An Expat Talks about Living in Meerssen, Netherlands

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Meerssen

How long have you lived there?

7 years

What activities, clubs and organizations would you recommend to newcomers to help them meet others?

The International Women's Club has been a big help to me. There are a total of 5 in the Netherlands, but well over than 400 throughout the world. One of the advantages of the club is that it is not limited to just one country of origin. Our small club of 200 members has representatives from over 30 different countries!

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In terms of religious, racial, economic and cultural diversity, are the people of this city or town diverse? Are they accepting of differences? Describe.

It's not very diverse in Meerssen. It is small town of only 7,000 people, and I'd guess that at least half of its residents grew up here as well as their parents. The foreigners in Meerssen are French, English, American, Surinamese, African, Chinese, Kurdish, Greek, Turkish, to name a few. But this is a VERY small part of the population. In general, Meerssen is very welcoming of all sorts of people and are interested in learning as much about you as possible.

What are the main industries in this city? What types of career opportunities commonly exist? How do most people find new jobs?

Meerssen is a small town located to the north of Maastricth, a much larger city. It is home to a paper mill however, which employs about 200 locals. The town itself is home to many small shops, a large basilica and a variety of schools.

In general, what are peoples' priorities in this city? For example, do lives revolve around work, family, socializing, sports, etc.?

Family and socializing are very important in the Netherlands. People rarely talk about work; they are much more inclined to speak of their many and frequent travels all over the world. Sport is also extremely important (especially football). Where we live in Limburg, team handball is quite the rage.

If a friend of yours was thinking of moving to this city or town from far away, what other advice would you give them.

It is beautiful here. Very centrally located, yet still enough in the country to be peaceful and quiet. It is a popular vacation destination for many Dutch people from Amsterdam and surrounding areas (as well as Germans, French and English).