After a train conductor from Dutch railway company NS was violently assaulted, three major cities have decided to suspend all public transport for a moment of protest on Saturday night.
The municipalities of The Hague, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam are following the example of the NS, which announced that it was stopping all train service on Saturday night in protest against rising violence towards its workers.
As de Volkskrant writes, trains, buses, trams, and metros in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague will stop for three minutes at 10:30 PM. The ferry across Amsterdam’s IJ will also temporarily not sail.
The time of the protest coincides with the time the NS worker was violently attacked.
A worrying trend
Saturday’s incident, during which a female conductor was beaten, kicked, and pushed down the stairs by a group of minors, sadly isn’t a rare occurrence.
Last year alone, the NS reported 1,042 incidents of aggression or violence on its trains, 331 of which involved physical brutality.
Municipal public transport operators are noticing a similar trend. In Amsterdam, there have already been 14% more incidents of aggression, insult, or harassment towards staff or fellow travellers this year, as the GVB told de Volkskrant.
What happened on Saturday night?
Last Saturday at around 10:30 PM, an NS conductor was severely abused by a group of teenage boys.
The woman was working her shift on a double-decker train between Delft and The Hague Hollands Spoor. She was allegedly beaten, kicked, and pushed down the stairs of the train. As a consequence, she suffered a broken arm.
According to the NOS, the train driver was also attacked after the train had come to a stop.
One of the boys linked to the incident was arrested by the police on Sunday night.
Never celebrated King’s Day before? Well, this is what you can expect to see in 2024.
Got your orange clothing, lukewarm beer and Dutch patriotism at the ready? Great! Let’s answer some important questions about what’s happening on King’s Day in the Netherlands in 2024.
1. Where will the Dutch royal family visit for King’s Day this year?
Much like in previous years, the Dutch Royal family will visit one city and spend King’s Day with the residents of that city.
This year, King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, their daughters, and some of the extended family will travel to Emmen for the day. 👑
King Willem-Alexander and his wife, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, enjoying a visit to Enkhuizen. Image: Depositphotos
The celebrations will kick off with some speeches and live music performances. The Royal family will then get a chance to mingle with some residents and maybe do those baby-kissing rituals. 👶🏼
You probably expected it: King’s Day in Amsterdam is basically going to be one massive 24-hour long, booze-filled, chaos extravaganza.
The King’s Day festivities technically start on April 26 (known as King’s Night), when people celebrate at parties and clubs around the city. The next day, the entire city hosts free parties and festival events for any and all to join.
It’s hard to miss the parties when everyone is dressed head to toe in orange, and the streets are packed like sardines. Image: Depositphotos
Most of Amsterdam’s city centre will be blocked off, and limited public transport and car travel will be allowed within the city.
If getting black-out drunk isn’t your cup of tea, you can also check out the flea markets around the city to quench your thrifting desires or simply walk around and enjoy the live music.
3. Are there any other Dutch cities hosting big celebrations?
Of course! Not everything is about Amsterdam. All Dutch cities, towns, and villages have their own way of celebrating King’s Day; they’re just not as notorious as Amsterdam’s celebrations.
King’s Day celebrations in Rotterdam
We’ll be honest — Rotterdam doesn’t usually have the biggest celebration, despite being a pretty big city.
You can check out some flea markets, live music, and the occasional party around the city centre.
Overall, Rotterdam’s festivities are a little more on the personal side — meaning you can’t just rock up at anyone’s door looking for a free party.
King’s Day celebrations in Leiden
Leiden offers another relatively toned-down celebration compared to Amsterdam (but let’s be honest, everything seems toned down compared to Amsterdam).
There are some city-wide events like the children’s flea markets and antique markets, festivals, and games for children around the parks and squares.
Sounds like the perfect opportunity to sit at a terrasje and enjoy the weather and good vibes around the city. 🥂
King’s Day celebrations in The Hague
The Hague takes King’s Day very seriously. The city begins the holiday on King’s Night with open-air festivals and parties.
The next day, there will be even more parties and flea markets all over the city centre. 🎈
If you’re looking to go to The Hague but feeling a bit too lazy to walk, no problem. The Hague also sets up a huge kermis (fair) in Malieveld, right outside Central Station, with plenty of fairground rides, games, and attractions to enjoy. 🎠
There are plenty of fun things to do during King’s Day in the Netherlands, even if you aren’t much of a partygoer. Just grab yourself a bottle of beer or a glass of wine, gather the essential Dutch phrases, and cover yourself in orange. Enjoy schatjes!
