The Butcher Social Club Amsterdam North. So near, yet so far away. David Bowie sang ‘is there life on Mars?’. I had similar thoughts about Amsterdam North. In fact the Shallow Man hadn’t visited that part of the world for some time until on a cold December evening I took a ferry across the IJ to …
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Doe Maar Normaal or Rot Op Naar Je Eigen Land If you don’t like it here, rot op naar je eigen land. (Go back to your own country). Yes dear reader, the statement above is not from some nationalistic grandma in a sleepy Dutch village, angry about ungrateful immigrants protesting against Zwarte Piet. No this wonderfully tolerant statement …
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Recommended Sites For Expats in the Netherlands I’ve put together this list of recommended sites for expats in the Netherlands as I’m often asked to recommend good sites for expats. So below in no particular order is a selection of the sites I myself visit on a regular basis. This is not a complete list, …
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Fitch & Shui and the club sandwich from hell I’m not a religious man, but like many ex-Catholics I still cling on to remnants of my faith. On a busy day in Amsterdam in between meetings I decided to pop into Fitch & Shui and have a sandwich. Having an appreciation for the classics I decided to …
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Racial Discrimination in Amsterdam Temp Agencies THERE IS NO RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN AMSTERDAM! This must be true, as people keep saying it on Facebook. The most common argument used is, “look at Amsterdam, we accept people from everywhere”. I’ve always regarded this argument as being as shaky as a Dutch girl on a bike after a night …
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Why Dutch Women Are The Happiest In The World An American expat lady recently sent me the following message. Shallow Man, I was like cycling to work, and got like caught up in a tram rail and fell flat on my face. I broke a tooth and there was like blood everywhere. A couple of Dutch …
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Essential tips on working with the British and the Dutch I recently received a message from a reader who is moving to the UK for work. “Shallow Man, I’m about to move to the UK, and would appreciate any tips you have on working with the British”. The Shallow Man, always keen to help fulfil the requests of …
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Keep Zwarte Piet Black! The PVV, the party of Geert Wilders, are proposing a new law to keep Zwarte Piet black. I say black, but actually, brown is also ok. Martin Bosma, a spokesperson for the PVV goes as far as to suggest that the physical characteristics of Zwarte Piet need to be defined in …
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Scenes From The Dutch Schoolpleinpolitiek An expat reader of mine who goes by the clever name of Sue Denim has been kind enough to provide her observations of the complex intercultural human interaction that takes place during the school run. The mysteries of the Dutch schoolpleinpolitiek are revealed in this post. If it upsets you, …
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Propaganda by the VVD in the Dutch municipal elections 2018 Propaganda, a definition Dissemination of information—facts, arguments, rumours, half-truths, or lies—to influence public opinion. (source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/propaganda) The Dutch Municipal Elections 2018 The Dutch municipal elections 2018 are taking place on March 21st, 2018. If you’re an EU citizen you have the right to vote and should …
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The Expat Voting Guide For the Dutch Municipal Elections 2018 With the Dutch municipal elections 2018 taking place soon, here’s a guide to the parties after your votes. This simple guide summarises the core policy of each of the main parties in a simple and easy to read manner. No need to thank me. …
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Geert Wilders Admits That Zwarte Piet Is Racist In an interview that will shock many, Geert Wilders the founder, head and deputy head of the anti-Islamic party the PVV has admitted in an interview that Zwarte Piet is racist. His admission has left many of his followers in shock. Speaking in an interview with a local …
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Number One For Hate Speech On Facebook We all know the things that the Dutch are famous for including some of the following: Tolerance Most bikes per capita in Europe Happiest children in the world So the news that the Dutch are the number one when it comes to hate speech on Facebook certainly came …
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The high-quality service of PostNL In the past, the Shallow Man has written about the high-quality service of PostNL. Based on personal experience, PostNL should have the following mission statement: Develop community spirit by delivering packages to complete strangers, thus enabling people to get to know each other Improve the health of our customers by …
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The Great 30% Ruling Benefit Robbery Imagine the outcry if the Dutch government were to announce that from 2019 tax relief on mortgages would not only be significantly reduced but that the change will be retroactive for the previous three years. There would be an orange revolution! The Dutch wouldn’t stand for it. Which brings me …
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Freelance real estate agent required for Ramón Mossel Expat Services Are you an experienced real estate agent or do you have a background working as a relocation agent? Ramón Mossel Real Estate, one of the top estate agents in Amsterdam, is looking for someone to join their team and focus on helping expats buy or …
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The Top Five Status Symbols In Amsterdam In a country with Calvinistic roots, it’s not always easy to spot what passes for status symbols in Amsterdam. Compared to London or Moscow where it’s easy to spot the wealthy by the way they dress and the kind of cars they drive, in Amsterdam things are often a …
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The Dutch love of caravans and campers If you’re a single expat that’s recently moved to the Netherlands, you may have been somewhat confused while swiping your way through Tinder profiles to see photos of attractive singles taken in front of their caravans or campers. The explanation for this is simple, the Dutch love caravans …
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The Netherlands Heatwave Plan The Netherlands has been experiencing freak weather for weeks. By freak weather, I am of course referring to a prolonged heatwave. At the time of writing this, it hasn’t rained for weeks. I see confused and shocked expats and locals on Facebook asking each other, “what’s going on? is the world …
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It happened on an NS Train ride One of the joys of being the Shallow Man is that I often receive wonderful messages from my readers about various aspects of life in the Netherlands. The story I’m about to share with you below is one of the most interesting and touching messages I’ve ever received. …
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