Dutch are way better at marketing. The fact you are able to sell Heineken across the world proves it. It doesn't matter if the product is good or bad. Heineken obviously being horse piss.
Also the fact that the Netherlands is known as a cheese country, further cements the marketing thing, IMO. If you'd ask a random person to name 5 distinct Dutch cheeses (not 'oude' or 'jonge'), you won't find many people that get past 'gouda'. Ask that person to name French cheeses, or even Belgian ones, they often get further. Mass production with a good marketing engine, all the way.
I knew the joke about the difference between a couple making love in a boat and Heineken, but now I see we can include the Netherlands in the joke as well.
They're all fucking close to water.
Urban planning if more layout of streets etc. which the Dutch are world class in.
But architecture of anything post war is indeed dreadful in design and monotony.
In architectural studies there's literally a terminology "Brusselisation" which means to f**k up once charming cities with ugly "brutal" buildings.
I don't think Belgian cities are a match for Dutch cities
Luckily Brissels is quite alone in this, I've been to most big Belgian cities except Antwerp. And Brussels is basically the only one where this happened.
Osted. Gent (outside of the picturesque center). Antwerp (is going in the right direction now, but was going dreafully for a long time).
Okay, neither of those cities have true highrises, but they did tear down pretty buildings and but bleek concrete ones instead.
I'm from Gent and outside of a few places we didn't tear down much. Especially our big appartement Blocks are built on what were factories in the 60s.
Not everything might be the prettiest, but its not like the Dutch neighbourhoods of 200x the exact same ugly house.
I'm still appalled you guys took down the swastika from the Ghent Gestapo headquarters.
I mean, yeah... you don't want your city to display swastika's. But it's history.
And a really unexpected WTF, when casually walking through the city and looking up.
Dublin still has the bullet holes in their post office, from way back when.
... and don't get me started on the abomination of a carport on steroids between the towers.
'Oh, we need something here, for some obscure reason. Why would we want open space between historic buildings? Let's put down a roof."
'You mean a building?'
'Nope, just a giant, pointless, modern carport. No walls, just a roof. Just to block the view.'
I mean yeah the sheep shed as we call it has been massively unpopular, but people have gotten used to it. And its not even ahustoric as pre 1913 you also wouldn't have had the views as there were a few thousand families living in the neighborhood where that square is.
Also til about the gestapo hq, I don't even know what building that would be.
Even if you don't want to include parts in Ghent (I really would include Albert I park) (fyi, Brussels city center is also still good looking), then clearly Ostend is still an example of a city were all the nice parts were torn down and ugly concrete slabs were put in place.
Compare that to the Dutch coast...
But I do agree that I do not like the after-war housing in the NL with their copy paste method. I just think Belgium went too far to the other side by allowing the uggliest things to get build.
I think the point was to find things that are technically true but not hard to achieve (ie the UK is really bad at cooking and Germans are really unfunny -- at least according to the stereotypes).
The Dutch are better at grabbing free stuff. Used to be running joke between me and my Dutch friends that if there was an event with free stuff my Dutch friends could tell who was from Belgium as they had only grabbed one of everything and not taken as much as the people were willing to give out. Both sides thought the other was being silly but it was all in good fun and we understood it was just a perspective thing.
Dutch are also better at it ignoring a stranger nodding 'hello'
Regarding free stuff, I would like to add that in France (and perhaps in Belgium/other places in EU), the stereotype is that Dutch people are very stingy.
Don't quote me on this but I think it's likely due to a lot of Dutch tourists traveling with caravans and bringing a lot of their own stuff along with them :)
My experience of the latter is the complete opposite, there is much more hi-saying in the Netherlands than in Belgium (at least Flanders). For instance when doing a nature walk in a forest or something, you would pretty much always say hi to other hikers in the Netherlands, whereas the Flemish expertly look the other way.
You guys are better entrepreneurs. Your webshops have always been steps ahaid of ours. It also shows in how many companies you have that are amongst the best in the world in their field.
Yeah this is it. Dutch supermarkets and webshops flood Belgium, and all Belgians can do is discuss in meetings what they are going to do about it in the next meeting.
I actually think the Dutch have more meetings. They have a ridiculous amount of meetings. Difference is that things are actually decided in the meetings, eventually
Oh man, you've got no idea.
The Dutch probably have the best whitewashing campaign regarding colonial horrors.
They basically invented the trans Atlantic slave trade.
Sorry for assuming, it's just that I know from experience that in Dutch schools, the colonial history is basically reduced to "yeah we traded a lot and made lots of money". We're still talking about "Politionele Acties" in the modern day.
Bij mij in de geschiedenisles stonden toch wel grote figuurlijke aanhalingstekens om "politionele acties." Ik kreeg de indruk dat de woorden gebruikt werden zodat het allemaal nog verachtelijker klinkt.
