Youth in the Netherlands:

Excellent Place to Be Young

Every student gets a scholarship. If you need more money than that, you can get a loan with a low interest. For some people this means that after graduation they have a pretty big debt, but the rules for paying back are pretty compliant. As for work, your opportunities depend largely of what you want and can do


By CELINE te BRAAKE
from Groningen, NETHERLANDS


One could be a lot worse off than being young in the Netherlands. Of course, there's always something to complain about, but generally speaking, if you're going to be young, the Netherlands are an excellent place to do it in.

It starts with education: no matter how much money you or your parents have, everybody who is smart enough (but you don't have to be brilliant!) can go to college or university. Every student gets a scholarship. If you need more money than that, you can get a loan with a low interest. For some people this means that after graduation they have a pretty big debt, but the rules for paying back are pretty compliant. The bigger you pay check after graduation, the more you have to pay back and vice versa. If your debt still exists after 15 years it's almost always acquitted.

As for work, your opportunities depend largely of what you want and can do. Lots of young people who quit school before they have a diploma have trouble finding a job. The government is trying to get this group to work, by arranging internships and guidance if needed. Unfortunately some high educated people remain unemployed for quite some time. It should be no surprise that people with an education in law, economics and business usually don't belong to this group.

Luckily not all of life consists of school and work. To grant the mind some rest, young people can resort to a number of organizations. Sports are probably the most popular way to set you mind at ease. Of course football is played most, but in most cities one can practice almost any sport.

At night there's also enough to do, that means, if you live in the city. In small villages everything is a little more boring, but I guess this is a universal problem. In the Netherlands you can order your own beer from age 16. Liquor is reserved for people of 18 years old and older. In practice most kids have been drunk quite some time before their 16th birthday. It's not unheard of that this happens in the company of parents. To some (Americans!) this sounds like madness, but it has a big advantage: kids can try drinking in a safe environment and, since they have had many opportunities to get drunk before their first driving lesson, they know that being drunk is no state to be driving in. Not that we don't have many car accidents with young and drunk drivers, sad to say.

Of course many young people are convinced that the Dutch government doesn't pay them enough attention and that they deserve more than they get. Well, I think that no matter what the government does, complaints will remain, like probably all over the world. The Dutch are just lucky enough to be free enough to say it, but that doesn't mean they're right.