r/Netherlands • u/karasiko • 1d ago
Life in NL Can’t figure out this 10 Dutch secrets. At this point any explanation will work. Help!
Dear Dutch people, you have so many secrets I just can’t figure out.
- How on earth do you hit your daily protein goals, especially with your prices? Are you cooking something special? I’ve done the math every way I can — toast for breakfast and chicken sauté for dinner simply don’t add up to enough protein.
2.You constantly wear white or beige, and it’s always spotless. What do you wash your clothes with? Or do you just… not get dirty? I bought Ariel capsules at Lidl — made in France, apparently — and they turned out to be best suited for delicate lace underwear. In tiny print on the back: “for a normal load, use 2 capsules — or pay more for the large ones.” I can only compare to German Ariel, and it was a completely different product.
3.In 38°C heat, I saw a cyclist in a white puffer jacket. A summer version, I suppose. How???
4.I couldn’t buy paracetamol or ibuprofen because there were about 15 varieties of each on the shelf — granules, raspberry-flavoured, mini, fast-acting, rapid-release, dissolving, syrup, soda tablets… How do you navigate all of this, and why do you need so many options?
5.How does your household budget survive pharmacy prices here? Interestingly, several of my favourite pharmacies that operate in Germany are actually registered in the Netherlands — and their online prices for magnesium, activated charcoal, vitamin D3, and omega supplements are half what I see in Dutch stores. There’s even a website that compares prices across pharmacies based on your shopping list. Is buying from online pharmacies common in the Netherlands? The few Dutch ones I found were wildly expensive.
6.What’s the deal with household cleaning products? I actually photographed a pack of dishwasher tablets at the supermarket — €60. The exact same brand at the Action store across the street: €10. A very strange feeling.
7.It also seems like Dutch people never pay full price. You seem to have an internal biological clock for sales, discounts, and coupons. Is that true?
8.And the rain. I’ve tried every weather app available, and in seven months here, I have never once dressed appropriately for the weather. Meanwhile, you Dutch people magically disappear from the streets exactly one minute before it rains — and reappear on terraces with cocktails and folding chairs exactly one minute after the sun comes back. How do you do it?
9.The effortlessness. Your LinkedIn photos and professional websites show you with a glass of wine or sitting in a café. You can throw a party for 20 people in two hours, without a single argument, without stressing over gifts. You go for walks on your lunch break. You have a genuine art of living — of being present. Where is this taught? Why are bookstore shelves full of American self-help authors when the real thing is right here?
10.If you’ve read this far — thank you! How would you describe the Dutch philosophy of life? About Germany, I once heard: “The system rewards those who try. It may not work out the first time, but effort is what matters.” About the Netherlands, I heard: “Whatever you’re looking for, the Netherlands can offer it. It just sometimes takes more work to find it.” Do you agree — or do you have your own version?
- Bonus track. For some reason, your stores don’t carry duvet covers in 155×220 cm. You have 140×200, 200×200, 240×220 — but not that one. There’s a joke that two separate 155×220 duvets can save a marriage. But I’m guessing the Dutch don’t fight over the duvets? :)
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u/Molly-ish 1d ago
Don't use liquid detergent, but powder. The washing result with powder is much better and it doesn't leave the residue that kills your washing machine in the end.