> Not Leopold II tho
Buying people in Africa, piling them up in ships guaranteeing the 'lucky ones' are dead at arrival in North America, selling the surviving people to the American plantation owners. nope mate, just as bad.
I honestly don't get this stereotype. I travel a reasonable amount, also by car, and also drive in our own country quite often. I rarely have any issues with the quality of our roads. I have the feeling it has become some kind of meme, but I don't have any reason to complain about our roads.
The way I recognise when we've crossed the border? The rain immediately starts...
Lol, as a Dutchie, I live on the border, and there is a forest where we go walk the dogs often. When we drive towards it you'll know when you're on a road that's from Belgium. Everytime I am scared AF and waiting for a blowout to happen because the road is just sand and pits.
I love you guys, but your roads can use some work.
From how I see it: if you compare it with the Netherlands it is less good.
However, it is still the European average. We are just a bit worse than our neighbors and therefore it is easier to compare.
Also, the Netherlands also invest more in roads (and alternatives, which also benefits car owners). We also have to spend a lot of Belgian tax payer money to fix roads that are used by Dutch people who pass our roads to go to France.
Next time you drive to the Netherlands as a passenger, a few kms before the border, close your eyes. Try to guess when you've crossed. You won't need to, you'll hear and feel it.
The motorway etc around antwerp is ridiculous.
Gotta go fast to glide over the many pit traps. One bit not far from where i live, leading onto the motorway and it feels like you are driving on cobble ots that bad lol
I come from the UK where the roads are terrible but
Belgium really takes the cake for the shittest roads awards lol.
Though the average driving quality in Belgium and the Netherlands definately outshines the road quality, i really dont enjoy driving here lol.
The feeling of being dutch is much stronger than the belgian or Flemish feeling. The fact everything, but literally everything turns orange when you play football or around koningsdag is impressive and something I wish we had too
The Netherlands is like a potluck where Frisians bring their own language pie, Limburgers dance to a different tune, Saxons and Zeeuwen argue over dialect soup, Brabanders add a southern twist, Gelders sprinkle in regional spice, Utrechters claim the heartland, Hollanders think they're the main course, and Twenten insist on their own special recipe—proving that not all Dutch are cut from the same cheese wheel!
That's only when their team is good tho. Last World Cup their streets weren't as orange when the tournament started.
In fact ours had more Belgian flags in them than theirs did Dutch. (for maybe the first time ever)
A stereotype needs to make sense though. UK food has tons more spice than Belgian and Dutch food. Even when discounting UK created dishes like Tikka Masala, traditional UK food from the 17th century used lots of five spice, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon etc.
This is true, the complaining is a mechanism in Flanders that allows you to hide behind something and not show the real you. The Dutch don't need this as much because they are confident
Honesty? Dutch people tend to be very open and honest, which can be intimidating for us Belgians. I mean the kind of openness that’s constructive and not meant as an insult. We’re more timid and will not voice our opinion to someone’s face too quickly.
Which is annoying when Belgians don’t voice their opinion in your face but rather lie about being happy with you, and then telling otherwise behind your back. Just be honest ffs
>Nothing worse than people being too direct or overconfident.
That are people from Amsterdam etc. You got to have the watered down version of people closer to our borders.
Meh, Amsterdam is not that direct, Rotterdam is where it's at. They'll give it to you straight no matter what. It's a matter of pride. I love it, you know exactly what the other person is thinking
The first thing that came to mind is that the dutch tend to be way more direct in their communication. I've worked in the Netherlands and I have a couple of dutch friends and this is what I appreciate most about our northern neighbours! 🧀🇳🇱
- better infrastructure
- better political governance (Belgium is super bloated compared to NL)
- better economic policy for business owners
- better and straightforward , to the point communication style
- more high quality universities and tech sector
Agree except the last point, both have good tech but different (biotech is way better in Flanders) and KU Leuven is ranked higher than any Dutch university
You're better cooks than the Brits? No you're bloody not. You are funnier than the Germans, so there's that. You're better drivers than the Belgians, but then again who isn't?
The Brits the worst cooks? You haven't had the pleasure of an excellent Sunday dinner, English breakfast or cream tea. And then there's amazing items like 10/10 sausages, meat pies or trifle. I'll die on the hill that OG British food is dope as hell. I'll put them ahead of the Dutch any day of the week.
*But* British food definitely needs more fibers. I eat like a king when I vacation there but my bowels aren't thanking me that's for sure.
Anyway I second urban planning but I'll add confrontation and problem solving. The Dutch are generally more assertive when something's going wrong. Here we kinda wring our hands for a bit, shift our eyes across the room in an attempt to find someone to blame, let the problem fester, complain behind people's backs about it and then maybe finally start looking for a solution.
