# Working Down South



## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

Hello All, 
Does anyone have any advice on where to look for jobs that don't require that I know the Dutch language in Limburg? I've found a few up North but the pool seems to be beyond dry down here for anyone that isn't some high level, very well educated individual with lots of experience. I have been here a year now and don't have the language even close to under control yet. The job I currently have in the states that I do remotely seems like it's going to come to an end soon. I'm going to step up my studying but I don't think my conversation skills will be improving that rapidly. I have a degree in chemistry that I've never done anything will so no real world experience and have spent the past years data entry and a/r basic sort of stuff. Any advice of where I can look or anything at all would be so appreciated.
Thank you


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## Xircal (Mar 20, 2015)

wakeup said:


> Hello All,
> Does anyone have any advice on where to look for jobs that don't require that I know the Dutch language in Limburg? I've found a few up North but the pool seems to be beyond dry down here for anyone that isn't some high level, very well educated individual with lots of experience. I have been here a year now and don't have the language even close to under control yet. The job I currently have in the states that I do remotely seems like it's going to come to an end soon. I'm going to step up my studying but I don't think my conversation skills will be improving that rapidly. I have a degree in chemistry that I've never done anything will so no real world experience and have spent the past years data entry and a/r basic sort of stuff. Any advice of where I can look or anything at all would be so appreciated.
> Thank you


Hi, 

Nice countryside down your way. Up here around Amsterdam, it's as flat as a pancake. 

Anyway, try ploughing through this lot: Zoek vacatures in Provincie:Limburg op Monsterboard.nl | Monsterboard.nl

Even if you've been working in the Netherlands for a US employer you still have to file a tax return in the Netherlands. That has to be submitted by May 1 at the latest. See this site for more details: Income from abroad

This site provides info on national insurance contributions: Social security when working and doing business abroad

Learning the language is a good idea provided you intend to remain here for some time, but it isn't the easiest of languages to learn and it took me a good five years to attain a good degree of fluency. Have a look at your local council's integration policy. They sometimes offer free Dutch lessons which would be useful to you since you'll have a teacher to talk to. That kind of info should be available at the Town Hall. 

Good luck anyway.


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## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

Haha, is it flatter up there? I thought it was pretty flat down here. I'm hailing from the Rocky Mountain region so it feels like it is. I've heard some nice things about up North. I'm thinking it's time for a trip up that way being that I've been here a year. 
Thanks for the links. I guess it is time to jump in the job listing there isn't it? I will give it a go and see what I can see. Aside from needing a job I think it will make here feel more like home. Working from home is very isolating. 
You're making me feel a little better about my language learning. I've slacked off much more than I should have but I had in my mind after a year here I'd have picked up so much more. If I could find some free or even not so expensive classes, I think it would help a lot. Bless my husband but I think frustration rules when he tries to help me and I am so tired of stepping out of the house and not understanding anything people are saying around me. It's silly, I'm nervous to even go anywhere alone which is extra silly with the number of people that speak at least a little English. 
Thanks on the taxes too. I don't know why my husband then thinks I'm supposed to wait for the government to send me something saying that I owe social security instead of filing. Oh well, happy to know now that I need to do something and will take it into my hands. Job, language and taxes. My mind is much more at ease, thank you.


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## Xircal (Mar 20, 2015)

A tip about learning Dutch. Watch the commercial channels on Dutch TV. Programmes are regularly punctuated with ads and these tend to be repeated frequently so that you get used to hearing the same words spoken during the ads. When I started learning using that method, I 'learned' how to get my clothes shining, shining white by using X powder and stuff, but in Dutch. 

Actually, when I first set foot in Amsterdam where I still live, there were no computers, no mobile phones and the Internet was unheard of. I don't think we even had Walkmans (the old fashioned tape players) back then either. So I got the idea of watching TV a lot to listen to sentences which were repeated frequently. 

Also, a Dutch-English dictionary is very helpful because it provides the word used in short sentences which teaches you how to contruct sentences. The one I use (still) is called "Wolters Ster Woordenbook" which you can buy in virtually any bookshop. 

One of the biggest difficulties with sentence construction though is the use of verbs. These tend to be split with the second part of the word placed at the beginning of the sentence and the first part at the end. For example, the verb "Aankomen" means to Arrive. So to use this verb in a sentence regarding a train due to arrive at 10 O'Clock shall we say, in Dutch this would translate as: "De trein komt om 10 uur aan". Or if you were asking somebody when the train was due to arrive, you'd say: "Hoe laat komt de trein aan?"

But Aankomen is also used to describe an event where something arrives such as the English verb "Touch" for example. Or if you hit something (or something hits you). It's 'arriving' if you see what I mean. This is where a Dutch-English dictionary comes in handy. 

But over time, you get used to these things and the thing to do is not to spend hours on end every day trying to learn the language. The brain has a method of assimilating what you learned the previous day and can become confused when presented with too much information to assimilate all at once. So spend a few hours a day learning, but then take a break for a day. 

One other thing although I don't know what your plans are for the future, but if you're planning to settle in the Netherlands, you can purchase the missing years which determines whether you would qualify for a full Dutch pension or not, The way the full pension is calculated is 2% a year for every year between the age of 15 and 65. So if you were say 30 years old when you first arrived here, you'd be missing 15 years. That would equate to 30% being deducted from your Dutch pension when you retire. To get around that problem, you can purchase the missing years by paying the Volksverzekering premium for that period of time. See this site for more info: SVB - Vrijwillige Verzekering - If you start living or working in the Netherlands

Even if you were to return to the US, your Dutch pension will still be paid by international transfer so it's worth considering. 

