for those of you living in the Netherlands

[induction]

are the people racist over there? i heard black face is super normal. was thinking about doing grad school there (university of Amsterdam if ur wondering) but i was worried it'd be super hard to live there cuz of racism. there are really few universities that have the program i want so am kinda desperate.

thanks in advance

 

[Abdisamad]

There's racism but not more than any other places.

 

[induction]

There's racism but not more than any other places.

sick, thx.

 

[Basra]

Amsterdam is so liberal and open u will blend. Ho,e gart het

 

[Wiilyam Ina Sheekh Zubeer]

are the people racist over there? i heard black face is super normal. was thinking about doing grad school there (university of Amsterdam if ur wondering) but i was worried it'd be super hard to live there cuz of racism. there are really few universities that have the program i want so am kinda desperate.

thanks in advance

I'd go for it, Dutch people seem to be among the friendlier and more welcoming mainland Europeans. I guess you won't have to deal with overt racism especially in a place like Amsterdam. The black-face thing is a controversial carnival tradition and not indicative of wild levels of cunsurinimo being common there.

 

[Darood]

Western European racism is more or less the same. Don’t worry about it and get your education.

 

[Sophisticate]

People are nicer to you as a student especially when your accent is quite different. Liberals like novelty. As your stay is temporary (you pose a little threat). You need not trouble yourself about Black Pete or fringe far right sentiments. Assume the position as guest or a short-stay cultural anthropologist and then make your exit. Overall, Amsterdam is highly tolerant.

 

[mrlog]

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

 

[Lovelypriestess]

I was born and lived there for years and frankly i have never experienced racism/xenophobia from ethnic dutch people. Infact most of the racism came from other ethnic people, especially north Africans (Moroccans), Caribbeans (more like making fun instead of racism) and eastern Europeans/balkans.

It's a great county overall to live in i.e. good education, lots of jobs to be found, safety, functioning public transport, beautiful nature etc. It is very hard to make friends though if you are a newcomer as most people have found their friend group and are quite cliquey. Also the housing market is insane, especially in the big cities where people are still waiting for a house for more than a decade.

If you are one of those Somalis that would rather not work and live off welfare, cause problems/crime and don't add anything to the country, then don't even bother going there and contribute more to our already bad reputation.

 

[induction]

I was born and lived there for years and frankly i have never experienced racism/xenophobia from ethnic dutch people. Infact most of the racism came from other ethnic people, especially north Africans (Moroccans), Caribbeans (more like making fun instead of racism) and eastern Europeans/balkans.

It's a great county overall to live in i.e. good education, lots of jobs to be found, safety, functioning public transport, beautiful nature etc. It is very hard to make friends though if you are a newcomer as most people have found their friend group and are quite cliquey. Also the housing market is insane, especially in the big cities where people are still waiting for a house for more than a decade.

If you are one of those Somalis that would rather not work and live off welfare, cause problems/crime and don't add anything to the country, then don't even bother going there and contribute more to our already bad reputation.

thanks for the detailed answer . and no, i am not there for welfare LOL. am there just for school and will probably leave right after i finish. i heard the housing was bad, i also heard that due to racism black people had a really hard time finding houses. is that true? will being a student help with finding a house?

 

[World]

I was born and lived there for years and frankly i have never experienced racism/xenophobia from ethnic dutch people. Infact most of the racism came from other ethnic people, especially north Africans (Moroccans), Caribbeans (more like making fun instead of racism) and eastern Europeans/balkans.

It's a great county overall to live in i.e. good education, lots of jobs to be found, safety, functioning public transport, beautiful nature etc. It is very hard to make friends though if you are a newcomer as most people have found their friend group and are quite cliquey. Also the housing market is insane, especially in the big cities where people are still waiting for a house for more than a decade.

If you are one of those Somalis that would rather not work and live off welfare, cause problems/crime and don't add anything to the country, then don't even bother going there and contribute more to our already bad reputation.

So every ethnic minority/immigrant is racist except the natives?

 

[notinuse.]

As someone who lived there for most of my life, here is my advice. Dutch people are incredibly welcoming and kind racism against black people (so somalis including) is not really common over there, however there is a shit ton of racism against morrocans and turks since they tend to cause lot of trouble there and don't be schoked by the amount of islamphobia that you're going to experience.

The Netherlands in general is very secular and have a very anti-religion mentality hence why people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali got such a big platform, even in big cities like Amsterdam. So if you're a very strict religious muslim who is pro-ummah and is against LGBTQ, women rights, traditions holidays like Christmas then don't even bother to move to the Netherlands.

