Even Small Towns are Great Here (5 Years in the Netherlands)

We’ve lived in the Netherlands for 5 years now and we’ve been to a lot of small towns and cities in that time. The thing that surprised us the most is that there’s good urbanism pretty much everywhere.

NJB Live (my live-streaming channel): @njblive

Thumbnail of Kloosterveen from Google Earth

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Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:22 Haarlem
01:59 Leiden
02:29 Harlingen
02:52 Lent (Nijmegen)
04:22 Ermelo
05:49 Veenendaal
06:30 Terschelling
06:59 Ommen
08:16 Diepenheim
08:35 Jutrijp
09:09 Zwolle
09:44 Assen
10:23 Kloosterveen (Assen)
11:18 Vathorst (Amersfoort)
11:55 Woerden
12:36 Sneek
13:42 Alkmaar
14:22 Zeist
14:42 Summary & Conclusion
17:47 Patreon Shout-out

[NotJustBikes]

If you want to hear more about our experiences living in the Netherlands for 5 years, check out this episode of my podcast, The Urbanist Agenda:


In this episode, my wife (Mrs. NJB) and I discuss our experiences, and how it compares to other places we've lived.

[nienke.z]

As a Dutch person who's lived here my whole life, these videos never fail to remind me of how much I take for granted. Things aren't perfect here, but they could be so much worse. Thanks for the occasional reality check.

[Alex-cwrz]

As someone from Europe I find it genuinely bizarre how you thought the smaller the place the less walking and bike friendly it would be, whereas here it's the opposite the larger you go normally the less walking and bike friendly it is.

[DeniseSalmon-lweh]

I'm an American woman living in The Netherlands. Every day I'm AMAZED to be spending my 'golden years' here. I've visited large cities and small towns all around the country, and I live in Limburg. The sense of belonging and satisfaction, the way the Dutch people use and enjoy and take pride in (and complain about, yes) their infrastructure; this is what keeps delighting and surprising me. The feeling when I'm walking through a town center is so different from anywhere I ever went in America. Beste Nederlanders, wat doen jullie het hier goed!

[conklegutierrez]

I honestly teared up a little watching your video. I live without a car in a US city. I have it very easy by US standards, with both my work and several grocery stores within walking distance of my home (about 40 minutes). And I live right next to a bus route that can take me to a park and to a downtown grid that even has a couple pedestrian centered streets.

And yet, this video hit me harder then I expected. Every walking commute I make every day is just a little stressful and ugly, surrounded by fast cars on wide roads and sprawling parking lots. Every day on my commutes I frequently feel unsafe and uncomfortable. I know I shouldn't complain because I have a privileged life here, but it does wear on me. And seeing how things could be from your video, filled me with longing and hope. Thank you.

[BluePieNinjaTV]

It's crazy how simply having a good design handbook can change an entire country when regular road maintanence comes around and changes up the roads

[KESipples]

Watching the kids grow from a bakfiets to mom & dad’s bike seats, to riding their own bikes is so much more satisfying than the NA equivalent of car seat to booster seat, etc.

[robindevoh]

I just want to say that as a Dutchie, your videos also help me appreciate my own country more. And I just noticed from your video from Ermelo there's an NS Wandeling/OV Stapper there (hikes that go from train station to train station for easily getting from start to home from the finish) and I'll be doing that one soon :P

[ItsASuckyName]

My mother had a friend that moved to the US, she had a child there and after the first time they went back to The Netherlands for vacation her child would ask her every year "are we going on vacation to the place where everyone walks?". That was quite and eye opener because back home in the US they had to drive everywhere. The first time her child asked that question she had no idea what he was talking about

[underground]

As an American living in Texas surrounded by oversized pickup trucks, 8 lane highways, and zero cycling or transit my envy of the Netherlands continues to grow.

[gabetalks]

Fortunately, progress is being made in North America. Both Minneapolis-St. Paul and Atlanta have abolished parking minimums, Portland banned single-family zoning, Hoboken has become a model for North American traffic calming, and Jersey City has gone all-in on bike infrastructure. They even turned their main street into a pedestrian plaza. It gives me hope that these steps can be the start of a continent-wide transformation.

