Dutch Development Jobs

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Boereraat

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I'm seeing lots of advertising recently on Facebook and Youtube by a Dutch based software development company that seems to look for Afrikaans speaking South African devs.
Very peculiar angle and fairly aggressive advertising campaign this... is anyone here familiar with this company and the results local devs had there?

Their site: https://www.dutchdevelopmentjobs.co.za/
 
That is aggressive if a single company (not recruiter) registers a SA website just for recruiting

 
If you work there what is the tax like. Do you pay tax on overseas income like SA income or capital gains from SA?
 
Lord Farquart said:
Will post something a bit later. Walking the dog right now.
Click to expand...
Thanks would appreciate it to know which city you are in in the experience in that city. Also how you have enough space for a dog as I thought people over there don't have space for a garden. I visited there and the cramped spaces and the astronomical price of accommodation put me off. I don't think anyone can afford buying a place of their own there.
 
I've got a couple of dev friends who moved over the last two years, none are Afrikaans, not even second language. They are all enjoying the Netherlands.

Also having worked with Dutch people over the years all conversations have always been English.

Just a good marketing ploy to zoom in on Afrikaans devs to make them feel special.
 
cbrunsdonza said:
I've got a couple of dev friends who moved over the last two years, none are Afrikaans, not even second language. They are all enjoying the Netherlands.

Also having worked with Dutch people over the years all conversations have always been English.

Just a good marketing ploy to zoom in on Afrikaans devs to make them feel special.
Click to expand...
Sure, that true; if you're skilled developer you won't struggle to find employment in most countries; however I can appreciate why Afrikaans would be far more advantageous in the Netherlands or Belgium, because it's going to be far easier to pick up Dutch if you speak Afrikaans including being able to read the business documentation and specifications.

Plus one of the more difficult parts of being an expat is integrating into the environment and that's always more difficult if you don't speak the native language.
 
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cbrunsdonza said:
Just a good marketing ploy to zoom in on Afrikaans devs to make them feel special.
Click to expand...

If that little pearl make you sleep better, keep on believing it. Firsthand experience is slightly different. I will expand on that for the non-haters.;)
 
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[)roi(] said:
Sure, that true; if you're skilled developer you won't struggle to find employee in most countries; however I can appreciate why Afrikaans would be far more advantageous in the Netherlands or Belgium, because it's going to be far easier to pick up Dutch if you speak Afrikaans including being able to read the business documentation and specifications.

Plus one of the more difficult parts of being an expat is integrating into the environment and that's always more difficult if you don't speak the native language.
Click to expand...

Ploy or not I'd love to hear from someone who knows about this campaign, company and its real world results of recruited devs. I have a feeling there's more to it. Appreciate the feedback
 
OK, lets start with cbrunsdonza’s prejudice. He is not totally wrong. In the Netherlands, you can get away with not speaking Dutch in the workplace. This is more true in Randstad than outside of it.

Most Dutch people can speak English pretty well. Most universities teach in English. My kids even had to do the IELTS test for admission. But anything outside the workplace, and lower than university, will be in Dutch.

So, if you go to the shops etc, you will need Dutch. It is not always guaranteed that someone will help you in English.

Then there is the myth that Dutch will be easier for an Afrikaans person. Yes and no, but mostly no. Week 2 here, I did something similar to an IELTS test for Dutch. I scored a B2. Read and understand good, but write and speak almost nothing. I can read technical documents, and understand Dutch. But writing and speaking not so much.

The problem is Afrikaans have very few rules, unlike English, Dutch, Spanish etc. Ek is, jy is, hy is, ons is, hulle is. In Dutch it is Ik heb, jij hebt, julie hebben etc. Friggin difficult. So it is very easy to make simple grammatical mistakes. And the Dutch people shut down if you do.

And then there is the dialects. Some Dutch TV programs have Dutch subtitles, because the Dutch don’t even understand each other. I stay in the East where the people speak Twents. Sounds like a porn star having a conversation with you whilst giving a BJ. Some say Dutch is not a language, it is a throat disease.

Anyway, do not thing that Dutch is easy, or that you will get by with no Dutch. You will never integrate into society if you don’t put the effort in. Ask yourself, do you want to be sidelined for the rest of your life outside official business.

Having said that, the Dutch are awesome people if they see you are trying.
 
Finding employ and moving over? Well, there are quite a few ways to do this. To find out how, the IND website is the best source. If you have questions for them, communicate via Twitter. Forget any other form of comms.

I can only comment on the 30% ruling avenue, because that is how I got here. Basically companies do not pay for your move to the Netherlands. But the Netherlands have a massive skills shortage. To make it lucrative for you to move, government introduced some measures with criteria.

1.The skill you have have to be in short supply. Not qualifications, but skills.
2. The company you go work for, have to pay you €3200/m if you are under 30, or €4300/m if you are over 30. This is minimum under the 30% ruling, it can be more.
3. You then get the first 30% of your salary tax free. This is valid for 5 years.
4. You and your family can exchange their valid drivers license for a Dutch license.
5. No Inburgerings exams
6. Work and residence permits for the whole family
7. After 5 years you can become a citizen and get a passport.

There are some other benefits, but those are main ones. The company that contracts you can apply for this on your behalf.

As a tax paying citizen, there are lots if benefits. If you have kids, even more so.

Best place to find a job, I would say, is LinkedIn. Monsterboard is apparently also good, but people in the business recon Indeed sucks.

