Made the big move from Southern California to The Netherlands

E Double U

@ shocan - I've been using Duolingo for years and have learned lots of words from it. But Duolingo doesn't teach the rules of the language so I went to a language institute for that. I didn't learn sentence structure of subject verb1 time-object-place verb2 from Duolingo, but you can learn greetings, colors, numbers, and other random things. It's a great app for someone who wants to learn some words before visiting another country, but not for someone who wants to become fluent because they are relocating. At least that's my take on it.

@ MeanDrunkR2D2 - Sadly to say my upbringing has left me desensitized to violence so I shrug it off, but my wife's reaction is the complete opposite. I definitely wanted to raise my kids in an environment that trains them to be like my wife rather than like me. I'm used to seeing something terrible in the newspaper and just turning to the next page to see the ads like its nothing. My wife pointed out to me the major difference in how news is shown. Here, the news is meant to inform and back home she felt it was meant to scare. A one hour news segment could be filled with all of the terrible things that happened in LA County that day. Just not the case here. Of course bad things happen everywhere so I'm not naive enough to become completely free of worry, but my guards are definitely down.

I've only been to Germany once, but loved every minute of it. Spent two days in Berlin and about four days in Munich for Oktoberfest. That was an amazing time.

ITSec14

@E

For the record, I'm still very jealous lol. I looked at a few companies in Amsterdam and found some great opportunities. Unfortunately, it just hasn't been the right time to seriously consider making that move. Wife and I are expecting our first child in 2 months and I'm looking to start grad school next Fall. My parents have also expressed some pretty negative feelings in regard to us potentially moving across the pond.

E Double U

Update: After completing GCCC a few months ago and CCSP two weeks ago, I will now focus on Dutch for the remainder of 2019. I took my first integration exam yesterday and have four more next Friday. My goal is to obtain a NL passport by 2020. 

NotHackingYou

Thank you so much for sharing about your journey. It's been fascinating to read. Please continue to update.

coreyb80

Congrats OP! This definitely reminds me of the company I just started with.  They're based in UK, but I'm doing desktop for the Chicago office.  20 vacay days along with 10 sick days and they also give us our birthday off in addition as well.  Definitely has me wondering about life overseas.  I should be making a trip to the UK soon.

E Double U

coreyb80 said:

Congrats OP! This definitely reminds me of the company I just started with.  They're based in UK, but I'm doing desktop for the Chicago office.  20 vacay days along with 10 sick days and they also give us our birthday off in addition as well.  Definitely has me wondering about life overseas.  I should be making a trip to the UK soon.

I once worked for a British company’s Los Angeles office and I had five weeks of vacation. That was a sweet deal! 

E Double U

Update on the integration process: I passed 3 of the integration exams and results for two are still pending. Also waiting for a decision to be exempt for another exam. My goal of dual citizenship is coming along nicely. 

JoJoCal19

Congrats E-Dub! How have you found the transition from US to NED? Was the language barrier huge or do a lot of people speak English? 

I've toyed around with the idea of relocating to Spain. Since I was born in Puerto Rico, I'm eligible for Spain citizenship after just 2 years of living there instead of 10. Which also would give me easier access to the rest of the EU. 

E Double U

@ JoJo - The transition was smooth since I was already very familiar with Holland after traveling here every year since 2007. Plus relocating with a spouse that is a native and has family/friends here grants a nice support system so I didn't encounter the struggles that others would. There is no language barrier at all because every Dutch person that I encounter (besides small children) are fluent in English. 

E Double U

Update: I have passed all of the language integration exams. Next week I will pick up my diploma and will visit the local city hall with all of my docs to apply for citizenship 

Infosec_Sam

Hey, congratulations! How are you liking life over in Europe so far?

E Double U

@ Infosec_Sam - besides the weather I have no real complaints. Moving from a place with constant sunshine to a place with constant rain is quite the adjustment lol. My work-life balance has improved greatly since being here (the vacation time helps with this). 

One of my favorite things about being here is being able to visit other EU countries within relatively short travel time. Since November of last year I have been on work-related trips to Copenhagen, London, Krakow, Stockholm, and Barcelona (twice).  It is great when I can take my kids to school, catch a flight immediately after, and be back the next day to put them to bed. 

TheFORCE

Thats really good deal man. Europe is definitely a good place to raise a family depending on the country too of course but over all still really good.   i just got back from European vacation and we had a blast. 

advanex1

Would love to be in your shoes. That's awesome man. Enjoy the job and the country!

chrisone

E Double U said:

So I went from doing information security for a bank based in Long Beach to information security for a bank based in Amsterdam. 

- 20 days of vacation plus an allowance to purchase more days off or keep the money
- Train card paid for in full (I do not miss driving on LA highways)

I envy you!   
Los Angeles is getting very very bad (politics, high concentration of people in small area with crappy transportation, disgusting cost of living, majority of people with shty attitudes, etc ). A literal sh hole. Someday I will make the move to Irvine/Orange county area. After that I may have to look out of state. 

I would NEVER raise my kids in the los angeles district....

