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 bi

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).