Netherlands

stickybookmark · 25-04-2014 1:35pm

Lock Knife wrote: »

2. I see above the the SOFI number system has changed. Can't remember the process before, but will I need an address/lease before I can get my tax number?

My friend just did this in the last 2 months coz he didn't have a flat sorted yet. Instead of SOFI number now you get a temporary BSN number. Just tell them you only have a temporary contract of a few months so you don't know long you'll be here.

You don't need fixed address (they might ask you for a contact address to post letter out to but you won't be registered at it) and you can open a bank account, get the 30% rule etc with the temporary one.

keithclancy · 25-04-2014 3:46pm

stickybookmark wrote: »

My friend just did this in the last 2 months coz he didn't have a flat sorted yet. Instead of SOFI number now you get a temporary BSN number. Just tell them you only have a temporary contract of a few months so you don't know long you'll be here.

You don't need fixed address (they might ask you for a contact address to post letter out to but you won't be registered at it) and you can open a bank account, get the 30% rule etc with the temporary one.

That's kind of right, its not temporary, it just means you registered with the Belastingdienst and not the City Hall.

You could not bother registering with the City Hall basically forever

But this brings other problems, like getting a parking permit and using other local services.

Number is the same though, my BSN is the same number the Belastingdienst gave me years ago.

SOFI number and BSN are the same thing, they just changed the name for continuity. There was a period where the Belastingdienst referred to it as SOFI number and other offices called it BSN.

stickybookmark · 25-04-2014 4:39pm

keithclancy wrote: »

That's kind of right, its not temporary, it just means you registered with the Belastingdienst and not the City Hall.

No more belastingsdienst. You get your temporary BSN at the City Hall

Lock Knife · 27-04-2014 8:07pm

keithclancy wrote: »

The main providers Vodafone/KPN/T-Mobile are pretty expensive.

Best deal i've found for Mobile Broadband without contract was with mobile vikings.

https://mobilevikings.nl/en/

15 euro a month for 1.5GB of 3G Data, 500 SMS and 15 euro credit at 25 cent / minute of calls.

Handiest is to just use tethering on your Android/iPhone with your Laptop, uses the KPN Network so coverage is decent through most of the Netherlands.

If you need more data there's https://www.robinmobile.nl/

30 euro a month for 'unlimited' although at 800kbps .. and they have a fair usage policy so if you use it with a Dongle/Tethering they 'might' cut you off.

Mobile Vikings have no such restriction:
https://mobilevikings.nl/en/help/settings/what-is-tethering-personal-hotspot-and-how-does-it-work/
https://mobilevikings.nl/en/help/settings/Can-i-use-my-mobile-vikings-sim-card-on-my-laptop/

For me 1.5GB is plenty and for 15 euro a month including calls/texts you can't go wrong, think I have around 70 euros of credit built up since I pretty much always use Whatsapp for messages and Justvoip for calls.

On the pay in wages thing, Postbank was integrated into ING in 2009, so you'll have no problems there.

Nice one Keith. Viking looks like the ticket and I'll check it out first. Even seems i can bring my usb dongle from here and just pop one of their sims into it.

Good news too on the postbank front. Hopefully it will just be a case of reactivating my account or something.

keithclancy · 28-04-2014 10:05am

stickybookmark wrote: »

No more belastingsdienst. You get your temporary BSN at the City Hall

It a National system now (BRP and the RNI)

If you are a grensarbeider/temporary stayer you register in the RNI:
http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/persoonsgegevens/vraag-en-antwoord/wat-is-de-registratie-niet-ingezetenen-rni.html

If you are a permanent resident you register in the BRP:
http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/persoonsgegevens/basisregistratie-personen-brp

But if you are registered with the RNI and then later become a permanent resident your BSN stays the same.

Basically if you register in the RNI you don't start getting bills from the Gemeente or letters from the CVZ saying you must get Dutch Health insurance.

Once in the RNI the only people you have to deal with are the Belastingdienst.

The point where you register doesn't really matter, the one in the Hague was at the IND office which isn't even at the city hall

stickybookmark · 30-04-2014 12:06pm

keithclancy wrote: »

The point where you register doesn't really matter, the one in the Hague was at the IND office which isn't even at the city hall

Omg I'm doing that things that Dubs do....presuming that whatever happens in Amsterdam goes for the rest of the country

:eek:

To rephrase: if you live in Amsterdam you don't go to the Belastingsdienst for your SOFI anymore you now go to the Town hall for your temporary BSN. I haven't an iota where you go for temporary BSN in places outside A'dam

shortys94 · 02-05-2014 11:23am

Living here for almost a year now, and I really enjoy it. Although I have made friends more with international people rather than the Dutch I really like the experience. Sporting facilities are amazing and public transport and location of Amsterdam means its a hub for getting anywhere for relatively good prices.