 

[induction]

As someone who lived there for most of my life, here is my advice. Dutch people are incredibly welcoming and kind racism against black people (so somalis including) is not really common over there, however there is a shit ton of racism against morrocans and turks since they tend to cause lot of trouble there and don't be schoked by the amount of islamphobia that you're going to experience.

The Netherlands in general is very secular and have a very anti-religion mentality hence why people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali got such a big platform, even in big cities like Amsterdam. So if you're a very strict religious muslim who is pro-ummah and is against LGBTQ, women rights, traditions holidays like Christmas then don't even bother to move to the Netherlands.

thx, will keep that in mind. as for them being anti-religious even though i would consider myself a practising muslim i don't care much. like as long as they don't attack me, they can do/say whatever they want.

 

[induction]

As someone who lived there for most of my life, here is my advice. Dutch people are incredibly welcoming and kind racism against black people (so somalis including) is not really common over there, however there is a shit ton of racism against morrocans and turks since they tend to cause lot of trouble there and don't be schoked by the amount of islamphobia that you're going to experience.

The Netherlands in general is very secular and have a very anti-religion mentality hence why people like Ayaan Hirsi Ali got such a big platform, even in big cities like Amsterdam. So if you're a very strict religious muslim who is pro-ummah and is against LGBTQ, women rights, traditions holidays like Christmas then don't even bother to move to the Netherlands.

also how bad is the housing for students? is it better for them than it is for locals/non-students ?

 

[notinuse.]

also how bad is the housing for students? is it better for them than it is for locals/non-students ?

It's horrible, even for natives. The Netherlands is a very small country with a big density population, I have seen a lot of exchange student struggling with finding a place. Unlike cities like London, Amsterdam is much cheaper but it takes longer to get a home.

 

[Lovelypriestess]

So every ethnic minority/immigrant is racist except the natives?

I don't doubt for a second that lots of ethnic Dutch aren't racist (and the stats are backing it up regarding employment and how people with foreign names are less likely to be called back, how foreign children are more likely to be doubted by teachers and get lower school advices than dutch children etc) but personally i have never experienced hate from them. They were either fake polite or just left me alone. Most of them are more afraid of being called a racist, so they keep those racist thoughts in check by being PC or not really hanging around with immigrants/children of immigrants. Infact the neighbourhood were i lived had barely dutch people living in, aside from 5 dutch families and lots more of Dutch elders.

And trust me i'm not the only one who has experienced more racism from other ethnic people than the Dutch. Other Dutch posters here have said the same thing. There's a lot of hatred between different ethnic groups in the Netherlands (many arabs hate Moroccans because of their bad reputation+ involvement in crime and don't want to be confused with them, kurds and Turks hate eachother and there are regularly fights going on, many moroccans hate black people and especially black men for being involved with moroccan women, many dutch people hate eastern Europeans because they think the latter will steal their jobs + are loud + involved in crimes, many hate somalis too because of high welfare +low unemployment rates and the list goings on)

 

[Lovelypriestess]

thanks for the detailed answer . and no, i am not there for welfare LOL. am there just for school and will probably leave right after i finish. i heard the housing was bad, i also heard that due to racism black people had a really hard time finding houses. is that true? will being a student help with finding a house?

That's good, the sad reality is that majority of Somalis in the Netherlands are on welfare (atleast that's what the reports said 6-7 years ago, so far i could not find more recent updates). That's why i mentioned that bit of don't go there and expect a relatively easier life because of the good social systems (which frankly are not that great either since many in poverty can't make too much or else they will lose all their benefits).

Ngl, most of the racism in the country was/is mostly directed to North Africans (especially Moroccan)/middle Easterners (lots of Iraqis and Syrians, many of them are not doing well and there are many reports of the men causing problems i.e. harassment), Turks, Eastern Europeans (same stuff in the UK, where the locals are complaining of them taking their jobs). There's also racism against us but we don't have the high numbers for people to come in contact with + the small community is very insular.

Ofcourse there's racism against black people (the whole Black Pete stuff) but the majority of black people are from the former colonies of the Netherlands like Surinam and the Antilles and trust me they, along with the Indonesians and Chinese, are the most integrated/assimiliated group in the country.

Finding is a house in the country is for everyone a struggle/bad. I know people that are waiting for a house for more than 15 years. There will be a preference for Dutch people so it will be difficult for foreigners regardless, so my best advice is to find a roommate because you will be looking at 10+ years, especially if you plan on living in the big cities. If you think of living in a small city/town, then it's going to be easier than the first option but then again i dont't recommend for a foreigner to live their since you will be isolated + all the good jobs are in the one region called Randstad, which consists of the cities Rotterdam, den haag and Amsterdam.

 

[DRACO]

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

 

[hinters]

I like dutch people they speak with a funny accent.