…Okay, so it’s not going to be blistering heat either, after all we have had a rough couple of months with the weather. But it’s been the first time in a while that the DutchReview office is heating up (even had to open a window, wtf). The good news is that temperatures are going to reach double figures for a change and the sun is here to stay. So lets have a quick look at the weather for the next week.
“What on earth is that yellow thing in the sky?”
Today (Tuesday)
In case you haven’t noticed already, for most of us it’s clear blue skies with sunshine, hurrraaahh! What a lovely day. Temperatures still aren’t going to reach the double figures and it’s getting cold tonight (below freezing for most of us), but still, it’s sunny right?!
Tomorrow – ELECTIONS
Tomorrow is another lovely day, luckily. Election turnouts get affected by the weather, so at least we can rest assured that no kind of storm or extreme rain is going to put anyone off venturing outside to ‘queue’ to vote. Highs of 7 degrees celcius and lows of 0 are expected.
Thursday
Thursday is the only s**tty day – with quite a lot of rain expected throughout most of the day. No cycling for a lot of you then, yeah? 😉 It’s okay, we can cope with one day of rain, as for the rest of the week it’s going to be sunny again.
Source: Weerplaza
Friday
The sun is back again! It’s getting warmer too, the temperature is finally going to reach double figures. Highs of 10 degrees celcius and lows of 4 on this day.
Weekend
This weekend is looking sunny and ‘warm’, with sun and some cloud for most of us. We’re looking at highs of 11 degrees celcius and lows of 4 over the weekend. So definitely a time to get outside and make the most of it.
Next week
I’m sorry to say, that so far it’s looking as if it’s going to be raining A LOT next week. Even more reason to enjoy what sunshine we have left – after all, the clocks go forward for Spring this weekend. Spring showers and all dat…
Ah, election time in the Netherlands. A time we are all bombarded with election news and being hassled at the train station “PLEASE vote for us!” Well we bring you a different kind of election news to brighten up your day. Here are 5 weird things about the upcoming election.
1) VVD flyers ruining people’s cars
In Amsterdam, the VVD campaign, which involves leaving flyers all over the place and on people’s cars, hasn’t gone to plan. People have complained that they have stuck to their windscreen. It even damaged a guys new car, with green ink leaking all over the car and leaving a VVD imprint on his windscreen.
Credits: Kees Loef
Well that’s one way to get noticed – of course they’re going to get compensated. Probably going to lose a few voters for that one still though. ;).
2) Weird slogans on Dutch elections posters
Terrible election slogans, such as “SO FREE! Like a Strawberry” ‘Zo VRIJ! Als een aardbei’ and “Less tax, more bitterballen” ‘Minder belasting, meer bitterballen’ are just some of the slogans being used in the campaign.
Source: sloganverkiezing.nl
These delights, coming from an independent party and the VVD. What does this even mean? Are we all going to pay less tax and get free bitterballen in return? Seems like a plan…I guess.
sloganverkiezing.nl
3) Smart advertisement targetting on social media
Like Brexit and the Trump campaign, ‘smart campaigns’ are being used a lot more than usual. Targeting certain members of society using social media data. If you like Tennis chances are an advert for the VVD has come up. Smart campaigns have still not been used as much as some elections in other countries, so hopefully, we wouldn’t see another Brexit/Trump s**tstorm. But it’s still kinda creepy that our data gets used so much to target us with information such as this.
In the Netherlands far-right party ‘Forum for Democracy’ bragged about using Cambridge Analytica’s services. Miraculously came from nowhere in 2016 to outpace all other political parties in social media popularity. https://t.co/cjnl95AXN9
Like Pacifist Socialist Party nude poster in 1971, the Piratenpartij has gone down a similar route, showcasing a completely nude man, penis and all. Funny thing is, Facebook took it down because it didn’t follow their community standards. Oh, the Dutch. Well, it certainly gets you looking.