I find the social attitude towards drinking much more appealing in that I go out with friends and it's not a case of getting smashed, more to enjoy the drinks and have a good time. Have also joined a rugby club over here which is good to get to know people who have also moved over.

I find the weather absolutely great! Its much warmer and dryer in the Spring and Summer, I know some people have said here that it's like Ireland in this way but it couldnt be further from the truth. I notice a lot more sunshine and heat, eating ice cream at work already a few weeks back with the colleagues. Winter is obviously much colder, and can be wet, but still alot dryer than Ireland.

Really love it here, one thing i do notice though is that the Dutch are not well mannered, and not very open. People dont say thank you or please as much, or hold doors open for others, little things you notice. But I have found if you make initial conversation they are happy to talk, but reluctant a lot of the time.

Just like the open minded nature over here.

Side note, the red meat is terrible here Ive found! A lot of my mates agree too, its just not comparable to Irish meat. And they love bread and pastries here :P

But again overall love it, and love the weather!

CountingClocks · 02-05-2014 12:43pm

shortys94 wrote: »

Living here for almost a year now, and I really enjoy it. Although I have made friends more with international people rather than the Dutch I really like the experience. Sporting facilities are amazing and public transport and location of Amsterdam means its a hub for getting anywhere for relatively good prices.

I find the social attitude towards drinking much more appealing in that I go out with friends and it's not a case of getting smashed, more to enjoy the drinks and have a good time. Have also joined a rugby club over here which is good to get to know people who have also moved over.

I find the weather absolutely great! Its much warmer and dryer in the Spring and Summer, I know some people have said here that it's like Ireland in this way but it couldnt be further from the truth. I notice a lot more sunshine and heat, eating ice cream at work already a few weeks back with the colleagues. Winter is obviously much colder, and can be wet, but still alot dryer than Ireland.

Really love it here, one thing i do notice though is that the Dutch are not well mannered, and not very open. People dont say thank you or please as much, or hold doors open for others, little things you notice. But I have found if you make initial conversation they are happy to talk, but reluctant a lot of the time.

Just like the open minded nature over here.

Side note, the red meat is terrible here Ive found! A lot of my mates agree too, its just not comparable to Irish meat. And they love bread and pastries here :P

But again overall love it, and love the weather!

Have to agree on the weather, it's much better here than in Ireland and this Spring has been especially good so hopefully that bodes well for summer. It rains far less here and is warmer for most of the year, winters are cold but not as harsh as they used to be.

Facilities and public services in general are excellent, especially the public transport and ease in travelling across Europe from here.

The Dutch can be quite rude indeed, they like to call it direct

General courtesy and manners that we get used to in Ireland don't always exist here.

Glad to hear you're enjoying it so far, I'm moving back home this year and the thing I'm dreading most is the rain.

shortys94 · 02-05-2014 2:36pm

Just noticed I contradicted myself with the open minded nature thing, but I am referring to other things, government etc.

eoins23456 · 03-05-2014 8:41pm

I did my placement in the Netherlands last year and have since come back to ireland. Is it possible to claim tax back if I'm in ireland with no Dutch language skills ?

keithclancy · 05-05-2014 10:08am

shortys94 wrote: »

Really love it here, one thing i do notice though is that the Dutch are not well mannered, and not very open. People dont say thank you or please as much, or hold doors open for others, little things you notice. But I have found if you make initial conversation they are happy to talk, but reluctant a lot of the time.

Just like the open minded nature over here.

CountingClocks wrote: »

The Dutch can be quite rude indeed, they like to call it direct General courtesy and manners that we get used to in Ireland don't always exist here.

In fairness after living here some years I've realised that you cannot generalise the whole country.

For example if you go below the rivers people are much more friendly, holding doors, saying "hoi" when you make eye contact. It's also easy to just have a conversation with someone at a bus stop, in a bar etc.

We know most of the Neighbours on our street and have a Neighbourhood party every year.

The Randstad is more of a bubble which is very international, chances are the Dutch will always reply to you in English. Since its more densely populated people tend to be more in a rush and focus mainly on the friends they already have rather than trying to make new ones.

With us Expats you have to remember from their perspective the majority of us are in the Netherlands on a temporary basis, why try to make friends with people that will probably leave in 6 months - 2 years anyway ?

Years ago I moved from Cork to Dublin and to be honest that was more of a culture shock than moving from Cork to The Hague

However if you travel down into Limburg they can be complete Weirdos.

shortys94 wrote: »

Side note, the red meat is terrible here Ive found! A lot of my mates agree too, its just not comparable to Irish meat. And they love bread and pastries here :P

But again overall love it, and love the weather!

