Radio International

Expats

Getting to Know The Netherlands
The Netherlands is made up of The Netherlands itself plus two autonomous Caribbean/American regions - The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. Together they make up The Kingdom of the Netherlands ruled by Queen Beatrix since 1980. The Netherlands is mostly referred to as Holland, so named because of the two large coastal provinces in the west, North and South Holland which played an important role in forming Holland's history due to their location on major rivers, the Rhine and the Maas.

With the lowlands of Holland being susceptible to flooding in the past, the Dutch have become the world's greatest experts in controlling water, building bridges, dykes, windmills and pumping stations which gives the country its unique appearance. Their biggest achievement was the Delta Project, a chain of dams which protect Zeeland and South Holland from the North Sea. Rotterdam, the biggest port in the world, is the gateway to Europe and dominates both importing and exporting for the European economy.

The Netherlands is very densely populated: 16 million people all living in around forty-one thousand sq.km. So how do they cope with such a large population? Quite well in fact - excellent planning, expanding upwards rather than outwards with regards to living accommodation and good intercity cooperation.

The Cities
All the major cities in Holland are unique in their own way. While The Hague (Den Haag) is the political capital of Holland, hosting the Government and residences of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, Amsterdam is the true capital city and hosts Schiphol, the largest European airport. Groningen, Haarlem, Utrecht among other attractive cities all have their own exclusive differences. All these wonderful cities offer a wealth of historical information.

A word about taxis - Taxis cannot be hailed on the streets in Holland. You need to either telephone or go to a taxi-stand. All major railway stations have a taxi-stand. Another option is to take the train-taxi, which takes train passengers to or from their destination. Train taxis are available at more than half of the country's railway stations. All hotels, restaurants, pubs etc. keep a list of phone numbers for taxis.

Expat Links

Online Media - A website that shows links to your favourite media sites. Online media is a Directory of media for newspapers, magazines, radio, blogs and television.

http://www.dutchnews.nl/ - Get your daily update of the Dutch News in English by subscribing to their Newsletter with a summary of the latest events in and around the Netherlands.

http://www.thehagueonline.com/ - Simply the best expatriate website in Holland. There's no concept missing here at all and your social life will certainly take on a new look with all the events on offer. Not to be missed. Mr Billy Allwood, the owner of the site, broadcasts the latest events via Radio International on a weekly basis.

http:www.feelathomeinthehague.com/ - All internationals are welcome to this annual Fair. It has something for everyone from new arrivals to seasoned expats. Come and learn about local clubs and organisations, and the people behind them. Discover who is here, what they are doing and how you can join in. Bring your family, friends, and colleagues, and be a part of an event that will help you establish yourself in The Hague.

http://www.connectingwomen.nl/ - Connecting Women aims to provide a forum for motivating and supporting professional and internationally aware women in the paid and unpaid sectors. We do this through networking and presentations at monthly meetings, a web site and learning together with a variety of interesting workshops.

http://www.womensbusinessinitiative.net/ - The Women's Business Initiative International is a community of entrepreneurial women. Through active collaboration members create professional platforms for promotion and a dynamic network for the exchange of knowledge. The initiative is a structured space designed to meet diverse business needs.

http://www.your-looking-glass.com/Workshop_New_Life_Rules.htm - An appreciative renewal centre designed for people going through personal and professional transitions. Bring new meaning into your life.

http://www.transitionsabroad.com/ - A fantastic site that covers almost everything you need to know, no matter where you are moving from.

http://www.justlanded.com/ - This is a good all round site that provides an overview of basic information about different countries, including travel, handling your money and information on health.

http://www.expatriates.com/ - An online expat community. A great site if you're looking for jobs, or have anything to sell, apartments, real estate or language classes. It's possible to get in touch with your country people living here via the online community page.

http://www.expatexpert.com/ - This is a good all-round site with chat groups, blogs etc. Robin Pascoe has written several books on global living in all kinds of situations.

http://www.livingabroadmagazine.com/ - This is an online magazine for Brits living abroad. This site is open to subscription and covers a lot of issues.

http://www.aabc.nl/index.html - AABC is a professional networking organization whose main purpose is to improve business to business contacts between Dutch and American businesses. The club consists primarily of American and Dutch professional people but also includes a broad variety of nationalities and professional backgrounds.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/ - This is Guardian Unlimited, an all-round news source in English and claims to be the best daily newspaper on the web.

http://www.access-nl.org/ - An organisation run by volunteers who aim to help anyone anywhere in Holland to integrate into the community. There are offices in Amsterdam and The Hague with telephone help lines. This organisation is a good place to find local and fact based information.

http://www.mopsinholland.org/ - MOPS meets the needs of mothers of pre-schoolers and to help equip them as women, mothers, and leaders. The organisation also offers an excellent child care program for Moppets.

http://www.kellys-expat-shopping.nl - If you're missing goodies from the U.K. this is the place for you. Located centrally in Piet Heinstraat, The Hague. Excellent service, Well known UK products and Sunday papers. Visit the website for directions.

http://www.americanclub.de/ - The Association of American Clubs (AAC) is an alliance of American Clubs, Societies, and Associations worldwide that shares useful information and provides reciprocal membership benefits. The purpose of the Club is to enhance the professional and social relations between American nationals, companies, organizations, and residents of Hamburg and Northern Germany.

http://www.britsoc.nl/ - The British Society of Amsterdam is the oldest yet most up-to-date English-speaking social network in the Netherlands. BritSoc, established in 1920, is a pro-active and multi-cultural non-profit organisation run by its members for its members. The Society offers a program of social and educational activities and welcomes all English speakers to its extensive range of events.

http://www.schiphol.nl/ - Amsterdam's Airport City offers direct connections to over 200 destinations in almost 100 countries. It's the main airport in the Netherlands, with a train station located beneath the Arrivals hall through which the Intercity and high speed-lines from Amsterdam to Paris run. Website also in English.

http://www.rotterdam-airport.nl/ - hosts Holland's second largest airport and its growing fast with connections to many popular destinations. It has a large panorama terrace with a café restaurant letting visitors view the planes. The website is also in English.

http://www.eindhovenairport.nl/ - Eindhoven is situated in south east Holland. It offers flights to Europe's principal airports providing onward services to destinations all over the world. The website is also in English.

http://www.ns.nl/ - The Netherlands Railway Network is one of the best and most efficient railway networks in the world. The website, is also in English.

http://www.connexxion.nl/ - The Dutch public bus transport is clean, convenient and frequent to and from cities and towns.The Interliner bus line stops close to other public transportation connections and easily accessible parking areas. The website is in Dutch.

http://www.delftmama.nl/ - An informative and useful site for new and expectant mothers. Non-profit Delft MaMa helps international women through their pregnancies, helps them prepare for childbirth, take care of a baby and raise children under the age of 5 in the greater Delft area. Support meetings for mothers to-be and new mothers to network. Playgroups for children age 2 to 4. Listing of local resources useful to parents to be and parents who are new to Delft. Website forum.

http://www.compasstv.nl/ - This is the first English Daily News Show being televised. It is brought to the Expat community via XM News in an exclusive partnership with ANP. You can log on for a two week trial and then choose whether to continue or not.

http://www.choicesloungebar.com Choices Lounge Bar is a very expat friendly lounge bar in the centre of the Hague. We have a selection of world beers and ciders and show all the sports on tv (sky,snl,espn and more) We also have a large British pub grub menu and a terrace on the water.

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