FACEBOOK CENSORS DUTCH ELECTION POSTERS FROM 1971 & 2018 SHOWING FEMALE AND MALE NUDITY Pacifist Socialist Party 1971, Piratenpartij 2018: “We’ve hidden this post because it doesn’t follow our Community Standards. It’ll be deleted from Facebook soon.” pic.twitter.com/byypnCtg7h
Political posters continue to entertain… (but not nude ones this time). You might need to understand a bit of Dutch to get this one, but what it’s basically saying is go forward with D66 and the other poster encourages you to go ‘left (wing)’ with PvdA. Interesting placement of the posters. So you have a choice of going forward into the canal or just turning left. That’s what it means, right?
Ever thought there’s more to Rotterdam than just an impressive skyline and iconic architecture? There is of course, and the answer to the question why Rotterdam is such a modern forward-going city is found in its history and itsheart. Nowhere can you get a better picture of that than at Museum Rotterdam (just like the town, the museum has a pretty straightforward name).
First things first…
What is Museum Rotterdam?
Museum Rotterdam is a museum dedicated to Rotterdam’s historical past and present. It’s located next to the also iconic Stadhuis, in an equally as impressive building namely the ‘Timmerhuis’ designed by the renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. It all fits perfectly into Rotterdam’s architectural skyline.
Impressive, huh?
The unique and unusual setting means that some of the crew of the municipality are working in the offices above – so when you are walking through the museum, when you look up at the impressive design, you can see the Gemeente hard at work. So the building by itself is already an experience worthy of visiting by itself, but I came here to learn more about Rotterdam and let me tell you: I had lived in Rotterdam for almost 2 years and it was high time I learned a bit more about the history’s city and I was not disappointed!
Cool architecture like your used to from Rotterdam
Why should I go?
The good people at Museum Rotterdam describe themselves as ‘the most Rotterdam Museum in the world.’ And it’s an incredibly informative, yet interesting to-the-point museum. If you’re interested in Rotterdam and all of its history, then this is the go-to place. Not only is it a museum filled with everything ‘Rotterdam’ I also thoroughly enjoyed learning about what makes Rotterdam what it is today.
The entrance already kicks ass
An absolute highlight for me was the history of the city, it’s so interesting to see what happened to Rotterdam and how it affected its looks. Most of you already know a bit about the Rotterdam Blitz of WW2 and the impact it had on the city, but there were some extremely detailed models of the city that really hit home.
What exhibitions are there at Museum Rotterdam?
History of the city:
So this was my personal favourite within Museum Rotterdam and takes up a large area. The large models of the city, showing you what the city looked like in the 1600’s, the 1900’s and what it looks like currently amazed me. It’s mindboggling how different Rotterdam looked, especially in the 1600’s where the city was tiny and what we know as the North and South sides of the city, was completely farm land.
Browsing the city ft me
The city of Rotterdam
Alongside these models of Rotterdam are shipping containers (how fitting!) filled with Rotterdam heritage, such as, fragments of a 10,000-year-old human skull (found in 2015 on a beach), some of Rotterdam’s oldest paintings (1500’s), paintings and statues of the famous Erasmus, a model of the Maastunnel from the 1930s and even a handpainted McDonald’s billboard from when it arrived in 1980. There are over 600 items to look at/read about.
Rotterdam todayAnd like many other Dutch museums, there was are exquisite paintings on display
It’s not all passive looking-at-things-as-well, the interactive screens next to the containers that tell you all about the items (or you can grab a book copy at the desk) and really paint an immersive picture of past times – it’s all stylishly done in English luckily for us non-Dutch speakers.
Interactive and easy to use (English translation too)!