Yes, the meat sucks, I have no idea why. There's a brand called Greenfields in Albert Heijn which is sourced from Cahir in County Tipp. Its not bad. There's also a supermarket called Nettorama that does some reasonably priced ok steaks (Still nowhere near the quality you get in Ireland)

hybie · 05-05-2014 3:48pm

Hey all,

A few of living here for a while now have set up a facebook page for Irish people in Amsterdam (or the rest of the Netherlands

) to keep informed on any events here, pub nights out, sport clubs etc.

You can join at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/325190290939430/

CountingClocks · 05-05-2014 4:09pm

keithclancy wrote: »

In fairness after living here some years I've realised that you cannot generalise the whole country.

For example if you go below the rivers people are much more friendly, holding doors, saying "hoi" when you make eye contact. It's also easy to just have a conversation with someone at a bus stop, in a bar etc.

We know most of the Neighbours on our street and have a Neighbourhood party every year.

The Randstad is more of a bubble which is very international, chances are the Dutch will always reply to you in English. Since its more densely populated people tend to be more in a rush and focus mainly on the friends they already have rather than trying to make new ones.

With us Expats you have to remember from their perspective the majority of us are in the Netherlands on a temporary basis, why try to make friends with people that will probably leave in 6 months - 2 years anyway ?

Years ago I moved from Cork to Dublin and to be honest that was more of a culture shock than moving from Cork to The Hague

However if you travel down into Limburg they can be complete Weirdos.

Yes, the meat sucks, I have no idea why. There's a brand called Greenfields in Albert Heijn which is sourced from Cahir in County Tipp. Its not bad. There's also a supermarket called Nettorama that does some reasonably priced ok steaks (Still nowhere near the quality you get in Ireland)

Yeah I should have spoken about the Amsterdammers since that's where I live. They can be rude and unhelpful and service in bars, cafes, can be brutal but after so long here I take little notice anymore. I'm not an expat since I've lived here for a long time, speak Dutch, etc. and I get along fine with neighbours, participate in community events. etc but I do find people still lack a warmth and friendliness that you find in Ireland and other countries.

I find people can be friendlier outside the Randstad but I have friends and colleagues who disagree finding people more closed and conservative and harder to get to know. They are definitely more courteous though, almost nobody will hold a door open for you in Amsterdam.

Boombastic · 05-05-2014 6:35pm

hybie wrote: »

Hey all,

A few of living here for a while now have set up a facebook page for Irish people in Amsterdam (or the rest of the Netherlands ) to keep informed on any events here, pub nights out, sport clubs etc.

You can join at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/325190290939430/

we should organise a boards meet up

stickybookmark · 06-05-2014 5:59am

shortys94 wrote: »

Really love it here, one thing i do notice though is that the Dutch are not well mannered, and not very open. People dont say thank you or please as much

Side note, the red meat is terrible here Ive found! A lot of my mates agree too, its just not comparable to Irish meat.

My dutch teacher explained that in dutch they often use words like 'even' or 'hoor' to soften sentences and make them more polite as opposed to sticking please or thank you onto sentences. For example I asked her if to say 'can you please help me' would be 'kan je mij helpen alstublieft' and she said no it would be 'kan je mij even helpen'
Maybe coz even + hoor don't have english translations sometimes it comes across to us like they're being slightly impolite.
On the meat thing we're so spoiled in Ire with meat coz our animals have plenty of open fields to graze on which improves the flavour of meat. Over here with not much space it's more likely to be intensive farming, largely indoors.

keithclancy · 06-05-2014 9:27am

stickybookmark wrote: »

My dutch teacher explained that in dutch they often use words like 'even' or 'hoor' to soften sentences and make them more polite as opposed to sticking please or thank you onto sentences. For example I asked her if to say 'can you please help me' would be 'kan je mij helpen alstublieft' and she said no it would be 'kan je mij even helpen'
Maybe coz even + hoor don't have english translations sometimes it comes across to us like they're being slightly impolite.
On the meat thing we're so spoiled in Ire with meat coz our animals have plenty of open fields to graze on which improves the flavour of meat. Over here with not much space it's more likely to be intensive farming, largely indoors.

I was picking up some rashers, sausages etc from Tesco when I was back.

The Tesco rashers were Dutch .... felt like a complete div re-importing bacon :pac::pac:

At least now there's the Marks and Spencers in Amsterdam were you can get decent cheese and sausages

Also there's now those ones on the Motorway at the BP Stations so you can pop in on the way and grab some stuff.

http://www.bp.com/nl_nl/on-the-road/netherlands/producten-diensten/m-s-food-bij-bp.html

CountingClocks · 06-05-2014 12:41pm

keithclancy wrote: »

I was picking up some rashers, sausages etc from Tesco when I was back.

