If you’re between 18 and 35 and searching for a place to rent, chances are you’ve already run into some… let’s say, creative practices from landlords and agencies.
Here’s what to watch out for (and what to say hell nee to.)
You shouldn’t be paying several months’ rent in advance
Picture this: you find the perfect apartment, only to be told you’ll need to hand over several months’ rent as a deposit.
Dutch law says landlords can only ask for a maximum of two months’ rent in advance, but apparently, some owners missed that memo.
And viewing fees? Super illegal
Others get even more creative, charging “viewing fees” just to let you peek inside.
Speaking with RTL Nieuws, Gert Jan Bakker, who works for the reporting centre for undesirable rental behaviour at the !WOON Foundation in Amsterdam, explains:
“If someone places an ad offering a property for rent and someone is interested, you can’t charge for it. A viewing simply has to be arranged.”
Key deposits are mythical, and you don’t always pay the agent
Another dodgy practice that isn’t actually allowed? Demanding mystery “key deposits,” or slapping on agency fees.
Firstly, a “key deposit” doesn’t exist. And secondly, paying agency fees is only legal if you actually hired the agent yourself (not if you just responded to a listing by that agency).
I doubt I’m the only international in the Netherlands who’s lived through an embarrassing episode of trying to use a MasterCard in a Dutch supermarket — only to then have to pack everything back after the card was not accepted. 😬
My lesson was learned. After this incident, I started hunting for the closest bank to set up my first Dutch bank account. Turns out it’s echt handig (very handy) to have one!
In the Netherlands, Willem Alexander is King, and cash is not! So you’ll find that life is much easier with a Dutch bank card.
Not sold? (Pun intended). Here are seven reasons that should convince you to open a Dutch bank account. 👇
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1. Get connected with a Dutch mobile data subscription
If you’ll be living in the Netherlands for longer than a month, a Dutch mobile data subscription is the best tool for keeping in touch with your loved ones.
There’s a provider for every price bracket, with budget providers like Simyo offering the basics, and KPN, Vodafone, and Odido offering high-speed, unlimited data packages.
A Dutch data connection is the best way to stay in touch with your loved ones! Image: Freepik
The one downside, however? Unless you’re opting for a prepaid bundle, you’ll need a Dutch bank account and card to pay for your data.
2. Actually pay for your food at Albert Heijn
If you live in the Netherlands, you have also been to an Albert Heijn. That’s just a fact. And if you’ve been there, you also know that having a Dutch bank account is quite, well, essential.
Albert Heijn is one of the biggest supermarkets in the country; you can find them everywhere.
However, several only accept Dutch debit cards, meaning you can try to play Russian Roulette with your international card — but you’ll likely be standing there like a fool with a stack of food you can’t pay for (cue flashbacks).
And we know what you’re thinking: there’s a little something called cash — but nee! You can’t even pay by cash in some of their stores.
If we don’t have you convinced now, then think about self-checkout. If you want to skip the queuing, just use their self-checkout terminals and pay with your Dutch bank account!
3. Top up your OV-chipkaart (or get an NS subscription!)
If you often travel in the Netherlands, you probably already have an OV-chipkaart. If you want to look (and act) more local, you might even have a fancy personal (yellow) OV-chipkaart.
If you connect your Dutch bank account to your OV-chipkaart, then you can automatically top up your balance when it’s running low.
This means you never have to worry about having enough time to top up at the ticket machine during your frantic rush to the train.
Yellow or blue? An easy decision to make with the benefits of a personal OV-chipkaart. Image: Samantha Dixon/DutchReview
Speaking of the OV-chipkaart: it’s not only great for getting you on the train, but also for travelling at a discounted rate.
With a Dutch bank account, you can easily create an account and zoom all over the Netherlands on two or four borrowed wheels.
If you don’t have a Dutch account, however, in most cases, you’ll either have to hike it or bike it.