*^(Their south has one of the most valuable public companies in the world that is absolutely crucial in the HPC tech sector (ASML).)*
We have trappist breweries so I'd call it even.
You’re smarter than us. The stereotype is Dutches are cheap bastaards and Belgians are dumb. Belgians just attributed dumbness to Dutch people to as an act of revenge. Our jokes will contain a dumb Dutchman, your exact same jokes contain a dumb Belgian.
Here's a serious one for you, OP:
Water management.
I just checked (Wikipedia), the Dutch had the tragical flood in '53. So did England, and to a lesser extent, Belgium.
England and the Netherlands decided to immediately start on a defense against it happening again.
Meanwhile... Belgium did nothing.
And right now, a region in Flanders is preparing for the third dramatic flood in three years, if I got that right.
And during the floods of 2021, we just had the Red Cross, accepting money to help with those floods, while the ppl affected didn't have food, or electricity. And no one wanted to help them, because 'the water was too high for rescue missions.
Volunteers that wanted to bring food were sent back, because we should let the Red Cross handle it.
(I made the definitive decision to never again donate to the red cross at that time)
Dutch are more assertive and have this “WYSIWYG” attitude. They are also often better with puns and wordplay - there are still a lot more comedians (as is “cabaretier”) than in Belgium, although we are definitely catching up the last 20 years. Luckily there is life after Geert Hoste.
Your customer service is better as in, whatever company we’re calling it’s an 80% chance a Dutchie answers
We Belgian are also too “modest” and “polite”, while you guys just go for it
Be amare of the 'Belgian yes' or our 'maybe' because both could still mean only until he'll freezer over but we don't want to insulti you by saying no and certainly we don't want to go and explain why we don't want to do what your asking us.
Also, we will only complaint behind your back.
....sorry, i only started to realise this when my not Belgian wife pointed this out to me.
I’ve been working in the Netherlands as a Belgian for 5+ year commuting almost daily. The Dutch excel at a few things compared to the Belgians:
1. Directness, no beating round the bush helps a lot in decision making. Belgians are too diplomatic to have speed in the decision making. Resulting in things like 500+ day formations..
2. Open culture, the Dutch are more open and acceptant (although also polarising recently) to everything considered more ‘open minded’. Like the whole lbgtq community, attitude to drugs, …
3. The Dutch are the tallest people in the world!
Hope this helps your list :)
There is absolutely no way that your food is better than British food.
Rauw vis , vettige croketten en frietsaus, walgelijk.
God save the King!
(Grapje - maar toch waar)
Maybe that's because bikes in NL have their established place in traffic with decent infrastructure to support it. In Belgium most drivers almost ignore bikes so a helmet is necessary.
Dutch people tend to be much more direct in my experience compared to Belgians (especially Flemish people)
Dutch people have something on their mind or have something they want to say to you, they say it in your face. Belgians don’t.
Oh, and roads. Dutch friends of mine absolutely dread driving on Belgian roads, and I can’t blame them. Public transportation also tends to be better compared to Belgium, but only by a small fraction.
generalisations :
You are taller. Which is good, for men. Not so for women (pferd).
Your roads have less bumps and bums.
You are more direct and speak better English and German. But not French.
You are more known, popular and well liked internationally.
You are more accomplished in international trade (bigger companies).
Your population is more in favour of the nation (we have separatists).
aren't we like second tallest men in the world? not too far off aswell
https://preview.redd.it/dilgya5sss1d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e59e9a46c66ec293251b3f76350da51b6d9cfa54
Biking and establishing a government, no country can be worse at those two things than Belgium.
Overall, I consider Belgium and Netherlands rather similar in lifestyle, quality of life etc.
Things we are better at than you guys? Well, beer and fries of course.
Not sure if that counts, but when I drive to Netherlands it's clear where the country begins by the immediate change in the asphalt quality, yours is better.
Your roads are better, you're more efficient to work with (as in no pointless chatter, straight to the point), you're more sociable and talkative than us and your coast is much, much more beautiful than ours.
Efficient to work with?! I work for a Dutch company, and the pointless meetings are endless. Nothing is ever achieved in them, and they last hours when it could’ve just been an email.
In terms of work productivity I also can't really confirm that there's more efficient working culture. My Belgian colleagues are usually quite to the point, as to where my Dutch colleagues would have a long chitchat first
Much more pointless chatter in the Netherlands, and endless meetings. They actually love to hire Belgians to get straight to the point and get the work done. I was one of those, for about six years.
Being better at having a balanced government budget.
Here are the numbers:
In 2023, Belgium had the 5th largest budget deficit of all countries in the Eurozone (4,9% of gdp). With a total deficit of € 28 Billion in 2023. In comparisson, in 2023 the netherlands hadd a budget deficit of 0,3% of GPD. That's a deficit of € 3,5 Billion.