Oh, and Amsterdam has many more opportunities than you'll get down in Limburg. Definitely worth a trip if you have time: Local | The official website of the City of Amsterdam and Expatcenter | I amsterdam


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## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

Wolters Ster Woordenbook, okay it's on my list. I have to give you some kudos, I feel like I'd be so lost without all my little gadgets and devices that help me. In actuality they are probably more of a crutch. More often than not I'll let the computer do the translating for me instead of trying to figure it out myself. I swear this language makes me laugh. Oh how wonderful the world would be if we all at least structured out sentences the same, be it this way or that. But hey, this makes life more interesting doesn't it? I definitely haven't been studying for hours a day. Honestly twenty minutes of relatively new stuff and a review of some of the things I've already learned and my brain starts giving me warning signals. I'll have to try tv. Oddly enough since I've been here I haven't turned the darn thing on. Used to be if I was home it was on. Well, a lot has changed since I moved here. 
Thanks for the link on the pension information. If my husband has anything to say about it, we'll be staying here long term. My homesick self can't imagine that but I can also take a guess that if I can start interacting here more outside of the home, I can build a life here. So that being said, sound like it's totally worth looking into.
Thank you for all your help. You've given me so much to look into. More to do but just having some idea of where to look and how to do things takes a weight off my shoulders.


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## Xircal (Mar 20, 2015)

I know what you mean. I didn't bother in the first three or four years because I had a Dutch girlfriend at the time who was an English teacher and she did all the translating for me, so I thought why bother. 

But that relationship went down the drain along with the job I had at the time and I suddenly I found myself having to deal with the bureaucracy like filing a tax return and various other stuff. For a while, I was able to persuade Dutch friends to help me out, but I'm sensitive to peoples attitude and could tell that asking them to write letters for me all the time was becoming annoying so I was kind of forced into learning the language myself. 

I would say that it's essential to be able to count at least from 1 to 10 in Dutch. Also, learning the names of objects is a good idea since they invariably crop up in a conversation. 

You might want to consider ordering the DVDs which are linked to the civic intergration program called "Inburgering" in Dutch. Film | Naar Nederland

This is came about because the Dutch don't like getting their hands dirty. So they decided to employ immigrants from Morocco and Turkey to do the 'dirty' jobs in society like cleaning (schoonmaken) and the like. But of course, these immigrants wanted to allow all their relatives to join them and after a while, it began to get out of hand. So they introduced the requirement to be able to speak Dutch as a means of curbing immigration.

EU law however states that anyone from a member state cannot be forced to learn another country's language in order to live there because that would impede the free movement of labour, but practically anyone else will be denied entry into the country if they haven't passed the basic exam first.

The Netherlands is a tightly regulated country and everything is well organized. In the larger cities, you're required to have an economic reason i.e. either work or study in a city in order to live there. 

A bit quirky and I'm not so sure I like that, but then again I love Amsterdam.


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## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

You make me feel better everyday. I can count and I am learning the names of things. Not that I always get the words right but okay. I get a little German mixed in there living down here. Heck, one day I'll learn that too. Yes!!
I have noticed that this is a tightly regulated country. The hoops I had to jump through. Well my husband did all the research and paperwork but it was a hard time. I was so glad when that was over. I'm glad I didn't have to take any exam or I'd have been back on the plane home. I have my reservations about things here, some stuff just makes me shake my head but America wasn't perfect either. I guess every place will have something, I've just been used to a different sort of bs.
I have a goal to visit Amsterdam this year. Been close but not quite there. We've been saying we'd take the trip since the first time I visited a couple years ago. I think out of a whole year, this time we'll do it.
Thank you


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## Xircal (Mar 20, 2015)

wakeup said:


> You make me feel better everyday. I can count and I am learning the names of things. Not that I always get the words right but okay. I get a little German mixed in there living down here. Heck, one day I'll learn that too. Yes!!
> I have noticed that this is a tightly regulated country. The hoops I had to jump through. Well my husband did all the research and paperwork but it was a hard time. I was so glad when that was over. I'm glad I didn't have to take any exam or I'd have been back on the plane home. I have my reservations about things here, some stuff just makes me shake my head but America wasn't perfect either. I guess every place will have something, I've just been used to a different sort of bs.
> I have a goal to visit Amsterdam this year. Been close but not quite there. We've been saying we'd take the trip since the first time I visited a couple years ago. I think out of a whole year, this time we'll do it.
> Thank you


Amsterdam is well worth a visit, but better during the spring, summer or autumn. During the winter, there are no leaves on the trees and everything looks grey and depressing. 

You can take a virtual tour of Amsterdam using Google Street View. The following link was taken on the Herengracht which is close to the city centre: http://goo.gl/maps/EpEb6

I don't particularly like the new Google Street View which loads by default though. That includes images from other places unrelated to where you are and gets in the way I find. It's easy to revert to the vanilla flavour though by clicking the question mark "*?*" on the right above the row of images at the bottom and then choose "Return to classic Google Maps". That gets rid of all the boxes adorning the new layout.


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## wakeup (Mar 21, 2014)

I'm going this year for sure....when it gets warmer, thank you. Come on Spring!!!!


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