5. Avoid transfer costs with a Euro account
One of the most important reasons to get yourself that Dutch bank account: if you come from a country with a different currency to the euro, you’ll find it veryexpensive to use that card.
If you get a Dutch card, you can use it without paying the transfer price.
For many internationals, this is the main reason they get a Dutch bank account. (Need we remind you of how expensive life in the Netherlands actually is? 👀)
6. Send and receive Tikkies
And, of course, there’s Tikkie. This is your best tool to collect all those little debts from your friends after a Friday night — shamelessly.
Tikkie is an online payment app that allows you to forward payment requests to people via WhatsApp or pay through a QR code.
It’s super handy to have it on your phone because sooner or later, someone will send you a Tikkie for 87 cents because you spent a whole hour in their house when the heating was on.
(And, trust us, you’re gonna want to be able to pay it!)
Fun fact! Did you know 10,000 Tikkie payments for under €2 are sent per month in the Netherlands? If you don’t have a Dutch Maestro card, you can’t use this app, and we all know that you will need (or want) it at some point!
7. Use iDEAL when shopping online
If you sometimes do online bank transactions while shopping on Dutch webshops, you probably already bumped into our little friend, iDEAL.
This platform is ideal (see what we did there?) for making secure payments while shopping online if you don’t want to share your bank details.
Trust us, iDeal is super handy. Image: DutchReview
The Dutch are also crazily in love with this method of online payment. You only transfer the amount of money you need for your Bol purchases without sharing any card information.
The appeal of iDeal is undeniable — but if you have an international bank card, it’ll be noDeal.
You’ll generally require a Dutch bank account to use this payment system (which is often the only option when online shopping in the Netherlands).
Good to know: With iDeal set to be phased out in favour of new Visa Debit and Debit Mastercard bank cards, this won’t be a stumbling block you’ll encounter for much longer!
You will undoubtedly benefit from having a local bank card while living in the Netherlands, and it’s super easy to set one up!
Most big Dutch banks provide English information for their customers, so you won’t need to practise your Nederlands (Dutch) in their offices.
Now, what are you waiting for? Get your bank account sorted, and enjoy life in the Netherlands!
Do you already have a Dutch bank account? What is your ultimate tip for people who have just received their cards? Let us know in the comments!
None, however, impress us as much as the people who bike with umbrellas. 🤯
You’ll see them whooshing by with one hand on the handlebar and the other clinging to an umbrella, which they use as a shield to face the wind and rain head-on.
The real pros even have a special cycling umbrella in an elongated shape to unlock those extra aerodynamic powers.
Another answer is to, well, protect themselves from the rain. 💁♂️
Why is it quirky?
Considering that the Netherlands has a (relatively) well-functioning public transport system and good rain gear would keep them just as dry, biking with an umbrella honestly just seems like a lot of unnecessary effort.
But we must commend the Dutch for trying. It’s a brave move.
If you’ve already weathered a winter here in the Netherlands, you’re probably familiar with gas prices that’ll make your wallet cry. But just how steep are Dutch prices in comparison with the rest of Europe?
Helaas, the answer is very steep: new figures from the Household Energy Price Index (HEPI) show that gas prices in the Netherlands are now the second-highest in Europe, with only the lucky Sweden managing to best us.
Dutch households pay an average of €1,801 yearly
If you’re wondering what this placement means for your annual gas bill, comparison website EnergieVergelijk has crunched the numbers.
Based on an annual consumption of 1,020 m³ of gas, a regular Dutch household could be looking at a blistering €1,801 bill at the end of the year. And let op: if your home is poorly insulated, you could be looking at an even higher figure.
To put things into perspective, Dutch gas prices are hundreds of euros more expensive than those in neighbouring European countries. For the same amount of gas, you’d typically spend €1,080.18 in Germany and €1,350.48 in Belgium.
With gas prices rising even higher in 2027, we may all need to be sparing with our thermostats. Image: Depositphotos
(Contrast this to Hungary, where a household’s gas bill could average €109.14, and your wallet’s likely to feel even emptier.)
