"The day my son burst into tears at our kitchen table in Utrecht, I realized my meticulous spreadsheets and research hadn't prepared us for everything. "Mom, I'm the only one who doesn't understand anything," he said, pushing away his untouched dinner. "Everyone else is so far ahead, and I can't follow anything." That moment, hearing him talk about feeling behind in school, crystallized my first major mistake in our move from Atlanta to the Netherlands in May 2024."
"Assuming we didn't need to rush learning Dutch was a mistake "Je spreekt Nederlands?" ("Do you speak Dutch?") became a daily reminder of my biggest oversight. Yes, more than 90% of the Dutch people speak English, but that comfort led me to postpone our family's learning Dutch. Big mistake. Those casual chats at early honkbal (baseball) games or neighborhood parties just weren't the same when we couldn't participate in Dutch conversations. My teenager also spent extra months in taalschool (immersive language school), missing out on crucial social connections. Had we started learning before our move, he could've completed language school in one year instead of the extended period he needed."
A family relocated from Atlanta to the Netherlands in May 2024 and encountered several avoidable problems. Children faced social and academic struggles during the first six months as everything in their lives was new. Postponing Dutch language learning limited everyday participation, prolonged immersive language school for the teenager, and reduced social connections at sports and neighborhood events. Insufficient preparation on Dutch healthcare and tax systems and poorly timed currency exchanges increased stress and expenses. Better pre-move language study, targeted research on healthcare and taxes, and strategic currency planning would have eased adjustment and lowered costs.
Read at Business Insider
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