Rick and Leslie Weimer go Dutch – Long Distance

HERE: Leslie was an occupational therapist working in local public schools, and Rick was an Albemarle engineer

THERE: Amstelveen, the Netherlands, where Rick is Albemarle’s plant maintenance manager

What’s the best thing about living in the Netherlands?

Meeting all of the international people here and just the excitement of living in a “foreign” land. Our kids go to an international school with 50 nationalities and are friends with people of all religions and ethnicities. We have made so many friends with people from Russia, Malaysia, Germany, Italy, India, Korea, England, Ireland, Poland and so on. It’s so interesting getting to know them and their cultures. Living in a country with great public transportation is fun. Rick’s commute in Baton Rouge is at least 45 minutes, sitting in traffic each way. In Amstelveen it’s 45 minutes, but involves a bike, a tram, a ferry and is much more fun. There are three tram stops between [our home] and Amsterdam, and there are so many wonderful museums, parks, canals and restaurants.

And the worst thing?

The worst things are shopping (inconvenient hours and expensive goods) and being away from family and friends. We miss our big American appliances, Louisiana food and LSU sports a lot. We don’t miss the awful traffic in Baton Rouge, the heat, humidity or giant bugs.

What kind of wildlife do you get there?

You wouldn’t think that there would be much wildlife in the Netherlands, as it’s the most densely populated country in Western Europe (17 million people in a country half the size of Louisiana). Seventy-five percent of the population lives on 25% of the land, so there are lots of green spaces, pastures and forests. There are many, many sheep, cows, swans, ducks, horses and deer. They love dogs. We can bring our Sheltie everywhere—the mall, on the tram, restaurants. We love that.

Eaten any unusual local dishes?

The Dutch love raw, pickled herring. There are herring stands everywhere in the early summer. Eel is also a specialty. We’ve tried the herring and lots of different North Sea fish, but not the eel yet. Not quite gumbo.

Anything you can’t find at the local stores?

You can get most things at the expat grocery store, but you pay dearly. You have to think about just how bad do you want Pop-Tarts ($7 a box), Lucky Charms ($10 a box) and Bisquick ($7 a box). You learn to make do with the Dutch ingredients (not having as much overwhelming choice is nice in a way) and also to ship necessities (like brownie mix, cake mixes, icings, gum, Air Heads candy, dressing packets and of course Tony Chachere’s). You have to bag your own groceries, and the kitchens and refrigerators are tiny, so you go shopping much more frequently.

Gotten any good advice from the locals?

We get great advice from locals and other expats on travel recommendations and tips. We’ve taken some wonderful trips all around Europe that wouldn’t have been possible without some “inside” knowledge.