Herman van den Berg

Herman and his wife Louise have arrived in the Netherlands in February 2019. His first name and last name are typically Dutch. Actually, a lot of men in the Netherlands are named Herman. See here, one of the many similarities between South-Africa and the Netherlands 🙂

Herman, why did you emigrate to the Netherlands?
My wife and I moved to the Netherlands for our son’s future, whom was 6 months at the time, and potentially another child later. The Netherlands is a great country to raise children, good education and a safe environment to grow up in with lots of freedom. Financial stability is a bonus, as well as my parents and brother also live here, which makes it easier.

Can you tell us something how you do like the Netherlands?
We love living here. It is a safe country. Some differences we noted are that the houses have no burglar bars, safety gates, alarm systems and high walls. There are no car guards in the parking lots. Here are roads without potholes, clean tap water, uninterrupted electricity, cooler weather and bicycle lanes. We enjoy being able to ride bicycle around here.

Please tell us something about the projects you are currently working on
Friendly people who care. They are pro health, posture etc. E.g. adjustable height sit/stand desks, chairs that monitor your posture and notify you if you sit in a bad position. They promote daily walks and have fresh fruit and nuts available. We implement scrum with Azure DevOps.

How did the process of emigration go?
The process of immigrating was much faster and easier than expected. Fortunately, we were also able to bring our dogs with and that process also went very smooth.

Can you explain to the South Africans who are considering to go overseas how you did experience the support from us?
Attentive and thorough. It still is! They did a lot to help us move here and settle in. They assisted us in every step of the way with friendly and helpful advice and organising everything needed for our VISA and residence permit.