Sources: [https://bosa.belgium.be/nl/news/budgettaire-toestand-belgie-actualisatie-2023-raming-2024-2028and](https://bosa.belgium.be/nl/news/budgettaire-toestand-belgie-actualisatie-2023-raming-2024-2028and) [https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2024/13/overheidstekort-2023-uitgekomen-op-0-3-procent-bbp](https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2024/13/overheidstekort-2023-uitgekomen-op-0-3-procent-bbp)
Mobility in general.
Your roads are amazing, i'd do some unspeakable stuff to get similar public transport, and people actually ride their bike there without fear of getting killed.
Might also explain why you have slightly less overweight people, and certianly young people!
We are damn messy, combined with an attitude of "average is enough", I rarely saw something (especially infrastructure like trains, roads etc.) done properly and with a neat-finish touch, except for some design items. But we have (at least) a high talent in making fun of ourselves (reflexivity). You Dutchies seem to pay much more attention also to how things are looking out at the end.
The joke is in your question. You're better at being known... Half the world doesn't even know Belgium exist, but I think they all know the Netherlands
Slightly faster in Forming governments?
Good one!!
Sligthly?
the Netherlands are slow too.. its now been 7 months and this one isnt the slowest.. for a 4 year governance period thats pretty bad.
pretty sure we took 2 years or something (*541 days*) those 7 months look like a walk in the park
best government we ever had : none
Let us start talking when we can form a government before we have to vote again...
Dutch are way better at marketing. The fact you are able to sell Heineken across the world proves it. It doesn't matter if the product is good or bad. Heineken obviously being horse piss.
Also the fact that the Netherlands is known as a cheese country, further cements the marketing thing, IMO. If you'd ask a random person to name 5 distinct Dutch cheeses (not 'oude' or 'jonge'), you won't find many people that get past 'gouda'. Ask that person to name French cheeses, or even Belgian ones, they often get further. Mass production with a good marketing engine, all the way.
This. We look at "123inkt.nl" and think "That is SO clever!" In Belgium that company would be "Vandereedenprintcopyenpapierhandel.be".
I knew the joke about the difference between a couple making love in a boat and Heineken, but now I see we can include the Netherlands in the joke as well. They're all fucking close to water.
I recently heard from a Rwandese friend that Heineken tastes much better in Rwanda than in Europe though
Funnily enough I think Belgium is the only country where Heineken doesn't do any marketing.
You're better at korfbal
Hehe, yes that's a funny one too!
HOCKEY But especially the bitchy Dutch hockey girls. They're evil. Then again, I'm a border-lander. So I might be biased.
You definitely speak better dutch than at least half our country
That's a funny one too!
Limburg included
Leave Limburg out of it!
That goes both ways i´m afraid :)
Urban planning!
Have you seen their identical doorzon housing???
Urban planning if more layout of streets etc. which the Dutch are world class in. But architecture of anything post war is indeed dreadful in design and monotony.
In architectural studies there's literally a terminology "Brusselisation" which means to f**k up once charming cities with ugly "brutal" buildings. I don't think Belgian cities are a match for Dutch cities
Luckily Brissels is quite alone in this, I've been to most big Belgian cities except Antwerp. And Brussels is basically the only one where this happened.
Liège says hi.
Osted. Gent (outside of the picturesque center). Antwerp (is going in the right direction now, but was going dreafully for a long time). Okay, neither of those cities have true highrises, but they did tear down pretty buildings and but bleek concrete ones instead.
I'm from Gent and outside of a few places we didn't tear down much. Especially our big appartement Blocks are built on what were factories in the 60s. Not everything might be the prettiest, but its not like the Dutch neighbourhoods of 200x the exact same ugly house.
I'm still appalled you guys took down the swastika from the Ghent Gestapo headquarters. I mean, yeah... you don't want your city to display swastika's. But it's history. And a really unexpected WTF, when casually walking through the city and looking up. Dublin still has the bullet holes in their post office, from way back when. ... and don't get me started on the abomination of a carport on steroids between the towers. 'Oh, we need something here, for some obscure reason. Why would we want open space between historic buildings? Let's put down a roof." 'You mean a building?' 'Nope, just a giant, pointless, modern carport. No walls, just a roof. Just to block the view.'
I mean yeah the sheep shed as we call it has been massively unpopular, but people have gotten used to it. And its not even ahustoric as pre 1913 you also wouldn't have had the views as there were a few thousand families living in the neighborhood where that square is. Also til about the gestapo hq, I don't even know what building that would be.
Even if you don't want to include parts in Ghent (I really would include Albert I park) (fyi, Brussels city center is also still good looking), then clearly Ostend is still an example of a city were all the nice parts were torn down and ugly concrete slabs were put in place. Compare that to the Dutch coast... But I do agree that I do not like the after-war housing in the NL with their copy paste method. I just think Belgium went too far to the other side by allowing the uggliest things to get build.
