When I moved to the Netherlands in 2022, I wasn\u2019t trying to \u201cescape\u201d America\u2014I was just trying to find something different. A better rhythm. A life that felt a little less frantic and a little more human.<\/p>\n
And for the most part, I found it.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands has given me space to breathe, think, and grow in ways I never could have predicted. I\u2019ve written about the ways Dutch life has surprised me, calmed me, and honestly\u2026 improved me.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the part I didn\u2019t expect:<\/p>\n
Living abroad hasn\u2019t made me love America less. In some strange way, it\u2019s made me love it more.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s funny what you start to notice once you\u2019re on the outside looking in. The longer I live abroad, the more I\u2019m able to see the U.S. for what it really is\u2014its flaws, sure, but also its strengths.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a kind of emotional detox that happens when you leave your home country. You stop swimming in it. You see it clearer. And what I\u2019ve realized is that for all its chaos, dysfunction, and noise\u2026 America also<\/em> gave me some incredible gifts.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason American culture spreads so easily. At its best, it\u2019s warm, inventive, funny, hopeful, and bold. That mindset\u2014the idea that you can try anything<\/em>, reinvent yourself<\/em>, build from nothing<\/em>\u2014is still uniquely American, and I carry it with me.<\/p>\n Even here, in a country that\u2019s older, more structured, more pragmatic\u2026 that internal American \u201cspark\u201d hasn\u2019t left me. And I\u2019m starting to see it not as a flaw, but as part of my creative toolkit.<\/p>\n Living in the Netherlands hasn\u2019t made me forget where I came from\u2014it\u2019s actually made me realize just how much<\/em> American culture shaped me.<\/p>\n When I hear a familiar song in a caf\u00e9 in The Hague\u2026 I realize just how embedded that culture is\u2014not just in the world, but in me<\/em>. And there\u2019s something beautiful about seeing it from this distance. I don\u2019t take it for granted anymore.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to roll your eyes at the over-the-top customer service in the U.S.\u2014the \u201cHow are you today?\u201d and the endless smiles. But once you\u2019ve lived somewhere that doesn\u2019t do that by default, you start to miss it a little.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve come to appreciate the American gift for small talk, warmth, and making strangers feel seen. In the Netherlands, people are kind, but not overtly warm. It\u2019s more reserved. More efficient. And while I\u2019ve adapted, there are moments I\u2019d kill for a random conversation with a chatty grocery store clerk or a waiter who genuinely wants to know if everything\u2019s good.<\/p>\n There\u2019s something undeniably ambitious about Americans. We\u2019re dreamers. Builders. Over-doers, sure\u2014but also people who believe that reinvention is possible at any age, any stage.<\/p>\n That \u201cgo for it\u201d mindset? It\u2019s not always logical, but it\u2019s powerful. And I\u2019ve realized I still carry it with me, even here. The Dutch are brilliant at doing things well and efficiently\u2014but they don\u2019t always leap without a parachute. Americans might leap too<\/em> often\u2026 but at least we jump.<\/p>\n Living in the Netherlands taught me how to slow down. But being American still reminds me how to start<\/em>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the sheer privilege of being an American abroad. My U.S. passport opens doors in ways I didn\u2019t earn but deeply appreciate. I was able to move here, set up a business, create a new life. That\u2019s not true for everyone.<\/p>\n And that perspective\u2014that global mobility I never used to think about\u2014has made me more grateful, more humble, and more aware of how complex this whole privilege thing really is.<\/p>\n So yeah, I love the Netherlands. It\u2019s better in a hundred quiet ways. But America? It\u2019s still in me. The language, the culture, the rhythm. And the more I embrace both, the more whole I feel.<\/p>\n Living abroad didn\u2019t make me choose sides.Distance Brings Clarity<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The American Spirit Is Real<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Culture That Raised Me<\/strong><\/h3>\n
When I see someone wearing a baseball cap or quoting an American show\u2026
When I get a craving for something I didn\u2019t even realize was \u201cAmerican\u201d until it wasn\u2019t around\u2026<\/p>\nAmerican Friendliness Is a Real Thing<\/strong><\/h3>\n
We Think Big\u2014And That\u2019s Not a Bad Thing<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Grateful for the Passport, Grateful for the Perspective<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Two Homes, Two Truths<\/strong><\/h3>\n
It helped me build a bridge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I moved to the Netherlands in 2022, I wasn\u2019t trying to \u201cescape\u201d America\u2014I was just trying to…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[267,275,273,255,54,274,276],"class_list":{"0":"post-2441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nederland","8":"tag-american-expat","9":"tag-cultural-contrast","10":"tag-expat-reflections","11":"tag-life-in-the-netherlands","12":"tag-living-abroad","13":"tag-netherlands-and-america","14":"tag-personal-growth","15":"cs-entry","16":"cs-video-wrap"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2441"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2442,"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2441\/revisions\/2442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anorthernsoul.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}