Even Small Towns are Great Here (5 Years in the Netherlands)
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- čas přidán 1. 05. 2024
- We’ve lived in the Netherlands for 5 years now and we’ve been to a lot of small towns and cities in that time. The thing that surprised us the most is that there’s good urbanism pretty much everywhere.
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NJB Live (my live-streaming channel): @njblive
Thumbnail of Kloosterveen from Google Earth
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:22 Haarlem
01:59 Leiden
02:29 Harlingen
02:52 Lent (Nijmegen)
04:22 Ermelo
05:49 Veenendaal
06:30 Terschelling
06:59 Ommen
08:16 Diepenheim
08:35 Jutrijp
09:09 Zwolle
09:44 Assen
10:23 Kloosterveen (Assen)
11:18 Vathorst (Amersfoort)
11:55 Woerden
12:36 Sneek
13:42 Alkmaar
14:22 Zeist
14:42 Summary & Conclusion
17:47 Patreon Shout-out
If you want to hear more about our experiences living in the Netherlands for 5 years, check out this episode of my podcast, The Urbanist Agenda:
czcams.com/video/qa_9UL_0ftc/video.html
In this episode, my wife (Mrs. NJB) and I discuss our experiences, and how it compares to other places we've lived.
As someone from Europe I find it genuinely bizarre how you thought the smaller the place the less walking and bike friendly it would be, whereas here it's the opposite the larger you go normally the less walking and bike friendly it is.
Same
People reply to me like I'm crazy when I say that it's this way around in Australia in many cases, but it's true. A lot of our smaller towns are actually quite good for pedestrians and cyclists. I grew up in regional areas and it's the reason I didn't get my license growing up. I could catch the train to any city in the state, and could ride a bike from one side of town to the other, or catch local buses. It's not as good as rural Netherlands for sure. But it's getting better at the same time, and the state gov just capped regional public transport journeys at about 6 Euro. To give an idea of what that means. You could catch two trains for a total of 10 hours, and have connecting coach trips on either end of that all on that one ticket.
North American small towns are extremely and often violently car dependent. Because farmers
This is a North American thing. Smaller towns there are usually horrible for walking and biking because they assume you drive everywhere for longer distances instead.
@@whee38the opposite is true
Most of small town in US is surprisingly way more walkable than concrete jungle of big cities. Because they know they don't have enough money to make it unnecessarily sprawl. And behold, it was connected by railways
As a Dutch person who's lived here my whole life, these videos never fail to remind me of how much I take for granted. Things aren't perfect here, but they could be so much worse. Thanks for the occasional reality check.
I'm an American woman living in The Netherlands. Every day I'm AMAZED to be spending my 'golden years' here. I've visited large cities and small towns all around the country, and I live in Limburg. The sense of belonging and satisfaction, the way the Dutch people use and enjoy and take pride in (and complain about, yes) their infrastructure; this is what keeps delighting and surprising me. The feeling when I'm walking through a town center is so different from anywhere I ever went in America. Beste Nederlanders, wat doen jullie het hier goed!
How did you do it? As a 12 time visitor to The Netherlands, it is a fantasy to live there.... We just got back from a 3 day visit tacked on to the end of a week in Denmark. Due to covid, our last trip was October, 2019. The first day back in Amsterdam, my wife and I shed tears of pure joy as we stood on a bridge over the Prinsengracht...
I really hope we stay at the cutting edge of good infrastructure and urban planning, because developments in the last decade, especially the last few years don't bode well. Really hope with the next government we can make a turn for the better. (Haha, did my part in complaining)
@@KarlSnarksI mean, every country complains about their government
@@rocingersol5060I'm a Canadian and I'm using my opportunity as a 19year old to get hopefully citizenship through a study permit.
@@sahirde Exactly, there's always ways to get what you want if you know how, the younger you are the better it is to do all these things and build habits. The Netherlands is alot cheaper for tertiary education compared to Canada as well. It will be difficult, your going to arrive of that plane, see signs in a foreign language, hear people in a foreign language, everything will be different and it'll take time to adapt, it'll be very grueling at first but you'll be glad you moved, obviously it helps if you learn Dutch before moving there.
It's crazy how simply having a good design handbook can change an entire country when regular road maintanence comes around and changes up the roads
For those interested the design philosophy for infrastructure is called "Duurzaam-Veilig" translated to "Sustainable-Safe". Its a philosophy which goes back to the early 90s. Its an approach you take in desigining speed, seperation of speed/mass/etc, safety and impact of design on ones behaviour.
Yup, it’s a successful example of the reformist approach - as long as each time a road is worked on it adds some meaningful non-car infrastructure, even if it starts out piecemeal it will eventually make something great, and that’s without even asking for the real deal like grade separated infrastructure or mass transit expansion
It's not that simple, you also have to have a culture that can abide by the handbook. Corruption, lack of diligence, or whatever it is the British have, can mean the handbook is ineffective.
and the guts to not follow that handbook when you have good reasons for not doing so
I remember when my son was 6 years old, he went to the next village (5km, 3 miles) away on his bike, together with our neighbours daughter (same age) without notifying us. He came back full of enthousiasm about his cycling "adventure". I swallowed, thought to myself "this is normal exploration behavior". And asked him which route he took and how far into the next village they went. It was a relief they they were smart enough to take the bike path (completely separated from anything else) and did not go further. I don't think this would be possible at that age in many other countries.😄
At six years old! Wow. That really is a testament to how safe it is for children in this country.
Danes seem to encourage that sort of thing! Looking at this video, there are so many places that look just like Denmark in their design.
My mom got me a phone at 10 or 11 because i decided to cycle to the next biggest city in our area, 32km, i was already cycling for pleasure back then so i thought i wasnt that far.
@@mistersquat5786bro im 14 and my mom dont let me bike down the road (im american)
@@bugsygoo Yep, Denmark is a very early adopter of the "human-sized" approach to urban design, too. A lot of the designs in Denmark and the Netherlands are similar because they often rely on each others studies as very few universities or goverment agencies do these type of progressive traffic studies.
My mother had a friend that moved to the US, she had a child there and after the first time they went back to The Netherlands for vacation her child would ask her every year "are we going on vacation to the place where everyone walks?". That was quite and eye opener because back home in the US they had to drive everywhere. The first time her child asked that question she had no idea what he was talking about
She needs to get that kid out of the US
Damn I never thought that the walkability of a place was something kids really notice. I always took a vehicle or school bus to get places as a Florida kid and never gave it a second thought. No wonder kids love going somewhere like Disney World and fairs
It was really eye opening to learn about urbanism as an adult, because it does put into perspective my memories of childhood. I remember my earliest years of life when I lived in Drexel Hill, a streetcar suburb of Philadelphia. We lived in a single family home, but it was in a dense grid 6 blocks from a trolley stop, and I remember walking to places like Wawa (amazing deli/convenience store chain). My parents, when I was 6, moved us to a different suburb of Philadelphia for a better school district. The street we lived on had a cul de sac, and no sidewalk. The neighboring roads had no sidewalk and very high speed traffic. There was no more walking anywhere. I knew I felt something missing as a teenager when I tried to bike near where I lived, and the only place I could go was the nearby elementary school. I wished I could bike places where I would actually want to go. The only place I could go without getting a ride from parents was one of my friends' houses, because I could cut through the elementary school, and only had to cross one high speed road (I would stand at the side of the road, waiting for traffic to pass, and then make a break for it). No, there was no sidewalk or crosswalk. I usually needed my parents to pick me up in the car to go home after it got dark. I'm glad as an adult I have the agency to live somewhere with sidewalks, transit, and bike lanes.
I live in the US and I walk about 3 - 5 miles (5 - 8 km) in my small city every day. I have some movies on my channel of some of these walks. And I choose a different route each time for variety. And that doesn't (yet) even include the miles of hiking and mountain bike trails in the greenway right outside of town. Not to mention the prevalence of public bikes and public scooters, which anyone can use as needed, and just park at their destination. No worry about your bike getting stolen if you use a public bike. No problem in this part of the US. Sorry to hear of your friend's experience. That is the norm, unfortunately, but there are a few bright spots here.
@@mushroomsteveyou live in a college town, no? they are the final bastions of walkability in America, thanks to extraneous circumstances
I honestly teared up a little watching your video. I live without a car in a US city. I have it very easy by US standards, with both my work and several grocery stores within walking distance of my home (about 40 minutes). And I live right next to a bus route that can take me to a park and to a downtown grid that even has a couple pedestrian centered streets.
