In the summer of 2019, I was lucky that my German company offered me an expat position responsible for our internal accounting at our Tilburg automotive production plant. Since I had been abroad several times during my studies and for work before, I did not hesitate to accept this offer. I was keen on learning about our neighbouring country which I had only known until then for our close rivalry in soccer and for the constant flow of camper vans on our highways.

As to be expected, right from the start, every superficial stereotype was blown away and I really fell in love with the Dutch way of life, the people and the city. TIC had a significant share in this, providing a lot of helpful information in the beginning.

tíc President, Katie Schweitzer

I have been living in the Netherlands since Aug 2017. I am originally from the US. I was raised outside of Philadelphia, PA, but moved to Washington, DC for my bachelor’s degree and then worked there for 5 years before moving to the Netherlands.

I knew I had wanted to move to Europe at some point. I had been going to Ireland to visit family – my mother is Irish – since I was a kid. But a study abroad semester in Germany really left a lasting impression. Not only did I love the lifestyle, I loved being able to travel to so many different countries, and experience different cultures, with only a short plane or train ride. (more…)

Lily Gonzalez, Events Team

I grew up in the northern part of Mexico (Baja California). Since I was young, I was really interested in other cultures just by listening to people talking in their own language (even though I did not understand a word) or reading books where the story was somewhere in Europe. This gave me the idea that it would be nice to live somewhere outside Mexico, somewhere in Europe.

It was in August 2016 when my dream to live in Europe came true and I had the opportunity to do my Masters in Geo-Information Science at Wageningen University (NL). During my studies, I learned about other cultures, taste traditional dishes from those countries and I discovered more cities in the Netherlands. Moreover, I realized how easy it was to travel to other countries close by and “just like that” I felt in love with the country (although not with its weather but that is another story) and I have lived in the Netherlands since then!

(more…)