As a Dutch engineer that worked at ASML for ~6 years: yes the Netherlands really really lacks skilled engineers of all sorts. This is not at all about wages, since ASML is one of the highest paying companies here.
It’s more costly for a company to relocate these types of foreign workers than simply hiring locals (like me).
Now I’m not saying ASML isn’t in for money, it’s just that they need more people to keep up with demand of their machines.
Reminds me of a quote I find kinda comforting:
I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.
Mark Twain
In defense of the ~8 year old me, who had no clue how to play the game and just liked looking at the fancy cards, no one told me anything :) Also, that was around the time Urza’s Saga released so it really was wayyy less expensive at that time.
Man, if I knew then what I know now…
Magic the Gathering…
I feel like this is spot on, and also the basis of every religion ever.
Dutchie here; while this certainly happens, it’s not the norm at all. Everyone working full time in the Netherlands gets a minimum of 20 paid days off per year. Many companies increase this to 25-ish days, with some outliers going up to 40+. At my company, taking >2 weeks has to be requested far in advance and planned around. If my prolonged leave would cause the workplace to fall apart, it wouldn’t get approved.
That said, yea it’s definitely better here in Europe regarding vacations :)
THE RAINS HAVE CEASED AND WE ARE GRACED WITH ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY. BUT YOU ARE NOT HERE TO SEE IT.
Dutch here; while learning new languages is always a good thing, speaking Dutch is the least of your worries if you’d want to move here. Many expats don’t even try, since the majority of Dutchies is quite fluent in English.
If you’re serious, make sure you have job skills that are wanted over here so a company can sponsor you (and prove they cannot fulfill the vacancy). It’s basically how it works in the US too.
Or, if shit really hits the fan over there, you might be able to get a visa as a refugee :)
This is the primary reason for me too. Way easier and faster to get into tight parking lots back first!
The album Colours from Graffiti6 was so good, I’m still mad about the crap album they released after that (it was also their last)…
And to a lesser extend, Miike Snow’s first album was sooo good. Everything they’ve put out after that was mediocre at best.
Alt-J has also been going down hill ever since the first album. It’s still decent, but if I had to rate the albums from good to bad, it would be equal to the release order. Saw them live two years ago and it was meh as well.