Sara Wegman
- Years ago, I moved to the Netherlands after living in the United States my whole life.I already spoke Dutch, but I was surprised by the monthly air-raid sirens and "American" foods.Medicine feels incredibly inexpensive here, and I don't ever really need to drive.
When I moved from New Jersey to the Netherlands to live with my partner in 2017, I thought I knew what to expect.
After all, my parents are Dutch, I spoke the language, and I had traveled to Holland more times than I could count.
But after living in the United States my entire life, there were still a lot I had to get used to once I moved abroad. Though I no longer reside in the Netherlands, here are a few things that surprised me when I first arrived.
The country tests the air-raid sirens monthly
When I got to the Netherlands, my partner took a week off work to help me settle.
So I was shocked when, on my first day alone the next week, an air-raid siren blared at lunchtime. It sounded like something from a disaster movie, and I texted him in a panic to ask what was happening.
It turns out that the Dutch test the luchtalarm on the first Monday of every month.
These kinds of alarms were used during World War II to warn of bombings or air raids, but they can also be used to warn of other dangers, like inclement weather.
The Dutch basically have 2 seasons: summer and rain
Sara Wegman
It seems like many Americans believe the country completely freezes over each winter — there are even images of the Dutch skating to work on frozen canals. However, that notion isn't true.
Winters here are typically very mild, with only 1 or 2 inches of snow every year, and the canals rarely freeze over.
In fact, it's much more common for it to stay gray and rainy from October through March. But summers absolutely make up for it, with long sunny days and sunsets as late as 10 p.m.
Small talk isn't really a thing here
The Dutch pride themselves on being straightforward, so small talk is much less common here than in the US.
As an American, I'm used to asking cashiers, "How are you?"
When I did that in the Netherlands, I'd typically get a strange look, or the stranger would ask, "Do I know you?"
Even though I speak in unaccented Dutch, I once even had a cashier ask me, "Are you foreign?" — and I suspect it was because of my attempted small talk.
Most everything is walkable, bikeable, or accessible by public transport
I have a driver's license, but I didn't drive in the Netherlands — in my experience, you don't need a car to get around.
Everything, from the grocery store to my office to the country's biggest theme park, is easily accessible by public transportation.
Thanks to bike lanes and accessible infrastructure, it's even possible to bike from city to city. Some of my colleagues would bike 45 minutes to work in the summer for exercise.
So many stores close in the early evening
Sara Wegman
One of the hardest adjustments I had to make when I moved was adjusting to different standard store hours.
Coming from the US, I was used to things being available at almost any time of day. In the Netherlands, most stores close at 5 p.m., which means you have to go on the weekends or during work.
The exception is koopavond (shop evening): One night a week, stores will stay open as late as 8 or 9.
Being 15 minutes away from the beach doesn't make a city a 'beach town'
In New Jersey, any town within 20 minutes of the ocean is considered a beach town, complete with rentable houses and nautical gift shops.
But the Netherlands is so small that many cities are close to the shore and still feel completely metropolitan.
My home city, Leiden, is only a 15-minute drive from the beach, but it's known as a small historic city and an academic hub. The seagulls are the only thing that even hint at how close it is to the water.
I didn't have to refrigerate my eggs anymore
One of the weirdest little things for me to get used to when I moved was no longer putting my eggs in the refrigerator.
In the US, eggs are washed before they're sold, which means they lose their natural protective layer and require refrigeration.
Where I lived in the Netherlands, eggs are unwashed, and most people would keep them on the counter or in a drawer.
There are some strange 'American' foods here
Sara Wegman
Another surprise was some of the foods that Dutch people think of as American.
For example, there's something called Amerikaanse fritessaus (American fry sauce) that's complete with American flags on the bottle. It's like a combination of mayonnaise, mustard, and relish.
You'd be pressed to find it in any US grocery store, but because it was created by the Dutch branch of McDonald's, most people assume it's American.
In the American section of the grocery store, you can buy hot dogs in jars or cans and even bottled Skittles drinks that I've never seen in the US.
It's unusual to ask for your leftovers at a restaurant
In the US, it's fairly common to ask to take the rest of your dish home if you didn't finish it at a restaurant.
But in the Netherlands, portion sizes seem to be smaller, and I didn't see people taking home leftovers very often.
Though packing up leftovers has become more common over the years, many restaurants wouldn't even have takeaway containers to box my food in when I'd ask.
Medicine can be really cheap, but it's not free
The biggest difference between living in the US and the Netherlands is probably the medical and healthcare systems.
Dutch healthcare isn't totally free, but I find it's very affordable. Adults can pay around 159 euros (under $200) a month for mandatory insurance, which covers most essential care and many prescription drugs.
On the rare occasion that a medication isn't covered by insurance, I've found the cost is very low.
I once had a pharmacist apologize profusely to me because my inhaler wasn't covered. I braced myself for a sky-high price, but she told me my total would be 4 euros — about $5.
That's a far cry from the US, where basic coverage for an adult often costs more than double, and uncovered prescriptions can be hundreds of dollars.
This story was originally published on March 8, 2022, and most recently updated on September 19, 2025.
