Biggest mistakes my American family made moving to the Netherlands
Businessinsider reports an American family who moved from the United States to the Netherlands describes several avoidable pitfalls during relocation, including delays in learning Dutch, missed tax deadlines, misunderstandings about healthcare coverage, and poorly timed currency exchanges.
They postponed learning Dutch because so many Dutch people speak English, which left them out of casual local conversations and required the teenager to spend extra months in taalschool, delaying social integration. The family missed the four-month deadline to apply for the 30% ruling and initially left over 30,000 euros in tax advantages unused; they also failed at first to link their child’s BSN to their insurance and paid out of pocket for a dental procedure that could not be reimbursed.
Their American work habits persisted early on, and last-minute currency exchanges added further expense.
Netherlands