Rotterdammers and their City:
Note: this exhibition is renewed and permanent
At the far end of the museum, you’ll find the ‘Rotterdammers’ section of the museum. This part includes the people that make Rotterdam what it is. It’s great that the museum focused on the people as much as they did the place, as they are also just as important. This is something that the museum tries to highlight. It includes ‘statues’ of some of the faces of Rotterdam, including descriptions of why they make the city so great. This also includes historical items, such as clothing and Dutch toilets (come and see that for yourself), and the significance of them (this is also with the Real Rotterdam Heritage section). It’s a great way of seeing what makes Rotterdam so unique and I found it super interesting.
Feyeeeeennooorrddd!
Real Rotterdam Heritage:
Contemporary collection
This section of the museum is alongside the Rotterdammers exhibition and collaborates with Rotterdammers themselves to showcase what they think is important. It shares real stories from Rotterdammers themselves and shares things stories such as what brought them to the city and how they’d make a living selling their food on the street. It’s really interesting as it shares people’s stories and again, isn’t just all about the city, but the people too.
Learn about what makes Rotterdam so great here!
Museum Rotterdam ’40-’45 now:
NOTE: this permanent exhibition is held in a different location in Coolhaven.
This exhibition is the most prominent of all – the effect of World War II. Ever wondered why Rotterdam is so different to most of the Netherlands? Rotterdam was almost completely wiped out in the 2nd World War. As a result, most of the city was left homeless and jobless and it was their job to remove the rubble from the city. A very humble and moving exhibition that explores the effect of the war on Rotterdam, past and present. It’s interactive too, so it’s easy to understand for all. We’ll write a bit more about when we get there for a longer time, since this permanent exhibition is held in a different location in Coolhaven.
Coolsingel:
TEMPORARY: 4th November 2017 – 8th April 2018
This is a temporary exhibition, so please go before the first week of April, since it soon will be gone! It’s an interesting exhibition and very strong visually, showing Rotterdam’s transformation, with the Coolsingel – Rotterdam’s main street in the middle of all of this.
In case you didn’t know, the Coolsingel (hence ‘singel’) was historically filled with water, until it was eventually filled in and turned into what it is today. This exhibition shows the changes to Coolsingel, highlighting the massive transformation within the city – from medieval to futuristic.
Learn all about the Coolsingel hereIf you’re not Dutch and small like me, you may have to stand on your tip toes for this one 😉
This exhibition was really informative, there were lots of pictures to see, ‘3D effect’ historical images and also a cinematic section. There are 3 screens together showing you about the development of the city and its history, it’s really immersive. I spent most of my visit watching it. (English translation is available on the screen below, so don’t worry if you can’t understand Dutch)!
Where is Museum Rotterdam and what else do I need to know?
Museum Rotterdam is within close proximity to Metrostation Stadhuis and Beurs. Here’s the address for your google maps 😉
Rodezand 26, 3011 AN Rotterdam
It’s open Tues – Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday’s and pubic holidays: 11am – 5pm
Admission is only €7,50 for adults and €2,50 for children (student and group passes available too).
Awesome to know is that:
Museum Rotterdam is freely accessible (gratis!) to the public every first Saturday of the month (that’s the 7th of April)
The 8th of April is the last day of the Coolsingel exhibition, that day you’ll get a 50% discount!
More tips for speaking Dutch outside the Netherlands! (Good luck speaking Dutch in Belgium.)
Welkom terug, Dutch-speakers. If you read Part I of Speaking Dutch in Belgium, then you’ll already be well on your way to passing for a Vlaming as you empty your geldbeugel on De Meir. But beware: there are many pitfalls that can out you as someone who learned your Dutch in the Netherlands (apart from the accent). Here are some tips to help you fit in. Allee mannekes!
Breuken in de keuken
A large portion of household accidents happen in the kitchen. So do a large number of language accidents. Seemingly the Dutch and the Flemish couldn’t agree on what various kitchen appliances should be called. The big white cold thing which in the Netherlands is called a ‘koelkast’ (or ‘ijskast’) is known in Belgium as a ‘frigo’. Frigo comes from the French le frigo.
