Goodbye, Netherlands
I have a lot of written thoughts about living in the Netherlands that I've been sitting on for years. A nice message in my guestbook reminded me of them. This was something I wrote in 2020 as sort of a goodbye to the Netherlands.
I left the Netherlands in December 2020, after living there for 3.5 years. I learned a lot, but the best thing? I learned how great it felt to live somewhere where I felt completely safe and surrounded by a really great environment.
In 2017, when I moved to Delft, it was my first time in Europe. I was introduced to a whole new way of life.
And I couldn't believe that people actually lived like this. That people can actually live in a city with cobblestone streets and historical buildings. That you can live here and feel safe every day. That you can live so good without having to be rich.
I went from this:
To this:
Delft is where:
- Kids can play outside without their parents.
- You can walk and bike almost anywhere, and you don't need to worry about getting hit by a car or people yelling at you as they drive by.
- Ducks cross the streets.
- Chickens also cross the streets.
- There's flowers on the street lamps.
- Bikers and motorists co-exist in harmony because keeping everyone safe is a shared responsibility.
- The air doesn't smell like cars, and you can trust the tap water.
- People genuinely help strangers. I saw a guy stick his hand in a train door just to pass someone their forgotten phone!
- There are no gunshots or helicopters overhead constantly. I don't hear them at all in Delft.
- Church bells mark the time, and you hear roosters, ducks, and geese more often than you hear cars. It's so quiet that the daily sounds are wind, rain, and birds.
- All the stresses of feeling unsafe just melted away.
Living in Delft helped me learn to trust people again. Back in the US, I had lost that. I always felt like I had to be on guard. Delft helped me unlearn the feeling that "everyone is always out to get you."
It showed me the benefits of having beauty and safety in your everyday environment. I felt so sheltered from the world.
Goodbye, Delft.
Goodbye, Netherlands.
You will always be one of my favorite places.