The Expat Chat

How I Moved Countries and Started Two Online Businesses

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Well they say love can make you do things you don’t expect. For Andrea Gomez the prospect of moving from her home in Colombia to the Netherlands was not something she had expected growing up in Bogota!

Andrea moved to be with her Dutch boyfriend around 8 months ago - to a small village near the border with Germany, and is slowly getting used to European life including climate changes that she never had to deal with before.

In today’ s interview Andrea talks about what she loves about the Dutch way of life and the process she went through to gain her residency. She also discussed how she was able to start not one but two online businesses with no previous experience.

 

What I learned from speaking with Andrea:

  1. If you are looking to become a Dutch resident brush up on your language skills. This is a requirement for initial residency and then again, with more advanced skills, when seeking a longer term residency. Andrea initially had to travel in and out of Holland for 90 day periods at a time until her initial paperwork was passed.
  2. What hidden talents have you not exploited? Andrea knew she had some talent as an artist but it took the expat experience to bring it out of her – and develop a surprising little business that probably wouldn’t have started had she stayed in Colombia.
  3. Shifting is a wonderful time to break out of your old mental barriers – many of which are self-imposed. No one knows you and no one cares. It’s a liberating time to explore things about yourself you may never have discovered.
  4. Cycling is the way to go in Holland. The flat countryside lends itself to it and bikes take priority over all other modes of transport meaning accidents are relatively rare.
    5. ...more
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    The Expat ChatBy Tony Argyle
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