Ever stopped to consider why an expat is an expat? I mean why did you decide to leave your country of birth whilst your brother, sister or cousin stayed at home? And why to the Netherlands of all places? There could be any number of reasons why you made that big step to cross the border to[nbsp] settle in a new country.
You might have been visiting and never left because you loved it or you[nbsp] needed to come back to the country that fascinated you so much. Or perhaps the reason for being here was not the country itself but a particular person Maybe you fell head over heels in love with a Dutch guy or girl and were lured to these low lands. Or it was a loved one back home who already had plans to move to Holland before you came along. Perhaps you struggled with the dilemma: ‘Should I stay and risk my relationship or should I follow to a new country?’
A big decision for the ‘follower’ to make;[nbsp] especially if if moving abroad had not featured in your future plans up to that point.… Or maybe it was an old love that made you leave! You needed to get away as far as possible and[nbsp] you happened to see a lot of attractive youngsters in Holland on the news during a football match. More seriously, you got a good job offer, which was an interesting career move for you or you found an attractive job on the internet. After several negotiations and some good thought you made the move. Or[nbsp] maybe it was simply the prospect of more money in your pocket at the end of the month. You could finally save some money for a house or a new car. You didn’t know though that there would be so many nice things to buy and so many opportunities to go out and spend your hard earned cash – well enjoying yourself is also[nbsp] important!
Perhaps not applicable to Holland but there are also people who decide to go and live somewhere where the weather is better than in their home country. That I can imagine! To live under the sun, never needing a rain coat, no gray skies and always[nbsp] plenty of sun light. Yes, I can understand that. To move to the Netherlands in search of a[nbsp] new culture (other[nbsp] than the Amsterdam prominence of weed and red lights that is) or to get to know different ways of life could be a motivation too. If your home country is quite different then this could be an ideal place to explore and to adjust to. Whatever the reason, you did it yourself.. Not your brother (unless you moved with the whole family) or school mate or neighbor. Why you? It[nbsp] takes initiative, entrepreneurship and the desire to do something different. Did it meet your expectations? That depends a lot on the anticipation you had before going. Did you have high expectations or were you neutral? Were you well prepared? .
Did you know a lot about it prior to the leap or did you go in[nbsp] blind? Whatever you did, you are here! [nbsp]“Instead of following the path, you could leave a trail” [nbsp] Irene Irene Martens has lived abroad for 19 years across the globe. She now has moved back to The Netherlands and started coaching expats. If you like to reply or like to raise a subject (please do!) mail to info@eindhovennews.nl
