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In I moved to Canada

6 Things you learn as a Dutchie settling into Vancouver

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It’s been a little over a week since we moved into our new apartment. I felt like I was 19 again moving out of the family home. This is that phase where you have to build things up from scratch – in terms of getting the material necessities in place but also in terms of learning how to live life. If you are from North America or similar – I apologize for some of the naiveté you’ll probably laugh at below. Some things here are just so odd to Europeans – or just noteworthy at the very least. Here are six things you learn (or are reminded of) really quickly when settling into your new life in Vancouver as a Dutch person.

1. the drug store is life’s spawn point

In most cases, the answer to the question “When can I buy…”, is the drug store. It’s the Dutch Kruidvat store on steroids. In the Netherlands, there’d be this small section where the store shows off fancy electrical toothbrushes and if you’re lucky a *gasp* blowdryer. In Canada, that section is a whole separate room where you can get everything from premium vacuum cleaners to drones and GoPro accessories. All of this right next to the shampoo, diapers, toothpaste, and q-tips. Apart from electronics you’ll find other random stuff there that you don’t expect to need but will. When all else fails, when you don’t know how to fix something, when you’re at a crossroads with no clue how to proceed… learn this: you go to the drug store. Life’s answers can be found there.

2. what to bring when you go out

“Never leave the house without your umbrella” is sound advice, but it’s missing a few important things. The full sentence is: Never leave the house without your umbrella, sunglasses, camera, reusable mug, and reusable bag. Save yourself the wet hair, the I-was-blinded-by-the-sun-almost-hit-by-a-bus, the phone pics that aren’t as satisfying as the results you get from your bigger camera, the $0.25 extra charge for take-out cups and plastic bags at the check-out.
Who knew this would be the hardest thing to learn – I keep forgetting one or more of the essential items. As the Dutch say, a donkey doesn’t stumble on the same stone twice, but it appears I am a significantly under-evolved species of donkeys.

3. extreme couponing is not a TLC-channel exaggeration

I once caught a glimpse of an extreme couponing episode on what must have been a TLC channel or something. With raised eyebrows I would zap away, thinking it must be a 1% of the population phenomenon that’s questionable television entertainment.
But let me tell you. It’s real. It’s true. You learn that actually everything in life is about collecting and redeeming points and earning cash back. Before buying anything, before making any decisions, you consider: do I get points for this? Before you swipe your card, first check if this store is connected to your bank and will get you an X% of your purchase back in points.
This one is so bizarre it’s my favourite learning in this subject: you can get $300 cash back for setting three automatic payments on your bank account. I don’t recall ever not using automatic payments for my bills and other recurring costs. Here, it seems they are so desperate for people to stop manually paying (and probably forgetting to pay) their bills that they throw money their way if they’d please just set their automatic payments!

4. learn to “run, hide, fight”

On a more serious note… When you reach onboarding for your job, don’t be surprised or alarmed when you are presented information on what to do when there is an active shooter. Wait no – it is really OK to be surprised and alarmed because I sure felt that way for a minute. In this section I was taught how to make a difference if this were to happen to me (please, please no). The answer was to do one or more of the following three actions: RUN, HIDE, FIGHT. OK…This is reality in North America.

5. facebook is not dead here

In the Netherlands, Facebook is dying a slow death. Everybody left but the crickets… Here, you need Facebook. Right when I was ready to clear and delete my account, it turns out Facebook can be a total lifesaver. In our preparations to move here we joined several groups, including one with experiences from other people applying for the same visa. I’ve since joined a few more groups, including one with neighbours in our building, one for newcomers to the city, and one where you can find people to go do fun activities like joining a hike and share a ride there. So far it’s gotten me super nice conversations and scheduled meetups. But, well, you will also learn to sift through the messages. Sometimes you have a nice conversation and see potential and you meet up for a drink. And sometimes you gotta be like… No, sorry, I actually don’t want to go hike with you in a remote area with no cell reception. Thanks, though. Have a nice rest of your day!

6. people experience temperatures differently

Dude. We’re in Whistler, a skiing hotspot, it’s 3 degrees, there’s snow all around us, at least 20 cm thick. What’s with the shorts and flip flops? IT’S TOO COLD TO BE WALKING OUT LOOKING LIKE YOU’RE GOING TO THE POOL.

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1 Comment

  1. Eveline S Reply

    Wat onwijs leuk om te lezen Dira! Met de mooie foto’s erbij begint het helemaal te leven en voelt het eventjes alsof ik over je schouder mee kan gluren.
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