I often get asked what I like so much about life in The Netherlands compared to my home country and previous life in Germany. Therefore, I gave my best to compare both countries and talk from my personal experience. You can also download my free quick expat guide about moving abroad to The Netherlands.
Life in The Netherlands vs Life in Germany
Digital vs Paper Work
One thing I really like about life in The Netherlands compared to Germany is that things here are digital. This way bureaucratic things go much faster and smoother than in Germany, where they love paper, sending things via post and face to face appointments, which delays the whole process.
You can get a lot of things done online, without an appointment. You usually just need the DigiD app set up to verify your identity and that’s it. Here are 15 useful apps you need when moving to Netherlands.
Perfect vs Imperfect
Being Germany myself, I kind of grow up with a mindset that things have to be perfect, whether it is in school/university, at work, or for personal projects etc.
While it is nice to be ambitious and wanting to do things right, it is also a blocker on the contrary as you never really get started. Excuses and small things that need to be changed before pop up in your head all the time.
While living in The Netherlands, I really got to work on my mindset and how I execute things. The Dutch people’s approach is more like, let’s just get out there with what I have right now and adjust along the journey, based on feedback.
They are not so “scared” like Germans to be embarrassed or been maken fun of. They will say with confidence “at least I tried”.
Fear vs Risk
Another thing I really like about life in The Netherlands compared to life in Germany is the risk approach. While Germany is a very safe country, you also grow up with a “safety over everything” mindset.
This starts with having insurances for everything, contracts for everything, being sceptical towards new things, and always having a back up plan in mind.
As useful as this approach can be in certain situations, it also makes you go crazy mentally sometimes. Germans tend to assume and see the future of all the things that could potentially go wrong, instead of the opposite/positive side.
The Dutch on the contrary like taking risks it seems. You can almost say it gives them a certain kind of kick and adrenaline in life. The Netherlands therefore is a very modern and innovative country, and you can see them on the frontline with new inventions, technologies, and approaches compared to Germany. They are really like early adopters.
Germany, on the other hand, always evaluates risks and potential security issues first when new things are happening, making them late adopters. Basically, after everyone else does it already and they have no other choice, they will follow along.
Conservative vs Open minded
I believe this point goes hand in hand with the last two. While Dutch people like to try out new things, are very open minded, follow a trial and error approach etc. Germans are more conservative. They do things rather slow, the way they are used to, with lots of planning, in depth research/evaluations and tests.
There is no right or wrong here as both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. However, I enjoy the open and easy going mindset that I got exposed to during my life in The Netherlands because if you constantly worry, are resistant to try things a new way or scared of change, are you really living then?
Health System
Let’s talk about the health system in The Netherlands. This is one thing I mention when people ask me what I don’t like about Life in The Netherlands. Then again with my new open mindset, I got to learn to look at it from the bright side as well.
In Germany you pay a rather high monthly contribution to have access to health care. The good part is that almost everything is free for you, and you can book appointment with specialists right away.
In The Netherlands you first have to go to the General Doctor (Huisarts) who seems like he knows everything. He does gynaecology examinations, if you hurt your arms/legs, have problems with ears, allergy tests, skin problems etc. Only if he cannot help you, he will transfer you to a specialist.
Let me tell you, it is really hard to pass him, and the first advice they give you for every symptom is to take Paracetamol! Believe me when I say, there are lots of frustrated foreigners.
However, that’s probably also why the monthly contribution for access to health care is much lower in The Netherlands than compared to Germany. I would say, you pay between 100-200€ on average per month, depending on the package you choose, plus you have a yearly self contribution.
The healthcare system in The Netherlands is also not a big fan of “preventative care”. Whenever I try getting my yearly big blood test done it is a big struggle. The general doctor often responds that it is not needed because I am a healthy young woman. In Germany I did a blood test every 6 months to see if I have to supplement something.
What is funny though is that I have to pay this blood test partially from my own contribution anyways, but they still push back hard and sometimes I walked out of the doctor’s office without my test.
Cost of Living
Life in The Netherlands is much more expensive than life in Germany. However, I do think that salaries in general are higher, you get great government financial support, and as a foreigner you might be eligible for the 30% ruling (tax advantage).
Here are a few examples:
- When buying a car, you not only have to pay car insurance, but on top of that road tax which can be between 60-250€ per month.
- Daycare for your child can be between 300-1400€ on average per month depending on how many days you bring it there.
- Food on average is more expensive, but you can try to stick to cheaper German supermarkets in The Netherlands like Lidl and Aldi.
- Rent is also very high, but I guess it is the same case in Germany depending on where you live. Bigger cities are obviously more expensive.
- Utilities costs, such as electricity, water, gas, waste and Internet are amongst the highest prices in Europe and will add 250€ on average to your monthly expenditures.
A more detailed break down on the costs of living in The Netherlands can be found on my blog.
Maternity Conditions
Even though maternity conditions are much worse in The Netherlands, I still prefer a life in The Netherlands over a life in Germany. While in Germany you get 1 year off when becoming a mother, in The Netherlands it is only 20 weeks (100% paid), where you are obliged to take 4 weeks off before the due date.
Things did improve in August 2022 though, as you get 9 more weeks on top of the 20 weeks which are being paid 70%. They have to be taken in the first year.
More detailed information on having a baby in The Netherlands can be found on my blog.
Visa for international couples
If you are in an international relationship with a non EU citizen, then you might consider a life in The Netherlands over a life in Germany, especially when you are not married. Germans make it much harder than the Dutch.
In The Netherlands you don’t need to be married and can apply for a partner visa easily online. It is a super straight forward process which gives your partner a residence permit of 5 years. He can legally live and work there.
However, if you do want to marry, check out my post about how to get married in Denmark to a non-EU citizen.
If you are thinking to move to The Netherlands, the easiest is always to start in bigger cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Eindhoven. In case you need more convincing, check out this post about 10 reasons why I love living in Amsterdam.