Do you have any plans for King’s Day 2024? Share them in the comments!
With many overnight cancellations due to a malfunction and Code Yellow winds halting even more flights today, Schiphol Airport hasn’t had a “breezy” start to the week.
Although last night’s air traffic control problems have now been resolved, there are further delays and cancellations this morning due to the stormy weather, NU.nl reports.
With their planes scattered over Europe, today’s schedule has been blown awry. A KLM spokesperson told NU.nl that they must cancel 13 more flights this morning.
Will you be affected by today’s flight disruptions? Let us know in the comments below.
Dutch railway company NS will temporarily suspend its services on Saturday night, after one of its conductors was severely attacked by a group of minors this past weekend.
The incident occurred last Saturday, April 13, on a double-decker train between Delft and Den Haag Hollands Spoor. A female conductor was kicked, beaten, and pushed down the stairs by a group of boys.
In protest against the increased violence against NS staff members, trains from the NS and Arriva will stop running for three minutes at 10:30 PM on Saturday, April 20.
“That’s the time my colleague was abused”, an NS spokesperson tells RTL Nieuws.
Increased aggression against NS staff
The affected NS employee was treated in the hospital and is now in a cast. She allegedly suffered a broken arm.
The group of six to eight boys also repeatedly hit an engineer when the train stopped, reported the NOS.
One minor has been arrested and remains in police custody.
In 2023, the NS reported about 1,042 incidents of threats and assault against NS staff members, an 8% increase from 2022.
“We see that, since Corona, the aggression towards train staff has increased. People have a short fuse, not only on the train but in other places,” says the NS spokesperson.
“We have to take so many measures that sometimes we look more like a security company than a train company. The NS cannot solve this alone. Something has to be done.”
From today, you can create an iDEAL profile to use when you pay online, RTL Nieuws reports. You’ll be able to quickly and securely pay for your splurges. 💸
Consumer details will no longer be stored separately in multiple online stores but in one place within the iDEAL system. Plus, data is only shared if the consumer consents, says iDEAL.
Amos Kater, director at iDEAL, believes this is the next step in quick and convenient money transactions. “Gone are the days when address details had to be entered for every purchase,” he says.
Since the European Payments Initiative (EPI) took over iDEAL last year, this latest feature is believed to be a step towards replacing the payment system with an entirely new digital wallet called Wero.
When does this new function roll out?
ING customers can create a profile with iDEAL from Wednesday, and many other banks‘ customers might already have access today.
But it’s less clear for ABN-AMRO customers, who will gain access at “a time to be determined”.
After enjoying a few days of bright sunshine and summery temperatures, it looks like we’re back to seeing the ugly side of Dutch weather. 😬☔️
The KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) has issued another Code Yellow weather warning due to thunderstorms, hail, and winds set to hit the Netherlands this afternoon.
The KNMI has set the Code Yellow warning for coastal provinces until at least Tuesday morning, but the weather for the rest of the week remains changeable.
Will today’s weather affect your plans? Tell us about it in the comments!
Bidding on houses in the Netherlands in recent years has long meant overbidding — but by how much? Here’s how to get the house of your dreams.
Put simply, there are three main stages involved in winning yourself that house and with each stage comes a number of important steps.
Here’s how to get that bid on a Dutch home to glitter in the eyes of the seller! 🤩
Stage one: preparing to bid on a house
As soon as you’ve laid your eyes on your dream home, you need to prepare your bid — and fast.
In 2024, this is no easy feat, with the Dutch real estate association NVM Makelaars noting that between January and March 55% of homes in the Netherlands sold above asking price.
So, how can you prepare your winning bid? There are three details you need to know:
your borrowing power,
your resolutive conditions, and
the true value of the house.
What does all that mortgage lingo mean? Simple:
Know your borrowing power
Before you go ahead and lay your cards on the table, you need to know what’s in your deck — that’s obvious. If you spot the home of your dreams, it is best that you know just how much borrowing power you have.
The easiest and most accurate way to determine this is by reaching out to a financial consultant. They will take a look at your current situation and factor in a number of details about you (for example, do you have a permanent or temporary contract? Do you have student loans?)
Based on these factors, a financial consultant will tell you what borrowing power you have in the Netherlands.
Know what resolutive conditions you want
The next step is to determine your resolutive conditions. Put simply, these are conditions that protect you as a buyer.
For example, you may make a bid with the resolutive condition that the property will pass a building inspection.
This way, if the building inspection unearths something unexpected or costly — like unstable foundations or the need for a new roof — you have a chance to say, “We don’t want that house anymore.” And poof! Your contract is terminated.