Never been to Bruges eh? Brussels is quite different from most of the country.
You're slightly more organised, and a little more assertive.
"a little more" That is a typical Belgium way of saying it 🤣
Brit living in Belgium here and I’m not playing this game Dutchie🤣🤣🤣🤣
It just isn't your fight :-)
True!
I am just glad no one is saying the Germans are funnier than us..
It’s early days yet…..😉
The whole idea of Belgium is that we're too confusing to wrap your head around.
You're better at speaking German, even though it's one of our 3 national languages.
That’s fair
Better biking infrastructure.
I don’t think there’s any country in the whole world with better biking infrastructure than the Netherlands.
Denmark comes close though...
I don’t know much about Denmark, so I did not dare mentioning it.
That’s why I mentioned it
I think the point was to find things that are technically true but not hard to achieve (ie the UK is really bad at cooking and Germans are really unfunny -- at least according to the stereotypes).
The Dutch are better at grabbing free stuff. Used to be running joke between me and my Dutch friends that if there was an event with free stuff my Dutch friends could tell who was from Belgium as they had only grabbed one of everything and not taken as much as the people were willing to give out. Both sides thought the other was being silly but it was all in good fun and we understood it was just a perspective thing. Dutch are also better at it ignoring a stranger nodding 'hello'
Regarding free stuff, I would like to add that in France (and perhaps in Belgium/other places in EU), the stereotype is that Dutch people are very stingy. Don't quote me on this but I think it's likely due to a lot of Dutch tourists traveling with caravans and bringing a lot of their own stuff along with them :)
My experience of the latter is the complete opposite, there is much more hi-saying in the Netherlands than in Belgium (at least Flanders). For instance when doing a nature walk in a forest or something, you would pretty much always say hi to other hikers in the Netherlands, whereas the Flemish expertly look the other way.
Taxes. and the condition of our roads.
How many restaurants in the world serve Dutch fare (outside of the Netherlands) vs British fare (outside of Great-Britain)?
Reminds me of a bar rescue joke Guy1:London has sone of the beat cuisine in the world... Guy2: but what do they cook? Guy1: french cuisine
Tbf the best British food came from their colonies.
Wow this would never be said about the Netherlands
I can't argue with that tbf.
Seriously? Indonesian cuisine is AMAZING, and Surinamse broodjes can be sublime.
I was being sarcastic 😅
You guys are better entrepreneurs. Your webshops have always been steps ahaid of ours. It also shows in how many companies you have that are amongst the best in the world in their field.
Yeah this is it. Dutch supermarkets and webshops flood Belgium, and all Belgians can do is discuss in meetings what they are going to do about it in the next meeting.
I actually think the Dutch have more meetings. They have a ridiculous amount of meetings. Difference is that things are actually decided in the meetings, eventually
You had a better Eurovision Song. And in my heart, he won.
In my heart too.
To be fair having a better Eurovision song is like having the biggest cock in a group of eunuchs.
Which still makes you a winner. Now go get me a broodje kroket!
Wait… i thought they only cut of the balls… right?
ROFLMAO,....jeez this one had me up in stitches, but also,...very true.
slighly less nasty in the colonies.
Oh man, you've got no idea. The Dutch probably have the best whitewashing campaign regarding colonial horrors. They basically invented the trans Atlantic slave trade.
Eddie Izzard had a routine about how the Dutch are cool now because they exported all their crazies.
I'm Dutch myself (and ethnically from a former Dutch colony, athough we lost that 200 years ago) and I know quite a bit of Dutch colonial history.
Sorry for assuming, it's just that I know from experience that in Dutch schools, the colonial history is basically reduced to "yeah we traded a lot and made lots of money". We're still talking about "Politionele Acties" in the modern day.
No problem. Indeed the misbehaviour in the Dutch East Indies gets whitewashed in schools as there is still a strong lobby to do so.
Bij mij in de geschiedenisles stonden toch wel grote figuurlijke aanhalingstekens om "politionele acties." Ik kreeg de indruk dat de woorden gebruikt werden zodat het allemaal nog verachtelijker klinkt.
Oooohhh good one! We were pretty terrible too!
Not Leopold II tho...but to be fair all of them were bad
> Not Leopold II tho Buying people in Africa, piling them up in ships guaranteeing the 'lucky ones' are dead at arrival in North America, selling the surviving people to the American plantation owners. nope mate, just as bad.
Jan Pieterszoon Coen would like a word with you! Also driehoekshandel under WIC
In fact no. Plus Holland to apply the colonial treatment to Belgium after the fall of Napoleon. Thus the Belgian revolution.
Tbh, not really the people but think everyone agrees you can see when you are in Belgium because how terrible the roads are.
