The Netherlands nabs 4th place in the world rankings for working abroad, with 70% of responders raving about its fabulous work-life balance. However…there’s a catch. (Isn’t there always?)
Expat Insider published its rankings of the best destinations for working abroad, and our humble land of cheese and clogs just rocked up to 4th place. IN. THE. WORLD. (Did we mention that part?) 🥳
Hoera, career options and work-life balance are amazing
Those after-work borrels must be working their magic because a whopping 73% of responders are happy with their working hours — 10% higher than the global average.
The Netherlands not only ranked highly in terms of working hours (7th) but also in the local job market (9th) and job security (12th).
Liberal and connected, but public transport could be better
Dutch directness must also work wonders, as responders view the Netherlands favourably regarding political stability (79%) and freedom of expression (78%).
In addition to this, 94% of expats find it easy and safe to get around by bike or on foot.
However, living in a nation of talented cyclists won’t keep auto-enthusiasts from burning rubber, as 88% are happy with the current car infrastructure.
Unfortunately, the Netherlands falls short in the Travel & Transit category — landing just outside the top 10 at number 11. (We have our good friends, the NS and Schiphol, to thank for that! 🤨)
Healthcare and the housing market were…disappointing
Unsurprisingly, in the Housing subcategory, the Netherlands lands in the bottom five worldwide, at number 49.
About 69% agree that housing is difficult to afford, and 53% think that proper accommodation is just difficult to find (compared with global averages of 43% and 27%, respectively).
Meanwhile, responders were also disappointed by the quality of healthcare (25%, compared to 14% globally) and its lack of affordability (54%).
Yep, you’re preaching to the choir here, housing in the Netherlands can suck.
READ MORE | 7 things that the Dutch kind of suck at
When it comes to personal finance, the Netherlands fumbles
The Netherlands actually scores below average on the personal finance index, coming in at 32nd place in the rankings.
Over 46% of expats find the cost of living too high (compared to 35% globally), though 77% of them felt that their disposable income was enough to live off.
What do you think of the Netherlands’ scores in the rankings? Tell us all about it in the comments below!
I’m an expat who has lived in the netherlands for almost 20 years. A lot of expats complain about the health care. I did too when I moved here. But I understand it much better now. I think it is very good, but the Dutch are very unwilling to give antibiotics unless the problem it’s quite severe. This alarms many people, but it is done to protect one’s immunity. Using antibiotics too easily, as in the US (my homeland) leads to antibiotics losing their effectiveness. The Dutch doctors also often have a very tough attitude towards comforting a patient and often just say “Go home and take a paracetamol.” This is very annoying and gives off an appearance of not doing their job. But having lived here so long and had other, more involved medical issues, I find the care here very good, especially compared to the US. Regular exams or tests for cancer are done very well. The covid response was swift and well organized. And othe procedures I’ve had have always been done well, including a very thorough review afterwards. So I understand the issue, but mostly disagree with the typical expat conclusion. I completely disagree with the negative view of city transport notwithstanding Schiphol’s recent problems. Public transport it’s amazing here, better than in most European countries. I don’t understand that statistic.
The only problem with this comment is that the healthcare in the USA can’t be compared to to Europe. US is like a Third Wold country with it’s outdates healthcare.
Healthcare in the NL should he compared with other European countries. That also applies to the public transportation, housing, homelessness rates….
Unfortunately, the NL is on it’s way to become a mini version on the UK which is already a mini version of the US.
The NL takes the worst from both of the worlds: the safety net disappeared under the VVD, healthcare is becoming a disaster and the housing already is, homeless are everywhere, etc, etc and, at the same time, we pay crazy high taxes and contributions and on top on that we also pay the health insurance from our pockets.
What for?
The Dutch could learn a thing or two about the fiscal system, transportation and healthcare from the Swiss and they could also investigate how Scandinavian countries organised their welfare state. Not like a predatory scam that targets welfare recipients and takes their children away!
Like this, we pay Scandinavian taxes and Swiss housing prices, work for German wages (read: low!) but get Southern European quality of services.
It is a disaster!