And what might you find in the frigo? While looking for some tasty Dutch ‘jam’ you might instead come across some lekker Belgian ‘confituur’. Confituur likewise comes from the French la confiture. (You may see a pattern emerging.)
What’s that? Your confituur is too cold from sitting too long in the frigo? You want to warm it up? (Run with me on this.) Then why not stick it in the ‘magnetron’ or, as they say in Flanders, the ‘microgolfoven’?
magnetron or microgolfoven?
If your Belgian host should enter the kitchen at this point to find out just what the hell you’re doing with the microgolfoven, it might be polite to remark that the kitchen is very ‘schoon’. While you might think you’re complimenting the cleanliness of the kitchen, a Belgian will understand ‘schoon’ as ‘mooi’.
And so ends our tour of the kitchen. Phew…
Odd sayings in Dutch and Flemish
Although Flemish and Dutch are mutually understood, certain sayings and traditions differ. A Vlaming who is under stress might be graphically described as ‘sweating water and blood’, or ‘water en bloed zweten’. A Netherlander, on the other hand, might be even more imaginatively described as ‘sweating carrots’, or ‘peentjes zweten’.
Why carrots? One theory is that the stress is so great that sweating feels like forcing little carrots out your skin. Another theory is that the phrase was once ‘pintjes zweten’, or ‘sweating pints’, which makes slightly more sense.
The Flemish have an interesting tradition on April Fools’ Day. Children will cut out paper fish and stick them on people’s backs. When this saucy ruse is discovered, the word ‘aprilvis’ (April fish) is proclaimed by all parties, to much hilarity. This game is also played in French-speaking communities, where it is called poisson d’avril.
Got ya!
And finally…
No analysis of the Dutch-Flemish language rift would be complete without a look at the word ‘poepen’. As pointed out by a helpful reader last time, ‘poepen’ has a very different meaning depending on which side of the Dutch-Belgian border you say it on.
To be brief, ‘poepen’ in the Netherlands means ‘to poop’. In Flanders, ‘poepen’ means the same as ‘vrijen’.
The potential fallout from a misunderstanding is terrifying.
Voting in the Amsterdam municipal elections of 2018: what are the most important issues?
It’s almost time, coming Wednesday local elections will be held nationwide, and even though the largest cities – Amsterdam in particular – tend to float around the political spectrum as if they were sovereign islands of their own they too can’t help but get a little caught up in the national drama that is Dutch politics today. So what is the capital city’s focus on? How does it differ as a prime metropolis? And who’s in the lead? Lets have a look!
Amsterdam’s newspaper Het Parool, a trustworthy source, did a questionnaire among its reader and came up with a top five of what’s on the locals minds this election – we’re going to talk you through them real quick.
Voting in the Amsterdam municipal elections of 2018: Public Transport (61% of votes)
61% marked this one as their most important subject – this in itself isn’t surprising – the 2,4 million metropolitan area (Amsterdam + adjacent municipalities) has traditionally struggled with keeping up with public transport needs, also because of its historical build and a mixture of both natural and planned growth.
Maybe cycling will be enough in the future:
But now more then ever the city needs to expand its people moving capabilities, for one thing the disastrous progress of the Noord-Zuidlijn (North-South Line) – a subway connecting the populous suburban North to downtown and South districts – keeps dragging on, having started early 2000’s and facing numerous difficulties and price increases is again facing an almost unbelievable flunk. The stations are ready, the rail network is ready, the trains are ready and above all the locals are desperately ready for this soap opera to be done and over with – but just months before officially opening the metro line there was a little surprise: One of the contractors miscalculated the size platforms of Amsterdam’s Central Station and those in the East-part of the city – metro trains were then ordered on the miscalculated data. Outcome? The trains need to go back to the manufacturer for additional adjustments before it can even be used, they’re too large! Yes, really.
