Well, I (obviously) never looked into it, but as far as I know, it’s compulsory to be insured in the Netherlands, and everyone (including expats) can (has to) join. Found this site, which explains it better than I can: The healthcare system in the Netherlands | Expatica
As for the weather: I don’t know what the weather is like in the Pacific North West :-), but it’s usually about 20 to 25 degrees in summer, temperatures over 30 are rare (last summer was exceptionally hot), with a fair amount of rain. In winters, it gets slightly below zero occasionally, but usually, it’s just gray, rainy, windy and about 5 degrees in winter.
I pretty much gave up on the notion of moving to any European country when I looked into a couple and discovered that they basically just make you donate half a million dollars or more to do it.
For all that Europeans sneer at the U.S. for our immigration policy, I’d say they certainly do not seem welcoming to Americans who want to permanently relocate and gain residency there. Unless you’re an American multi-millionaire/billionaire.
But perhaps I’m way off base and there are more reasonable ways. It’s only something I’ve looked at in passing for a few European countries.
I never thought that I’d meet another person from Zootown on QT3. I agree, though. It’s truly spectacular and has such quick access to even more amazing places.
I hate Kansas. And Nebraska. You couldn’t pay me enough to live there. It’s 400 miles of flat boredom and corn. They were only obstacles between me, and Colorado.
It also helps that when my friends and I did ski trips, I always seemed to be the one driving this blasted wasteland.
It’s infinitely better than Bellevue, WA for me, personally. But I don’t know if it would be for everyone else. I love having 4 seasons. I love that we get snow and it snows enough that the city is prepared for it, but not too much so we usually don’t get crippled by the snow. I love that I was able to go to see a Royals game, and get concession stand food for me and my wife and the whole evening cost us less than $40. I’ve got family in the area, there’s nice schools, great parks, a World War 1 memorial and museum, a world class symphony hall, and a bunch of other random things that I’m forgetting now.
So yeah, Kansas City is great. But I do wish some of the National parks were closer to us. When I lived in St. Louis, it always felt like I was a day’s drive from so many things. I suppose we’re not too far away from Denver, but the drive across the State of Kansas is the most boring drive known to mankind.
That was my impression as well. I interviewed there for residency many years ago and was impressed by what seemed like a livable city with good restaurants and a low cost of living.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Kansas City for work, and I found a place that managed to have both miserable summers and miserable winters. It got so cold one time that a bridge I used to get to the office broke. The goddamn bridge broke, and I had to take some crazy ass detour. Also Kansas City has the weirdest airport I’ve ever visited, with each gate having its own secured gate so if you want to get a bite to eat or visit the restroom you have to get a security check again to get back in.
Their solution was to put vendors and bathrooms inside the gates but it’s all really ridiculous. I still fly in there because it’s cheaper and I don’t really care about that stuff and this has the bonus of spreading out the gates to such a wide area that traffic is rarely a problem.
I too have traveled to Kansas City for work, and it seemed really nice. Still felt very midwest but less cold, lots of great food, and liberal enough to be fine. Especially in the surrounding suburbs.
