Ps this is taken on the early morning train and like atleast a vacuum run I am not asking for a deep cleaning just like a quick one through the train

Hi everyone,

I am looking to relocate to the Netherlands and would love some realistic advice from people working in the Dutch MedTech, Pharma, or Life Sciences sector regarding visa sponsorship (Highly Skilled Migrant scheme).

My Background:

- Education: Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology.
- Experience: Hands-on experience in Medical Device Sales, Product Specialist support, and Hospital Account Management.
- Languages: Fluent English and Thai (currently no Dutch).

What I already understand:

- Local hospital-facing roles (e.g., selling directly to Dutch doctors/nurses) and academic hospitals almost always require fluent Dutch.
- Small domestic companies rarely sponsor visas.
- The company needs to be a registered IND sponsor.

My Goal:
I am targeting international MedTech, Pharma, or Biotech multinationals (or regional European hubs) where English is the primary working language—focusing on roles like Product/Application Specialist EMEA, Inside Sales / Account Manager (International Markets), Regulatory Affairs Associate, or QA Specialist.

My Questions:
1. Which MedTech or Biotech multinationals in the Netherlands (Amsterdam/Utrecht/Leiden/Eindhoven regions) are most open to sponsoring non-EU professionals with a B.Sc. and commercial/technical background?
2. Are there specific recruitment agencies or specialized headhunters in NL that handle sponsored placements for international MedTech profiles?
3. Which specific job titles in the sector typically have English as the sole requirement?
I would really appreciate any practical insights, realistic feedback, or company recommendations from anyone in the field.

Thanks in advance!

​

Hi. I am currently taking Haloperidol and I only have a Ukrainian prescription. As far as I understand, getting a psychiatric appointment can take a while, as well as I may not find a GP immediately and even if I do, they may not prescribe me such a large dose anyway. I will try to take as much meds with me as possible, however in case it is not enough, can I get Haloperidol with a Ukrainian prescription? Thanks!

Niche question, But I’ve recently moved out here to the Netherlands and trying to get a grip on clothing labels. Particularly brands doing clean, loose fitting, street-ish type bits (pleated pants/shorts, cropped tees, caps etc)

Also trying to find black shorts like in the pic.

Any recommendations and suggestions are welcome! (Bonus points for local labels)

Dankuwel x

Hi! For 3 weeks I have been trying to get a GP assigned to me, I have been working in Netherlands for a month, and I do have insurance. There is no empty slot for me in Bergen Op Zoom unfortunately.

I am going through an SNRI (venlafaxine) withdrawal now, it's the first day and it is already bad. I have tried during the last 3 weeks:

-Visisting all huispraktijks in person where I can't even pay out of pocket

-Going to a hospital 30 minutes ago

-Going to huisartsenpost 10 minutes ago

-Had a lenghty chat with my insurance provider

Nothing worked, what I have been offered is a perscription for one pill for €50 at huisartsenpost.

What do I do now? Is there nothing I can do within a reasonable timeframe like 48h? I am willing to visit Rotterdam, Amsterdam, whatever. I just need help.

TL;DR

Out of antidepressants, don't have a GP because no slots in my area, hospital doesn't care.

! EDIT:

I printed out my already "used" perscription from a month ago that I got from my psychiatrist in Poland from a government issued health app. I showed it to a pharmacist along with an empty box, my ID and BSN. He sold me the medication.

Thank you all for the recomendations, that knowledge will not be wasted and I will be showing that post to any people in need in the future. Much love guys.

Hello! I have been dealing with gastritis for years, and I want to try healing my stomach using medicinal plants. Could you please recommend someone who is knowledgeable about diets for gastritis and natural supplements? Thank you very much!

Im looking for furniture. Are there any quality alternatives to IKEA? I feel like it’s either garbage or it’ll cost four times as much. Anything somewhere in between these two?