And that number’s still rising
In addition to this, research by CE Delft points out that the new European Emissions Trading System (ETS2) could result in even higher gas prices in 2027.
While designed to “put the EU on a firm path towards its 2050 climate neutrality goal”, the proposed ETS2 could push an estimated 24,000 households into energy poverty by 2030.
One thing is clear: with gas prices this high, keeping warm in the Netherlands will not come cheap.
Here’s a very cool trait of Dutchies: they’re multilingual legends! You would be hard-pressed to find someone in the Netherlands who doesn’t speak at the very least two languages.
Not only are most Dutchies pretty much fluent in English, but they’re also skilled at speaking other languages. 🇪🇺
What is it?
Whether it’s German, French, Italian, or other languages, Dutch people are a linguistically talented bunch.
This multilingualism is more common among young and middle-aged speakers. 🗣️
Monolingual Dutch speakers are rare in the Netherlands and are more commonly found in the older population.
Why do they do it?
The Netherlands has always been a country with a global mindset. To continue dominating international business, Dutchies are well-versed in English and other languages. 🌍
They also love travelling and studying abroad, which fuels their language-learning passion. 🔥
On top of all that, they don’t do dubbing over English series and movies — just subtitles — so they’re pretty used to hearing English.
The secret to their success lies in their schooling: Dutchies study English starting from primary school all the way through to the final years of high school.
Students also take French or German starting in early secondary school, and as if that wasn’t enough, many also take Ancient Greek and Latin in high school.
Dutch is also part of the West Germanic language family and is one of the closest languages to English, which might help a little! 😉
Why is it quirky?
We’re shocked at the near-perfection of Dutch speakers’ English — it almost makes us not want to try and learn Dutch (but we still try, of course)!
Because Dutchies are so good at languages, it makes it difficult to gossip about them when they’re around. 🙈
They can pretty much throw themselves in any situation and be understood by others.
Should you join in?
Of course! Learning a new language is always a good idea. It helps develop your brain and gives you endless advantages professionally and personally.
And just because Dutchies are multilingual experts doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to emulate their awesomeness. We can at least try to leer Nederlands (learn Dutch). 😋
What do you think of this Dutch quirk? Have you experienced it? Tell us in the comments below!
The Netherlands is bracing for a week of shifting autumn weather, with the possibility of Hurricane Humberto’s effects reaching Dutch shores by the end of the week.
While the Category 5 storm is currently making its way across the Atlantic, Weeronline reports that its remnants are expected to steer towards Europe and could influence Dutch conditions from Friday onwards.
The week starts mild with scattered showers
We can expect a relatively calm start to the week, with temperatures hovering around 18 to 19 degrees Celsius. On Monday and Tuesday, showers will pop up mainly in western and northwestern parts of the country, though most areas should stay largely dry.
From Wednesday, easterly winds will bring drier and brighter conditions. Sunshine returns to much of the country, though the daytime highs will dip slightly to 16 to 17 degrees.
Nights, however, will feel noticeably colder, with temperatures plunging to just above freezing in some areas.
A touch of ground frost is possible, so gloves may be a good idea for early morning commutes.
Humberto could make landfall this Friday
Uncertainty sets in from Friday onwards as Humberto approaches.
Forecast models suggest the former hurricane will impact the British Isles before shifting towards northern Europe, but its exact path remains unclear.
Two scenarios are on the table for the Netherlands:
If Humberto follows the northern track (via Scotland to Norway), we may experience a spell of rain followed by milder, late-summer conditions as southerly winds move in.
If Humberto follows the southern track, we’ll likely experience a cooler, more unsettled path, with stronger westerly winds and a decidedly autumnal feel.
What do you hope for — a late burst of summer or a fast track into autumn? Share your thoughts in the comments!