Meanwhile the city is dying for better transportation, especially since the City Council has been actively banning older diesel engines from the inner parts of town, has turned the entire city into one giant paid parking zone and the number of tourists keeps swelling and making parts of the tourist/cultural zones almost inaccessible. Amsterdam needs public transportation solutions, and whoever can bring them – or make the locals believe they can – will have an edge.
Voting in the Amsterdam municipal elections of 2018: Housing for Middle Income (58% vote)
Amsterdam enjoys doing things backwards, in a good way, just opposite from everyone else – imagine driving down the highway and a car overtakes you in reverse with the driver waving at you before taking the next exit. That driver is Amsterdam. And so is its housing policy.
Amsterdam has a 53% market total of ‘social housing’, meaning these houses are subsidized by the government for low-income inhabitants – that sounds pretty reasonable and it is. We all have to start somewhere and we can’t all have smashing careers – but once you do advance it would be nice to take the next step. Well, good luck with that in this city!
The capital’s housing market has boomed into extremes, arguably it’s a bubble, and any private owned residence is quite literally in-affordable – part of this reason is that most of the real estate landscape exists out of either the aforementioned social housing or ‘high value’ residences, expensively built houses in prime locations – so what about those with a medium income? Well, there’s always Zaandam, Purmerend or Almere for as the project developers care… Bye, plebs!
Obviously this is becoming more problematic, there is a rift in the city ‘the rich vs. the poor’ and the middle player has been eliminated almost entirely at this point. People who have a medium income are forced to live in meager social housing because they can’t afford anything more, those who have managed to buy ‘high value’ residences at the right time are now struggling to pay their ever increasing property taxes.
The local parties, especially those truly on the left and right side of the spectrum, are challenging each other on housing policies. The Left insists that social housing must be kept as is and more should be build for future generations, the Right however insists that a 53% market total is ridiculous and a good amount of it should be renovated and sold as ‘medium income residences’ allowing the market to blow off some steam. Who’s right, who’s wrong? Nobody seems to know – but all the locals know that many of the traditional Amsterdam people are forced to move and they’re replaced by high-income ‘yuppies’ and expats who often come from traditionally high value real estate markets. It leads to an increased discomfort in an otherwise happy city.
Amsterdam municipal elections of 2018: Sustainability, Bicyclist Safety and Waste (49%)
We’ve scooped these guys together because they all share the same percentage number. Amsterdam is trying to do better, but it is still a wasteful city – very wasteful in many ways. If you’ve been downtown lately, you’ve probably noticed the overflowing garbage cans, the tourists on bikes, the dense traffic, the air pollution and so much more. Well, you guessed it, so have the locals!
Tourism is turning into a major problem for many citizens of Amsterdam
Though Amsterdam, like most major cities in the country, has been working hard on innovative projects its difficult to keep up after the tourist boom and the sudden population increase – no matter how swift the city implements new policies or methods, it only takes a few airplanes full of vacationers or a new neighborhood full of people to break even or even fall behind. Nobody likes trash rummaging around the streets but it happens and the city needs to ramp up efforts.
The city is also trying to get rid of ‘natural gas’ (Aardgas) not in the least because the extraction of said gas is tarnishing the province of Groningen and even, by now, is starting to creep towards its capital Groningen City.
Another highly noticeable issue is the traffic situation, though the quiet North – for one – is incomparable to Downtown, the whole city is trying to make sense out of the increasing pressure on its road networks. Bicyclists, in particular, are often having a difficult time claiming their spot on the road, and there’s no effective tactic when playing Chicken with a Mercedes-Benz Vito taxi cab, an extended bus or the infamous trams that speed up like rocket ships when all you’ve got is two flimsy wheels and your attitude.
This is leading to numerous accidents, even as a regular car driver you will often find yourself suddenly cut off by minivan with Swiss license plates full of a family on the edge with dad making a Formula 1 dash to get off the tram tracks that he accidentally overlooked and not paying any attention as he passes through red on the crossing – oh yeah, guess who gets to leave first at the crossing? Cyclists.