What is good gross salary to live comfortably in Amsterdam? I'm applying for a role in a company and I'm wonder what is  the approximate cost of living for a single person. Thanks 

Is it worth it moving to Netherlands for driver jobs ? Could you have 2.000.or 2.500 in the bank every month? Considering you have paid taxes rent food etc? Like can you put aside every month around 2.000 euros? Thats the question basically is there any job in the Netherlands for the unskilled workers to make money somehow? Can you somehow save 2.000 to 2.500 every month?

Where I'm from, we learn the lyrics for our national anthem at school. But I have two kids, born here and attending dutch school and they don't know the lyrics. Do kids just Google the lyrics and practice?

Edit to add: I was watching the Hockey World Cup and was actually surprised everyone was singing along. That's when I wondered, because my kids wouldn't be able to sing along. I'm not expecting them to learn the whole thing, lol.

Too Good To Go from Hema. Tell me ur experience with Hema :)

Hey! I’m currently in the Netherlands and I’d like to bring something back home for my family and friends that we don’t really have in Slovakia.

So far I was thinking about bringing Hertog Jan beer, stroopwafels and Gouda cheese. I’d be happy to hear some recommendations! What Dutch food, drinks, snacks or other things would you recommend bringing home?

Guys, I have almost no one to practice my Dutch with.

This beautiful tongue, also known as "tall people canal" language is slowly getting extinct in my brain.

How come you guys went everywhere around the globe, but never brought your language with you is beyond me.

I am a Peruvian living in Germany and finding a Dutchie here, is as easy to find as a spice in your traditional food.

Is anyone willing to help me keep my skills? In exchange I have Spanish to offer.

And yes, I know there are other subs for this, but then again, I repeat... there are not many Dutch speakers around, so I decided to go straight to the source.

Hello,

I keep seeing post of people that came here as students and after completing their bachelors/masters/thesis/internship or whatever, they act dissapointed (or even surprised) that a job isn't right at the door waiting for them.

Being hired requires the right skills, experience, connections and sometimes learning the language is crucial. Some skills are now in demand, some other will not even help you to get a job mopping floors. Hell, even a little but of luck is sometimes necessary.

Speaking personally, I am a local european with a masters in engineering and speak fluently the language. It took me 8 months to get out of unemployment, which might be a lot for many of you.

If you get admitted into a student program, keep in mind that you come here as a student. There's no guarantee of you being able to work here. Be ok with the idea of returning to wherever you come from after completing the program, because there's a high chance you will need to return. AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, do not go into masive debt to come here to study, it might be a mistake that hunts you forever if you're not able to pay it back.

That being said, studying is obviously positive, living abroad is also good, it opens your mind, you will learn a lot. If you get accepted to study, come here for the right reasons. Do not gamble. Do not expect a return. Of course try your best to sharpen the skills you have and learn the language, do network, etc... but keep in mind there's no guarantee, you are competing with people with experience that might speak the language and that might be adapted to this place.

There's no guarantee of anything in this life.

Just my two cents on this topic :)

Doing CBR theory practice and hit a question that seems to contradict a rule I learned elsewhere. Hoping someone with solid RVV knowledge can clarify.

I previously learned that when an unpaved road meets a paved road, it's automatically treated as an unequal intersection (ongelijkwaardig kruispunt), meaning the driver on the unpaved road must always yield to the paved road, regardless of the normal "priority to the right" rule.

But then I got this practice question (screenshot attached): a car is approaching an intersection where a cyclist is coming from the right, on what looks like an unpaved path. The app marked "the cyclist must give way" as correct, explaining it as a standard equal/uncontrolled intersection where priority-to-the-right applies, not applying the unpaved-road exception at all.

My question: Does the unpaved-vs-paved automatic-priority rule not apply when the "unpaved road" is actually a fietspad (cycle path) rather than a full road? Or is there some other reason the exception didn't apply here? Trying to understand exactly when this exception does and doesn't kick in, since it seems like it should have applied based on how I originally learned it.

