What made you stay in the Netherlands?

Hey all,

Not sure if it's the Sunday blues or the fact that tomorrow is not a bank holiday, but I would really like to have your stories and opinions here. The post will probably be quite long so:

tl;dr - I would love to hear your reasons/positive stories that made you stay in The Netherlands, especially (but not only) from expats, because I'm very inclined to leave.

Why this post? It's been almost one year since I moved to Amsterdam from another EU country, too close for a 30% percent ruling, but way different in terms of lifestyle. This relocation is not my first one (I lived in several countries/cities within the same country), but as I turned 30 I was looking forward to moving to a place that - on paper - was supposed to be a "good one" to stay for a very long time (talking about 10+ years). To be honest, the Netherlands or Amsterdam weren't on my list at all, but my partner got a job here so I followed her (we are both not Dutch). After experiencing a full year, I'm seriously thinking of leaving but I would love to hear/have reasons to stay.

Now, starting with the positive things: I really like that the city is safe, lively and full of culture and events. I'm not a huge bike fan, but I have my share of fun going around on two wheels. I also have a much better social life compared to before.

"So what's wrong?" - You might wonder 🤔

Let's start by addressing the elephant in the room: healthcare. Since I'm here, I'm literally terrified of getting sick or hurt myself as I'm already at my second GP, which isn't that much better (or less prone to gaslighting) as the first one. I have a history of sickness and having to fight for something as trivial as a regular blood test is mentally exhausting. Especially when it turns out that the doctor prescribed only a third of the requested exams. I would "understand" that if the healthcare was free, but I'm getting charged more than 170€/month (base + a medium dental coverage) for that - my current company doesn't contribute. I will sound like any other expat, but, with the equivalent of two months of healthcare here, I could finance several years of specialist checks back home or a flight a/r + some exams. I have friends who fell from bikes or got into accidents and broke bones, which got to see a specialist only months after (once it was too late), just because of overzealous GPs. Also the (not) accessibility to certain exams or specialist (eg: gynecologists), worries me and my partner for the long run.

In addition to that, I'm celiac. When I looked into Amsterdam, I found a lot of restaurants or bakeries which were supposed to be gluten-free or have gluten-free options. However, this is largely false as when asked, the staff would always reply that the food is gluten-free friendly but not suitable for celiac people. Yes, even in super popular places like Petit by Sam. Or, even worse, they would say that it's ok, but I would feel quite sick after. Supermarkets don't have much food either. This is for me almost as important as healthcare, since it's emotionally draining and a psychological block that impacts several social aspects of my life.

Also, not having the 30% ruling requires me to pay taxes on my savings (why? Just why? 🤦‍♀️) and have most of my salary gone to the state, without feeling that I'm receiving anything in exchange really. I'm definitely biased on this one, so I'm sorry. 😅

I understand that some of those (if not all) points are very personal and definitely not applicable to all, but when I speak with the people I know... Nobody is really happy here! BUT I would love to get some prospective from people who are satisfied with the life in NL. What makes you stay? What do you love so much you can't find anywhere else?