In what ways is Netherlands not such a "free" place?

Answer 1

our country has changed over the past years, we are still open minded and free in many ways, but i agree that a lot of times we dont'feel as free no more because of people from other countrys whom have different believes. my momma always tought me to adapt to where you are at, behave to their rules and such, so i think they should do so here, but that is a whole other discussion.

i don't feel as free as in the states when it comes to housing, we have to (when we want to rent a affordable place) be on some list and gather points in order to rent a place, in the states you have many apartment buildings where you can just rent one and move in, very nice, some are even furnished wich is cool or have their own laundry room to do your laundry at, really cool. sometimes i wish i was back in the states again hahahaha same goes with shopping hours, wow, there you can go and do your groceries at 3 am here you have to be lucky if you have a supermarket that stays open till 8 pm else you out of luck.

Answer 2

The Netherlands are a country with an open economy. A history of being merchants told the Dutch that it is rewarding to think liberal about other cultures. In the so called golden age of The Netherlands there were people who thought too liberal for France or Portugal. They came to Holland and gave a big contribution to free thinking. Like Spinoza. Trading with the Japanes also came from accepting the japanese culture.

The tradition of thinking liberal has stayed. Like the thinking about soft drugs like marihuana. Like the thinking about euthanasia.

But many people think it has gone too far. Not liberal thinking, but accepting radical islam is the problem they say. Therefore the rules on marrying a person from outside the EU are stricter now. Asylum seekers always had less chance of being accepted than in the neigbouring countries.

The Netherlands still has less people prisoned (per 1000) than the US. But it is no free place for all.

Free to build your own house, free to start a enterprise? No way. Not even free parking. In the economic sense New Zealand is more liberal. Or see Estonia or Ireland. Even the UK there is much more economic freedom.

There is a ranking of countries with economic freedom and individual freedom, see below. the Netherlands are on the 19th place

Answer 3

Netherlands is a member of the EU and NATO and is also bound by many other agreements and treaties, so, as a country, it's freedom is very limited.

The Dutch people are free to do whatever they want as long as it's not against Dutch or International law. For a long time the "right wing" felt very restricted in their freedom of speech however, but those days are history, as you can tell from other answers, and they now also feel very free to air their views...

Netherlands is famous for being a very liberal country and people here in general feel very free and unrestricted...

what sdormanmd says is not true by the way, you are and will be allowed to smoke tobacco and marijuanna/hashish in coffeeshops, they will however be required to have smokefree sections where the soft drugs are actually sold... Other restaurants, bars and hotels will be required to be smokefree by law soon though, and most of them are not very happy about that I think... Smoking is already banned from the rest of "the workplace", public buildings and public transportation.

Answer 4

It is not 'free' in a political sense.
Politicians have pulled a big con on us, and opened up this country to idiots, scary people, and good-for-nothing criminals.

Not only radical muslims, but also eastern-european groups that come on a crime vacation here.
The police seems more concerned with speeding and parking tickets, than with solving and preventing crime - giving the people in The Netherlands the idea they are just good to pay the government, and the government doesn`t care about them.

Educated and smart people are leaving this country in alarming numbers, only to be replaced by uneducated "refugees" from the Moroccan Riff mountains, or the turkish rural areas.

Slowly but surely this country is leaning to a leftist ideal of 'if you don`t want to work, you`ll get welfare and all is well' style, and that prospect worries a lot of people.

It is inevitable that some strain is showing with the dutch people, and that they are not as open to foreigners as they used to be.

Answer 5

In multiple ones! Dutch say they used to be open minds and a free society. The last 5-6 years I was here, however, this has never been the case. Most Dutch point this change to the Muslim minority. But a great number of Dutch are now negative towards any foreigner of any nationality living in their country. Dutch are neither tolerant not open anymore (not sure they ever were...just their myth?). This combined with their arrogance + ignorance is catastrophic. There is a "village" and "peasant" mentality all over the place. But how on earth one can be a free and open mind when he is so stingy with his money (like most Dutch) or eating all day long just cheese and bread? think it over..its simple and revealing...

The rest is sweet Dutch talking!

Answer 6

Ever since the unfathomably stupid leftists decided to let hordes of 3rd world muslims in. The Dutch are threatened with extinction, as the fast-breeding, unassimilating muslims take over large areas of the country, increasing the violent crime rate and threaten with death ( and murder outright) everyone who dares insult their precious "prophet". As a result, the native Dutch live in fear in their own country, and many have decided to immigrate to Australia and other far-away countries that, unlike the unfathomably stupid Europeans have taken a tough stance against the grave threat of Islam.

Answer 7

In the classic sense: you can buy marijuana in small coffee shops, you cannot smoke it there because of the smoking ban. You cant smoke it outside either. So you can legally buy something you cant use. at least until you get home.

Make mine Pom Fritt.