[ronaldderooij]

I remember when my son was 6 years old, he went to the next village (5km, 3 miles) away on his bike, together with our neighbours daughter (same age) without notifying us. He came back full of enthousiasm about his cycling "adventure". I swallowed, thought to myself "this is normal exploration behavior". And asked him which route he took and how far into the next village they went. It was a relief they they were smart enough to take the bike path (completely separated from anything else) and did not go further. I don't think this would be possible at that age in many other countries.😄

[johannesderuig]

Honestly, I keep forgetting just how good we have it here in The Netherlands. Every time I watch your videos about how amazed you are by such things I take for granted, I feel a sense of pride and humbleness. Thanks for not just showing the world that it can be better, but also showing us that we don't always have to complain about everything (something else the Dutch absolutely excel in), but that we also can be grateful for what we have. Keep up the awesome work!

[SongStudios]

As a Dutchie, when I was young I always used to think that our infastructure would be everywhere on earth, I thought it was weird for people outside of NL to go to school using the bus or car. But then I realized the sad truth, which is that their infastructure just absolutely sucks so much that if you tried to bike there, you would be yelled at and endanger your own life.
Biking here isn't just a way of transportation here, it's our culture and what we're proud of. This is to show how safe we are and why rest of the world (Except tiny parts of Belgium and France) should adapt our roads and bicycle paths. The times I have been to Germany to find only one bicycle path on one side of the road, and then almost cycle into a pothole because their bicycle paths are a joke, is too many

[moxxym]

As a dutch person this video feels like a massive compliment, the utter surprise at how small towns look here is great.❤

[tomatoblate]

I just very recently took my first ever trip to the Netherlands (as someone who comes from a car centric Canadian city), and even though we were going on a special camping trip in Haarlem and didn’t get to spend too much time in actual cities, the time I did spend in Amsterdam and Haarlem I was just as blown away as you were. I literally could barely comprehend how much nicer and human friendly the cities are. Trains, bikes, and large sidewalks were utterly foreign ideas coming from Canada. But what probably amazed me the most is that you can completely safely walk and bike across the country on lovely paths with no cars in sight. Just the mere thought that there is intercity bike travel seems impossible, I’ve never heard anything like it because I’m so used to cars being literally the only possible option for intercity travel

[lizanneo]

What this video shows is essential to understand why bike-share is not a thing in The Netherlands. We do not just cycle in the city centre, we cycle everywhere. We cycle to and from big cities, small cities, towns, villages, tiny hamlets and farms in the countryside. This is why everybody owns their own bicycle (or 2 or 3). There is no place where people who use bikes congregate, they are everywhere. And the bike is the mode of transportation from where you are to other forms of transportation.

Bicycles are for end-to-end transportation.

[yuu-kun]

Chapters / timetamps
01:22 Haarlem
01:59 Leiden
02:29 Harlingen
02:52 Lent (Nijmegen)
04:22 Ermelo
05:49 Veenendaal
06:30 Terschelling
06:59 Ommen
08:16 Diepenheim
08:35 Jutrijp
09:09 Zwolle
09:44 Assen
10:23 Kloosterveen (Assen)
11:18 Vathorst (Amersfoort)
11:55 Woerden
12:36 Sneek
13:42 Alkmaar
14:22 Zeist
14:42 Final thoughts
17:47 Outro

[Sauron...]

One thing your missing is that some of these train stations don't just serve their city. The train station in Hoorn for example functions as a through point for all of Westfriesland and the Streek which is a combined population of 177.880.

[ckEagle]

I've literally been crying as I watch this video! I live in South Bend, Indiana, which much like Alkmaar, roughly has a population of 100, 000 people. South Bend has a surface area of close to 110 sq. km, or just over 42 sq. miles, and Alkmaar has a surface area of just over 117 sq. km, or just over 45 sq. miles. South Bend, much like Alkmaar, is mostly detached single family homes. And as many similarities as these two cities have, as much as they share in common, they couldn't be any more different from each other!

These small cities, towns, and villages you're showcasing here look just so ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!! The ability to live without a car is a dream I've had since I was a young teen and my dad told me I would HAVE to get a car someday. I didn't want to, and was depressed when I had to give up biking everywhere because my dad made me go buy a car and start learning about car maintenance. And seeing Alkmaar built the way it is just hurts knowing that it's possible to live like that, and also knowing that most other South Benders don't want the infrastructure that would make their lives so much better.

I'm just glad I finally found the South Bend Strong Towns chapter!