I moved to the Netherlands five years ago after living in the US my whole life. I already spoke Dutch, but I was surprised by the monthly air-raid sirens and American foods. Medicine is cheap here, and I don't need to drive. I moved to the Netherlands five years ago and thought I knew what to expect. I traveled to Holland more times than I could count because my parents are Dutch and I spoke the language. After living in the US my entire life, there were still a few things I had to get used to. When I came to the Netherlands to live with my boyfriend, he took the first week off work to help me get settled. Imagine my surprise when I heard an air-raid siren on my first day home alone. It sounded like a disaster movie to me, and I panicked and asked my boyfriend what was going on. On the first Monday of every month, the Dutch test the luchtalarm. During World War II, these kinds of alarms were used to warn of bombs and air raids, but they can also be used to warn of other dangers. Many Americans think the country is completely frozen in the winter, complete with images of the Dutch skating to work on frozen canals. That is definitely not true. The canals rarely freeze over in the winter, and the winters here are usually very mild. It stays gray and rainy from October through March. It makes up for it with long sunny days and late night sunsets. Small talk is much less common in the US than it is in the Dutch. I am used to asking cashiers how they are. If I do that in the Netherlands, I get a strange look or they will ask, "Do I know you?" Even though I speak in Dutch, the cashier would ask me if I was foreign. I don't have a driver's license in the Netherlands, but most of the cars there are stick shift and you don't need one to get around. Public transportation makes it easy to get to everything from the grocery store to my office. It is possible to bike from city to city thanks to bike lanes and accessible infrastructure. In the summer, some of my colleagues bike 45 minutes to work. When I moved, it was difficult to get used to different store hours. I am used to things being available at almost any time of the day. Most stores in the Netherlands close at 5 p.m., meaning you have to go on the weekends or during work. Stores will stay open late one night per week. Not refrigerating my eggs was one of the strangest things I had to get used to. In the US, eggs are washed before they are sold, meaning they lose the protective layer and need to be refrigerated. Eggs in the Netherlands are usually kept in a drawer or on the counter. Rentable houses and nautical gift shops can be found in any town that is within 20 minutes of the ocean. Many cities in the Netherlands are close to the shore and still feel metropolitan. My home city is a 15-minute drive from the beach and is known as a small, historic city and an academic hub. The seagulls are the only thing that tells us how close we are to the water. Some of the foods that Dutch people think of as American were a surprise. Amerikaanse fritessaus is a combination of mayonnaise, mustard, and relish and has American flags on the bottle. Most people assume it is American because it was created by the Dutch branch of Mcdonald's. In the American section of the store, you can buy hot dogs in jars or cans, and even bottled Skittles drinks. If you don't finish your meal at a restaurant, it is common for you to ask to take the rest of your dish home. In the Netherlands, portion sizes seem to be smaller, so people don't need to do that as often. Although it is becoming more common, many restaurants do not have containers to box your food. The medical system was probably the biggest cultural difference moving to the Netherlands. Dutch healthcare is not free, but it is very affordable, with individual insurance costing about $100 a month and covering most expenses. 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The country tests the air-raid siren monthly
The Dutch have 2 seasons: summer and rain
Small talk isn't really a thing here
Everything is walkable, bikeable, or accessible by public transport
Most stores close in the early evening around 5 p.m.
I don't have to refrigerate my eggs anymore
Being 15 minutes away from the beach doesn't make a city a 'beach town'
There are some strange 'American' foods here
It's unusual to ask for your leftovers at a restaurant
Medicine is incredibly cheap, but it's not free
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