In order to make a bid on a house in the Netherlands, you need to know your resolutive conditions. Image: Depositphotos
When you make an offer on a house, these conditions are part of the offer and will be considered by the seller.
The seller might choose to accept a lower bid if that lower bid has fewer conditions attached — so it’s important to know which resolutive conditions are important to you. Some could include:
Finance (Financiering): the sale will not go ahead if you can’t secure your mortgage before a certain date.
National Mortgage Guarantee (Nationale Hypotheek Garantie, NHG): the sale will be void if you don’t qualify for the NHG.
Building inspection outcome (Uitkomst bouwkundige keuring): you can back out if the condition of the house is worse than expected.
Permission or permit from the municipality (Toestemming of vergunning gemeente): the contract is cancelled if you can’t get the permit to build that extra floor or add on a shed.
Let op! If you change your mind about buying a house after signing a contract with the seller, you could be charged 10% of the sale price — unless you have a way out through your resolutive conditions.
Know the actual value of the house
Before you go ahead and jump at a house, it’s important to know the difference between the market value and the actual value of a property before you bid on it. For example, you can check:
The WOZ value of the property. The WOZ value of a property is determined by the municipality and is based on a number of factors, such as the market value and the features of the house. You can request the WOZ value of a house using this website.
The value of similar properties. You can determine this by checking the price at which similar properties in the region were sold for. A mortgage realtor will also have good knowledge of this.
The value of the property to you. As with anything, you have to take a moment and look inward. The property may be a bit overpriced for some — but if it’s your dream home, it’s your dream home, and perhaps you are willing to pay above market value, provided your bank will let you.
Unfortunately, once you do determine the real value of a property, you may find that the seller is actually asking wayyy above the real value of the home.
This is why it’s important to question the asking price before you make your bid.
Stage two: making a bid on your potential Dutch home
The prospect of saying goodbye to your precious savings in a bid to win a bid can make anyone nervous — and realtors know it. Keep your cool, and remember to be tactical. There are a number of ways that you can do this:
You need to consider a number of factors before placing a bid on your dream Dutch home. Image: Freepik
Don’t bid everything first — leave room for negotiation
Before you ask, yes, most people bid well above the asking price — but this doesn’t mean you should bid well over the asking price.
This may seem like a difficult ask in 2024, but remember to keep your cool.
It’s simple. Often, the bidding process involves your first bid (the opening offer) and then a counterbid from the seller. Don’t place all your money on the table in the first round, or else the seller may get the impression that you have even more to give.
Don’t be too enthusiastic
You may have fallen in love with the property the moment your eyes landed on it, but it’s important you don’t show this to the realtor — if they have that leverage, they might use it to push the price further than you need.
Take your time when considering a counter-offer
When the seller counteroffers, you need to take a moment — a decently long one — to consider it. Again, you don’t want to lay all your cards on the table by responding too quickly. And a rash decision may lead to you paying more ultimately.
How much should I overbid on a house in the Netherlands?
It’s the golden question here. Due to a relentless housing crisis, overbidding is very common in the Netherlands in 2024. This comes down to a number of factors, such as the evergrowing housing shortage, increasing wages, and decreasing interest rates.
These combined factors are causing tightness in the market, leaving the so-called “krapte-indicator” (market tightness indicator) at 2.4. This means every home buyer can choose from 2.4 homes.
As a result, people in the Netherlands are currently overbidding by an average of 1.8%. This is something you should consider when looking at potential homes.
Step three: prove that you are the best bidder for your Dutch home
In this market, you are not going to stand out based on the single fact that you’re an interested buyer — there will be many like you. How can you let the seller know that you are their best option? It’s not as simple as bidding the highest amount.
Find a way to stand out from the crowd
There’s a lot of competition for homes, and while money speaks, houses can also be sentimental — so think of how you can stand out!
Are you planning to have foster children in your potential home? Do your elderly parents live on the same street? Have you dreamed of living on that street forever? Writing an accompanying letter can be a great idea.
Good news! As of January 1 2023, thereal estate sector has made it mandatory for all realtors to keep an online bidding log of the various bids on a property. On top of this, it is now possible to place your bid online.
All bids made on a property have a record kept in a bidding logbook. Once the house is sold, you can ask to see the bids made (and whether your bid was close or far off). This makes the process way more transparent than in the past.
Let the seller know that you are prepared
If you’re selling a house, who would you prefer to sell to: the person who has been to the bank and knows they’ll get approved for the mortgage or the person who hasn’t?
