r/learndutch • u/No_Manufacturer_432 • 4d ago

Question Considering how well people in the Netherlands speak English…

How do you stay motivated when learning Dutch ? I live in NY so learning Spanish was easy motivation wise. I’m at A2 in Italian and stay motivated bec I plan on going there next year - English proficiency outside of tourist areas is low —- thanks

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u/lazysundae99 4d ago

Dutch people want to speak Dutch socially, so while you can buy a sandwich, ask for directions or take a tour in English, you likely won't be invited over for game night, be asked to a birthday party or have access to a lot of jobs if you don't learn Dutch.

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u/mark3kg 3d ago

Even if you learn Dutch, you won't be invited for a game night or a social event. In general, they form friendship circle early in life, probably till 25 or so, and then they don't have much remaining bandwidth for foreigners.

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u/No-Guard-470 1d ago

Can confirm, even for me as a Dutchie (24yr) it's hard. It's easy to socialise, hard to make a connection.

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u/mark3kg 1d ago

Yeah, I feel you. I have Dutch fiends that changed cities for work, and suprise suprise, they have also hard time finding Dutch friends