That is it in a nutshell. Fire away with questions.
 
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Sent you a PM, but it might benefit the rest. What is your monthly expenses? (If willing to share)

And are there any SA expat groups?
 
Boereraat said:
I'm seeing lots of advertising recently on Facebook and Youtube by a Dutch based software development company that seems to look for Afrikaans speaking South African devs.
Very peculiar angle and fairly aggressive advertising campaign this... is anyone here familiar with this company and the results local devs had there?

Their site: https://www.dutchdevelopmentjobs.co.za/
Click to expand...
Yes they’ve begun to spam me too.. read through it and said NO
 
I am going to answer @creeper 's PM here, as others will ask the same questions regarding cost of living.

1. Medical aid. You are required to have zorgverzekering from the day you arrive. They will backdate it to the day your passport was stamped. All systems are intelinked here, so you can not lie.
Medical aid for myself, my wife and two children that are over 18, amounts to €132/m. This is the equivalent of Discovery Classic Comprehensive. Children under 18 are absolutely free. And once you see the system in operation, you will pay that money with a smile.
Don't bother going to your GP when you have the flue. He will give you Panados. You have to be in the tunnel of light to get antibiotics.
Having said that, a colleague's wife got medication for accute arthritis that is not even available in SA. Been suffering with it for years, and alsmost cured in 4 days.

2. Accomodation is a bit tricky. You can pay anything from €650 to €1800 for an appartment or house, depending on where you stay. I pay €740, utilities excluded, but then I stay out in the country. Randstad(Amsterdam, Den Haag, Rotterdam, Amersfoort) is pretty expensive, so bank on minimum €1200.

3. Utilities.
Electricity and gas about €50pp, depending on the energy rating of your place. Randstad and some other cities also have stadsverwarming, which is a bit cheaper.
Internet, home phone and TV around €60 for uncapped(they don't do capped) internet and 90 TV channels(60HD). TV over ethernet.
Water is broken up into two. One as a tax and the other for supply. Tax comes in at €90/year and useage I still have to get my bill.
Municipal taxes around €500/year.
Dog license €30/year.
1996 Opel Corsa cost me €1250, €77/3months licensing/tax and €20/m insurance.

4. Schooling.
If you have kids, you pay €40/year for schools. fees Then they pay you €200/3months to keep them in school. Weird. The older the kids are, the more you receive back. Kids have to go to school on the day they turn 3. Before that, they go to kinderopvang(preschool) for a day or two a week. This is not free, as any other daycare. Before the age of 3, you pay an hourly rate.
I have a Type 1 visa, which means my kids are not eligible for EU rates at University, or free transport to university. I have to pay €7500/year per kid, starting in September. As an EU citizen, this cost is €2000 and free transport.
Universities, as I said before, are in English, except if you study Dutch language and other related subjects. "Technicons" and trade schools are all in Dutch.

5. Insurances.
Life insurance for 29 years(Weird) @ €250 000 costs me €60. Aanspreeklikheidsverzekering, which is a must, is €2,50. Full house content and building insurance, including glass and accidental breakage, will set you back €60, but that is only nescessary if you own a house. House content for e is €9.

6. Travel on public transport is awesome, but can be expensive. A trip from where I stay to Schiphol would cost €26 in peak, but €14 outside. But you have to pay €50/year for the discounted off-peak.
Bicycles is where it is at though. 20km for kids to travel to school, is considered the limit. Under that it is a given. And it is easyto do. The country is geared for bicycles.

7. Food is also all over the place. If you shop at the Woolies equivalent(Alber Hein), then have a big budget. If you shop at Aldi/Lidl/Dirk etc, you can half the cost. We checked our costs for March, and a family of 4 adults came in at €600. We are pretty sure we can do it for €400 or less.
Be prepared to eat a lot of chicken, pork and half-and-half mince. Those are the staples. Beef and lamb could be 5-10 times the price of chicken /kg.
We also pop over the border to Germany, and stock up on wine and meat there. Other things too, but the mear=t and wine is pretty cheap there. Chicken €1,60/kg and pork €2,50/kg. Locally those are double or more.

8. Expat groups are aplenty. Amersfoort have a nice general expat group, with awesome people from all over the world. The FB group "South Africans in the Netherlands" has a wealth of info, and is worth joining. But read through before asking questions. Most probably your question has been asked.
The Saffers here have regular outtings and meet-ups. Quite a few this weekend because we go to Den Haag to go vote. Last weekend was a braai weekend, and they also organize camping weekends, Rugby and Rugby 7s tours etc.

9. You can buy a house/property right off the bat, if your finances are sound. I signed the offer from the bank last night, so will be moving into my own place in September. They have two repayment models, Annuity and Linear. Annuity is the way we know it in SA, smae repayment amount over 30 years. Linear you pay the interest off in the first years, then it is only capital. So you start with a higher repayment amount, but at year 29 you pay almost nothing.
Interst is also weird. My loan is broken up into two. 50/50. The interest rate on half is at 1,79% fixed for 10 years, and 2,49% for 20 years on the other half. You can break it up into even more pieces with different fixed interest rates. You can not start of with a variable rate, the shortest fixed term is at 1 year, with an interest rate of 1,19%. but after the 1 year, you can renegotiate, or let it be variable.
 
Thanks LF. Darn. I was close to your area last week, maybe should’ve popped in if I knew you were in Ned
 
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