u/sengutta1

Immigrant here, I've only ever set foot in Flevoland to visit a friend in Oostvaarders and a couple of times at gas stations on my way north. I have also passed the province by train many times. It's an interesting place – if you think about it, it's one of the newest regions in the world to be settled.

So what I know is that the whole province apart from Urk and maybe a couple other islands is made of land reclaimed in the 1960s. The cities weren't really built until the 80s. And considering that Urkers have their own identity, I assume that almost anyone born in the rest of Flevoland like Almere, Lelystad, Emmeloord, or Dronten is at most middle-aged.

So has a proper local identity really formed in these places? Where did the white Dutch Flevolanders come from, and do they identify themselves culturally with whichever province their parents or grandparents came from? I also believe there is no local dialect. The Netherlands has many strong regional identities that are based on cultures developed over centuries, by people inhabiting and passing through the regions over the ages. But Flevoland seems unique.

Can someone familiar with it explain the identity and culture of Flevoland?

Hello all. EU NRI here (31 male) whose family is from Palakkad. But I have only lived there for 3.5 years as a teenager since parents mostly moved within India for their govt jobs. Parents are now retired and living near Kollengode, so I visit every year.

Fortunately, they are currently healthy and don't need any care, but in the next few years I may have to/want to live there temporarily (just a few months) to spend time with them. Most likely without a job.

So I am curious, what is a good cost of living estimate there nowadays? No rent to take into account. I mostly eat at home, no non veg and drink a little sometimes. I am into fitness so it would be nice to know what a good gym costs as well as how much it costs to get supplies (supplements etc). Any other expenses to take into account?

Thanks.

I'm currently forever feeling constrained. I have a decent buffer to cover 9 months of expenses, but realistically most of that money and what I'll save up in the next 2-3 years is expected to go to a home purchase. I now live in the EU, but the question is if I were to live in India.

My current goal is basically to have enough excess liquidity (savings, semi liquid investments) that I can execute most purchases without money as a constraint. Spend some money to take stress away without thinking about it. Like don't wait for flights/hotels to be cheaper if going on holiday, or buy a 1L phone if that's what I want instead of buying one for 70k to save. Eventually, would like to be able to take unpaid holiday for a few months, travel, and relax.

What kind of liquid wealth can provide this safety in India?

31M, Netherlands. I have 15k€+ in savings+stocks/ETFs tho I started saving from 0 only in 2023. But I'm saving more aggressively now (1100-1300 pm from a net monthly salary of 3350€).

I'm currently forever feeling constrained. Most of the money I'll save up in the next 2-3 years is expected to go to a home purchase, so the savings I have are not a real buffer.

My current goal is basically to have enough excess liquidity (savings, semi liquid investments) that I can execute most purchases of up to 2-3k euro without money as a constraint. Spend some money to take stress away without thinking about it, like hire someone to make a little repair, and take a taxi for convenience. Where to go on holiday isn't decided by the price, and a nice hotel doesn't need to be skipped due to the price. Eventually, would also like to be able to take unpaid holiday for a few months, travel, and relax.

What kind of liquid wealth can provide this freedom to choose in Europe?

Whenever the topic of racism and immigration comes up, there are always many Indians pointing out that "we Indians work hard and integrate" while pointing fingers at black people, Muslims, and other minorities. "We are not Cancer community" keeps getting thrown around by Indians in these discussions. Or that we are not criminals and murderers like black/Latino people.

Remember that apart from a few white people biased in favour of Indians, most racists want you gone just like they want Muslims or black people gone. Even the fact that you earn well and pay taxes does not matter, and in fact even adds to the hate because you're perceived as even more disconnected from average or poor white people. Moreover, there's now the assumption that you scammed your way in or got hired through nepotism.

Indians are max 1%, maybe 2% of the population in any western country. "We are better and more deserving immigrants" is the best way to isolate yourself from both white people and other non white immigrants and invite more danger from hate. It's time we realise the importance of standing with other immigrants and progressive white people instead of trying to prove to racist white people how we're better. They can't be convinced.

Hi all, living in the Netherlands since 2020 here and have permanent residence since Jan. I am eligible for citizenship, but I wanted peace of mind and thus chose the quicker PR process.

As far as I can see, the main benefits of NL citizenship are access to entire EU job market and visa free/easy visa access to most countries. You can also vote here and feel more integrated.

However, I currently don't have plans to move out of NL. I plan to live here for the foreseeable future, though of course the option to freely move to another (EU) country would be a bonus. I have no major travel plans to countries that impose complex visa requirements either. EU residence permit already gives you visa free or e-visa access to many countries in addition to what you already get on an Indian passport. At this point, it's mainly Anglophone countries (US, CA, Aus, UK) that impose complex visa requirements on me.

It costs about €1200 (not a huge amount but not minor) plus you need to go through the whole surrendering Indian passport+ OCI process.

Have I missed something, or is it sensible/worth it to keep my indian nationality now for the sake of avoiding bureaucracy and expense?