Reddit reviews The UnDutchables: an observation of the netherlands, its culture and its inhabitants

I don't have an answer to your question but rather a comment on living in the Netherlands, I lived there for years as an expat (I'm American). I don't want to discourage you from learning Dutch but you should know that the overwhelming majority of the population under the age of about 65 speaks English fluently. English is mandatory for all students from early grade school, and most learn a third language fluently as well (usually French or German). They do appreciate it when a non-native tries to converse with them in Dutch, but more often than not they will respond to you in English. Even when I was certain my pronunciation and grammar were correct I would still get responses in English, it can be very frustrating. It definitely makes it more difficult to raise your oral proficiency while living there. The answer I got as to why they would do that is "Well it's just easier for us [i.e. them]". Still, having a basic level of vocabulary was very useful in day to day life as most things are only written in Dutch.

PS - This book is pretty much considered required reading for expats moving to the Netherlands, don't be surprised if some of your new Dutch colleagues try to give you a copy. The Dutch are strangely proud of their cultural idiosyncrasies.

Hah, you have a lot of 'us' down pat. For further amusing reading, I highly recommend "The Undutchables" and "The Dutch, I presume?" but I'm sure they have been recommended to you by now. ;)