I have the contract..
I'm told that the paperwork will be sorted out by the end of today, but I've given the recruiter permission to accept on my behalf based on our discussed rates and start-dates. Now - to find accommodation. I may be one of the better paid homeless in Den Haag.
I'm actually going to stay with Thom May for a couple/few days when I first arrive.. but I don't want to impose so I'll do some frantic apartment hunting. I'll also use this time to get my SOFI (tax file) number, a bank account, and a dutch phone number.
It's quite sad to be leaving Passau, but Passau has no IT industry to speak of, and this is very much the kind of opportunity I was looking for last time I was looking for work in Europe.. but at that time I wasn't prepared to move too far from Passau. I'll probably keep my apartment here for now - I may sublease it, or just give up the lease.. but I've got a reasonable amount of stuff to move, so I'll have to come back and sort through things soon enough.
Update (9 Jan 2007)
I just heard, I start on Monday, and I get the rate I hoped for. I'm dusting off my suitcase as we speak. Farewell dinner/drinks on Wednesday.. probably train on Thursday.
Update (11 Jan 2007)
Leaving tomorrow morning at 11:22am, arriving around 8:30pm.. changing trains once in Frankfurt, and once in Utrecht in the Netherlands. I'm sure I'll be up for a good meal and a beer after that journey.
— by Robert Thomson, created 8th Jan, 2007, last modified 11th Jan, 2007 | Tags: Passau, Tech, World
Latest News - Netherlands..
A couple of months ago my my girlfriend of over 3 years, Katharina, and I broke up. She moved to Nuremberg and my initial plan was to follow her there after a semester in Passau improving my German, but I decided it wasn't what I wanted. We're still keeping in touch, but it's a little awkward - time will hopefully make it easier, as I really want us to become friends.
Since then, I've been living it up in Passau and generally enjoying myself. However, without any fixed plan for the future, I started looking for contracts around Europe. I applied for a short term contract in Berlin, which would have been cool, but didn't get it (or even a callback) - I think I asked for too much money. Then I spotted a 6 month contract for a Python Developer & Linux Engineer in the Netherlands. I was initially disappointed to discover it was in the Hague, but after chatting to some people and looking at train timetables, I realised that Den Haag is really not far from anything. 45 minutes to Amsterdam is nothing - I've waited longer than that to get from Chatswood to the city. Plus there are other nice places near Den Haag. So, after a bit of chasing I got the attention of the recruiter who had forgotten me after the initial phone call, and things got slowly rolling.
I had a phone interview on Wednesday with the manager from the company, which turned out to be Shell. The position is actually in Rijswijk, just outside Den Haag, but only 10 minutes away from Den Haag Centraal. The manager seemed to like me, and is keen to get me on-board.
A formal offer should come early in the new year, but I've got a verbal yes, as well as a very positive second hand quote from the recruiter, which was "I've been waiting for this profile for 3 months, and I get it just before Christmas!" - I think means that immediately before Christmas is an unfortunate time to be organising such things, rather than with a child's Sintaklaas joy - I don't think he's that into his job. I would most likely start mid-way through January.
As a skilled migrant earning over the threshold, I will be entitled to the 30% tax rebate, which significantly offsets the prohibitive dutch tax & social insurances and makes this contract lucrative. The work sounds very much like what I like - a mix of programming and system engineering, utilising many of the same technologies as used in the telco field - but certainly more formalised than in my experiences. I think there are almost as many project managers as engineers.
It's a pity that it's so far from Passau, but I will be able to afford to come back and visit reasonably often - flights can be reasonably priced and will save 8 hours or so of train-time. Weekend trips should be possible.
Am I abandoning my hard-earned German language skills for Dutch now? Not a chance. I'll learn some Dutch to avoid embarrassment, but the country's multilingual enough that English and failing that German should serve me well. There are many similarities to German, so the trick is to learn the pronunciation and pick up the vocabulary, where it vastly differs.
My first tasks will be signing contracts, getting a SOFI (tax file) number, getting a bank account, and then apartment hunting. I'm actually thinking that I'd like to find some shared accommodation, since it's a totally new country and language.. it would also probably be a little cheaper initially (before first month's payment).