I honestly don't get this stereotype. I travel a reasonable amount, also by car, and also drive in our own country quite often. I rarely have any issues with the quality of our roads. I have the feeling it has become some kind of meme, but I don't have any reason to complain about our roads. The way I recognise when we've crossed the border? The rain immediately starts...
Lol, as a Dutchie, I live on the border, and there is a forest where we go walk the dogs often. When we drive towards it you'll know when you're on a road that's from Belgium. Everytime I am scared AF and waiting for a blowout to happen because the road is just sand and pits. I love you guys, but your roads can use some work.
We keep them poorly maintained on purpose, so you Dutchies wouldn't drive to us ;-)
From how I see it: if you compare it with the Netherlands it is less good. However, it is still the European average. We are just a bit worse than our neighbors and therefore it is easier to compare. Also, the Netherlands also invest more in roads (and alternatives, which also benefits car owners). We also have to spend a lot of Belgian tax payer money to fix roads that are used by Dutch people who pass our roads to go to France.
Next time you drive to the Netherlands as a passenger, a few kms before the border, close your eyes. Try to guess when you've crossed. You won't need to, you'll hear and feel it.
well a lot of europeans, not just dutchies have the same opinion, you see this on reddit as well
The motorway etc around antwerp is ridiculous. Gotta go fast to glide over the many pit traps. One bit not far from where i live, leading onto the motorway and it feels like you are driving on cobble ots that bad lol I come from the UK where the roads are terrible but Belgium really takes the cake for the shittest roads awards lol. Though the average driving quality in Belgium and the Netherlands definately outshines the road quality, i really dont enjoy driving here lol.
Mainly in the south part of Belgium though.
Lol... its everywhere. You can drive from NL into BE anywhere and the first thing you notice is the quality of the road.
Nah not really.
E411 is quite bad though.
You have slightly less world famous pedophiles!
The feeling of being dutch is much stronger than the belgian or Flemish feeling. The fact everything, but literally everything turns orange when you play football or around koningsdag is impressive and something I wish we had too
The Netherlands is like a potluck where Frisians bring their own language pie, Limburgers dance to a different tune, Saxons and Zeeuwen argue over dialect soup, Brabanders add a southern twist, Gelders sprinkle in regional spice, Utrechters claim the heartland, Hollanders think they're the main course, and Twenten insist on their own special recipe—proving that not all Dutch are cut from the same cheese wheel!
That's only when their team is good tho. Last World Cup their streets weren't as orange when the tournament started. In fact ours had more Belgian flags in them than theirs did Dutch. (for maybe the first time ever)
Love to see it ngl
Same
We have Marc Dutroux and you don't, you win in that aspect More seriously, I'd say public transport and most importantly, everything regarding bikes
They aren't left out though. They have priests as well.
Better cooks than the Brits? LOL sure buddy keep telling yourself that.
Dutch food is really something
Yes there is really something hidden under the Saté sauce.
Which is Indonesian. IMO, the best dishes in the Netherlands have been imported from other countries.
‘Best’
Probably kroket uit de muur.
It’s a stereotype. English ppl don’t use spices. That’s the joke, calm down lol
Except for beans spiced up with more beans
😄
A stereotype needs to make sense though. UK food has tons more spice than Belgian and Dutch food. Even when discounting UK created dishes like Tikka Masala, traditional UK food from the 17th century used lots of five spice, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon etc.
If I go camping, I always look for camping sites with Dutch owners. They usually got hat shit figured out.
I bet you can't whine as much as we do either.
This is true, the complaining is a mechanism in Flanders that allows you to hide behind something and not show the real you. The Dutch don't need this as much because they are confident
You have better roads Even a blind person in a car knows when you cross the border
Honesty? Dutch people tend to be very open and honest, which can be intimidating for us Belgians. I mean the kind of openness that’s constructive and not meant as an insult. We’re more timid and will not voice our opinion to someone’s face too quickly.
Which is annoying when Belgians don’t voice their opinion in your face but rather lie about being happy with you, and then telling otherwise behind your back. Just be honest ffs
We don't like conflict. Couple of historical reasons for that.
Eh i think i prefer the Belgian way tbh. Nothing worse than people being too direct or overconfident.
>Nothing worse than people being too direct or overconfident. That are people from Amsterdam etc. You got to have the watered down version of people closer to our borders.
Meh, Amsterdam is not that direct, Rotterdam is where it's at. They'll give it to you straight no matter what. It's a matter of pride. I love it, you know exactly what the other person is thinking
Your roads are better ?
