> The Netherlands are in the top percentile of every quality of life metric except for weather.
I’m not going to say it’s bad because on average it isn’t, but this is patently untrue. The Dutch housing market is one of the worst in the world, and doubly so if you don’t speak Dutch or are on a budget. Double whammy for international students.
The healthcare system is... let me put it this way. As an Indian, I’d rather be in the Netherlands if there was a critical medical condition. You’re not actively suicidal or dying in the next 24 hours? Excellent, join the seven month waitlist for getting medical help. Or become suicidal enough to go to the ER, and then back to the waitlist you go!
In India (and what I’ve seen/heard of UK/US private healthcare) you can get faster treatment if you can pay. Nothing of that sort here haha.
(I should probably add that Germany and Belgium have similar issues from what I’ve heard, though that doesn’t excuse the Netherlands.)
> and doubly so if you don’t speak Dutch or are on a budget
Like literally anywhere in the world, in the vast majority of country if you show up poor and not able to speak the language you won't find a place to live.
Yeah but not really. In a lot of places if you can pay market rates landlords couldn’t care less about your language, especially if both of you are fluent in English. Important to note perhaps that this language thing is more for common/shared accommodations, not standalone units.
Also by on a budget I mean a budget that’ll get me a very decent place even in for example Germany. The prices and costs of accommodation in the Netherlands is hilarious, ask anyone living here. One of my professors literally moved to Belgium to save on rent, despite needing to make a multi-hour journey when commuting multiple times a week.
> In a lot of places if you can pay market rates landlords couldn’t care less about your language
How will you sign a contract you can't read ? Outside of tech hubs you can't even find a job in western Europe (not even speaking about the rest of the world) if you don't speak the language, without a job you won't find a place to rent
> Also by on a budget I mean a budget that’ll get me a very decent place even in for example Germany.
Well, one of the big reasons for that in the netherlands is they don't build places to live. Take a look at the satellite view of amsterdam. Huge cycling town, you'd expect everything within a 5 or 10 mile radius of the central rail station to be built up pretty well to maximize the bikeshed, right? Nope. Medieval low rise apartments that are illegal to replace, and protected agricultural lands within 5 miles just to rub salt on the wound that the farmer's tractors harvesting crops for export in zunderdorp have better transit access than you, a rent burdoned low income worker central to the amsterdam economy.
I'm Dutch and work in tech. One of the reasons I'm a digital nomad is because Amsterdam is too expensive. For reference: the city center of Berlin is about twice as cheap, and Berlin isn't cheap anymore nowadays.
>(I should probably add that Germany and Belgium have similar issues from what I’ve heard, though that doesn’t excuse the Netherlands.)
For Belgium at least, these issues are not similar. Our housing prices are high in some cities but definitely not on the level of the Netherlands. And the waiting list for medical help is much less of an issue here.
Belgium definitely has their own issues (often issues that the Netherlands don't have), but the issues you listed are not as relevant in Belgium.
I’m not going to say it’s bad because on average it isn’t, but this is patently untrue. The Dutch housing market is one of the worst in the world, and doubly so if you don’t speak Dutch or are on a budget. Double whammy for international students.
The healthcare system is... let me put it this way. As an Indian, I’d rather be in the Netherlands if there was a critical medical condition. You’re not actively suicidal or dying in the next 24 hours? Excellent, join the seven month waitlist for getting medical help. Or become suicidal enough to go to the ER, and then back to the waitlist you go!
In India (and what I’ve seen/heard of UK/US private healthcare) you can get faster treatment if you can pay. Nothing of that sort here haha.
(I should probably add that Germany and Belgium have similar issues from what I’ve heard, though that doesn’t excuse the Netherlands.)