog. Any new trees will be beech, as they grow more quickly than the oaks.

Grab your agenda: 52 tell-tale signs you’ve gone Dutch

This might be a bit of a read, but I had a chuckle at so many of them. Lifted from http://www.dutchnews.nl , where I find lots of interesting and entertaining stuff. "I am expat" is also a good source, as are many of the Government sites (in English!).

So there you are, sitting chomping on your French fries with mayonnaise and cheering on Oranje on the telly, or lingering in the bathroom to check which birthdays are coming up, and it suddenly hits you: you’re turning Dutch. At what point does integration become assimilation? Here’s a list of some tell-tale signs; feel free to add your own in the comments.

You complain about the number of tourists in Amsterdam

You complain about the way tourists ride their bikes

You’ve learned to cycle while carrying an umbrella

You’ve learned to cycle in the snow

You no longer wait at red lights on your bike, or wear a helmet

You drop Dutch words like lekker, borrel and gemeente into English conversation

You start calling your diary an agenda and keeping it meticulously

Bar staff and shop assistants have stopped replying to you in English(they still switch to English for me - saves them having to listen to my Dutch).

You correct visitors on the pronunciation of Utrecht, Breda and Maastricht

You complain about expats not learning Dutch (nah)

You arrive at a birthday party and go round the entire circle shaking hands, kissing and congratulating everyone without feeling stupid (the Circle Party from an earlier post)

You own a set of miniature forks for eating birthday cake

You’ve learned to lie to your doctor about how ill you are so they can’t fob you off with paracetamol

As soon as the sun appears you dash out to the nearest pavement cafe

As soon as the sun comes out you wear shorts and flip-flops to work and clock off at lunchtime on Friday to head to the beach

You’ve accepted the absence of Sunday papers

You’ve stopped thinking washing powder was better back home

You’ve given up longing for sweets and snacks from your home country (nah)

You’ve found yourself kissing your non-Dutch friends three times on the cheek

You’ve stopped defending your home country all the time

You refer to political parties, government agencies and football teams by their initials

When people ask where you are from you say: ‘I’m English/French/American/Nigerian but I actually live in…’

If your home country is taking on the Netherlands in a sporting event, you are torn between the two

As soon as the temperature drops below five degrees, you start hoping for the Elfstedentocht

You watch the Tour de France around the telly at work with your colleagues

You get obsessed with collecting stickers for the latest Albert Heijn kitchenware promotion

You have strong feelings about which AH salads are the best

You own a flessenlikker, aardappelstamper, kaasschaaf, poffertjespan and gourmet set

You can use a cheese parer on very old cheese without shredding your fingers

You’ve ordered pancakes in a restaurant without feeling embarrassed

You’ve learned to call a cheese sandwich lunch and eat it with a knife and fork

You call margarine butter

You drink a glass of milk with lunch

You’ve considered having boerenkool and snert for dinner

You can eat a tompoes without getting cream all over the place

You buy raw herring from a fish stall because you like it

You don’t raise an eyebrow if someone only chips in €15 to the common restaurant bill because they only had one glass of wine and no starter

You buy flowers for yourself regularly

You have a birthday calendar in the loo

You have a birthday calendar in the loo and you’ve actually put everyone’s birthdays on it

Trees planted in a neat straight line look natural

You no longer freak out if you see a line of cars parked 5mm from the edge of a canal

You know who Andre Hazes is and can sing along to at least two of his songs

You know that half seven means half-past six and ‘five quarters’ is a normal measure of time

Really long steep staircases feel completely normal

You start saying what you think in an aggressive aggressive way, not just a passive aggressive one

When your boss asks you what you think of something, you give him or her your honest opinion

You stop inventing polite excuses for skipping social engagements and just tell your friends: ‘I don’t feel like coming’

You describe people with an ethnic minority background as allochtonen

You avoid discussions about Zwarte Piet

You no longer wince when your kids say shit and kut! (I still do)

You’ve actually gone the whole hog, signed the participation declaration, sworn your allegiance to King Willem-Alexander, sung the Wilhelmus and claimed your Dutch passport (nah, but I do have the passport - and they can send me home if they want to).

