The Dutch miracle
The Netherlands has a strong, stable economy. Well-being is widespread, with an infrastructure in good condition, a high-performance healthcare system (very different from the French system; be warned) but expensive, and high taxes for the average person. The Dutch are hard-working and active, but they value their private lives and organize themselves to find the best possible balance. Free time, continuing education and sabbaticals are at the heart of life in the Netherlands. Full employment is the order of the day. The big problem is housing, which affects the recruitment of teachers and catering staff in particular... This problem seems insoluble at present, and housing and access to property are the main issues.
Family life
Family life is very important in the Netherlands. Sometimes, it even seems that professional life revolves around it. In 2023, 68,000 marriages and 23,000 civil partnerships were registered. The average age at first marriage is 35.2 for men and 32.9 for women. Pregnancy is a unique experience in the Netherlands. It's a natural event, and is not medically necessary. Baby's arrival is highly ritualized. While home birth is less common, returning home after the birth is quick. Maternity leave is sixteen weeks, and baby's arrival still means a break in the mother's working life. Full-time work for women is very rare. Childcare is expensive and social life is centered around children. Working life has to fit in with family life. Schools finish around 3pm and sports activities take over. Days start early, often at 8am, sometimes at 7am, and the lunch break is short. Children are both very independent and very much supported by their families.
Women still too few in the labor market
Dutch women started working later than other European women. Industrialization came later to the Netherlands than to Anglo-Saxon countries. However, the main reason for this was that the Netherlands was neutral during the First World War. This meant that women in the Netherlands didn't have to run factories.
The way women are regarded in the Netherlands has its roots in the historical Dutch woman, the one who runs the household, the purse and the husband. Over 70% of women work part-time, enabling them to reconcile their lives as mothers and working women. The structure of the Dutch family still revolves around the presence and flexibility of the mother. Dutch women, even those who have studied, often choose to stop working altogether as soon as their first child arrives. Only 38% of Dutch women are financially independent. Childcare is expensive, and social pressure on mothers is high. However, there has been an evolution and recent measures have attempted to encourage women's participation in the labor market by providing financial assistance for childcare. A plan to take full charge of day-care centers to stimulate women's employment and make up for labor shortages has been announced for 2027. Stay tuned! At present, Dutch women have the lowest working hours in Europe...
"Gezelligheid", or the Dutch way of life...
The Danes have hygge and the Dutch have gezelligheid! "Gezellig" means conviviality, Dutch-style. In general, the Dutch like to take care of their interiors and, if they don't easily entertain with food, they like to share a coffee and a pie. A choice of fabrics, a few candles and a cinnamon-flavored apple pie set the scene. They also love group activities: sports, museum visits, coffee on the terrace - there are plenty of groups spreading their gezellig cheerfulness (sometimes noisily). You'll notice that houses rarely have curtains, so you can admire scenes of life without any embarrassment.
An LGBT friendly country
It happened on April1st (2001), and it was no joke: the Netherlands became the first country in the world to authorize marriage between two people of the same sex, with the possibility of a religious ceremony! Homosexuality was legally recognized as early as the beginning of the 20th century, and to this day, the Netherlands remains one step ahead of many nations on this issue. Even if community life has been on the wane for years, Amsterdam and the Netherlands are welcoming lands for gays, who can live their lives (and families too) without any problems. The community is honored in the calendar on Pink Day, the last Saturday in July, when Canal Pride takes place. There have been a few anti-gay incidents involving minorities in recent times, but these have done little to tarnish the Netherlands' reputation as a land of tolerance.
The limits of drug tolerance
The Netherlands is famous for its drug policy, based mainly on tolerance. Their vision is pragmatic, some would say mercantile. Symbolic of this approach are the coffee-shops so popular with tourists, especially French ones..
This almost idyllic vision of soft drugs has been undermined in recent years by numerous problems linked to drug trafficking. Assassinations occur regularly and, in July 2021, an investigative journalist, Peter R. de Vries, was shot dead in the street while playing a role in the trial of a Dutch drug baron. Justice and the press are regular targets for drug traffickers. Some are therefore calling for total legalization and state production and sales to eradicate drug trafficking.
Prostitution
Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands. Brothels are tolerated and subject to operating permits. The symbol of this tolerant approach for many, shocking for many others, is Amsterdam's Red Light District. In the Netherlands, sex workers are taxed and pay pension contributions. This is said to lead to a better census, better working conditions and better protection. Over the past fifteen years, Amsterdam has sought to limit and regulate the red light district, which is an abusive and criminogenic environment. Many sex workers are exploited by "pimps". Attempts to limit the red light district have not yet been fully successful. In recent years, the capital's mayor has stepped up her actions. In the age of Me too and women's rights, their prominence in the heart of the tourist district no longer seems acceptable. The idea would be to move the district to a less touristy setting, so as to no longer subject prostitution to the astonished, amused and often judgmental eyes of visitors to the capital.
Education
The educational system in the Netherlands is based on giving pupils a sense of responsibility, making them true little citizens. Elementary school starts on the pupil's 4th birthday, so everyone joins during the year. The primary cycle lasts 8 years, from the pupil's 4th to 12th birthdays. Teaching is centralized at test level, but there is considerable freedom of choice. Local schools may be Montessori, Dalton or other. Education is free. At age 12, depending on results, the child enters a secondary school. In big cities like Amsterdam, this school, depending on the child's results in the national tests carried out since grade 8, is the result of a lottery and totally random, sometimes creating real human dramas... Some pupils find themselves going alone to a school at the other end of town, siblings are separated, etc. VWO higher education is the equivalent of traditional high school leading to university.
