"When I moved from New Jersey to the Netherlands to live with my partner in 2017, I thought I knew what to expect. After all, my parents are Dutch, I spoke the language, and I had traveled to Holland more times than I could count. But after living in the United States my entire life, there were still a lot I had to get used to once I moved abroad."
"When I got to the Netherlands, my partner took a week off work to help me settle. So I was shocked when, on my first day alone the next week, an air-raid siren blared at lunchtime. It sounded like something from a disaster movie, and I texted him in a panic to ask what was happening. It turns out that the Dutch test the luchtalarm on the first Monday of every month."
"It seems like many Americans believe the country completely freezes over each winter - there are even images of the Dutch skating to work on frozen canals. However, that notion isn't true. Winters here are typically very mild, with only 1 or 2 inches of snow every year, and the canals rarely freeze over. In fact, it's much more common for it to stay gray and rainy from October through March."
An American who moved from New Jersey to the Netherlands in 2017 encountered several unexpected aspects of Dutch life despite Dutch family roots and language fluency. The Netherlands conducts a monthly test of the luchtalarm, historically used for wartime bombing warnings and now for other dangers. Winters are typically mild with only one or two inches of snow and canals rarely freeze; the period from October through March is often gray and rainy. Summers bring long sunny days and late sunsets. Dutch social norms favor directness, making small talk uncommon and casual greetings like "How are you?" can prompt surprise.
Read at Business Insider
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