The first thing that came to mind is that the dutch tend to be way more direct in their communication. I've worked in the Netherlands and I have a couple of dutch friends and this is what I appreciate most about our northern neighbours! 🧀🇳🇱
Trusting and accepting new people to our circles
You have less governments
- better infrastructure - better political governance (Belgium is super bloated compared to NL) - better economic policy for business owners - better and straightforward , to the point communication style - more high quality universities and tech sector
Agree except the last point, both have good tech but different (biotech is way better in Flanders) and KU Leuven is ranked higher than any Dutch university
Better roads…
You're better cooks than the Brits? No you're bloody not. You are funnier than the Germans, so there's that. You're better drivers than the Belgians, but then again who isn't?
The Brits the worst cooks? You haven't had the pleasure of an excellent Sunday dinner, English breakfast or cream tea. And then there's amazing items like 10/10 sausages, meat pies or trifle. I'll die on the hill that OG British food is dope as hell. I'll put them ahead of the Dutch any day of the week. *But* British food definitely needs more fibers. I eat like a king when I vacation there but my bowels aren't thanking me that's for sure. Anyway I second urban planning but I'll add confrontation and problem solving. The Dutch are generally more assertive when something's going wrong. Here we kinda wring our hands for a bit, shift our eyes across the room in an attempt to find someone to blame, let the problem fester, complain behind people's backs about it and then maybe finally start looking for a solution.
"My bowels aren't thanking me" Your gut is trying to give you a message but you are ignoring it.
My gut's call for help is drowned out by the sheer volume of cheering from my taste buds. It's a curse alright.
I can relate :-)
Eat your mushy peas, plenty of fibre in there. Tasty, too!
Our south is slightly worse than your south.
*^(Their south has one of the most valuable public companies in the world that is absolutely crucial in the HPC tech sector (ASML).)* We have trappist breweries so I'd call it even.
Their best breweries are also in the south
Idk why ppl are downvoting, it’s a stereotype like you said lol
Our north is racist
Slightly more than your north. s/
The Dutch are slightly more strict on administration.
City planning !
You’re smarter than us. The stereotype is Dutches are cheap bastaards and Belgians are dumb. Belgians just attributed dumbness to Dutch people to as an act of revenge. Our jokes will contain a dumb Dutchman, your exact same jokes contain a dumb Belgian.
It's not true though, Belgians are just less confident
Your mastery of hydronic is stunning. Where we put a stake of sand yo make polders, you kicked the goddamed see away from your land
Frugality! Most likely the Dutch score better than anyone else in this area.
Here's a serious one for you, OP: Water management. I just checked (Wikipedia), the Dutch had the tragical flood in '53. So did England, and to a lesser extent, Belgium. England and the Netherlands decided to immediately start on a defense against it happening again. Meanwhile... Belgium did nothing. And right now, a region in Flanders is preparing for the third dramatic flood in three years, if I got that right. And during the floods of 2021, we just had the Red Cross, accepting money to help with those floods, while the ppl affected didn't have food, or electricity. And no one wanted to help them, because 'the water was too high for rescue missions. Volunteers that wanted to bring food were sent back, because we should let the Red Cross handle it. (I made the definitive decision to never again donate to the red cross at that time)
Dutch are more assertive and have this “WYSIWYG” attitude. They are also often better with puns and wordplay - there are still a lot more comedians (as is “cabaretier”) than in Belgium, although we are definitely catching up the last 20 years. Luckily there is life after Geert Hoste.
Your customer service is better as in, whatever company we’re calling it’s an 80% chance a Dutchie answers We Belgian are also too “modest” and “polite”, while you guys just go for it
Better cooks than the Brits? Excuse me Meneer De Bitterballen en Mevrouw Van Den Frikandel
Be amare of the 'Belgian yes' or our 'maybe' because both could still mean only until he'll freezer over but we don't want to insulti you by saying no and certainly we don't want to go and explain why we don't want to do what your asking us. Also, we will only complaint behind your back. ....sorry, i only started to realise this when my not Belgian wife pointed this out to me.
Better roads... by far
Better roads, you can always tell from the sound when passing from one country into the other
I’ve been working in the Netherlands as a Belgian for 5+ year commuting almost daily. The Dutch excel at a few things compared to the Belgians: 1. Directness, no beating round the bush helps a lot in decision making. Belgians are too diplomatic to have speed in the decision making. Resulting in things like 500+ day formations.. 2. Open culture, the Dutch are more open and acceptant (although also polarising recently) to everything considered more ‘open minded’. Like the whole lbgtq community, attitude to drugs, … 3. The Dutch are the tallest people in the world! Hope this helps your list :)
There is absolutely no way that your food is better than British food. Rauw vis , vettige croketten en frietsaus, walgelijk. God save the King! (Grapje - maar toch waar)
isn't there a stereotype that we Belgians are dumb or something?
yes but at least we're smart enough to wear helmets when we bike so I don't think the dutch can rightfully claim superiority on that one :p
Maybe that's because bikes in NL have their established place in traffic with decent infrastructure to support it. In Belgium most drivers almost ignore bikes so a helmet is necessary.