Make it clear to the seller that you are a prepared bidder. Image: Depositphotos
If you can let the seller know that not only are you interested but that you also have everything in order and can finance the bid, you’ll be a favourable candidate in their eyes.
Meet the seller’s wishes if you can
This seems like an obvious point, but the negotiations will go down a lot smoother if you can take on any extra conditions that the seller may have given.
For example, does the seller really want to sell now but stay in the house for another six months? Do they prefer to sell to someone who will also buy the piano that’s on the second floor?
If you can deal with it, this could make you more favourable over someone who is bidding higher but will only buy on their own terms.
Clarify, clarify and close
Once you are happy with the conditions and the counteroffer, it’s time for you to clarify EVERYTHING and seal the deal.
The last thing you want is a miscommunication between you and the seller. Make sure to send an email and confirm with the selling realtor that your bid has been accepted. Also, ensure that the conditions of the sale are laid out clearly so that there is no room for confusion.
Note: In the Netherlands, the process of buying a house involves a “cooling off period.” This is the three-day period after you sign the papers and officially buy a house.
If you decide within this period that you no longer want to buy the house, that’s no problem. You can pull out without paying a cent — or even giving a reason!
The cooling-off period lasts from the day after you receive your purchase contract and lasts for three days (or until the next working day if the period ends during the weekend).
Remember, we’re all human at the end of the day. Your cooperation and preparation will help not only your bid but also your relationship with the seller — and that shouldn’t be taken for granted!
Once you have clarified and established an understanding between you and the seller, you can sit back, pop some bubbly and look forward to a future in your new house.
Have you ever bid on a house in the Netherlands? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!
Travellers to Arnhem Centraal’s bus terminal received a rather heavy load of unwanted imagery after an unknown entity shared porn clips on the station’s electronic information boards. 👀🍆
The clips — displaying another kind of ride altogether — briefly prevented commuters from reading bus departure times for some of Arnhem Centraal’s stops last Wednesday (April 10).
Whilst some bystanders took to Twitter to point out the hilarity of the… err, frikandel, on the screen, others were less pleased.
“For more than half an hour, we all had to deal with the porno, and there were kids around”, one commuter messaged DutchReview to say.
Signs point to a hack
As reported by RTL Nieuws, the video was visible for several minutes at around 8:45 PM — before an employee finally got their hands on some tape and blocked off the screen.
The municipality of Arnhem strongly suspects some hacking to be afoot, according to various sources, and is currently giving the issue a deeper investigation.
In the meantime, NS customer service employees were STRUGGLING. 🥲 Image: Supplied
If, as seems likely, this was the product of a hack, the municipality has claimed that it will report the incident.
Hoping to escaping skyrocketing rents by buying a house in the Netherlands? You may need to think again. 😬
In the first three months of 2024, absolute madness has returned to the Dutch real estate market.
At least, that’s the conclusion drawn by Dutch real estate association NVM Makelaars, as NU.nl reports.
Soaring prices and high overbidding
Although the first quarter of the year is usually quiet on the home-buying front, real estate agent Lana Gerssen tells NU.nl that this year saw the pressure on the market increasing drastically.
Due to a lack of supply, the average price for a Dutch home currently stands at a whopping €432,000 — more than 9% higher than just a year ago.
But it gets worse. Of all the houses sold between January and March 2024, more than half (55%) sold above asking price. On average, buyers overbid by 1.8%.
Why is this happening?
So, why is the Dutch housing market so effed up? As you would guess, part of it has to do with the massive ongoing housing shortage.
Adding to the issue is slightly lowered mortgage interest rates and wage increases, allowing buyers to borrow more money and, therefore, make higher bids.
These combined factors are causing tightness in the market, leaving the so-called “krapte-indicator” (market tightness indicator) at 2.4. This means every home buyer can choose from 2.4 homes.
For reference: a balanced market has a tightness indicator between 5 and 10.
So, how do we fix this?
Ah, yes, the million-dollar question. To pop the Dutch housing bubble, the Netherlands would need to significantly increase the number of homes for sale.
This could be achieved by converting office spaces, dividing homes and, of course, constructing new homes.
But all that is not quite as easy as it sounds. “Through all the conditions and requirements, we see that the development of new construction is becoming entangled in a forest of regulations,” the NVM said to NU.nl.
Therefore, it’s the government’s responsibility to consider removing barriers to meet the ever-growing housing demand.
Are you currently trying to buy a home in the Netherlands? Tell us about your experience in the comments!