Nicer Cities, Liveable Places

Just a link this time: An Englishman's view of cycling/urban design in the Netherlands. Some good photos and an interesting story from an "outsider". I don't ride a bike much but I'm starting to "get" just how good the system is - I'm sure Ben gets it, living in Amsterdam and thinking nothing of hopping on his bike to get around.

https://robertweetman.wordpress.com/2017/10/12/what-nobody-told-me-1/

From the Newspaper

• The biggest city/town near us is Drachten. Due to the makeup of the Local Council, there is no Sunday shopping but a proposal to allow production of recreational marijuana is being considered. (I put the two ideas together, not the article).
• 6 arrests in Tilburg re marijuana production. Police were also looking for weapons and other drugs.
• "Trust in the future". New government motto - from the newly formed coalition.
• Smoking. A proposal by the anti-smoking council. Manufacturers should be paying 1% (€40m) into a fund to help addicted smokers. The money to be used for anti-smoking campaigns and to help people trying to kick the habit. (When I first came here 25 years ago, I remember thinking "wow - everybody here is still smoking". Quite significant changes had been taking place in Melbourne and presumably the rest of Australia. It was quite a shock to see that there were no changes in attitude/education here, including quite a few members of Janny's family. Happily, that has changed significantly).

• In the beginning of the week, there was a fire at a potato farm. The fire service arrived but... No water!. A couple of million euros damage, and now a discussion about larger farms being required to provide water for fire-fighting. To my point, we have a ground ball in our front yard. We asked very early on if I could have a standpipe for my own use - knowing full well that I could be in action long before the volunteers arrived. "NO" came the almost deafening reply. Maybe I should ask again. If I recall correctly, I could have rented a metered standpipe if I had a special purpose, but not for my own fire-fighting. We do have hose reels inside, at least. We have also organised a couple of evacuation and fire drills over the years...

Global Competitiveness Report

According to research from the World Economic Forum (WEF), which rated countries for their global competitiveness, the Netherlands ranks fourth globally and number one in the EU. This is the second year in a row that the Netherlands has come out on top in the EU.

Global Competitiveness Report
The study conducted by the WEF looked at 137 countries and ranked them according to 12 pillars. These pillars are: Institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, good market efficiency, labour market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation.

According to the Erasmus University, who are partners of the WEF, the Netherlands did well due to its strong foundations in infrastructure, in which it ranked 3/137, just below Hong Kong SAR and Singapore, and macroeconomic policies, for which it took 14th place - eight places higher than the previous year. Infrastructure is especially important in such a densely populated country.


Switzerland, the United States and Singapore beat the Netherlands in the Global Competitiveness Report and took first, second and third place respectively. Ranking just after the Netherlands, in fifth place, was Germany.

Innovation and education in the Netherlands
This year, despite offering excellent higher education, the Netherlands fell one place in the higher education and training ranking. They did, however, climb one place in innovation.

According to Business Studies professor, Henk Volberda, from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands is a frontrunner in terms of implementing the new technologies that constitute the fourth industrial revolution. However, to be able to face the challenges this revolution brings, investment in higher education is essential.

Top 10 most competitive economies globally
The following countries scored in the top 10 of the Global Competitiveness Index:

Switzerland
United States
Singapore
Netherlands
Germany
Hong Kong SAR
Sweden
United Kingdom
Japan
Finland

Week 41 Stormy (and wet)

Week 41 Stormy and wet

Granddaughter Georgia came to visit. As with most visitors, she found it very relaxing and slept for 12 hours! The Travellers Weary Body grabbing the chance for a good sleep.

