'Normal' Dutch things that got me | Dutch Culture Shocks |

Moving to the Netherlands is different for everyone. Moving from the other side of the world into a completely different country was a massive culture shock for me to say the least.
These were the things that stood out amongst heaps of other weird and wonderful things about The Netherlands.
Enjoy :)

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🌿Table of Contents🌿
Intro: 0:00
Toilets: 0:54
Gefeliciteerd: 2:26
Safety: 4:41
Parents: 5:49
Balance: 7:44
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[streglof]

The trick with birthdays is to arrive first so you don't have to "do the round" but they have to come to you instead.

[anneliesegberink]

I’m Dutch, and when I first moved to the UK I congratulated a whole room of people at birthdays. Equally awkward 😁

[forkless]

Another typical (but not exclusively Dutch) toilet ornament -- the birthday calendar.

[johanknollema]

I appreciate my separate toilet. I like to keep my visitors out of my bathroom. Another positive aspect: the toilet is available when the bathroom is occupied.

[DionneSier]

I'm 20 years old and native dutch and I absolutely hate the congratulate everyone custom. I never know what to do or say and I rarely participate in congratulating everyone myself.

[NotJustBikes]

Thanks so much for the mention and the link! I think that the independence that children have here is my absolute favourite thing in the Netherlands ... and that's saying a lot, because there's a lot I like about the Netherlands. :)

[stephenvanwijk]

Our traffic system is one of the safest on Earth. Dutch parents know what they are doing. Their safety is in alertness and being just good in riding bicycles.
We’ve spent a lot of attention to slow down traffic in suburban areas. And children know the dangers, because they are confronted with traffic dangers from a young age on, just because Dutch parents put them on a small bike and start to expose them to traffic.
In this subject you also see the hyper practical mentality of us Dutch back. The kids are just put in traffic like it is normal, but parents tell them everything along the way. Just do it, nothing is risk free, but without experience with danger, the danger becomes worse.

[aveis]

Due to the weather you don, t come straight in the living but in the hal, there you have the stairs, the utillitymeters, a place to hang your coat and the toilet. I think it makes sense.

[howaboutthatdutchflavor]

That boy misheard “gecondoleerd” (I’m sorry for your loss) and took it for the “gefeliciteerd” (congratulations), because it seems the same thing and sounds the same so they just don’t notice the difference. I have heard many children (including my own) say gefeliciteerd at a funeral or in private and the parents looking like “let’s have a short conversation “

[jethrogovaart]

Toilets, there is a regulation in the Netherlands that force there are at least two doors between a toilet and the living area (kitchen, living room, bedroom). Due to this regulation it is makes sense to put the toilet in the hallway, which is mostly at the front door. So it is a combination of regulations and a simple appliance of this. When the toilet would be placed at the living room, it means there must be a small hallway between the toilet and the living room, losing more space.

[v.e.jansen]

Wait why do Australians have their bedrooms close to the front door? And why is this so weird to me? Lol

[mexmillian]

I’m from the Netherlands but where I’m from we only congratulate the family members, I wouldn’t know why I would congratulate a friend 😂

[CobisTaba]

I believe we have a rule that a toilet door cannot directly exit into the living room (due to hygiene). That means the toilet has to exit in the hallway basicly, and that is also where the front door normally is :).

[TanjainWonderland]

I'm dutch and congratualating everyone to me kinda feels like showing your happy for the other people to have that person (who' s bday it is) in their lives.
And about the young children, being independent is a important thing in dutch culture. :)

[esther]

i think we cycle without helmets and children don't wear helmets on bikes bc we learn to cycle when we are very very young. I mean 2 years old with side weels for support and almost everyone can cycle at 6 yo.

[outrageouspickles]

A common lay-out for a Dutch house is that the more private areas such as the bedrooms and the main bathroom are on the first floor and the living areas (living room, kitchen) where you would usually receive guests are on the ground floor. To prevent guests from having to go to the first floor to use the toilet, it is common to have a separate toilet in the hallway near the front door that they can use.

[rivkavermeij]

As a child, we were allowed to come to the playground in the area by ourselves from the age of 6. From the age of 8, 9 or 10, children cycle to school by themselves (depending on how far away they live of course).
As to road safety and cycling, everyone is very aware of what to do and what not to do when cycling, so it might appear unsafe for the untrained eye, but it's not as bad as it looks once you're in on the rules etc I think. :)

[joycegorter]

It's so much fun to hear your perspective because as a Dutch native I don't always think about the things that are strange to foreign people. Thank you for sharing

[nagranoth_]

- Toilets next to the front door is exactly the opposite of an old house thing. In old houses it tends to be in the back of the house. Often in an extension because the original house didn't have a toilet inside. It's only since houses were build or renovated with toilets in mind that they were put next to the front door. But it only makes sense; if a delivery guy or such needs to use the toilet it's right there, you don't have to let them go through your entire house. The hall and toilet are more public areas, everything else is more private. It doesn't make sense to have a bedroom - the most private room in the house apart from the bathroom - right next to the public street/entrance. Apart from everything else I'd feel very uncomfortable having people walking right along my bedroom window all the time, let alone street noise. I want that room to be as far away from the street as possible. (and of course, you don't care if a toilet receives street noise). Usually the living room or kitchen are next to your front door, as these are less private. It's normal to invite, say, your accountant into your living room, but they have no business with your bedroom. Friends might cook in your kitchen, but normally have no reason to go to your bedroom. This is all a natural evolution from the time that people lived in great halls. Once they started making separations the extra rooms were the most private while the hall remained public. In fact old houses used to have 2 living rooms: a front fancy living room that was only used to receive important people, and the back private living room where you actually lived yourself all year round and receive friends and family. As society became less hierarchical (the doctor and pastor are now just people, not special people to revere) the separation disappeared and of course the doorzon (through sun) design came into use having your living room run from the front to the back of the house with both front and back windows letting light in. The entrance hall is what used to be the only main hall in a house, everything else is organised according to privacy mostly. If you find this topic interesting I'd suggest reading Bill Bryson's book At Home.

- actually, you normally congratulate family. Not friends, unless they're so close friends they're considered family maybe. And really a lot of people will just get in the room, congratulate 1st degree family and call out congratulations in general to the rest as everyone basically hates going around the entire room or if you're already there getting constantly interrupted by people going around the room. And with weddings the custom is that the married couple and 1st degree relatives are at the entrance of the partyhall and receive guests and get congratulated there. At least with every wedding I've ever been to. Though maybe it's different regionally.

- it makes no sense to wear helmets on a bike. It doesn't add to safety really as it's extremely unlikely you'll actually hit your head if you ever fall, it actually hinders your ability to observe other traffic, and a study done by a Dutch professor showed that cars will pass closer by when you're wearing a helmet (probably because subconsciously you look to be safer) and thus actually _increasing_ the likelihood you'll get in an accident. Apart from that, our entire infrastructure is designed for bike safety (e.g. physical separation of foot traffic, bikes, cars) and our bikes have a safer design (sitting upright), which is way more effective and something sorely missing in other countries, which is why they have to make due with things like a helmet because it's so much more likely you'll get in an accident.

[Bricolage-ph]

Honestly, one good thing about Covid is that I no longer have to go round the 'kring' and say happy birthday to other people. God I hate it, it's so awkward. Hopefully when Corona is over and we can go to birthday parties again it will not come back.