And yet, this video hit me harder then I expected. Every walking commute I make every day is just a little stressful and ugly, surrounded by fast cars on wide roads and sprawling parking lots. Every day on my commutes I frequently feel unsafe and uncomfortable. I know I shouldn't complain because I have a privileged life here, but it does wear on me. And seeing how things could be from your video, filled me with longing and hope. Thank you.
Your daily strugle to walk, and get on a bus to go places, is just the example of a non human friendly infra-structure, even though the busstop is nearby. The stress it gives you to cross a road is totally understandable. The solution could be for starters; change the roads so forcing cars to slow down, build obstacles in the road so cars HAVE to SLOW down, by that creating space, safe havens, for pedestrians, takes away a lot of your stress.
40 minutes being walking distance to you already tells me enough.
I hope you get the chance to experience true walking distance and easy cycling accessibility soon!
I disagree that you shouldn't complain. Complaining is the first step towards making changes or inspiring others to make changes. I genuinely hope you'll see some improvement during our lifetime.
In every town and city i mean every one of them has a grocery store within maximum of 15 minutes of walking. Same for busstops.
As an American living in Texas surrounded by oversized pickup trucks, 8 lane highways, and zero cycling or transit my envy of the Netherlands continues to grow.
Watching the kids grow from a bakfiets to mom & dad’s bike seats, to riding their own bikes is so much more satisfying than the NA equivalent of car seat to booster seat, etc.
The final step would be to buy your kids a car at 16 years old. Saves quite the money there.
you save even more money if you get a secondhand bike, those things don't die
@@brosaus
I buy old bakfiets in the Netherlands, fix them up and resell them in Germany with the goal of getting as many lower income families as possible mobile in the cities without cars. Personally, I had a choice of either driving my kid on insane inner city streets, spending 15 to 20 minutes finding parking or simply riding the kid on a bakfiet up the bike roads to kindergarten. I also do all my shopping with the same bike, basically a full car replacement at a very tiny fraction of the cost of a car and with much less hassle.
How this comment 2 days old. The video is only an hour old
@@gamingsociety3684 Early access.
I just want to say that as a Dutchie, your videos also help me appreciate my own country more. And I just noticed from your video from Ermelo there's an NS Wandeling/OV Stapper there (hikes that go from train station to train station for easily getting from start to home from the finish) and I'll be doing that one soon :P
oh cool! I am going to check that one out!
The Netherlands truly is a very liveable society, with lots of sensible solutions to making public spaces safer and more enjoyable, even for people without a car and for people with disabilities. And for kids!
Same for me. My dad lived in Assen for a while and I always remembered it as a bit boring and not that amazing, but seeing this video gave me new appreciation for it.
I’ve started to appreciate our country more too. Because of this channel I even started cycling more again!
@@DutchSimmer1 I come there regularly and i think it is boring, except for the MotorGP period, but then i live up north in Groningen where 10% of the population is student
Fortunately, progress is being made in North America. Both Minneapolis-St. Paul and Atlanta have abolished parking minimums, Portland banned single-family zoning, Hoboken has become a model for North American traffic calming, and Jersey City has gone all-in on bike infrastructure. They even turned their main street into a pedestrian plaza. It gives me hope that these steps can be the start of a continent-wide transformation.
Thanks for that information. It brings hope to residents of the cities you've mentioned. And bring back the more human friendly infra-structure!!
Just a few decades more and maybe a few, expensive places in the USA will be as nice as the bad places in the Netherlands.
That's good to hear
just ambolishing the parking minimum but not having an alternative for using the car to get around will only creat chaos. .. the US needs to change their weird zoning laws. making the cities walkable won't do anything if people don't have another option than their cars to get to the city.
Zoning, public transportation and walkability needs heavy improvement.Doing just one of these things won't really change much.
but hey at least they are trying to do something
What are parking minimums?
I'm originally British but now also Dutch, living in Apeldoorn, a pleasant if unremarkable town. I'll never understand why people go to London, Paris, Vienna, Prague or even Amsterdam, when they could go to Deventer. This is one for your list if you haven't been there already. And good luck with the Dutch passport; Willem Alexander should just give you one on the strength of your videos.
hear hear!!!
PS My mother was born in Apeldoorn. Your description is spot on!
Apeldoorn is actully a village😅
Apeldoorn, I would say isn't unremarkable. We have a street here in London, Ontario named after Apeldoorn. I've never been, but my father visited there in the 40's, when the Canadian government gave him all expenses paid tour of Sicily, Italy and Holland. ;)
As someone who is born in Apeldoorn, I would say Apeldoorn is indeed unremarkable. It has no old city center and it is the most average town in the Netherlands in many aspects, but it is a good place to live
People live in big cities because of the sheer amount of opportunities there. I for one could never live in a small city for prolonged periods of time.
Honestly, I keep forgetting just how good we have it here in The Netherlands. Every time I watch your videos about how amazed you are by such things I take for granted, I feel a sense of pride and humbleness. Thanks for not just showing the world that it can be better, but also showing us that we don't always have to complain about everything (something else the Dutch absolutely excel in), but that we also can be grateful for what we have. Keep up the awesome work!
Exactly, it's because we have it so good, we get the freedom to complain. I feel more of us could use this lesson.
I mean, there's a lot of things we could improve in our country, but infrastructure is consistently awesome and a huge factor in quality of life I think. :)
pride and humbleness, what a great combination that is too.
@@dpt6849 I am not saying it's perfect, not at all. But it is also quite valuable to get a sense of what we get right
I have the same feeling when watching these videos. I am bothered by the lack of good public transport outside of the randstad (mainly busses and trams). But you get so used to all the amazing things we do have here that sometimes a reminder like this is really helpful.
As a Dutchie, when I was young I always used to think that our infastructure would be everywhere on earth, I thought it was weird for people outside of NL to go to school using the bus or car. But then I realized the sad truth, which is that their infastructure just absolutely sucks so much that if you tried to bike there, you would be yelled at and endanger your own life.
Biking here isn't just a way of transportation here, it's our culture and what we're proud of. This is to show how safe we are and why rest of the world (Except tiny parts of Belgium and France) should adapt our roads and bicycle paths. The times I have been to Germany to find only one bicycle path on one side of the road, and then almost cycle into a pothole because their bicycle paths are a joke, is too many
As a German I agree. While some local mayors are trying to improve their infrastructure it is still a long way to go. Greetz from Hamburg.
"Except tiny parts of Belgium and France" could you elaborate on that?
In English speaking countries, if you ride a bicycle on the road, you are the enemy. Even in the UK, which is supposedly quite courteous. It's a deep seated cultural malaise, rooted in the idea that the only purpose roads have for existing is to benefit cars. Never mind the fact that the Romans managed to extract rather a lot of usage out of their road networks using only sandals.
I'm from Belgium, used the bicylce from a very very young age... as a kid i never understood why on TV the american kids always had those yellow school-bus picking them up. In my country that kind of bus is usually for "Special" kids, that can't go by themselves because of a mental or physical handicap...
I've used the bike to go to school since the last year in kindergarten. And i've been to school in Belgium, Germany and Netherlands. I never felt unsafe, never had accidents. But when i look at the American roads and Stroads, i'd probably never use those to go to school. I also never wore a helmet on my bikes, those didn't even exist in the "80s...
It's sad that American society keeps running in circles where they let money speak first, and only then society, using the latter as a sidenote instead of the guide to follow... Capitalism ftw? Nah, give me socialism any day, in the end society is more important than money, and if tomorrow a worldwide disaster happens, it's society that rebuilds, not the money that has vanished because everything collapsed. It's social worthiness that will get you somewhere, like Karma it will provide as you have provided. if you never did any selfless thing for someone else, how can u expect anyone to do the same for u when u are in need? People make the world turn around money, but the world never turned around money, only in the mind of people it does... which is the biggest lie we were warned for. (For christians/jews; just think about moses & the golden calf (during 10 commandments if you forgot about it). Money IS that golden fake-god half the world believes in....))
@@melsbov The flemish part of Belgium once was a part of the Netherlands, not sure if that does matter. But what does matter is they have kind of the same infastructure to the Netherlands, just older. France is just also a tiny bit the same
As a dutch person this video feels like a massive compliment, the utter surprise at how small towns look here is great.❤
Just got back from a family trip to the Netherlands to visit universities for my son. We all fell head over heels for the smaller cities (Groningen, Amersfoort) and spent most of our time in Utrecht rather than Amsterdam. Such a wonderful experience that has definitely changed the way I see my community at home as a City Councilmember.
Those are considered big cities here haha.