All too soon, packed up and off to Amsterdam to stay with Ben before heading off to Croatia - ah, just so young and daring!

Around the farm...

On Thursday, we had everyone present except the Work Experience lad - makes for a Full House, with barely any room at the table.

Stormy outside and suddenly no electricity! One of our clients was late and he showed us a video of why the power went out.

It only took an hour to repair, which surprises me. All the gas and electricity pipes and cables are underground, so this doesn't happen very often. One of the branches of the fallen tree must have been the culprit.

On scones and other edibles

My Man in France tells me that he took home some countryside mushrooms on his latest foray with his bicycle. Like the corn from last week, the mushrooms also turned out to be inedible! His story reminded me that we have a client who also collects mushrooms from the forest - he says he knows what to eat and what not to eat, but we're not so sure. We think he is always on the lookout for "magic" mushrooms - perhaps My Man in France has gone the same way?

We took some packets of Scone Mix to My Man in France when we were last there. It seems he has been impressing the locals with his "Scones Anglais" - without letting on that they are from a packet! One of the French kids has now asked how to make them...

Which brings me to this: my Son-In-Law is a brilliant scone maker but even he had trouble when they visited here in 2010. We think it was something with the flour - probably needing extra baking soda. Anyway, it just became "too easy" for me to use the packets since then.

In 2003, I took Mum to (my favourite) teahouse in Olinda, up in the Dandenongs. (it infuriates me now, that I can't remember the name). They had great scones! I wonder if they still do?

Sadly, I don't have a photo of Mum from that day, but I did find one of Ben and Georgia...(compare photo above).

I digress.

Given the dilemma of MMiF with his Grand Scone Deception, I resolved to have another go at making real scones - just to prove that it can be done!

Still not as good as the Olinda variety, but it is lousy weather here and it gave me a chance to show the kids how to make them! Little Dutch kids eating scones and potato cakes! 

IKEA Kitchens

Over the years we have installed several Ikea kitchens. The Eritreans managed to destroy a couple of doors - water damage - I don't think they were used to running water.

Anyway, we went to Ikea in Groningen and the doors were from an old (out of stock) model. So they said they would find some and send them to us - which they duly did, free of charge! Great service and every bit as good, if not better, than any pro kitchen installation.

I am expat

Some time ago, my daughter Cheryl told me that we know someone involved with "I am expat" in Amsterdam... I haven't made contact yet - I think it is someone with the delightful name of Bea Honey.

https://www.iamexpat.nl/

I quite often find interesting stories whilst browsing their website.

How much do you know about the Netherlands? Here is a list of useful facts and statistics: (from 2015/16?)

(edit - remember decimals use a comma and thousands use a dot!).
Democracy
Head of State: King Willem-Alexander
Type of state: Constitutional monarchy
Seat of government: The Hague
Capital: Amsterdam
Voting: not compulsory

