This is my little series on the big move back to Australia. Perhaps I will look back in the future and laugh... or cry!
Part 1: Finding a Moving Company
Past 2: A Slight Travel Panic
Part 3: Comparing Crypto Tax Accounting platforms (Cointracking vs Rotki)
Part 4: A Week in Involuntary Stasis
Part 5: The Last Harvest
Part 6: Letting Go...
Part 7: Putting the name out there!
Part 8: Prohibited Materials:
Part 9: Liquidity Freeze!
Part 10: NOOOOO, Steam Deck Delay!
Part 11: A Father's Guilt
Part 12: Middle of the Night Interviews
Part 13: Poopyitdy Poopydity Poop Poop.... Corona Variant Omicron!
Part 14: Things I will MISS about Netherlands
Although we have really enjoyed our just over 15 years in our adopted country of the Netherlands, and that there are many things that we love and will miss dearly when we return back to Australia... no country or place is going to be 100% percent perfect! So, obviously there will be a few things that I will be glad to also see the back of!
Obviously, all of these things (especially about people) are just vague generalisations... and a touch tongue in cheek, take it all with a hint of salt!
The Weather
Well... the biggest thing that I'm going to be happy to leave behind is the famous Dutch weather! The weather in Netherlands is probably best known for being crazily windy and rainy... well, what can you expect when the country lies on the Channel! However, in the region of Den Haag, it is especially bad! There are many times when you will be happily struggling along in your bike... only to get caught in a really strong side blast of wind that has funnelled through a building corridor or underpass that nearly knocks you sideways off your bike!
... and I can't count the number of performances or jobs where I have showed up with drenched shoes and socks (if I was wearing rain clothes on the bike....)... or just drenched (if I wasn't!). Thankfully, this is such a common event that no-one really bats an eyelid at people showing up like they have stepped out of a washing machine! That I quite like... seeing as I usually look like that anyway, just without the wet part!
Something that I have also noticed here, is that the combination of the wet and damp air, plus the wind... means that you really really feel the cold here! If you start off the day cold and leave the house... you will feel it for the rest of the day, deep in your bones! BRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!... oh, and let me tell you... some of these old stone churches and cathedrals get pretty damn cold!
Where are you from?
Yep... this one isn't really specific to the Netherlands, but more to the whole of Europe in general. I keep getting asked... "Where are you from?". So, when I answer that I'm from Australia (as that was where I was born and raised...), I'm told... "No, you not... aren't you from China or Japan?" Oh yes... thank you for knowing my own history better than myself!
So, this never happened in Australia... we are young country of migrants from all over the place, and we all look and sound different. Of course, there are those who have very short memories and start to think that they have been around for ever.. but that is clearly selective in memory!
Anyway, this has happened enough times in Europe that I'm a little bit sick of it. Often it isn't done with any malice or ill intent, but it just is irritating in the way it is phrased, when I'm just told outright that I'm wrong!
The Winter Darkness
I never really experienced this in Australia... but the European winters are quite something else! There is so little sunlight in the daytimes of the winter, and then there is WAAAAYYYYY too much sunlight in the summers! It is like living on a different planet!
Anyway, now all of those old European lieder and songs about the darkness of winter, and the joy of spring start to make much more sense! If you have been in such a cold and dark atmosphere for several months... yes, the shoots of new and lengthening days is definitely something that feels like the rebirth of the world!
Money-pinching
Sigh... this is a vast generalisation, but the Dutch do have a reputation for being quite precise with their money. I don't find it really strikes that often... but when it does, it is quite hilarious! I remember a "pot-luck" dinner with some friends (the sort where every family brings a dish or two to share), and afterwards all the people were asked to price up the total of their meal contributions (trust me, that is really hard to do when you cook something...) and then it would all be evened out to the nearest 5 cents! Really... if your contribution cost more than the average, you would be recompensed by others whose contributions were under the average!
In some of the smaller towns, they would sometimes generously provide us with a meal before the concert. We would have to pay for our own coffee/tea (even in the rehearsals)... and remember that these places are often freezing cold! But the meal might consist of a white bun with EITHER cheese or ham... a single slice. That said, not all places were quite so penny-pinching... but there were quite a few! But in the end, you sort of start to expect it... and bring along some extra food and a thermos, just in case!
Agressive Driving
I'm told that Dutch drivers are pretty tame compared to other European drivers... and I can believe that, as I've had to drive through Paris before, and that was a nightmare! However, compared to Australian drivers, they (again, generalisation), they can be really aggressive. Red light turns green, you have about 0.25354 milliseconds before the horns start honking... cars will happily tailgate you at around 100 kph with about 1-2 metres between you... even if you are on a single lane road. Cars will do all manner of crazy driving to swerve in one car ahead of where they started their stupid petrol burn... or arrive at the red stop light one second earlier.
Crosswalks (Zebra crossings) are always a game of chicken if you are the pedestrian... don't count on the cars stopping. In Australia, cars will stop when you are several metres away from the crossing! Here, they will stop just before hitting you... if you put a foot out first! Best thing to do is to throw a child slightly ahead of you... and then scratch a car with a key if they speed past too close.
... and on the motorway... there is really a scant disregard for the relative speeds of cars before lane-changes. Again, all a very generalised view of Dutch driving... I only notice the really bad ones!
Pushing in Line
... well, things like this have gotten better since Coronavirus... so, if there is anything good about the last couple of years, it is that lines start to be actually respected a bit more. However, I would say that this is again a bit of a mainland European thing. Lines are taken as a bit of a suggestion... and there are more than a few people who consider themselves just too good to do the same as the rest of us!
Something that would entertain me endlessly would be the trains... as the train would stop at the platform, there would be a crush of people on the outside trying to get in... and not letting the people out! Consequently, nothing would happen and people would be stuck inside or outside! Yay for rugged individualism! These days, with Corona.. it is much better. I no longer have to lead with something sharp (umbrella...) or hard (violin case...) to be able to get off the train!
I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
Steem
Publish0x
Handy Crypto Tools
Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
Kucoin: My second choice in exchanges, many tokens listed here that you can't get on Binance!
FTX: Regulated US-based exchange with some pretty interesting and useful discounts on trading and withdrawal fees for FTT holders. Decent fiat on-ramp as well!
MXC: Listings of lots of interesting tokens that are usually only available on DEXs. Avoid high gas prices!
Huobi: One of the largest exchanges in the world, some very interesting listings and early access sales through Primelist.
Gate.io: If you are after some of the weirdest and strangest tokens, this is one of the easiest off-chain places to get them!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
Stoic: A USD maximisation bot trading on Binance using long-term long strategies, powered by the AI/human system of Cindicator.
StakeDAO: Decentralised pooled staking of PoS assets.
Poloniex: One of the older regulated exchanges that has come into new ownership. I used to use it quite a lot, but have since stopped.