Utrecht is definetely better than Amsterdam. Glad u visited it.
"middelgroot" @woodenNL
The Canadian Government that is responsible for infrastructure and urban planning should visit The Netherlands copy and paste :)
I hope your Dutch experience can inspire you and you citycouncil members to look and try and make changes, in order to create a more humanfriendly citydesign.
What this video shows is essential to understand why bike-share is not a thing in The Netherlands. We do not just cycle in the city centre, we cycle everywhere. We cycle to and from big cities, small cities, towns, villages, tiny hamlets and farms in the countryside. This is why everybody owns their own bicycle (or 2 or 3). There is no place where people who use bikes congregate, they are everywhere. And the bike is the mode of transportation from where you are to other forms of transportation.
Bicycles are for end-to-end transportation.
Yes, I've seen North Americans not understand OV Fiets because they're looking at it from a North American perspective where very very few people ride bicycles. The OV Fiets is amazing when you have great train service and safe infrastructure at every destination.
@@NotJustBikes are you going to the dutch gp?
@@JokeswithMitochondria funny username
@@JokeswithMitochondria ur entire channel is a mood lmao +1
@@sterlingarcher8041 u made me check it out. Wasn't disappointed lmao
as a dutch person it's really funny to see a foreigner get blown away by something we really just consider normal over here
Hes gonna get pissed off at you calling him a foreigner be careful 💀
untill he gets his passport he's still a foreigner :D@@zigzag00
z'n uitspraak wordt beter 😂
I'm not Dutch but I find it funny too, cause except for the cycling infrastructure bit everything else applies to most other European countries too. Most towns of around 10,000-100,000 people have a walkable city centre, an hourly train service and generally a "nice" look.
He was only in the nothern half of the country, I am an expat in the very south, Maastricht, I love it here, but believe me, without a car most people would be screwed here unless you have a daytime job in the center of one of the cities. If you work f.e. in the chemical industry, like many people do, you need a car. there are no trams,in general no public transport at night and even during daytime it is unbelievable time consuming. Bicycling on bigger distances is no option, because too hilly. At it is a dense populated area with almost 1000 people per square kilometer at average, much higher than the Dutch average, perfect conditions for public transport. And the few train connection are extremely slow and only during daytime, the last trains are always way too early to be a serious alternative for the car. With the car to supermarket in Aachen I need 25 minutes (30km). With the train over one hour for for just being at the train station. And extremely expensive also. I am so disappointed. But a lot of other things are very good, but NOT public infrastructure.
Hey Jason! You inspired us. We had the option to take advantage of an opportunity to move to Amsterdam and we’re doing it! We are moving this fall!
Amazing!! Congratulations!
I just very recently took my first ever trip to the Netherlands (as someone who comes from a car centric Canadian city), and even though we were going on a special camping trip in Haarlem and didn’t get to spend too much time in actual cities, the time I did spend in Amsterdam and Haarlem I was just as blown away as you were. I literally could barely comprehend how much nicer and human friendly the cities are. Trains, bikes, and large sidewalks were utterly foreign ideas coming from Canada. But what probably amazed me the most is that you can completely safely walk and bike across the country on lovely paths with no cars in sight. Just the mere thought that there is intercity bike travel seems impossible, I’ve never heard anything like it because I’m so used to cars being literally the only possible option for intercity travel
Case in point for the old adage of traveling educates...
I'm not sure there is a single destination here that you cannot cycle to some way or another. Bike infrastructure seems to pretty much be the default wherever you go, and you truly can go pretty much everywhere if you wanted to. There's a reason why the concept of a "fietsvakantie" (cycling holiday) is a thing, because you can just hop from city to city while cutting through beautiful landscapes along the way, all completely safe whether you're in the city or out in the countryside. Those summers experiencing my country this way in my youth are still one of my fondest memories.
One thing your missing is that some of these train stations don't just serve their city. The train station in Hoorn for example functions as a through point for all of Westfriesland and the Streek which is a combined population of 177.880.
I don't think there is any confusion about how train lines function, it's more the fact that they actually exist
@@rorychivers8769 It's relevant that Jason quotes the population for just the city, but most of NL is so densely populated that the next town not on the railway won't be far away.
@@rogink I think it's still a fair point considering even the relatively dense areas in Canada will still only have one station per city at best, and adding a stop in such a small town would be immediately shot down on the grounds of a cost/benefit analysis
@@rogink Yes I thought that when he quoted Woerden. Nice enough city but it mainly gets so many trains because it's next to Utrecht.
@@rogink maybe the next town is not that far but the trainstation may serve a lot more people than just that town. It is a misconception that all of the Netherlands is densly populated. It is not, only the large cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht.
I think one of the things thats always struck me, as a Brit, when going to or passing through the Netherlands is just how calm and *nice* places are generally speaking. Sure there are areas that are more rundown, like any country. But on the whole every place I've passed through is just a pleasent place to just exist. Unlike a lot of the UK where its grey on grey on grey. I guess you could describe a lot of the Netherlands as "quiet and boring" but honestly thats what I like about it.
Quiet und boring is a LOT better than interesting times. Just ask the Ukrainians.
I don't know where the UK went wrong tbh. Our brutalist phase definitely did a number on the country, that's for sure. And chronic underinvestment, high inequality, and high poverty rates don't help. But still, the differences shouldn't be THAT stark, yet they are.
@@user-ed7et3pb4onot that you or the British people asked for my (German) opinion, but for what it's worth here it is: I think the fundamental issue are 'American style' expectations, 'everybody wants to be a millionaire' and striving for the absolute highest in life. The working class is seen as something you 'escape out of'. This starts with children wanting to be like some famous person. I can't speak for the Netherlands but here in Germany the only context I can think of where this is similar are football stars. Almost no other.
So, when your next big step in life is 'just around the corner', when you get famous, found a startup, where you finally move to Edinburgh, London, NYC, LA, or a giant mansion on your country estate, you don't invest your earnings in the small town where you live, and you tolerate living conditions that, to say it bluntly, would be a shame for some developing countries.
This rise to money and fame of course never comes for most people, which is how, to my eye, you end up with a lot of your suburbs looking sort of 'makeshift'.
There are many more aspects to this, like politics whose form is ultimately both a result and the origin of this type of thinking, in a constant feedback loop.
Anyway, those are just my two cents.
I do wonder how the UK would have been without the last 13 years of austerity policy. @@user-ed7et3pb4o
@@user-ed7et3pb4o All our transportation and infrastructure was privatised in the 1990s. (And sold to other nations lol.) That's where we went wrong.
Slowly parts are being re-nationalised, but mostly that's in the big cities where the problems are more visible / there are more people to complain about stuff not working.
Or where the systemic failures of profit seeking produced such gross incompetance the government was literally forced to take over on pain of legal action. (Railtrack lmao.)
Brutalism owns bones tho.
I've literally been crying as I watch this video! I live in South Bend, Indiana, which much like Alkmaar, roughly has a population of 100,000 people. South Bend has a surface area of close to 110 sq. km, or just over 42 sq. miles, and Alkmaar has a surface area of just over 117 sq. km, or just over 45 sq. miles. South Bend, much like Alkmaar, is mostly detached single family homes. And as many similarities as these two cities have, as much as they share in common, they couldn't be any more different from each other!
These small cities, towns, and villages you're showcasing here look just so ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!! The ability to live without a car is a dream I've had since I was a young teen and my dad told me I would HAVE to get a car someday. I didn't want to, and was depressed when I had to give up biking everywhere because my dad made me go buy a car and start learning about car maintenance. And seeing Alkmaar built the way it is just hurts knowing that it's possible to live like that, and also knowing that most other South Benders don't want the infrastructure that would make their lives so much better.
I'm just glad I finally found the South Bend Strong Towns chapter!
Speaking of stroads, I live on the east coast of the US, and about two weeks ago I went to a park with a couple of my friends. Since we all live in the suburbs, we all had to drive. Thing is, it was only a thirty minute cycle from my house. But it would be insane to do so because I would've had to cycle along dangerous "streets" and cross stroads. The worst part was that the park was literally along a stroad that later turned into a highway a couple miles south. Our original plan was to also get snow cones from a place that was directly across the stroad. However, when we set on our way, we realized there wasn't even a crosswalk at the intersection right in front of the park. In fact, there wasn't a single one for miles. So we had to get one of their parents to drive us across the stroad to the place and back because it wasn't safe enough to cross it, because there was no crosswalk, no pedestrian signal, not even a sidewalk, just traffic lights and a four lane sea of asphalt. THE PLACE WAS DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET AND WE HAD TO DRIVE BECAUSE IT WASN'T SAFE.