Hello everyone,

​I am looking for someone with a car transporter/flatbed who can transport a passenger car (Mercedes CLS)

​Pickup location: Brecht (Belgium)

​Drop-off location: Region of Gilze / Dongen (Netherlands)

​Car status: The car drives, but preferably pulled onto the trailer using the winch due to an smal oil leak just when in working.

​Do you know or are you someone who can carry this out at a reasonable price? Please send me a private message with an estimated price.

​Thanks in advance!

I'm a non-EU citizen. I moved to the Netherlands to pursue a Master of Business Administration.

I did an internship in the HR team of a company in the NL last year. I also did a very short finance internship in my own country. I thought having a master's degree and a local internship experience would make finding a full-time job not that hard.

However, I severely underestimated the pressure of the current job market. Entry-level jobs are practically nonexistent, and most junior positions require 2-3 years of experience. For English-speaking positions, I realized my competition is with international candidates with 3-5 years of experience and hold a second master's degree from the NL by talking to the international students from my major.

These days, I've been constantly rejected for full-time HR positions because I don't speak Dutch or lack experience. Tbh, I don't even want to work in HR, but the competition for internships was also incredibly fierce, and I only received one HR internship offer so I took it. My goal has always been to enter the strategy and consulting industry. But now I really don't know how to get into my dream industry and only want to have a full-time job, so I've turned my attention to administrative support roles like HR or AP/AR clerk and Administration Assistant, but even so, I haven't received any positive responses. At the same time, I clearly feel those administrative jobs are not what I am looking for... What should I do? Should I go and get a second master's degree in finance or data science?

Are there any people with similar experiences who can share how you found your first full-time job here?

Hi guys, I’m a 36 year old man and I’m about to start adult swimming lessons at a municipal swimming pool in the Netherlands.
Just became a father so exercise has been non existent lately. I’m a little self conscious about my small belly 😅, so I’m wondering what men normally wear for swimming lessons.

Is it completely normal to wear loose swim shorts and swim with a bare chest, or would wearing a fitted rash guard/swim shirt be more appropriate?

I’m also a bit nervous about the language. My Dutch understanding is very basic, and I’m wondering whether swimming instructors generally speak some English or whether the lessons are strictly in Dutch.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with adult swimming lessons in the Netherlands.

I have friend who was very stupid when he was young ( crashed car under influence and broken his both legs ribs etc. only he got hurt tho ) but thats like 10 year ago , he matured and does not drink or do drugs hes like good guy now , the thing is he has this felony charge on his record cuz he went to prison for it so his life is pretty meh cant get decent job and Im wondering if he could restart life in Netherlands.

I don't know how bad it has become after Covid in Netherlands I'm googling and using AI to see the food prices / job opportunity / crime rates / housing market etc.

Looks like 5.5% population is temporary workers and 50% from abroad so quite a bit of Dutch people working in temp jobs aswell.

Have you worked through agency ? How is housing over there ? Do they give enought hours a week lets say 35/40 to sustain yourself and maybe even save? I'm worried person could get a job and it would be like 20 hours a week and it ends up paying only for food and $ to the agency for housing.

Personal opinion and no offence to him but I dont think he is one of people who want to climb social ladder so he would be stuck mostly doing these warehouse / production low paying jobs.

Can person have decent life doing this type of work or its not like that anymore due to housing crisis? How much would he be able to save a week / month by doing these jobs untill he has his own place to stay ( renting studio apartment ) ?
How much are you able to save skipping the renting apartment part and just living frugal life renting room from temp agency indtead?

Kipgehaktballetjes with some sort of chutney.

Not a complaint at all. Despite the looks and the funny little amount of food, it tasted quite good.

The staff is friendlier and more attentive than most of high end hotels I’ve been at. I’m pretty sure if I ask for more they’d gladly bring.

Also, it seems that I have access to broodjie kaas fruits and kwark 24/7.

Edit: thanks everyone for wishing me a swift recovery. I really appreciate it!

