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The author doesn't speak about just changing jobs, he is talking about picking up his whole live and physically moving. Moving 100km may seem like nothing to yo

The author doesn't speak about just changing jobs, he is talking about picking up his whole live and physically moving. Moving 100km may seem like nothing to you, but in the Netherlands, this means quite literally moving to the other end of the country, which is a lot in a country where most people aren't used to driving hundreds of kilometres daily or even weekly. The impact on one's lifestyle (family, friends, environment etc.) would probably be equivalent to moving to another state in the US.

mjn 13y ago
People aren't used to driving 100km, but taking the train that distance is quite common. I've never lived in the Netherlands, but from what I understand it's even more compact and better connected than Denmark, and in Denmark people travel that distance pretty regularly, especially if they have friends/family somewhere. If you moved from Copenhagen to Odense (160km) or vice versa, it'd be a change certainly, but not a real rupture like moving to another country would be.
- micheljansen 13y ago
  I've lived in the Netherlands for most of my life and you are right, it is quite compact and has decent public transportation, as long as you don't live in a big city or a town that is well connected to the rail network (which, should you wonder, a place like Exloërveen is not: https://www.google.com/maps?saddr=Amsterdam,+The+Netherlands&daddr=9574+Exlo%C3%ABrveen,+The+Netherlands&ie=UTF8&sll=52.58442999999999,5.949945099999994&sspn=1.1488143663454327,2.7111095007696595&t=m&dirflg=r&dg=opt&z=9&start=0&geocode=FSgbHwMdwLFKAClVd5qUtT_GRzGNr8C3TP0AZg%3BFdVTJwMdq2FpACkpyAo05dy3RzE9mLw-_OHE0Q https://www.google.com/maps?saddr=Amsterdam,+The+Netherlands...). My point was more that despite the fact that 100km is not far, even in The Netherlands, it is still perceived as being really far. To illustrate my point: I spent some time living in New Jersey, where despite it being one of most densely populated states in the US, people easily drive 50 miles or more after work to meet up with friends. Good luck getting Dutch people to do that regularly. Moving relatively large distances within the Netherlands will definitely uproot your life quite a bit, though admittedly not as much as moving to a different country (at least, having done both, that's my experience).

mjn 13y ago

People aren't used to driving 100km, but taking the train that distance is quite common. I've never lived in the Netherlands, but from what I understand it's even more compact and better connected than Denmark, and in Denmark people travel that distance pretty regularly, especially if they have friends/family somewhere. If you moved from Copenhagen to Odense (160km) or vice versa, it'd be a change certainly, but not a real rupture like moving to another country would be.

micheljansen 13y ago
I've lived in the Netherlands for most of my life and you are right, it is quite compact and has decent public transportation, as long as you don't live in a big city or a town that is well connected to the rail network (which, should you wonder, a place like Exloërveen is not: https://www.google.com/maps?saddr=Amsterdam,+The+Netherlands&daddr=9574+Exlo%C3%ABrveen,+The+Netherlands&ie=UTF8&sll=52.58442999999999,5.949945099999994&sspn=1.1488143663454327,2.7111095007696595&t=m&dirflg=r&dg=opt&z=9&start=0&geocode=FSgbHwMdwLFKAClVd5qUtT_GRzGNr8C3TP0AZg%3BFdVTJwMdq2FpACkpyAo05dy3RzE9mLw-_OHE0Q https://www.google.com/maps?saddr=Amsterdam,+The+Netherlands...). My point was more that despite the fact that 100km is not far, even in The Netherlands, it is still perceived as being really far. To illustrate my point: I spent some time living in New Jersey, where despite it being one of most densely populated states in the US, people easily drive 50 miles or more after work to meet up with friends. Good luck getting Dutch people to do that regularly. Moving relatively large distances within the Netherlands will definitely uproot your life quite a bit, though admittedly not as much as moving to a different country (at least, having done both, that's my experience).