What the f. That really is insane.
Especially near public areas like parks.
Any suburban planner sugesting anything like that would be banned from the cou try i'm sure lol
As a Dutch person living in Munich, I watch your videos and get a little home sick. Even though Munich is quite bike friendly for Germany, it is just not on the same level as NL. I hope your NL passport application goes smoothly! Keep the video's coming!
Munich's problem is the modern areas outside of the centre. The nice looking parts of Munich are the good areas because they have to support tourism, and would never want to force their poor decisions on the visitors. And yet they force them on the people living in outer Munich.
Well, NL is kinda the benchmark, I think nobody can compete. Especially not Germany, as it is still rather car centric in European comparison.
@@brightrrs1740germany is extremely car centric compared to the rest of europe, crazy wide highways and barely any bike lanes that integrate well, hell the integration with intersections and roundabouts is hell.
German traffic signals also take centuries to turn green since they’re just based on a timer.
I am so jealous of the netherlands. I mostly walk in Hamburg. Cycling would be faster but so many cyclists get killed here.
@@SonjaHamburg yea, Germany sucks when it comes to cycling infrastructure.
This made me emotional. I'm so glad you and your family found your forever country! I never ever want to leave my country, The Netherlands, either. I feel so safe and loved here. Welcome my friend. Glad you can get your passport.
Coming from the UK, the first thing I noticed was the lack of road markings and street furniture, almost everywhere. In the UK, there would be lane dividers, white, yellow and red lines, with painted warnings on the roads everywhere. I think the lack of them makes motorists slow down and think about where they need to be, but they also make the environment so, so much more attractive.
I'm Dutch and when I see vids from the UK of people driving there ( I'm a mini owner) I always get confused by those road markings and wonder how anybody could think that they would be a good idea. 🤔. . . 😁
It's called 'predictable road design'. It doesn't slow drivers down, it just removes the need for painted warnings because in most circumstances drivers know what to expect
I'm from Poland and I'm in awe of everything that Dutch build. amazing job of the entire society
When I visited the Netherlands, I stayed in Leiden because I couldn't afford to stay in Amsterdam (it was tulip season and I was told it would be more affordable). Although it was born of necessity it made for a great trip. It was stupidly easy to get into Amsterdam, a breeze to get to Keukenhof, and a local insisted on helping me plan a route to Kinderdijk that ran through Delft so I could see both places.
My favorite thing about it all is that you could step off of a bus or train and feel totally enveloped in nature after walking for 10 minutes. I have to drive 25 minutes to get to a botanical garden 8 miles away. The nearest state park is a 30 minute drive. All of our national parks require cars more or less. Such a shame.
@@moon-moth1unfortunately it's not easy without a car, but possible. I live in Denver, Colorado, and we have a statewide bus system (the Bustang) that can be used to access a national park, as well as some of the state parks and hiking trails.
The schedule is often intermittent though with a long time between busses. It also does not go everywhere. There are lots of beautiful places in Colorado that you can only get to via car.
Also, other states will vary wildly in accessibility, and I'm only familiar with Colorado's public transit.
I move from the US to Italy. It's not quite the same level of public transport "paradise" as the Netherlands, but I live in a totally walkable/bikeable town where cars are thoroughly restricted. You're last words about never going back ring true to me. I simply cannot imagine wanting to live in the US again.
It's not as much a "paradise" either. You should look at the bike infrastructure in Denmark instead
@@boiwaifDanish bike infrastructure is a good example for the rest of Europe, but the Netherlands is on a different level
@@boiwaif perhaps not a paradise in bike and public transport infastructure but most if not all mediterranean countries have lot benefits over north europe like the weather, landspapes, food, coulture, history, architecture, diversity, pace of life, cost of life etc while still are walkable without stroads and seas of parking lots. with children that walk or bike to their school or the park alone like in the netherlands but in perfect weather 320 days a year. that makes them paradise for dutch tourists to visit and for dutch and other europeans to move here for their pensions.
I'm a Canadian who lived in Enschede for 6 months on a university study-abroad term. The mind-blow moment for me was when I joined a student club retreat to some random building in a hamlet called Nutter - population
It's crazy how beautiful the entirety of the Netherlands is. The infrastructure, the old houses, the new houses, public transportation, trees, lawns... everything just looks so nice.
We do pay for that though. Taxes are a lot higher than the US in general, but at least you can really see where the money goes.
Why do I feel a sense of pride?! Im not even Dutch! Well done, neighbors. Can't wait to visit again
Kein Problem mein Freund, du bist immer wilkommen bei uns 🙂 Popping in to say hi from about 30km away from the German border 🙂
I visit Germany almost every week. Like to do shopping there. I really love Germany too. Greetings from Nimwegen 😉🍻
Chapters / timetamps
01:22 Haarlem
01:59 Leiden
02:29 Harlingen
02:52 Lent (Nijmegen)
04:22 Ermelo
05:49 Veenendaal
06:30 Terschelling
06:59 Ommen
08:16 Diepenheim
08:35 Jutrijp
09:09 Zwolle
09:44 Assen
10:23 Kloosterveen (Assen)
11:18 Vathorst (Amersfoort)
11:55 Woerden
12:36 Sneek
13:42 Alkmaar
14:22 Zeist
14:42 Final thoughts
17:47 Outro
My favorite place on this list is the nice town of "Final Thoughts", but Leiden ranks as a close second for me
16:39 Hoofddorp (business park by the airport)
@@supernenechiNah bro, town of Outro is the GOAT
I saw a few shots of Groningen, will you be making a video about the city in the future? I especially love the traffic lights that go green for cyclists more frequent when it rains
I am from the achterhoek (eastern "rural" part of the Netherlands) and what you say in this video is 100% true. Let me be very clear: Public transit SUCKS outside of cities and towns. It sucks by Dutch standards, so expecting a bus once every hour is usually realistic but it still takes forever to get anywhere and that usually means the car is better than bike + transit (sadly :( ). However, even in my hometown of Borculo (population of ~10k) the bike infrastructure is simply amazing!
As someone from the achterhoek, I highly recommend you visit Zutphen, or any other "Hanzestad". For Zutphen I can tell you that it is an amazingly well preserved old city that is extremely walkable. If you're ever there, go to "de pelikaan". Best coffee/tea in the Netherlands.
Bizarrely enough, as a Dutch person, it took watching channels like yours (mainly yours) for me to realise why small towns and villages in other (European!) countries often felt so desolate to me. No people in the streets, no kids outside playing, even in broad daylight, with the sun shining down. That never happens in NL, but it just never clicked that that was because in NL there are always places to visit (shops/restaurants/etc) within safe walking/cycling distance and streets are usually safe for children to be in too. You always see people out and about. More than once my partner and I have been caught out travelling through such small towns abroad, expecting to find shops or a place to have lunch/dinner, only to find none and the whole place seemingly 'deserted'. I never truly understood why. Now I know that the people who live there just take their car to drive to shopping malls or bigger cities further away.
Great video. I'm 70, left the UK for the Netherlands 30 years ago & now live in Zwolle. Got my Netherlands citizenship because of brexit. Most people here cycle, all ages, from 3 to 93+. I haven't had a car since 2008 (necessary for work) or a moped since 2013 (moved into the city). Public transport here is excellent & cycling is so easy.
The part that blew my mind is Rotterdam Harbour. That is probably the largest industrial estate in the Netherlands, yet it has separated bicycle paths throughout. And some crazy combinations of people living right next to industrial areas.
The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe. Until 2005 it was the largest port in the world
Well of course the harbour has bicycle paths. Duh. How else would people go to work there? (=Dutch reasoning).
You might be surprised to learn parts of the harbour are restricted nature reserves as well, actively maintained by the Port Authority of Rotterdam. There are seals and harbour purpoises living in the latest extension of the harbour (Maasvlakte 2).
I've visited NL quite a bit and agree, it's by far the most impressive place for urban infrastructure. Not only that, everything looks like it gets maintained regularly. In Dordrecht a few years ago, I was mesmerised by a cycle subway next to the main station. Cyclists were coming from several directions, then as they merged there was a mini roundabout to avoid the sort of intersecting chaos you sometimes see at busy road junctions. It all looked beautifully choreographed, but of course it wasn't, it was just perfectly designed.
I digress. My main point was that none of that fantastic infrastructure really inconveniences drivers. SE England is as densely populated as the Netherlands, but has a far inferior network of high speed roads. We have large towns of 100,000 with major routes going through the urban area. From my experience there is nothing like this in NL - you always get a grade separated bypass or ring road.
