Amsterdam, Netherlands, labor protection and cheap pot

Land of Secure Jobs and Affordable Drug Prices

Inside the Smoking Room

While I was considering a job offer from CMG, a British computer company with 4,000 Dutch employees, I wrote this letter to a friend to explain some of the nicer things about living in Holland.

Here are some of the benefits in the Netherlands:

  • The job I am being offered starts with 5 weeks vacation in addition to the 5-7 other days off for Dutch holidays
  • They still believe in lifetime employment, not that I would want it
  • Once you work somewhere for two months they can't fire you unless you really fuck up by stealing or killing someone. Most people then get fixed term contracts, like one year.
  • EVERY PERSON who works enjoys this protection, be they a deli clerk, gas station attendant, whatever little job you can think of
  • The job I am being offered in the computer business has no fixed term -- ie lifetime employment. I don't know if that will last forever, what with economic integration and stuff.
  • The women are all as tall as me, and they look better too.
  • They are not all yuppies -- they are very practical and realistic about life expectations, unlike the newly rich yuppies here in CA
  • The rest of Europe is right around the corner.
  • They really know how to move people efficiently (excepting recent train wreck in Germany)
  • I think cities built before cars existed are better cities
  • All the kids in Holland take 4 years of English, I can get by perfectly with English and patience, though it's better to learn Dutch. You'd be lonely if you lived here a long time and didn't speak like the locals.
  • This list could go on for a few pages.

Well, now that I've covered the important stuff, here are the other things I like about Holland:

  • Good coffee is 2/3 off!
  • They have real hash, also for $6-7/gram
  • You get to grow 5 plants at home
  • You buy it in semi-legitimate businesses (coffeeshops)
  • You can also go to smart shops and buy mushrooms, not me

I have spent some time in Holland checking out the scene. The only things I can find wrong with it is that there's the same problem with crime and gangs, just structured differently. Plus, the tax folks (bailiff) will come out and sell your property if you owe just a few bucks. It happened to a guy that I know over there, though I suspect he may have other tax problems.

Also, it is very expensive to operate a car, and traffic sucks around the cities I'd get a bike!

See ya Luther,

Your friend in Holland,

Jim