So how rich was the Dutch East India Company (VOC)? If you’re wondering what paid for all those pretty canals and houses in Amsterdam, Leiden, and Utrecht, well, this might explain it all a bit.
Let’s dive into the facts and figures; as shockingly rich as this company was, it certainly wasn’t great for everyone!
The Dutch East India Company — Apple doesn’t have anything on it!
The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), better known as the Dutch East India Company, was set up in 1602 and headquartered in the Oost-Indisch Huis (East-India House) in downtown Amsterdam, which still stands today.
It was founded as a private merchant company that was granted a two-decade-long monopoly by the government for spice trading, mainly in the Dutch East Indies, known today as the Republic of Indonesia.
And if you think Amazon is thrifty with deliveries, the VOC sent over one million voyagers across Asia, which is more than the rest of Europe combined.
This was at a time when a trip from Amsterdam to Batavia (Jakarta) would last no shorter than eight to 10 months, and many ships, or individual passengers, would never return.
Many of the massive sailing ships perished in storms and fell prey to piracy or infectious disease. Travelling at the time came at a huge risk, but once on location and with the right knowledge and attitude, there was a great chance of becoming wealthy.
As a result, many took the odds.
Tulips used to bring in big bucks for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Image: Unsplash
The company was also the first official company to issue stocks, which peaked during the Dutch “Tulip Mania”, a craze for tulip bulbs that is seen as the world’s first true financial bubble.
The VOC’s stocks pushed the company’s worth to a massive 78 million Dutch guilders, which is a pretty solid business (even today), but translates to a whopping $7.9 trillion USD worth now…
Yes, really, trillion. That’s $7,900 billion — or $79,000 million!
Modern-day companies don’t compare
At its peak, the VOC was worth the equivalent of Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, ExxonMobil, Berkshire Hathaway, Tencent, and Wells Fargo put together.
This means that the world’s most valuable company, Apple, is worth about 11% of the peak value of the VOC.
It was also worth roughly the same amount as the GDPs of Japan and Germany today added together. Can you dig it?
The company also employed 70,000(!) people across the globe, making it a textbook multinational by definition, and this was nearly four centuries ago!
The Dutch East India Company was also pretty evil
Of course, it wasn’t all fun and games with the Dutch East India Company. Despite bringing the Netherlands prosperity and successfully connecting the world, it also brought horrendous suffering to an endless number of people.
For two centuries, the VOC did whatever it had to make sure its assets were protected, and profit was high.
That included slave trading, colonial oppression, and absurd mistreatment of employees. If you think your job is tough today, try being a deckhand on a year-and-a-half VOC round-trip or, even worse, a slave living in the dark belly of a ship.
The VOC is thought to have transported, or rather displaced, as many as 50,000 people from Africa to serve or trade as slaves in its colonies. It’s a staggering number.
Worse, however, is that many countries subjected even more people to slavery per individual nation than the Dutch and VOC ever did, creating a permanent “involuntary” change in demographics around the globe.
The success of international trading companies like the VOC has forever put a stain on Europe’s colonial past.
Crazy rich: Dutch East India Company (VOC) revenue compared to modern companies like Apple. Image: Visual Capitalist
Regardless of its endless exploitation, these trading companies and colonies have shaped the world and are at the foot of today’s “multiculturalism” and the modern-day economy.
A past that must be recognised
Still, many people are in denial about their country’s colonial past.
Holland, for one, definitely gained its historic wealth and fortune over the heads of others, which is not to say that it’s the fault of the modern Dutchies — it’s hard to blame someone for something they never had a hand in.
But denial or downplaying it is flat-out ignorant and inexcusable.
It’s always wise to speak with some discretion to people of colour, even in “multi-cultural” Holland, as many Indo and Moluccan people are direct descendants of the VOC days, and Black Surinamese and Antillean people are African slave descendants.
Their Hindu counterparts were often “contract labourers” from the Indian subcontinent, which was hardly better than being a slave.