So the point needs to be made that Dutch style infrastructure isn't anti-motorist - it's pro-everyone.
It always amazes me how major routes go through cities and towns in most of Europe, except for the Netherlands and possibly Denmark. There are still places this happens of course in NL, but the contrast to Belgium, France, UK, Spain, and even Germany is remarkable.
Germany is currently fighting "Parent Taxis"! More people have started to drive their kids to school. So elementary schools issue statements: "Your child should walk to school, it´s important for their development!"
Playgrounds, playgrounds, playgrounds - small towns, suburbs and new developments absolutely CRUSH it when it comes to building facilities for kids and more specifically older kids. After 8-10 years old (or whenever - it's a generalisation based on my UK perspective), kids don't care about their own gardens, they want to explore and meet up with friends independent of their parents. They need spaces and traffic-free paths to do that properly.
There are parts of suburban NL where you can drop a pin and be within 100-200m of *multiple* playgrounds - it must be an incredible environment to grow up in.
Yes, that's absolutely true. There's actually a few playgrounds seen in these scenes, and our kids played in dozens of them. There is no way I'd want to live in a suburb in Canada, but I wouldn't mind living in a suburb in the Netherlands.
If you look on American maps you see more golf courts than playgrounds. Supposedly you are only allowed to play when you are an adult.
8-10? kids around here care about playgrounds way earlier than that. When they're old enough to be in school is when they're old enough to go there by their own with friends lol
Only 8-10? More like 4-5...
Children playgounds in Vancouver are such sad and abandoned spaces.
I'm with you Bro! I too have lived in the Netherlands for about 5 years. (from US) I've gained residency and will never return to the US. We are building a house in Limburg. Love this video. It's spot on! We have never seen a bad place in NL. Can't say the same for DE or BE. The Netherlands is a unique place to live. The cost of living is high but the quality of life is higher. These qualities are revealed in your videos. Ik hou van Nederland!!!
Off-topic: I recommend you look into the possibility of acquiring a Dutch passport and renouncing your USA citizenship, the USA is one of only two countries taxing non-resident citizens and around retirement they get obnoxiously greedy.
@@apveening Taxing for services not rendered seems to be their thing lol.
@@nuuwnhuus so much for no taxation without representation.
I want to say thank you for inspiring me to study urbanism. I live in Philadelphia, which has decent urbanism by NA standards (meaning we still have some of our trolley infrastructure and buses come more frequently than once a month) but whenever I watch your videos about Dutch urbanism I can't help but feel disappointed at my own city and country. As you highlighted in the video, we have the population to support these projects, but car dependency has such a strong stranglehold on our government and society that it would take a lot of change for us to even come close to the worst Dutch city.
Rooting for you to make a change Louis!!!
Yeahhhh I’m not gonna put it lightly here. Although he is very good at inspiring urbanism, NotJustBikes has explicitly stated on social media that his videos are meant to move his viewers to abandon North American cities. And move elsewhere.
I disagree with him but he will **only** criticize NA cities. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep doing our own efforts though remember that.
You may watch this : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flevoland , and after that, there is a lot of info on the internet about how they planned it, how they build it. Maybe you can find some ideas, good luck.
@@calvinunroe2312 well considering that, NotJustBikes is right.
America is a rotting corpse. Literally, in terms of critical infrastructure.
@@calvinunroe2312 Well, at some point you just got to take a stand and tell the politicians and corportations: Look... if you are not going to change... fine... bye!
Hey NJB! Your videos and a shared appreciation for public transport especially as a North American is one of the many many reasons I chose to move to the Netherlands and it’s my first week of living that dream!
A few weeks ago I was on a family holiday and we went around the Netherlands to visit the small and medium sized cities as opposed to Amsterdam which we'd already visited. Most countries I visit, I only really think "I could live here" in the capital city or their other large cities, but in the Netherlands I realised I could comfortably live in so many of these smaller cities too. Such a lovely country.
The entire country is just lovely
I honestly prefer NOT living in big cities. I like my quiet little town (although it's located near a military airbase, so it's not always quiet).
Big cities just make me tired after a few hours. Can't even imagine how bad I'd feel after a week of anywhere as bad as in the USA.
I've been a longtime fan of this channel, and of Strong Towns before that, but this was the first of your videos I've watched since moving to the Netherlands for university (from the US), and it felt so strange to watch this video after cycling back from the city centre. It really is astounding how massive the difference is, how compact and lively the cities are here: the bustling downtown is just as close as fields of sheep, without endless sprawl in between. Every public space is full of life and enjoyable to be in (it's clear why 'gezelligheid' is so integral to Dutch culture). Having prior knowledge about Dutch and American urbanism has made the differences far more noticeable, as I've been able to spot things that might otherwise blend in. If anything, though, being here has given me more faith that we can improve North American cities, with enough political will. Keep making these videos, they're consistently great
Political will in the US to do something.... at all... that is even vaguely to the benefit of everyone? Good luck. I hope you succeed!
Just arrived here two weeks ago to study abroad in Amsterdam. This YT page was one that truly inspired to spend a few months here with a strong passion for urban planning. The biggest thing I see is that people LIVE here. Whether in Ams or in a small neighboring town, people are out and moving and living life. In the city centers you here conversations, beer clinks, and occassional bike bell rings. It has made me both so happy that a place like this exists but also sad that so many people in N. America will never live this experience. Just biking around you see families, toddlers going to school, elderly people, int'l students etc. People just live life here and it's truly remarkable.
Great video. Also don't underestimate how much running all power lines and other utilities underground does to a town's attractiveness. Nearly all infrastructure in The Netherlands just looks organized, well-designed and neat. Since I've been watching your channel I never take any of this for granted anymore. People often don't realize how good they have it here, just from the way they commute and what their towns look like. I should honestly get down on my knees to thank the people who designed our cities for not being a bunch of fucking idiots. We nearly shot ourselves in the foot in the 60's and 70's, but thankfully a lot of that crap has been undone. It is genuinely one of the reasons why I would never want to live anywhere else.
My bike has done more miles in the Netherlands than it has home here in the UK. I've also cycled in Denmark, Finland and Lithuania. The worst town was Kaunas in Lithuania which was very car-centric, but my favourite was Gouda in the Netherlands, though I enjoyed Sneek and Enkhuizen, for pretty much the reasons you describe.
Similarly I may have cycled more in my life in holidays to the Netherlands or Germany (we have family in Germany), than I ever have here in the UK. I think I cycled on the roads here once as a kid? And I was terrified, never did it again. Cycle lanes here are basically death traps waiting to abuptly end and spit you out into traffic.
Im pretty sure the past president of Lithuania was an American. That must explain it haha
Yes, it's depressing. I don't cycle in the UK because it scares me, but I really wish it was more possible. I've even done bikeability and everything, but that was terrifying in itself. What's most depressing is how much backlash traffic-calming and pro-cycling measures get, it genuinely feels unfixable at this point. And not so much because of resources, but because of culture and attitude @@__-fm5qv
As a person from Kaunas - sorry, but yes, Kaunas is quite car centric. It's slowly getting a little bit better - very slowly, without enough traffic calming methods (as I learned from this channel), but i do have high hopes that someday we will be at least good enough not to be shamed in the comments :D
"Apparently they don't have to be." Right on. That right there is why this channel has been so eye opening to me, chipping away at my unknown assumptions on what is 'normal' and on how 'things have to be designed'. And while I thought I had a pretty broad view, I keep learning just how much my upbringing and surroundings have actually restricted my view. The Netherlands' urban design is creating that "friendly community feel" and "save family-centric living" that much advertising (and not a few politicians) traffics (heh) in... and yet most NA design fosters the exact opposite. It's powerful to see the two modes contrasted against each other so starkly. Thank you! Congrats on your 5 years in the Netherlands, and here's to many more years of working to righting the direction of urban design here all over the world. :)
It's kind of a parallel to growing up in a broken home. That's a lot of the feeling I got from the reactions described in this video: Being blown away by what should be normal because through growing up you had resigned yourself to a certain standard of living that was in some or more facets dehumanizing.
Dang it... I live in Germany, RIGHT next to the Netherlands. I'm incredibly jealous of the infrastructure they have.
It's a minor thing, but having the rural bike paths be useable by tractors is awesome! I've seen tractors in the US forced to go along literal highways at 20 MPH, and I cannot imagine how dangerous that is.