Of course, just to be clear, it’s not all on all foreigner – at all – taxi drivers are in a hurry on the road and even the locals get confused about how, why and where this detour is taking them.
Waste disposal is also an issue – the suburban parts of town all have glorious underground containers that you can access using a card. You throw in your trash and it disappears out of sight, great, right? Well…
Living in the city myself I can tell you, it’s a pretty great system if people weren’t assholes – the containers also aren’t emptied as often as they should due to budget cuts. This leads to every fresh container being flocked by locals like seagulls and within a few hours, or days, the first ones in your neighborhood will be filled to the brink again. Or, yes ‘successful doctor’ down the street I’m talking about you, someone fills the container with tree branches from their backyard and jams the mechanism entirely meaning a half full container is now out of order. But at least you didn’t get any sand or leaves in your Volvo!
And during the summer, which with global warming seems to become increasingly long and hot, they also start to smell on occasion – sometimes you open the container’s lid and dozens of flies jump out to freedom. It’d a Free Willy-moment if it wasn’t so gross and nasty.
Voting in the Amsterdam municipal elections of 2018: Predictions
According to news program Nieuwsuur the outcomes, if held at this moment, would probably see left party “Groenlinks” (GreenLeft) win the majority of votes with nine seats, followed closely by Liberal Center-Right party D66 with 8 seats. VVD, the Liberal Right party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte, would have to settle with 6 seats, the PVDA (Labour Party) who’s much loved Amsterdam Mayor Van Der Laan recently passed away sees a steep drop coming – losing five seats and coming out on that final number too. Finally there’s Thierry Baudet’s newcomer FvD (Forum for Democracy), a staunchly right party and the SP (Socialist Party) who are likely to end up with 4 and 2 seats.
One way or another, it seems Amsterdam’s political spectrum is as diverse as its inhabitants – whether or not that’s promising for the city’s future we’ll leave up to you.
What do you think are the most important items when it comes to voting in the Amsterdam municipal elections of 2018? And for what party are you going to vote for?
After all of the mass shootings in America recently, understandably everyone is pretty p*ssed. Now is a time for change we all hope.
Ahead of the continuing news about gun violence and mass shootings, in the US. High school pupils in the Netherlands have decided to take a stance and protest against gun violence. It’s also to demonstrate their solidarity for victims and join the ‘March for Our Lives’ movement, currently happening in the states. This was released on Facebook – one scheduled for the Amsterdam and the other in The Hague, next Saturday (24th March).
Source: March For Our Lives Facebook
On the March for our Lives Facebook event for the Hague it states “On March 24, we will be rallying…with the kids and families of March For Our Lives who will be taking to the streets of Washington DC to demand that their lives and safety be made a priority and that we end gun violence and mass shootings in American schools. It’s time for everyone everywhere to start listening to our youth. It’s their future!”
This is also the stance of people all over the world who are also scheduling protests on the same day. This is also the day that the original March For Our Lives is happening in America.
I personally think that’s it’s great… whether it will change anything, we are yet to see. I mean, how many mass shootings will it take for the government to listen?
What do you think of these protests against gun violence in the US? Will you be attending? Let us know in the comments!
As the DR team, we wish that we could already start writing about where to go and what to do to enjoy the perfect spring weather, but some things are just not meant to be. If you don’t already know, it’s going to be pretty cold this weekend. So cold that we are talking about -10 degrees. Yup, really cold. For those who are brave enough to step outside, we have gathered 3 things to do this weekend.
Number 1: Visit a museum!
There’s no better time to visit a museum than a day with bad weather. So grab your Ov-Chipkaart and enthusiasm and hit the road! Destination: NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam!
If you’ve been to Amsterdam then it’s hard to miss this huge, boat-shaped building close to the Centraal Station, but the chances are that you just walked passed it never actually got to experience this extremely fun opportunity. Well, what are you waiting for? The next episode of your fave tv-show can wait till the evening. Time to hit the road.
