Vasiliy decided to move from Russia to Almere with his wife and kids to work for a ‘Dutch-Russian’ company in the Netherlands. The decision to relocate to the Netherlands is made out of curiosity to live abroad and indulge in another culture. ‘Almere is a great place. It’s quite a cozy place to be, people are often very friendly and I found it also very relaxing in comparison to other places where I lived before.’

Almere

‘I was looking for a family-friendly place that is not very far from the office in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. Plenty of nature and good basic facilities, such as schools, clinics and shops were a necessity for us. Lucky for me I have a colleague who also lives in Almere and he introduced us to this great place.’

Work

The whole saga of moving to the Netherlands started six years ago, when I joined a Dutch-Russian company as a software developer. We were developing enterprise solutions for Dutch healthcare, education and retail sectors. This fortunate moment gave me a chance to forge my skills and collaborate with many nice foreign specialists, most of them were from the Netherlands. It was quite impressive to learn how many things our nations have in common. After several years of work there I found myself really curious about if I am able to live somewhere else.  

One day I was asked if I am interested to join our partner company in the Netherlands and I decided to take that chance and move to The Netherlands.

Favorite area

My family and I are always attracted by places where we can enjoy outdoor activities. My wife and kids like the sandy beaches at Almere Poort and I personally prefer to spend time in the forests and parks (Noorderplassen, Vroege Vogelbos and Pampushout). And of course Almere Jungle with rope climbing attractions nearby – our new ‘secret’ spot.  We also like that there are so many nice old places nearby to Almere; Naarden, Muiden and Weesp are truly remarkable places to visit. 

Life of an international in Almere

I would say it’s quite a cozy place, where people are often very friendly to each other. I also found it very relaxing in comparison to other places where I lived before. It almost feels like a small Zeeland.  And because it is very spacious and green we have enough ideas how to spend our leisure time here.