I'm just awake here in the US, it's 4AM and I see a new NJB video pop up. I'm SUPER excited and immediately click onto it. Your videos and your channel have really opened my eyes to how much things suck in the way we design our cities here. I find myself watching and rewatching them constantly. You've inspired me to try to find work in the Netherlands and get out of this place (I also have other problems with this country but this isn't the place for those). I want to live someplace where I'll rarely have to drive anywhere, and cycling is just another mode of transit.
I hope you make it!
I was born here, am 36 years old, don't even have a car license and only very very rarely think: "oh damnit, I could really use a car right now".
The 3 biggest tips i cam give you for moving to The Netherlands (but also applies for the rest of Europe)
1. Do some research and visit the places you're attracted to before moving permanently. Just so you know what to expect and what the downsides might be.
2. Don't compare to much with what you're used to back home.
Like when comparing prices. Because wages, taxes, cost of living are all different.
So just the price of a meal isn't comparable. Some things might be better some things probably are worse, it's important you end up somewhere you feel happy.
3. Try to learn the local customs and language. Even though (and i take The Netherlands as a example here) we understand American culture and speak English, if you really want to become part of the place and fit in with the locals you have to make some effort. It might be hard (in the beginning) but we really appreciate the effort and it gives us the indication you really want to be here, and not just visit for a couple of months/years.
Bonus tip, don't forget that moving to one country/city in Europe doesn't mean you're stuck to that place.
Once you're here you're able to go to a lot of different places and every country/region is it's own place.
I hope you're able to move to a place you're going to be happy at and where you feel at home.
The Netherlands absolutely has its downsides, every country does. Just like while the majority of people somewhere are nice, there are arseh*les everywhere too.
I don't want too much people from the US to feel inspired to migrate to the Netherlands, we're a *very* small & already densely packed country after all. I'd rather they'd feel inspired to stay in their city & _FIGHT_ for better infrastructure.
But anyway, putting that aside ,_some_ people from the US have an advantage because there's a treaty between the US & NL called DAFT, yes really daft, which makes going from one country to the other a bit easier. If you weren't aware of it, please look it up & good luck!
"There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch."
Michael Caine
I visited a small rural Dutch town and wow, it puts even our capital to shame. Roads all fixed up, infrastructure modern, all services available (except on Sundays because Super Christian) - and indeed the people were out and about! It was a fantastic week just cycling and living in a different country.
Interested to know which is the capital of your country? 🙂
@@moon-moth1there are more than you think and the Bible Belt is bigger than you realize 😅 some have succumbed to one super market open on Sunday but there are still villages out there that don’t even have that. The village I previously lived in had a catholic owned Albert Heijn and a black stockings Protestant Jumbo and guess which one of the two finally, finally opened their doors on Sunday two years ago after fighting the Protestant community (gemeente)… it only took them ten years 😂
@@moon-moth1are you saying places that a predominantly Christian are backwards and not progressive?
@@moon-moth1 ngl dude places like Staphorst, Urk and Barneveld are bigger then you realize, they are not 'little' villages lol
@@moon-moth1 you’ll be surprised. I live in Barneveld. They’re trying to push for 85.000 citizens in the next 10 years, but still, supermarkets aren’t allowed to open their doors on Sunday. It’s like living in the middle ages.
I live in Germany, close to the border. I really love how the contrast is when it comes to bike ways and the way they are developed. It’s just such nice feeling to bike in the Netherlands
Deutschland is coming a long way though, as a Dutch traffic engineer myself, I see changes happening on my travels there. But it all starts with a unifying thought on how places has to be infrastructure wise. That's why traffic sollutions in Limburg are just the same as in Groningen.
Been to Germany a couple of times the last years and you guys are making lots of progress. Compared to The Netherlands its perhaps not so special, but compared to North America even Germany is lightyears ahead.
I lived in NL (Eindhoven), as a student, in 1979 and they already had an amazing infrastructure for biking. I am glad to see how much better it is now. I lived in Ottawa for 10 years (mid-80s to mid 90s) and the infrastructure was improving a lot but nowhere near NL. I think it is great what you are doing to show what is possible with a bit of proper planning. The funny thing is that it all started in 1973 with Arab oil embargo. The Dutch really made the best out of that crisis.
This just makes me realise how far behind the Uk is to the netherlands in terms of walkabiltiy and public transport. Our government is a joke.
And all of this stuff is only a few hundred kilometres away from you right now...
The whole of Europe should learn from the Netherlands, we are so far behind (not as much as N.A, but still)
Most of the Anglosphere is behind, It’s quite sad that most people who want good urbanism will have to learn another language. But the UK isn’t doing too bad compared to the rest of the Anglosphere. It still has HSR, subways (mostly in London) and bike paths (again, mostly in London). And from what I’ve seen, it seems to be improving. Unlike America, their public officials can easily visit the Netherlands for inspiration.
@@yutyuiiu Keep in mind that I said that the UK is the best in the Anglosphere. Montreal is in NA but it isn’t the Anglosphere. Do you have any examples of English-speaking NA cities that are better than cities in the UK?
Also the UK government may not be the best in terms of urban planning and walkability but it’s ahead of Canada and wipes the floor with America in that area. At least England has true HSR. Canada has NO HSR and both of America’s “HSR” lines suck in terms of speed and infrastructure.
I live in the Home Counties (the districts surrounding outer London, for those outside the UK) just south of London so we are lucky we have decent(ish) train services and regular buses (for the most part) but infrastructure to encourage everyday cycling is very patchy.
Ive recently moved (December) to the Netherlands from Canada and ALL OF THIS YES! when i say every single day me and my husband talk about how wild the difference is between just every day things you never would think about from cross walks to public transit and sidewalks to the roads and shopping centers its so crazy how different it is, i grew up in a small town in Ontario and they only recently got a train station (looks like a bus stop) but no bike paths, often sidewalks only on one side of the main road, and you would not bike to the store. i eventually moved to New Brunswick when i was 20 and lived in Fredericton and even then its all car, when you sit down at a restaurant and sit outside maybe in the summer time all you see is parking lot. even my children's school was not accessible via bike or walking there was not only no bike path but no side walk either. this is amazing
Is living in the Netherlands is better than living in the US
@@LavaCreeperPeople Well, she's from Canada so I don't think she'd be able to answer that question. As someone who has lived in both Canada and the US, they are both pretty similar as far as transport goes. Cars, cars, and more cars. Riding a bike is taking your life into your hands, nobody takes trains anywhere, and taking the bus is something people will avoid if they are able.
Sorry to hear you had to move to a different continent to get those things. When I visited Victoria, BC, it was not that way at all. We walked everywhere in the city, except for the times we took the water taxi. I really loved their water taxis! Such a neat mode of transportation. To be fair, outside of Victoria it was very car-dependent, especially when you get up towards Duncan. A totally different world on the same island.
considering canada is better than the US and she said she likes living in the netherlands i think you can put 2+2 together @@LavaCreeperPeople
my favourite thing from seeing the infrastructure here is how beautifully designed everything is. it's not just practical and safe but it actually looks good. i love the building design, cobblestone roads, and the beautiful small streets packed on each side with beautifully designed small stores. i need to move here.
I am in Amsterdam as we speak with my family visiting the Netherlands because of your videos... Everything you say has held up to be true if not better, this is definitely the place I want to do my graduate studies in or move here to work right out of college. It is truly incredible, and it makes you wonder why other places are not the same...
Short answer: because Dutch people live here (it's the culture). If you want to know more, start with the book "Why The Dutch Are Different" by Ben Coates.
I'm in California, and I've been subbed for a while. You were my gateway in learning why U.S car infrastructure sucks, why cars sucks in general, and how cities could be built for people, how good public transportation could be, and ect. Also it felt nice to be validated on my feelings on the stressful experience of driving. So thanks a ton for that! Very much appreciated 👍
Side note: It's been my goal/dream for me now (once I finish studying and save up enough money) to move to the Netherlands.
I know it's not perfect whatsoever, (to my knowledge; currently there's a housing crisis, and the cost of living is high in general, the center you've noted has too many cars, and tbh potentially living under the sea level when sea levels are expected to rise sounds pretty scary) but it sure as hell of a lot better than here in Cali. So here's hoping I can eventually get down there 😛
I also hope I can give you a generous super thanks one day for appreciation, but for now, you can have this I.O.U, and I'll give it once I've actually made it over there 🙃
Yeah, like every country we have lots of issues to deal with, but these videos show me why I'm glad to live and grow up in the Netherlands.