The 5-story building has a wide variety of interactive exhibits that will entertain young and old. Plus, you can expect to spend at least a good 3 hours there. A coffee before and a coffee after, you have a fun day!
Number 2: Visit somewhere close-by!
Okay, we know it’s gonna be cold but there’s no harm in cafe (or bar) hopping in between short walks. So, that’s why on Number 2, we have the perfect little city for a day trip: Delft!
Things to do this weekend: Visit Delft!
It’s small (less walking), has culture, cute classic Dutch houses and a great history. Plus, we already have a free guide if you don’t want to spend a fortune while enjoying yourself. All the fun minus the costs!
On the other hand, if you don’t mind warming up indoors during your day out, you can visit the Museum Prinsenhof or the Vermeer Centrum. Say hi to the statue of Hugo deGroot and taste the best apple pie in town while your at it (Go to Kobus Kuch, seriously).
Number 3: Just look out your window (and see the birds)
If these were not enough to persuade you to step outside, it’s okay. We got you covered too. As the last number on our “3 Things to do this weekend”, we have something that is perfectly okay to do from the comfort of your home: bird watching!
What? We can hear you say. Don’t be so quick to judge. Who knows, maybe this will be your next big hobby. If you are willing to give it a try, put your chair in front of your window and start reading our guide to “Birdwatching in Amsterdam” by our Nellie Werner.
We’ve already had a wild couple of months, snow, ice, snow again. It’s already snowed in March and it’s set to snow again. REALLY!? I’m pretty sure we’re all sick to death of it now. Since September, it’s felt like 6 months of winter. Spring is also coming next week, with the clocks going forward next weekend, yet it’s still sodding snowing. Anyway, let me stop ranting and give you the low down on what’s going on.
This is – Saturdaymorning at 7.00 o’clock (source: buienradar)
Snow, cold, cold again…
Tonight most of the country is expecting light snow, especially in the North. Temperatures are also going to plummet into the minuses, according to Weerplaza. That’s going to struggle to increase any higher into the weekend and the chilly winds are expected to make it feel like -10 (naaah thanks)! Tomorrow morning snow will fall in the South and Middle of the country. And as usual, road authorities are also warning for slipperiness and such.
Well, let’s just hope for some actual snow instead of the soggy nasty muddy stuff we’re actually expecting. Enjoy the weekend all!
If you’re Dutch and living overseas, voting while living abroad is still possible! That’s right, you’re still able to vote in elections and referendums. However, NOT for local government elections. For these elections you’ll only be able to vote on the referendum on the Wiv 2017 – Wet op de inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten (also known as the Sleepwet). If you’re only temporarily outside of the country and still have a Dutch (postal) address your ballot paper will be mailed there and you can authorise somebody to cast your vote on your behalf. This goes for ALL elections, so in that case, you will be able to vote in the local elections on 21 March.
Voting while living abroad: Registring
If you’re permanently living outside of the Netherlands, you’ll have to register first before you can do anything. Unless you live in the following areas: Wellington, Ottawa, Pretoria, Muscat, New Delhi, Doha or Moskou. In that case, you’ll be able to cast your vote at the embassy/consulate. In all other cases, you’ll have to register. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to do that anymore before the upcoming referendum, but if you register now you’ll be able to vote for every next national, European election and referendum.
Registering takes a little bit of time, but it’s a one-off thing. You’ll have to print the form, fill it out, sign it and then upload it, together with a copy of your Dutch passport or ID-card.
Note: For voting while living abroad; you’re only able to register if you no longer have a Dutch address. If you’ve already registered you might not have to do anything this time, but your registration has to be from after 1 April 2017. If you registered before, you’ll have to do it again. Registrations form before 1 April 2017 were not permanent and have to be renewed at every election.
What can you expect to receive?
