Expats
When an expat comes to work in the Netherlands, he or she may be able to get along just fine speaking only English. Many companies use English, and you can get by in shops, cafés and even at the doctor’s, up to a point. But if you don’t speak any Dutch at all, you will always remain an expat: not understanding the coffee-time chats with colleagues, feeling uncomfortable communicating with neighbours and friends - and it can also make getting a promotion difficult.
Investing in the language will start to pay off from the start: an expat who speaks Dutch feels more at home in the Netherlands than an expat who doesn’t.