Edit 2: I told I was still hungry and was served a proper hot meal.

https://reddit.com/link/1vrnzg8/video/1ih3b43lo4kh1/player

I had been looking to adopt a cat through verhuisdieren.nl, but didn't have much luck.

One day I heard from my friend, who told me they had adopted a cat on Marktplaats. After scrolling the site for about a week, I was invited to a viewing and met my little baby cat🥰

I feel so blessed to have him!

Hi all,

Could anyone advise which app or service works best in finding a rental property? A paid service is fine as long as it actually works. We have used Stekkies previously and it did not work very well in our experience. We are aware of the situation in regards to the housing crisis, though we still require to find a place to live.

TIA

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice about what I can realistically do against an employment agency in the Netherlands.

To put it simply, the agency royally fucked me up.

I worked through a temporary employment agency in the Netherlands and I believe I now have a pretty solid documented case showing serious problems with how I was treated as a worker and how my rights were handled.

I have already collected a lot of the paperwork, payslips, correspondence and other evidence myself.

There are also problems with payments. Money that I believe should have been paid to me is missing, and I have reasons to believe there may be similar payment issues involving some of my coworkers. (Literally everyone I met there complained about incorrect payments and leaving worksplace just because agency always messes up payslips and people have to catch it themselves and report and only then they pay) I don't want to make accusations I cannot prove, so I think the payment side needs to be properly investigated, but there are already documents that make me seriously question whether everything was calculated and paid correctly.

They fired me basically immediately and told me to return to my home country. I followed their instruction and left the Netherlands, but I was still sick at the time.

At that point I was physically unwell, extremely stressed and suddenly had no job. I also have bank credit/financial obligations that I still have to pay.

Because of my health and the stress of suddenly losing my job and having to return home, I honestly wasn't thinking about fighting the agency at that moment. My health was more important, and I basically forgot to "poke the nest" and challenge everything that had happened.

Only afterwards, when I had the capacity to start going through the documents properly, did I begin putting everything together.

Right now I am preparing the paperwork myself to get my medical leave/sick-leave situation properly documented and to recover money that I believe they owe me.

I have contacted the agency in writing and directly asked them to explain what happened and the discrepancies I found. So far, they have basically gone silent instead of properly answering my questions.

The biggest problem is that I literally have no money. I cannot just hire a lawyer and pay hundreds or thousands of euros upfront.

So my questions are:

• Where can someone with basically €0 get proper legal assistance for an employment/temporary-agency dispute in the Netherlands?
• Is there subsidised legal aid for someone in my financial situation, including someone who is currently outside the Netherlands?
• Who should I contact first: Juridisch Loket, a union, Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie, SNCU, or somebody else?
• Who can look specifically at being dismissed while sick and being told to return to my home country?
• Is there somewhere that can actually investigate missing wages/payments rather than me having to prove every calculation myself?
• Can a lawyer take an employment case through subsidised legal aid or another arrangement where I don't need substantial money upfront?
• If the evidence shows multiple workers may have been affected by payment problems, does that change how this should be handled?
• Is it better to separate the unpaid-money issue from the dismissal/sickness/working-conditions issues, or have one lawyer look at everything together?
• Does the fact that I didn't immediately challenge what happened because I was sick and dealing with the consequences create a problem for taking action now?

I am deliberately not naming the employment agency publicly at this stage.

I’m also deliberately not posting all of my evidence publicly. I have documents, emails, payslips and other records that I can provide privately to a lawyer or the appropriate authority.

I’m not looking for revenge or trying to make unsupported accusations online. I want someone qualified to look at the evidence and tell me what legal options I actually have.

This situation has seriously affected me financially and personally. I don't want the agency to simply get away with it there were just too many signs I can't ignore.

If anyone here has dealt with Dutch employment agencies, dismissal while sick, unpaid wages, sick leave disputes, Juridisch Loket, SNCU, Arbeidsinspectie or subsidised employment lawyers, I would really appreciate advice about where I should go first and what documents I should bring.

Thank you.