Things I wish I had known before I came to the Netherlands

The word ‘direct’ is often associated with the Netherlands, and as an international student looking to make yourself at home in this country, it may sound frightening at first. But really, Dutch ‘directness’ simply isn’t that bad most of the time, especially in Enschede, where the environment is international and friendly.

Before coming to the Netherlands, I thought Dutch ‘directness’ was a codeword for Dutch ‘rudeness’, but it’s only a way to show that Dutch people like efficiency, and don’t want to hear or say sugar-coated words. They say what they want to say, yes, but so does every other person in the world – however, a lot of my international friends were intimidated by the Dutch at first, because of this stereotype.

I wish I’d never heard of this stereotype and made friends with the locals sooner – some of my best study friends in the university are Dutch, and it took me a while to learn to speak my mind as they do.

Yes! A lot of international people don’t realise this. I think this awkwardness stems from the fact that they view themselves as the ‘ones NOT from the Netherlands’ and the locals as the ‘ones from the Netherlands’. I personally think this stereotype has done far more damage than it was ever meant to do. It could also be one of the main reasons some international students don’t bother to make friends with Dutch people.

I think it would be that the main type of card used in transactions is a Maestro or V PAY debit card, and that most places frown upon the use of a credit card. I came to the Netherlands with only cash and an international debit card, and it was quite hard to get around quickly. I opened a European IBAN using Revolut and chose a Maestro card, which was enough for the first year. I only recently opened a Dutch bank account through ING (ABN Amro, ING, and Rabobank are really popular among students), and it was as easy as filling in a form and doing an online identity check.

Maybe another thing would be that I wish I’d known how important bikes would be for everyday life. A lot of online guides stress just how essential a bike is to Dutch culture, but I don’t think I ever really understood it until I came here and realised… I didn’t have a way of getting around. Once you’re able to pay for what you want, get a bike as soon as possible. Don’t get too attached to it though, as it may be subject to theft. After all, even safe countries like the Netherlands can’t always protect their bicycles.

One final thing would be that there are a lot of discounts readily available. Living alone is surprisingly expensive, so once I got my hands on the discount cards for Albert Heijn, the points system for Jumbo, and the Lidl Plus app, I found myself scrolling through these grocery store apps for way longer than I normally would have. There are also great apps like TooGoodToGo, which my friends use (though I do plan to download it soon), to get discounted meals from the university themselves after classes end.

For Enschede specifically? I think the thing that really helped me was familiarising myself with the city: where to go for cheap food, where to go for cheap stuff, where to go for slightly better food and slightly better stuff.  Discount store Action has a lot of cheap (and low-quality) things, but they’ll get you through the first couple of weeks or months. The town next to Enschede, Hengelo, has an Ikea store that also offers second-hand furniture for your room or studio.

 Speaking about rooms, it's important to know about the housing crisis in the Netherlands. You may have heard of it before coming here, or you may have found out the hard way, but there is a housing shortage in the Netherlands. Enschede, however, is a bit different – places are affordable for a student city, and it’ll take you around two months to find a place. Other cities take longer and are more expensive. As an international, non-EEA student, the University offers you a guaranteed one-year housing contract on campus. My advice is to take this offer and start looking for a place after the winter break – people start flooding in during the summer, and that’s when demand is highest.

For EEA students, the search is going to be a bit harder as the University does not offer a guaranteed housing contract in that case, but always remember to start early. Use online resources such as Reddit or housing forums to formulate an opinion. Don’t underestimate the housing crisis, but also don’t let it be the deciding factor of your decision to come here or not. Refer to our housing guide for a more detailed look into how you can get housing before classes start.