One thing I'd like to have improved is our public transport system. We have a great train network connecting basically every town, but we need more buses in rural areas. Also the price is insane, causing many people to still use cars very often. And we need way more cities with trams, they're nice, compact, environmentally friendly and reliable.
We have elections this fall though, so I'm hoping we can get a better government more involved with reducing the cost of living and public transport
@@plants_before_people5329 Oh wow I actually wasn't aware that using buses were "insane" in terms of cost? I knew there was definitely a cost but that's the first I've heard that word to describe it.
Yeah I am extremely envious of you growing up and already living in the Netherlands, wish I was 😩
I’ve been living below sea level most of my life and like other Dutchies hardly think about it. We trust the systems in place and the amazing water engineers we have. We’ve been at this for hundreds of years. You can always choose a place to live with (a little bit 😉) more elevation.
Pretty much anywhere in Europe sounds better than the US. My country (Spain) is much more car dependent than NL, but still looks like paradise compared to the US. Plenty of walkable places, plenty of public transport in populated areas, etc. It's actually the country with the highest number of elevators per person in the world: many buildings are high enough to require elevators but low enough to not have an uncomfortable density. Between 4-8 stories tall, not counting ground floor. And pretty much all residential zones are mixed with commerce: the ground floor of residential apartments may have stores, bars, restaurants, and other services.
One of favorite Dutch national hobbies is to complain about things, so for a Dutch person something is never perfect/good enough.
As for public transport, it's pretty good especially compared to most of the world. But there are enough places in The Netherlands where busses and/or trains don't come often enough. And the prices are definitely a turnoff for lots of Dutchies (but we're also known as always looking to save a few bucks so maybe that's part of our negativity towards the prices).
But a lot of places would like to have a bus/train come every 30 minutes going into each direction of the line. And during rush hour maybe even every 15 minutes.
The Randstad area is really good at public transit but the rest of the country sometimes feels like a afterthought for the policymakers/transit companies.
Still decent but it could/should be better.
As for living at or below sea level. We pay a decent amount of tax and part of those taxes are invested at keeping our feet (and propety) dry.
Problems around floods are basically non existent.
Most people don't think about it (and even less worry about it)
I have been living in Amsterdam for a year now! And even though public transport is pretty nice in Austria where I'm from (a 3000 people Village with two train stations, one of them 5 minutes by foot to the main square and one suburban for car commuters), the possibility of going EVERYWHERE by bike is something I really grew to love and I wouldn't want to live without now.😍
Dutchies also love Austria! My favorite place for hiking and great people.
I grew up in a small town in Nova Scotia called Truro, in the suburbs. I couldn't wait to start driving when I was 16 just because not being able to drive was so incredibly limiting. I thought that was normal at the time. I recently moved to Toronto from Halifax - I'm going to TMU for Urban and Regional Planning in a couple weeks and I was largely inspired by watching your videos the last three years or so. My plan right now is to stay in North America and try to contribute to fixing our infrastructure but it does feel like it's going to be a super lengthy and complex process, without even taking into account how many people believe the myths and are committed to car-centrism in Ontario / Canada. Nova Scotia might be lacking those things, but people generally seem relatively open to changing things. The stuff I hear people say in Ontario blows my mind. I would really love to live in Europe, but for now I want to try and fix things here. I guess I'll see if my idealism is completely shattered once I'm working as a planner in North America and go from there.
It would be interesting to see you do a full video where you check out fan submissions of the "Worst" places in the Netherlands.
I just moved in a village in Canada. It’s nothing close to the Netherlands, but the village is very family oriented and they try to make the village safely accessible to children, so it has better cycling infrastructures overall. The majority of children seem to go to school by bike.
Where?
@@MegaDarkTroll i’m sorry I’m not telling the internet where I live. It’s a small village in Québec
This is beautiful! Normally you only show Amsterdam and other cities, but here you actually show how everything great can also be done in smaller communities!
Italian here, I'd love to see our beautiful country planned and organised by Dutch urbanists 😔
As an American, it really blew my mind when I stayed in the super small towns of Heerde and Wapenveld in the Netherlands, with 18k and 6k people respectively. We would either walk or bike to where we needed to for groceries and even on a farm I was able to go for a nice bike ride around the city. Small towns in places where I live in Florida look terribly poor and are so neglected which is the opposite from what I’ve ever seen in countries like the Netherlands
It is so interesting to see this video, because as someone who is living in Germany I never really how nice it was to have easily accessible cycling and public transport infrastructure.
Over the last couple of weeks I was feeling rather bleak when looking at Germany because sadly enough the public infrastructure is not that well kept and there are a lot of things that need investment but your video really helped me put things into perspective. Those areas of the netherlands look great! And Germany is not even close to that. But I was shocked at how many things I was taking for granted. The small town in which I am studying does not even have 60k inhabitants, but two train stations. Where I grew up, in a rural area in north west Germany it was so easy to go anywhere by bike.
So thank you for putting things into perspective and giving me a brighter outlook!
Don't worry we too have our public transport woes, it's just now your turn in the spotlight.
I have only been in the south when I have been in Germany and it's a mix. Heidelberg was excellent, but Passau had some problems with cars being where they shouldn't be (in the historic centre). Munich has good and bad areas. Regensburg was my favourite.
@@JohnFromAccounting i would say some of the shining examples are probably Münster, Freiburg, Göttingen or Leipzig. If you are looking for other travel ideas.
@@anma9217 really happy to hear that, espacially after the news that the new Berlin city council canceled a lot of plans for bike infrastructure.
But we got a problem in my city that is not unlike from what you are saying. A lot of free parking areas in the inner City have been converted into residency only parking to keep cars outside of the city centre but as it is a bigger city in an struggling area in eastern Germany many people from outside are using their car to get into town and do business here so there are lots of conflicting interests, espacially as there are not many Park and ride options around the city and most of the people commuting into the city are elderly folks who most often than not have trouble walking or cycling bigger distances.
My hometown in the north of England has a population of 16,000 but the high street is absolutely bustling on weekends, especially when there's a market on. It shocks me that huge american cities are so deserted of pedestrians.
I know right... Been to alot of places in the US and coming from Europe its so weird to see that the concept of a towncenter where people hang out seems to be completely absent. Its almost surreal.
A small note on the enthusiasm for train stations... A lot of these smaller stations are along route that connect the biggest cities in the area.
Zeist is a 'small city' next to Utrecht, and Utrecht is a major hub in the center.
One of the largest work areas of Utrecht, the Science Park (formerly Uithof) has an academic hospital, a large university and college, and several large research centers. Lots of people in Zeist also work there. So if you want to prevent congestion from cars - there is only one option: make great bike infrastructure, and have frequent public transport connecting suburbs and work places.
This challenge shapes our country's infrastructure.
That pronunciation of Terschelling is a sign that you are truly a Dutchie now😂
I love these videos. I think I, and many other Dutch viewers, sometimes forget how nice it is here because we are so used to it, and these videos are a reminder to appreciate it. That said, we should never stop striving (or complaining :p) about bad infrastructure
Hear Hear! Of eigenlijk, inderdaad! Al die klagende Nederlanders zouden eens een reisje buiten Europa moeten maken, dan vallen de schellen van je ogen.
Yep. I lived in a town of 6,000 people in Virginia, 1 mile wide and two miles long. It’s like they never heard of a bicycle. Everyone drove everywhere.
Unsurprisingly all the kids moved away the second they graduated high school. I ended up leaving because of the prevalence of obesity. Wasn’t interested in living an active life by myself.
It's funny watching this. When I went to Canada for the first time in 1999, I was blown away by the differences. Driving from the airport to my cousin's house, seeing the roads, the houses, the giant car parks in front of the giant supermarkets, etc. The next day, I wanted to walk to the nearby Canadian Tire... "how the f#%k am I supposed to cross this six lane road!" 😳 No traffic lights, or not for pedestrians anyway. No sidewalk either, da heck is up with that! Made me realise how well stuff is built in the country I call home. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so! 🤠
God I'm so jealous of the Netherlands. I know no country is a utopia, but looking at these videos of Dutch cities really makes me feel like it might just be one.
I lived in 7 countries and a dozen cities, currently in Lisbon and while it is not an ideal example of public transport heaven, it is the best I have ever experienced thus far and it really made me appreciate how amazing is good public transport and urban planning is for you. Honestly, it completely changed how I perceive any other future city I might end up in. It is not about shopping or weather anymore, it is all about how good public transport is.
Everytime I watch one of your videos, I realise how privileged I am to be born and live here. All the things you show in your videos by which you’re so amazed became so normal to me, that I need these videos to remind me of how amazing they are!
