The Netherlands?

Kenny-g

Kenny-g

Caught the Bug
Anyone ever been stationed there? It's Volkel Air Base. Everyone in my shop says "put in for it!" since it's available (no guarantee I'd get it) but my Fiancée is doing her damndest to point out everything negative about it. Anyone who knows anything about it; could you tell me if they have the usual commodities of a normal base? She's finishing up her Social Work degree and wants to get a job but this would basically prevent her from being able to do that apparently. I've found they have a small Shoppette type place but that's basically it.

Any help is appreciated. Gracias

- Kenny-g
 
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My father worked in the oil field when I was kid and it afforded me the opportunity to live in Holland for 9 months. I lived in a tiny little town called Den Helder, an hour north of Amsterdam, right on the North Sea. I could walk out of our home and the dike/levee directly in front of us seperated the us from the sea, it was amazing. Because Holland is so small, lots of different countries and places to see are an hour or less away from you. Everyone there (I mean everyone) speaks English, they are exceptionally friendly too.

Decades later during my Army career, I had the opportunity to go back and train their Dutch Special Ops. I enjoyed it even more the month I was there. I have also conducted quite a few missions out of Kandahar, AFG years later with some of the same Dutch Forces and they remain some of my favorite foreigners I have trained and worked with.

Think of all the arm pits you could possible be stationed at (make sure you point that out to her :brows:)I mean this is the Netherlands! Its a beautiful country, tons of historical stuff to see, places to travel to.......To me it seems like a once in a life time opportunity you may never get again. I'm not sure how old you or the fiancé are, but let's say your max relocation time over there is three years, that time will fly by and as you get older it goes even quicker. At a minimum, you will appreciate the U.S.A. even more upon your return.

Good luck with your choices and your career! Thank you for your service :thumb:
 
Yeah we're young (22 & 23) so we would love to travel and stuff but she and now her mother keep pointing out that the base is so small and there's not really anything nearby so things like groceries and even currency exchange becomes a PITA. Did you say the people of Holland speak English well or is it the Dutch in the Netherlands who do?
 
Spent 45 days every six months there for 3 years....you must go...it's a fantastic exposure to some fantastic people...

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How is the base itself? From what I'm finding, theres practically no amenities that your normal base would have which I wouldn't mind but my Fiancee needs them to have a job (Med Group, Sexual Assault office, hell even a Child Development Center would suffice).
 
Kenny-g said:
...... Did you say the people of Holland speak English well or is it the Dutch in the Netherlands who do?
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Some clarification for you- "Although some people use Holland when they are referring to the country of the Netherlands, Holland is actually a region on the west coast of Netherlands. Two of Netherlands' 12 provinces are North Holland and South Holland - and together they constitute Holland. The biggest cities in the Netherlands - Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague - are in Holland. Some Dutch people who do not live in Holland do not like it when people call the entire country Holland."

Dutch - are the people who live in the Netherlands and it is also the native language spoken. But yes, almost everyone in this country speaks English as well as we do.
 
GCM 2 said:
Some clarification for you- "Although some people use Holland when they are referring to the country of the Netherlands, Holland is actually a region on the west coast of Netherlands. Two of Netherlands' 12 provinces are North Holland and South Holland - and together they constitute Holland. The biggest cities in the Netherlands - Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague - are in Holland. Some Dutch people who do not live in Holland do not like it when people call the entire country Holland."

Dutch - are the people who live in the Netherlands and it is also the native language spoken. But yes, almost everyone in this country speaks English as well as we do.
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Cool thanks for the clarification, I didn't realize that Holland was the same nation (whoopsie). That's good though so if I got it, I'd be able to communicate well.

As of now, my Fiancée is really pushing me to take it off my list because there will be no place for her to work and we're going to need that money to start paying back her student loans.
 
That would be an amazing experience and would not hurt the long-term resume either. I have been there, and would go in a heartbeat if I had even a halfway decent opportunity. Beautiful place, wonderful people, and they speak better English in general.
 
I lived in Holland for almost 5 years back when the air base was at Camp New Amsterdam. I would go back there in a heartbeat if I could. There is absolutely nothing I could complain about there. The country is also small so unless your fiance doesn't have a drivers license she shouldn't have any problems finding a job with a short commute. And yes everyone there speaks English, I run into more people in the US that don't speak English then I ever did there. They are also the most friendly group of people I've ever lived around.
 
She is in the home-stretch of finishing up her Bachelors in Social Work...so I/we imagine that it'd be difficult for her to get a job somewhere with an American degree in Social Work let alone the fact that most places here in the US require a Masters degree. If there is nowhere on base for her to work, it'd be very hard to get one elsewhere ... or so we imagine.

For now, I've taken it off my base of preference list (aka Dream Sheet). This may be the biggest mistake I'll ever make in my life. Well, besides enlisting in the first place.
 
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