There are some interesting facts to be learned when we consider the history of the VOC, but it would be irresponsible for us not to mention the downsides that came with it.
That much, at least, is what every Dutchie owes the world, especially given that people of a colonial past are of such vital importance to modern Holland as we know it today.
Were you as shocked by these figures as we were? Tell us your thoughts on the VOC in the comments below!
The silent memorial march ended at the local police station, where participants observed a minute of silence in his honour.
Calls for calm as inquiry begins
Jerryson’s foster mother addressed the crowd with an emotional plea, asking those present to remember him peacefully.
“He was a quiet boy, so we’re going to walk quietly. I don’t want there to be any riots,” she said, urging people to channel their grief into remembrance rather than unrest.
The Public Prosecution Service has launched a formal inquiry, as is standard procedure in incidents where police use their weapons and someone is injured or killed.
Meanwhile, the NOS reports that the two other 15-year-olds involved in the robbery will remain in custody for 14 more days.
Police believe four teenagers were part of the crime; one suspect is still being sought.
Legal action
Jerryson’s biological mother, who lives in Curaçao, has filed a manslaughter complaint against the police through her lawyer.
At the time of his death, Jerryson had been living in foster care in the Netherlands.
As the investigation continues, Capelle aan den IJssel remains shaken by the teenager’s death, and the tragedy is now marked by a solemn call for peace.
Was this the right response from the police, or do you disagree? Let us know in the comments.
When nature called at a Roosendaal garden centre, one woman decided that blocked visitor loos weren’t going to stop her from answering.Her creative solution? A bucket, a public aisle, and what staff described as “wet confetti” scattered across the floor.
The incident unfolded on Tuesday when the woman asked to use the facilities at the unnamed garden centre, only to be told the visitor toilets were blocked.
He had to tell her the visitor toilets were blocked because customers had been throwing “all sorts of things” down the loo.
When customer service meets Dutch directness
The garden centre owner told NU.nl that he would normally offer access to the staff toilet in such situations. However, the woman’s reaction to the news was less than polite.
“She went completely mental,” the owner explained. “She went absolutely off her head.” When customers treat staff poorly, he said, the extra service stops being offered.
The woman warned she’d “go sit somewhere else” if no toilet was available. True to her word, she made her way to the checkout area.
The bucket solution that shocked everyone
What happened next left staff, customers, and even the cashier speechless. The woman grabbed a bucket, pulled down her trousers, and relieved herself right there in the aisle. But the performance wasn’t over yet.
After finishing her business, she proceeded to empty the bucket’s contents under the checkout belt, creating what the garden centre’s Facebook post described as a sort of “wet confetti” across the floor.
When the bewildered owner asked what on earth she was doing, her response was typically direct: “Well, you should make sure there’s a toilet then.”
Even her male companion seemed remarkably unfazed by the spectacle. His philosophical response? “If she needs to go, she needs to go.”
A very Dutch approach to problem-solving
The garden centre shared CCTV footage of the incident on their Facebook page, writing: “We thought we’d seen everything. Until this customer decided to empty her bladder in a bucket in the middle of the aisle and then threw it around like wet confetti.”
This incident highlights a broader issue that plagues the Netherlands: the shocking lack of public toilets.
With only around 500 public loos nationwide (compared to Paris’s 750), finding a place to go when you’re out and about can be a genuine nightmare.
According to DutchReview’s investigation into the toilet shortage, only one in four toilets in the country actually meets cleanliness standards, and less than 16% of public facilities pass basic hygiene tests.
Have you ever encountered a customer service situation in the Netherlands that left you completely speechless? Share your most memorable experiences in the comments below.
We know the Dutch are a pretty strange bunch and, to be honest, up until now, we couldn’t know for sure that they weren’t some mysterious sea creatures that crawled from the water wearing funny hats and performing spells to keep the water away — seriously, what’s up with that?!
However, thanks to a super informative video, we can now fill the gaping holes in our Dutch history knowledge.