I always thought that my City of Essen (Germany) was fairly Bicycle friendly but when i visited Amsterdam 2 months ago with some friends, we were blown away by how easy it was to Walk through the city. Not even cycle everywhere but Walk. No way i could do that in my City to this extent even if my City Center also is a fully pedestrianized Zone.
You should at some point visit the Ruhrgebiet and maybe do a video about it. 5 Cities grown into eachother over a timeframe from the 1890s to the 1950s built on Coal and Steel should be interesting with its differences in Urban planning in between cities.
I found Essen fairly unfriendly for cycling. Then again, I never attempted it.
I just remember always arriving at the Bahnhof and immediately noticing the loudness of the nearby highways.
All that said, I really like Ruhrgebiet. I think the energy is there to make it very cycling friendly.
Essen isn't even that good for cycling, which is crazy to think about.
Germany has a huge car manufacturing industry and this will always be an obstacle to cycling/walkability/pedestrianized streets.
The car lobby is just too strong there.
What fills me with joy when watching this video is the absence of bicycle helmets.
I grew up in a very bicycle-heavy town in Germany and never even owned one, and neither seem any of the people in the Netherlands.
When I commented on a bicycle article on the CBC (Canadian news), just asking if anyone ever heard of anyone that actually was spared injury thanks to a helmet, I just got downvote-bombed, nobody actually answered my question and one response was, verbatim, "I have no words".
I can count the number of times I fell of my bike (it's 4), and going by the injuries I received I would advocate for knee and elbow pads.
Just like expensive infrastructure, safety gear does not need to be mandatory, if you provide safe space for cyclists where most people travel at very low speeds.
I have never seen a good-looking bicycle helmet, and sometimes feel like mandatory helmet laws in north america are a result of the car lobby in the attempt to make cycling even more uncomfortable by forcing these ugly mushroom-bulbs onto our heads; besides the inherent mortal danger of sharing a road with armored semi-tanks, of course.
There is actually a rise of helmets in the Netherlands by e-bike users. It's mostly elderly people who wear them. They sometimes don't realize how fast they go on e-bikes and if the fall with them they will survive most injuries, but on the head can bw game over for some elderly people who go highspeed on such bikes. But yeah, i do agree that they look silly and feel uncomfy and gives cycling a dumb look.
Congratulations on your 5 year anniversary. This video is a prime example of why I consider you the best content creator on this subject. You show more than just the best cycle paths in the big cities. You even show a lot more than just cycling. If people who watch your videos still do not get it, then they simply do not want to get it. Then they're a lost cause anyway.
It’s almost like he shows “Not Just Bikes” 😂
Great to have you as a permanent resident! Your channel always helps to remind me how good we actually have it here in the Netherlands!
In all your videos, there is a lack of haze usually caused by vehicle exhaust/smog.
Here in Dallas, we get a haze dang near year-round.
When I watched your video and Bicycle Dutch's videos; it's a calm, quiet, and serenity I've never known.
EDIT: Yours and BDs videos also have a lack of litter/trash on the sidewalks and streets, sheer madness.
Unless it's city sized parties like kingsday or pride. Then then you walk through all the trash (though cleaned within days)
3x as many people die from lung disease caused by tailpipe pollution in the USA, compared to the people killed by cars hitting them.
There also a lack of violent crime in the Netherlands (compared to the US), its truly shocking!
@@udishomer5852 One would begin to think maybe the overall quality of living has an impact on stress which affects public general mood and respect for their environment. (Among many other factors of course).
@@dopaminecloud It could also be due to better social security services, safety nets for struggling people, more economic equality and much less gun ownership.
By the way lower crime rates are in most European countries, even the poorer ones. The only countries with similar crime rates to the US are Russia and Ukraine if I remember correctly.
I remember as a young child in Greece living in my Uncle and Aunts village, we used to go to the market ridding the horse or travelling on the farm tractor. And most times we would just walk everywhere... the beach, the hills, to the fields etc. I went back as an adult and the village is full of roads and cars. It is no longer fun to walk around as the odds of getting run over are very good. So sad.
The country should pay you. This TOTALLY made me want to visit.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." - Will Durant commenting/summarizing Aristotle. It sounds a bit fancy to say this quote for city design, but I think it fits. You pointed it out that everywhere here the cities are livable, not just in the places where enough people complain to get the problem fixed. That's why I thought this quote was appropriate.
Pretty much every city / town in the Netherlands seems attractive. I'm from Frankfurt, Germany (which really is better than its notorious Bahnhofsviertel reputation). During my 4 years living in The Hague / Utrecht I was super impressed (as someone who thought would never consider any city
Well .. we have ugly cities too.. 😂.
But having that said.. eve. In ugly cities typically you have save biking infrastructure...
moving to rural Bulgaria is always a good move anyway
Most of those smaller towns will be more like a suburb to larger cities. Rural Netherlands is rather car-dependent as well, and increasingly so, with shops closing up in small towns, bus routes getting more sparse, and so on.
Have you been to the more in mountainous area in the South of germany?
AND the Netherlands has move expensive living... now that might be because of it's size AND quality of life.
It's funny to me how you call all these places I'd consider "large cities", "small towns"
A small Netherland town of 200 people with bus service that comes... EVERY TWELVE MINUTES!?!?!?!? I live in Metcalfe, a small town of like 1.5k within the metropolitan of real Ottawa. We get bus service TWICE A WEEK only on Thursday!!!
I AM TRIGGERED RIGHT NOW!!!😭
As a Canadian, you have inspired me on urban development, and I'm seriously considering talking an urban planning program for post secondary education. I'll stay here fighting the good fight so Canada can one day look like the Netherlands.✊
So glad you're staying here, you are such a great ambassador for our country!
House prices are already insane, we can't fit too many more people if he keeps promoting the country.. Then soon the netherlands will just be one single mega city without any nice place. I hope people manage to change the places they live to be like this, instead of just moving here.
You know it’s going to be a good day when you wake up to a new Not Just Bikes video. ❤️
Especially if you live in The Netherlands. 😅
Especially when you also have a video from "The Black Forrest Family" lined up to watch as well (and I started with a new one from sreetips).
Ive moved to the Netherlands 1 year ago. I’m my own videos I have done and visited all these places. It amazes my brain how no matter how random the place it’s freaking clean and so well designed. Incredible!!! Besides the housing issue and weather I’d give the Netherlands the best place to live in the world 💜
Global warming will fix one of those! 😂
I'm Dutch and I've been to Cities in Zwitserland and watched vids from cities in Japan . . . they're waaaay cleaner than overhere.
I guess we have some work to do on that.
This might be my fave vid of yours yet! I love how you show our villages and cities and it also shows a different perspective then just Amsterdam. The city centre of Zwolle is AMAZING btw, would recommend it a lot.
I've never been to the Netherlands, but many of your points here also apply to my experience living in Japan. I was just absolutely blown away that I could get literally anywhere in the country by train, bike and/or walking. Americans don't have a clue just how terrible our infrastructure really is. If I were to move back to Japan, I wouldn't even choose to own a car. It would just be a hassle. Here in the US, it's an absolute necessity, which is VERY sad in my opinion especially as they have become virtually unaffordable in recent years.
Good to see you've been exploring the Netherlands outside the Randstad and heck, maybe you'll eventually venture into the southern regions as well!
Not for nothing but notice how many of those ground surfaces are covered by segmented pavement instead of asphalt. Great rain absorption
Your videos are directly responsible for my decision to bus to school rather than drive there. Which means you're also responsible for my frustration that the city of Tucson Arizona (with a population of over half a million people) has a bus route connecting residential areas to over 6 campuses on a single road, ranging from middle schools to universities, that has at least a half hour wait between busses even on weekdays.
No but fr Sneek is the reason why I want to move to the Netherlands. I live in Denmark, my bf is in Sneek. Every time I visit him, I'm less anxious, everything is so green and cute and you pretty much can do any kind of shopping or activity in a 30k population city, which is crazy. I love Frisian cities!
This totally makes me want to visit the Netherlands to see the infrastructure for myself. I’ve lived in America my entire life and what I see on your channel just seems so much better than where I live.
Also took a trip to the Netherlands inspired by your videos and got a similar experience biking around the countryside to some small cities. It was so pleasant that I even heard cows munching on grass biking on a path on Texel island. I lived in a small rural US college town with good urbanism (for the US) and wanted a direct comparison. It was also mind blowing to have so much activity, bike paths, pedestrianized city center, and even train stations in these small towns, like Dronten and Kampen.