‘Expats stay in Holland longer’

Although the exact reason remains a mystery, a survey by the British HSBC Bank has concluded that the Netherlands scores the highest when it comes to how long expats want to stay in a particular country, reports the Volkskrant on Tuesday.

Of those interviewed for the survey, 82% said they had already been in Holland for over three years - despite their dissatisfaction with things such as housing and salaries.

The Volkskrant did some research of its own and found a whole list of other gripes. Annemarie Stout, who runs workshops entitled Understanding the Dutch for the Royal Tropical Institute, said Asians find the Dutch lacking in respect while Americans are irritated by the their ‘yes, but’ mentality. Poor service is high on list of most expats’complaints too, she said.

And Irene Bunt of relocation agency Settle Service said foreigners are often frustrated with the Dutch habit of giving everybody a say in everything.

Source: DutchNews.nl, 2 September 2008