Province - Provincial capital
Groningen - Groningen
Friesland - Leeuwarden*
Drenthe - Assen
Overijssel - Zwolle
Gelderland - Arnhem
Utrecht - Utrecht
North Holland - Haarlem
South Holland - The Hague
Zeeland - Middelburg
North Brabant - s’Hertogenbosch
Limburg - Maastricht
Flevoland - Lelystad
Geography of the Netherlands
Forested land: 11,1% of total surface area
Arable land: 21,96% of total surface area
Total land surface area: 33.948 square km
Including water surface area: 41.526 square km
Belgium borders: 407 km
Germany borders: 556 km
North Sea coastline: 642 km
Population of the Netherlands
Population: 16,5 million
"Non-Western" non-natives: 1,8 million
“Western” non-natives: 1,44 million
Immigrants: 143.000
Countries of origin of immigrants: EU countries and returning Dutch citizens
Emigrants: 116.000
Countries of origin of asylum seekers: mostly Iraq, Somalia and China
Income & Labour stats
Average income (in euros): 31.000 net
Labour force: 7,714 million
Unemployment: 320.000 (4,5% - March 2009)
Number of job vacancies: 200.000 (decreasing)
Income distribution: 25,1%
Population below poverty line: 10,5%
Public debt: 45,5% of GDP
Other stats and figures
Number of households: 7,24 million
Average life expectancy: 78 years (men) and 82 years (women)
Average age: 38,7
Religion: 6 out of 10 persons profess to being religious
Healthy to very healthy: 81%
Population density: 481,7 people per square km
Cars: 383 per 1.000 people
Walking in dark (perception of safety): 81%
Prisoners: 112 per 100.000 people
Daily smokers: 32%
Broadband subscribers: 4,1 million
Internet users: 15 million
Happiness level (quite happy): 55%
Happiness level (very happy): 40%
Not proud of their nationality: 23%
Very proud of their nationality: 23%
Will fight for country: 69%
Trust people: 54%
Household with TV: 99,42%
Mobile phones: 72,24 per 100 people
Age at first marriage: 30,7 (men) & 28,3 (women)
Average size of households: 2,3
Birth rate: 10,53 births per 1.000 people
Death rate: 8,71 deaths per 1.000 people
Divorces: 39,3 per 100 marriages

The taxation system (forecasting changes)

The new Dutch government is planning on putting a new tax system in place in 2019 -  if the Dutch tax office (Belastingdienst) can handle it.

The current Dutch tax system

Currently, there are 4 tax brackets in the Dutch tax system and the percentage of tax you pay depends on your earnings per year.

If you have a yearly taxable income of up to 19.981 euros, then you fall under the first tax bracket and will pay 36,55 percent in tax. The next bracket concerns those earning 19.982 euros up to 33.790 euros. In this case, the tax applied is 40,8 percent.

In bracket three, the same tax, 40,8 percent, is applied to earnings of up to 67.071 euros. Those earning above 67.071 euros fall under the last tax bracket and pay 52 percent of their earnings in tax to the Dutch tax office.

Proposed Dutch tax system

The incoming Dutch government wants to move to a system with only two tax brackets instead of four. In the proposed tax system, the first three tax brackets will merge into one, and those earning up to 68.000 euros will be taxed 37 percent. Those earning above this amount will be taxed 49,5 percent.

The new system is especially beneficial for middle to high-income earners, as those on a middle-income can profit from lower tax rates for longer, and high-income earners see a reduced tax rate.

Employers also see an advantage to the proposed system, as employees with a higher income are less likely to ask for a raise.

Realising a two-bracket system

In order to realise such a tax system, the Dutch government is looking at increasing value-added tax (BTW)(GST) to cover a net decrease in tax of five billion euros. This will mean a price increase for groceries and energy bills, but how much is yet to be disclosed.(BTW, this is already at 21% !!).

Other measures, such as cuts to tax deductions for mortgages in the Netherlands, are yet to be decided upon.

This one gets touted every now and then. Interest payments on mortgages are tax deductible - it was introduced after the war to encourage people to (re) build. It's about the only thing I have seen people get upset about - ie. when they talk about removing it.

From the Newspaper

• A huge gas reserve has been found near the Frisian island  Schiermonnikoog. It will take years to get all the permits sorted out.
• Another energy proposal has been put forward by a Frisian company. They propose building "floating solar panels" in an array some 30 kms long - along the coast of Friesland - protected by lagoons. It would provide enough power to supply every household in Friesland.
• If Amsterdam people let tourists stay at their house, they have to be registered...otherwise a  €20,500 fine. Not sure what the reasoning is, but we think it is to do with Airbnb, taxation, fire safety.
• Many local councils have decided not to use poison to get rid of weeds, particularly between much-used tiles and bricks. But, it is proving to be much more expensive. In Rotterdam alone, the cost has risen from €1.3 million to €2.9 million. Hot water and brooms/brushes are some of the alternatives.