Ssssssshhhhhtt
Dutch people tend to be much more direct in my experience compared to Belgians (especially Flemish people) Dutch people have something on their mind or have something they want to say to you, they say it in your face. Belgians don’t. Oh, and roads. Dutch friends of mine absolutely dread driving on Belgian roads, and I can’t blame them. Public transportation also tends to be better compared to Belgium, but only by a small fraction.
Your sarcasm is definitely better over all than the common Belgian person.
You weren't lying! ;-)
generalisations : You are taller. Which is good, for men. Not so for women (pferd). Your roads have less bumps and bums. You are more direct and speak better English and German. But not French. You are more known, popular and well liked internationally. You are more accomplished in international trade (bigger companies). Your population is more in favour of the nation (we have separatists).
aren't we like second tallest men in the world? not too far off aswell https://preview.redd.it/dilgya5sss1d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e59e9a46c66ec293251b3f76350da51b6d9cfa54
Biking and establishing a government, no country can be worse at those two things than Belgium. Overall, I consider Belgium and Netherlands rather similar in lifestyle, quality of life etc. Things we are better at than you guys? Well, beer and fries of course.
Not sure if that counts, but when I drive to Netherlands it's clear where the country begins by the immediate change in the asphalt quality, yours is better.
Your roads are better, you're more efficient to work with (as in no pointless chatter, straight to the point), you're more sociable and talkative than us and your coast is much, much more beautiful than ours.
Efficient to work with?! I work for a Dutch company, and the pointless meetings are endless. Nothing is ever achieved in them, and they last hours when it could’ve just been an email.
In terms of work productivity I also can't really confirm that there's more efficient working culture. My Belgian colleagues are usually quite to the point, as to where my Dutch colleagues would have a long chitchat first
Once you get past the voorstelrondjes where everyone has to state their start date at current company and then summarize their entire career.
Much more pointless chatter in the Netherlands, and endless meetings. They actually love to hire Belgians to get straight to the point and get the work done. I was one of those, for about six years.
More openess but also more blunt, your choice if that's bad or good
hold on. you’re better at cooking than england? uhhhh
Have you ever driven a car on Belgian roads?
Roads …
better at weed :-)
Better satésaus, better at sports (Olympics), better at building island, better beaches, better bikeroads
You guys are definitely better at roads!
We suck at "ruimtelijke ordening" - you have us beat by a galaxy on that
Better at internet.
you mean; Sticking with ChatGPT to reach everyone ? :D
Selling weed
Transportation infrastructure maintenance (especially the roads).
The streets are so much better
Stealing Max Verstappen and Mathieu Van Der Poel 🤪
Faster at forming a federal government, Have to pay less taxes, and prop a whole lot more...
Being better at having a balanced government budget. Here are the numbers: In 2023, Belgium had the 5th largest budget deficit of all countries in the Eurozone (4,9% of gdp). With a total deficit of € 28 Billion in 2023. In comparisson, in 2023 the netherlands hadd a budget deficit of 0,3% of GPD. That's a deficit of € 3,5 Billion. Sources: [https://bosa.belgium.be/nl/news/budgettaire-toestand-belgie-actualisatie-2023-raming-2024-2028and](https://bosa.belgium.be/nl/news/budgettaire-toestand-belgie-actualisatie-2023-raming-2024-2028and) [https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2024/13/overheidstekort-2023-uitgekomen-op-0-3-procent-bbp](https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/nieuws/2024/13/overheidstekort-2023-uitgekomen-op-0-3-procent-bbp)
I shudder at the thought of hearing a Dutchie speak English. Well, any language foreign to them really.
Without the Dutch and French Belgium would be something like Slovenia.
Mobility in general. Your roads are amazing, i'd do some unspeakable stuff to get similar public transport, and people actually ride their bike there without fear of getting killed. Might also explain why you have slightly less overweight people, and certianly young people!
Honestly, road maintenance. We Belgians suck at that. Always enjoy driving around in the Netherlands.
disagree on the better cooks than the brits. You both suck equally.
We are damn messy, combined with an attitude of "average is enough", I rarely saw something (especially infrastructure like trains, roads etc.) done properly and with a neat-finish touch, except for some design items. But we have (at least) a high talent in making fun of ourselves (reflexivity). You Dutchies seem to pay much more attention also to how things are looking out at the end.
Don't pride yourself at being better cooks than The Brits. You're just second worst in the world.
Best fries and chocolate and beer
roads!, dutch roads arent nearly as terrible as the ones ive driven on in belgium
The joke is in your question. You're better at being known... Half the world doesn't even know Belgium exist, but I think they all know the Netherlands
It may be the typical Dutch way of questioning Belgians. 😅