If all this is taken care of, you’ll receive the following pieces in the mail: a briefstembewijs (proof of eligibility to vote), a ballot paper, a white ballot paper envelope, an orange return envelope and an instruction manual.The list of parties and candidates you’ll receive separately, by email, once it has been finalised. It’s possible to receive everything my mail, but receiving the list of candidates by mail might actually resolve in receiving the whole lot too late, so make sure you’re aware of that. If you live in a country that takes more than a few business days to get mail delivered I would opt for the email option (which is the default option, so you won’t have to do anything if that’s what you prefer). Officially you should be receiving all this about a month before the elections, but that is not always the case.
Some of you might remember the national elections from last year and the thousands of people overseas not receiving their ballot papers in time. This lead to a lawsuit against the Dutch government. And although the case was lost, all political parties agreed something had to change. A bill has been drafted (but still has to go through all layers of parliament, so a lot can still change). Anyway, the aim is to make voting overseas easier and faster to prevent something like last year from occurring.
If you haven’t received your voting papers on time or if they’re incomplete, contact the local government office in The Hague via kb**************@*****ag.nl or call them on +31 70 353 44 00. They should be able to assist you.
Voting while living abroad: How?
Ok, time to vote! You cast your vote by using a red, blue, green or black pen (purple glitter pen votes are invalid… BOO!). Put the paper ballot in the white envelope. Then, you sign the briefstembewijs and take a copy of your valid ID-card or passport. Put all this (white envelope with your ballot paper, signed briefstembewijs your you proof of ID) in the orange envelope and send it back to the Briefstembureau (the voting-by-mail station) in The Hague.
Make sure to frank it sufficiently as the return envelope is not Postage Paid. If you feel your vote might come in too late if you send it to The Netherlands, then you have the option of sending it to an embassy or consulate that is closer to you. Your vote has to be in on the day of the election, prior to 3 pm, so be sure to send it in on time! Good luck!
Will you be voting in the upcoming elections? Don’t forget to share with us in the comments!
The Dutchies did it again. All that cheese, nature, stroopwafels, drop and weed must be working because the Netherlands is the 6th happiest country in the world. And this is not the first time! Thinking about moving to the Netherlands? You have another reason to do so!
Wanna be happy? Move to the Netherlands (or Finland)
So not #1 happiest country ey?
If you are wondering which country came in first place, look no further than Finland according to 2018 World Happiness report.
Each year, UN surveys more than 150 countries by the happiness of their citizens. The researchers consider topics like are wealth, quality of the healthcare, social contentment, healthy lifespan, trust in society and the government and freedom. Looks like Dutchies are not doing that bad in all of them.
What does the Top 10 look like?
When it comes to happiness, Finland is this year’s top ranking country. On the other hand, the top 10 hasn’t changed much in the last two years, only swapping of places. The countries which held the top spot in the last 4 years are Denmark, Switzerland, Norway and now, Finland. (we kinda see a pattern here- is this the time to move up north?)
Now, let’s talk about the 6th happiest country The Netherlands. The Dutch have become slightly less happy when compared to 2017 but still kept its 6th place. Not bad Dutchies, not bad at all!
Top 10:
Finland
Norway
Denmark
Iceland
Switzerland
Netherlands
Canada
New Zealand
Sweden
Australia
Not all about happiness
It’s not all about the happiest country folks. One of the interesting facts that the report pointed out was the biggest health problems that threatens happiness. Obesity takes the first place. Followed by the opioid crisis and the third biggest threat is depression. Although this was still in a global context, the focus of this part was on the United States, where all three problems are growing more rapidly than the rest of the world.
So here comes the big question: Do you agree with the Netherlands being the 6th happiest country in the world? Don’t forget to share with us in the comments!
If you live in a country that takes more than a few business days to get mail delivered I would opt for the email option (which is the default option, so you won’t have to do anything if that’s what you prefer). Officially you should be receiving all this about a month before the elections, but that is not always the case.