The Tesco rashers were Dutch .... felt like a complete div re-importing bacon :pac::pac:

At least now there's the Marks and Spencers in Amsterdam were you can get decent cheese and sausages

Also there's now those ones on the Motorway at the BP Stations so you can pop in on the way and grab some stuff.

And the one in The Hague is a full store unlike Amsterdam which only has the food hall, has a nice cafe as well. I heard they're planning to open a much bigger store in Amsterdam but I guess that's a year or two away.

Lock Knife · 10-05-2014 5:13pm

Would appreciate a few pointers on getting a bike quickly in Amsterdam. Should be arriving at central station about 3pm. Anyone have a recommendation for a bike shop a bit outside the center on a tram line handy to central station (unless there are any bike shops in the center that do a good price) Looking at getting a half decent second hand bike with a carrier for about 100-150 euro. That should be enough right? Just need to get the bike sorted first before 5 or 6 before I head onwards.

AlanS181824 · 13-05-2014 8:10am

Kwak, ik ben een pinda

Anyway from being in Netherlands well Amsterdam, I noticed that the weather is pretty similar to Ireland but I actually think the food is lovely :P

Nessel · 13-05-2014 12:50pm

Lock knife, on fietswinkelamsterdam . com you can find an overview of bike shops. (I can't post a decent link for you as it won't let me).
Most of them aren't too bad to walk to.

You could google their websites to find prices.
Maybe try Fietsenmakerij De Singel or Bankras Tweewielers.

Good luck

Lock Knife · 13-05-2014 9:23pm

Nessel wrote: »

Lock knife, on fietswinkelamsterdam . com you can find an overview of bike shops. (I can't post a decent link for you as it won't let me).
Most of them aren't too bad to walk to.

You could google their websites to find prices.
Maybe try Fietsenmakerij De Singel or Bankras Tweewielers.

Good luck

Nice one Nessel. Just looking at the place on Singels website and it's exactly what I'm after, and as you say it's handy enough walking distance too.

Thanks a lot

shortys94 · 18-06-2014 11:06am

Does anyone have any recommendations on dental hygienists in the Amsterdam/Southern Amsterdam region?? Going to go to ACTA in September for cheap rate if not, would like something sooner.

Also any recommendations on doctors? I have gone to expat mc last few months and they are so so so so so terrible. Thanks!

CountingClocks · 18-06-2014 11:09am

shortys94 wrote: »

Does anyone have any recommendations on dental hygienists in the Amsterdam/Southern Amsterdam region?? Going to go to ACTA in September for cheap rate if not, would like something sooner.

Also any recommendations on doctors? I have gone to expat mc last few months and they are so so so so so terrible. Thanks!

I've had the same doctor, dentist and hygenist for donkey's years so not too sure about signing up for new ones.

Can you not go to a local GP in your area and register there, same with dentists? Many should be open for new patients. Or do you have specific requirements?

shortys94 · 19-06-2014 8:59am

I just wanted a different doctor, the expat one is so so so bad

CountingClocks · 19-06-2014 9:04am

shortys94 wrote: »

I just wanted a different doctor, the expat one is so so so bad

Then you should go to your nearest GP practise and register there, often they have a sign in the window saying that they are accepting new patients.

Or you could ask work colleagues or neighbours for a recommendation.

shortys94 · 19-06-2014 11:16am

Funny thing is I work in the radiotherapy department at the VUmc, but many of my colleagues commute and have GPs outside of the area, Ill figure it out I guess was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations in the Amstelveen area.

stickybookmark · 19-06-2014 12:07pm

shortys94 wrote: »

I just wanted a different doctor, the expat one is so so so bad

To be fair it is free though! It's grand if you already know what you need and just need a prescription or a referral letter. Or I needed blood tests done there last year 4 different times in all, all completely free with the old EHIC card (I knew what I needed it to be tested for and just told them what boxes to tick on the form). If that was back in Ireland I'd have had to pay 55 euros a pop!

shortys94 · 19-06-2014 1:58pm

EHIC card is the european health insurance card right?
BUt thats only if your a resident in Ireland, I have mine from before I moved but surely I cant use now that I live here?

shortys94 · 19-06-2014 3:47pm

Can anyone shed some more light on the E card, I just called and they have mine on file at my doctor and I used it for a prescription to be sent to local pharmacy, is it legal for me to be using this card now as I am living here?

Dont want to get in trouble with Irish government

dissed doc · 19-06-2014 5:25pm

shortys94 wrote: »

Can anyone shed some more light on the E card, I just called and they have mine on file at my doctor and I used it for a prescription to be sent to local pharmacy, is it legal for me to be using this card now as I am living here?

Dont want to get in trouble with Irish government

If your resident than you are obliged to have health insurance. the EHIC card is valid if you are travelling temporarily in another country from your home resident country.

Netherlands

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