This article is part of Letters home for Christmas, an Irish Times series exploring views about Ireland among young emigrants as the year draws to a close
As golden Christmas lights line Amsterdam’s famous canals and Christmas markets pop up, Dublin-born Max Deane is settling into his fourth month in the Dutch capital.
Deane moved to Amsterdam in August, after falling in love with the city on a trip to visit his partner’s brother.
“It’s so perfect,” he says. “It’s so close to home, everyone speaks English here, the vibes are great, it has all the ticks I needed for somewhere I wanted to move.”
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Deane works in customer relations for a beauty company, but is still adjusting to life in the Netherlands. While there is a large Irish network in Amsterdam, Deane feels the sense of community he left behind in Dublin cannot be replicated in the build-up to Christmas. Some 13,000 Irish citizens live here, drawn by international job opportunities and English-language university programmes.
[ Dutch gold – Frank McNally on a weekend in idyllic AmsterdamOpens in new window ]
“I’m still quite new here, so I haven’t really established my own kind of community. So I’m seeing all my friends [at home] doing lots of things, and my family too, I’m kind of missing out on things.”
The cultural rhythm of December is also different. In the Netherlands, most Christmas presents are exchanged on the 5th of December; Sinterklass (Saint Nicholas) day. There are also Christmas celebrations on the 25th and 26th of December, with festive dinners and smaller gifts.
Deane says Christmas in Amsterdam is less of a spectacle. “I feel like when the lights get turned on in Dublin, it’s a bigger thing,” he says.
Despite the distance, or perhaps because of it, Deane feels more connected to Irish culture than ever. “I think the distance makes the heart grow fonder,” he says. “I’m quite patriotic in general, but for some reason, leaving the country, I’ve become 20 times more patriotic. We’re only listening to Fontaines DC and CMAT in this household.”
‘House living isn’t really a thing, everyone here lives in apartments; if you have a house, it’s very uncommon. I feel like it’s the opposite in Dublin’
— Max Deane on life in Amsterdam
Deane has also begun to appreciate his time at home more . “You kind of just get a bit sick of Ireland. But the moment you’re removed from it and you’re put into a different environment, you do miss it. I went home last week, and I was like ‘This is so cool, Drury Street is so cool.”
Deane will return to Dublin for two weeks this Christmas, and is excited to feel the comforts of home again, where he knows the “lay of the land” and “how Christmas goes”.
“I feel like life here, because it’s all so new, it’s really exciting – but the habits and comforts of home are missing,” he says.
While keeping Dublin close to his heart, he has been embracing the Dutch ways of life.
“I’m cycling everywhere, because the cycling network here is incredible compared to at home.” Driving however, has proved difficult in the city. “We rented a car one day, and it was a nightmare, because the roads are not really equipped to deal with cars, and you’re afraid of hitting a bike.”
Interactions with Dutch people have been “quite forward”, . “They’re very direct, they’re very blunt. I feel like we, as Irish people, will ‘faff’ about something, we’re like ‘Ah no, it’s grand, don’t worry about it’, whereas the Dutch will just say, ‘This is wrong’.”
When it comes to politics, Deane has kept his priorities firmly rooted in Ireland .
“There was a Dutch election a few weeks ago and my boyfriend was like, have you been seeing all the Dutch election news? And I said no, I’m still keeping RTÉ notifications [on my phone] – I’m keeping up with what’s happening in Ireland.”
Housing concerns have followed him abroad. The Netherlands is facing a severe housing crisis with more than 30,000 homeless.
“The housing crisis here isn’t great,” he says. “But house living isn’t really a thing, everyone here lives in apartments rather than a house. I feel like it’s the opposite in Dublin – if you’re reared in a house, you want to live in a house.”
In Dublin, he feels it’s not in his “realm of possibility” to be able to buy a house.
“I could spend however many years away, I’d even potentially buy property [in Amsterdam], but if I’m ever going to settle down, have a family, have a community, it’s going to be in Ireland.”
For now, Deane is taking Dutch life as it comes and counting the days until he’s home for Christmas, having a pint on Drury Street with friends.
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