JDMurray

chrisone said:

Someday I will make the move to Irvine/Orange county area. After that I may have to look out of state. 
I would NEVER raise my kids in the los angeles district....

OC is getting worse by the election cycle. The entire Left Coast is real bad. Texas (other than Austin) and Florida are looking real good to me now.

TheFORCE

JDMurray said:

chrisone said:

Someday I will make the move to Irvine/Orange county area. After that I may have to look out of state. 
I would NEVER raise my kids in the los angeles district....

OC is getting worse by the election cycle. The entire Left Coast is real bad. Texas (other than Austin) and Florida are looking real good to me now.

I had a slight interest in FL also but not really ready yet.

E Double U

@ TheFORCE - Yes NL is very family accommodating. The city that I live in is very child friendly. Lots of playgrounds here and events for children organized by the city. I feel very comfortable raising my kids here. Plus my wife feels at ease being back in NL everytime we see something in the news about the US lol. Which countries did you visit on your vacation?

@ JDMurray - Quite a few of the bad/weird/strange news articles that I see coming out of the US seem to happen in Florida lol.

@ advanex1 - Thank you! I am enjoying the job to the fullest, but I don't explore the country as much as I should. I'm just back and forth between my city and Amsterdam mostly. I live the normal working parent life lol. If we are not taking them to school then it is some other activity like soccer or swimming. 

@ chrisone - I lived in the Bixby Knolls area of Long Beach for six years before the big move and I thought that area was nice. During that time I worked in both El Segundo and Seal Beach which seemed to be pretty nice cities. The transportation wasn't an issue for me during that time because I took the Metro rail when I worked in ES and I was on the 405 south (against traffic) when I worked in SB. I do miss being able to go to a pier on my lunch break. The closest thing I have to a beach near my Amsterdam office is a canal lol. 

NL is not entirely perfect either, but it is bearable. There are unsafe areas in the larger cities, but since I stay clear of those parts. 

chrisone

@JDMurray
Florida has always had a special place in my heart. Love that tropical weather! If an amazing opportunity presented itself, I could see myself moving out there.

Regarding your OC comment, well the city is in the state of California, sooner or later because of the politics being so drastically one sided party dominant "like it always is in CA,"  OC will be forced to abide by the majority state rule/law. The local city/mayor can only uphold things for so long until Sacramento steps in. But not going to lie, of course admitting this is all from my own limited ignorant idea of the relationship between the local city/mayor and state capitol/governor.

Florida = no state tax right?
 

TheFORCE

@chrisone

The states without personal income taxes

• Alaska
• Florida
• Nevada
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Washington
• Wyoming

advanex1

I'm a born and raised Texan. I love the state in general but having no state income tax is something that keeps me here as well. Not having that extra cash out of my pocket is great. The property taxes are higher, but not more than what I would pay in state taxes.

E Double U

Update: Rapidly approaching the four-year anniversary of the big move and we are still happy with our decision. Things are still going well for me both personally and professionally. I also feel relieved we are not having the same experiences in NL that my family/friends back in LA have witnessed. 

JDMurray

How is the Netherlands holding up with the news that the Eurovision Song Contest has been cancelled this year? They were going to be serenading Rotterdam too. I was hoping that Adam Curry would be the host.

chrisone

How is your dutch? Sorry I don't remember if you were already a fluent native dutch speaker or if it was something you were working on. 

E Double U

@ chrisone - My Dutch is good enough to pass the integration exams which I have completed last year. I wouldn't call myself fluent, but I can understand it when I hear/read it. Speaking it is another animal, but I can manage (though I make mistakes).

@ jdmurray - Dutchies are bummed out about Eurovision. 

E Double U

Update:

24-Sep: Rcvd a letter from immigration advising that the king has approved my request for naturalization.
8-Oct: Rcvd the official citizenship document along with an invite from the local city hall to apply for a passport.
12-Oct: Submitted application for NL passport
15-Oct: Passport delivered to my home.

Due to covid regulations there is no longer a ceremony, but at least I have my dual citizenship. Been an interesting journey to say the least. Let's see what's next. 

JDMurray

King Pils himself approved your Dutch citizenship? Proost!

E Double U

JDMurray said:

King Pils himself approved your Dutch citizenship? Proost!

I’m kind of a big deal. 

JDMurray

Next you'll be telling me that you are best buds with both the King and his pal Adam Curry too.  

masheen

E Double U said:

@ TheFORCE - Yes NL is very family accommodating. The city that I live in is very child friendly. Lots of playgrounds here and events for children organized by the city. I feel very comfortable raising my kids here. ...

@ E Double U , you are referring to "a very child friendly city". Would you mind sharing which one that is? (Your work is in Amsterdam, but it sounds like you live elsewhere nearby.)

We are having an extremely difficult time deciding whether to leave a seemingly perfect life in California for getting closer to some family and building a more interesting life experience to look back on when older. We have no objections whatsoever about our life in California. We have a 2-year-old that has so many interesting activities here in Cali, year round, hence my question. We have a looming deadline for job offer acceptance. Didn't see how to send a private message.