If you want more time with friends and family and less commuting, working from home some days could be just what you need.
However, there are some things you should know before transitioning to hybrid work in the Netherlands.
Since the coronavirus lockdown made hybrid work commonplace, there are plenty of regulations and infrastructure in place to accommodate remote workers in the Dutch job market.
We’ve put together this guide of five important things you need to know before you get started with your own hybrid working journey.
1. How popular is hybrid working in the Netherlands?
You might be wondering, what’s all this fuss about hybrid working? What’s so great about it anyway? Why is it that 62% of millennials and 63% of Gen Zers say they want to work remotely at least part-time?
Let’s hit you with some stats to share with your boss. 😉
For a start, 82% of employees say being able to work anywhere outside an office makes them feel more content.
Not only that, but studies show that 60% of participants reported their productivity being boosted by the added flexibility.
Maybe this hybrid worker satisfaction has something to do with the fact that — for 79% of respondents — their work-life has become more balanced since starting to WFH (work from home).
You could also say it appeals to that (in)famous Dutch frugality. Yup, 76% of hybrid workers claim they’ve saved money by working from home — have you seen those NS fares recently?
Plus, two-thirds of people reported that they cut back on at least four hours of commuting time per week. Now that you don’t have to bustle back and forth to work every morning and afternoon, you spend that quality time doing something else.
Maybe that’s why seven out of 10 respondents say their relationship with their family has improved since they began hybrid working. Aww. ❤️
2. How many people in the Netherlands are hybrid workers?
Since those dreaded coronavirus times, employees and employers alike have had their eyes opened to the possibilities of remote work.
So, a lot of people want to do hybrid work, but how many of the Dutch population actually do?
It’s also easier than ever nowadays to hold meetings online! Image: Freepik
According to a Dutch government survey, the country’s entire workforce spends an average of 6.5 hours working remotely. Four out of ten employees work remotely at least twice per week.
In fact, the amount of hybrid workers has doubled since the time before the pandemic — and we better get used to it! A KPN survey found that three out of four hybrid employees believe that this trend is here to stay.
3. How does the new ruling by the Dutch Senate affect hybrid workers?
Since hybrid working is widely accepted and even sometimes preferable in the Netherlands, you might be asking whether the Dutch government has responded to this trend. The answer to that question is… nope.
Sadly, hybrid work has yet to become legally entrenched in the Netherlands’ employment market. In September 2023, the Dutch government decided against passing this law.
This means if you want to become a part of the hybrid-working family, you’ll have to submit a formal request to your place of work.
However, the good news is that they’re only legally allowed to refuse your request if they have a “good reason.”
Here are two basic requirements for submitting a hybrid working request to employers:
The company you work for must have at least 10 employees
You must submit the request at least two months before you wish to start remote work
4. Still, there’s plenty of room for NL hybrid workers
Don’t throw in the towel just yet! Despite not passing the law, the Dutch government is generally supportive and encouraging of hybrid work.
This is because hybrid work has many perks for employers, too! For one, it means that companies also save money by not having to secure a physical office space for all employees.
This is why it’s also no surprise that the Netherlands has a generous amount of infrastructure dedicated to making the life of a hybrid worker easier, such as:
Hybrid working hubs that allow you to sit in a cosy space with unlimited WiFi and other amenities together with other hybrid workers.
Plenty of public libraries with quiet spots for a highly concentrated work environment — as well as endless books that you can use for research.
5G and broadband across the country to ensure that your online work experience runs as smoothly as possible.
5. What are the Dutch allowances and conditions for hybrid workers?
Speaking of the facilities and tools for hybrid work, one super important tool is the allowances available to hybrid workers in the Netherlands.
Working from home means you’ll likely find yourself dishing out extra cash on heating, water, electricity, coffee, and even toilet paper, which could leave a dent in your wallet at the end of the month.
Maybe your workstation doesn’t have to be this organised — but it shouldn’t be that far off! Image: Freepik
As a hybrid worker, you should know your rights. Extra costs as a result of working from home mean that you’re entitled to reimburse these costs tax-free using a thuiswerkvergoeding (working from home allowance).
And that’s not all. You are also entitled to receive a daily allowance of €2.15!
However, you must ensure that your out-of-office workspace is acceptable by legal working condition standards.
Check to see if your home setup meets the “ergonomic” requirements, which include amenities such as:
Good lighting
A functional keyboard
Proper desk height
A good chair
Strong internet
Also, note that although employers may be allowed to monitor you as you work remotely, they can’t use just any tracking software to do so — you have a right to privacy!
