“You can get a lot of Italian products here, but not of the traditional quality,” says Annalisa from San Marino, a microstate in Italy. She often refers to San Marino or Italian. “Because the cultures are so similar.” Her father from San Marino and mother from the Netherlands met on an exchange program in Malta. After a long-distance relationship, they moved in together in San Marino, where they still live. There they had Annalisa, who moved to Milan for her studies and stayed there for her first job.
“I liked the work in Milan, but I wanted to try something different. I wanted to go to a country with good job opportunities and where things are well organized. And I knew the Netherlands well; we went there every year when I was a child, where I also have family. So it’s easier to come here.”
She also already spoke the language reasonably well. “My mother couldn’t speak Italian very well when she had me, so the first language I learned was Dutch. When I was five or six years old, started school and my mother also learned Italian, i spoke more Italian.” In addition to familiarity, language, and family, a special company also attracted her to the Netherlands. “I wanted to work in the financial sector. I knew a Dutch company that worked in that field that I thought was really cool.” She applied, got a job there, and moved about four years ago.
Large and diverse Rotterdam
Although the company was based in Rotterdam, Annelisa lived in The Hague. “Because my cousin lived there and I thought it would be nice to know someone in the city. But it became difficult for me to commute every day. And Rotterdam is a cool city anyway, so I decided to give it a try.”
She moved to Rotterdam and was impressed by its size and diversity. “San Marino is very small with 33,000 people, so that’s a big difference from Rotterdam. We also don’t have the diversity of Rotterdam in San Marino.” She likes that, especially because it allows her to get products from different cuisines. “I love cooking. One of the things I miss from home is the food. So I tried to find products here that I could use to make recipes from home. It’s nice that I can find those products here, even though many of them have been adapted and are not traditional.”
Work-life balance and busy schedules
In addition to diversity, she also appreciates the good work-life balance in our country. “People really appreciate me at the office; they want you to grow. That’s not the case in San Marino and Italy. There, you work more but get less energy, trust, and growth opportunities in return. I like that people here respect you as a professional and as a person and that you can combine the two.”
Of course, not everything here is better than in San Marino or Italy. “People here are very organized. That’s nice, but also difficult. Because in San Marino and Italy, you can meet up spontaneously. Here, people already have a full schedule for two or three weeks.
Italian community
In addition to cooking, she is trying to make Rotterdam her home by finding a community. “I tried to find people who are like me. Finding San Marino friends is difficult because there are so few of them, but I do have many Italian-speaking friends.“ Annelisa also travels to San Marino a few times a year to see her friends there. Otherwise, she leaves the culture of San Marino there. ”Holidays in San Marino are often working days here. And the culture is not much different.”
Speaking Dutch at the harvest market
She now feels very much at home in Rotterdam. She has picked up her Dutch again. “It had become a little rusty. Because over the last twenty years, I spoke less and less Dutch. And at work and with friends, I mainly speak English.” Still, she made an effort to pick up the language again. “If you’re here on a temporary basis, for a maximum of two years, it’s not necessary, of course, but if you want to stay longer, I want to speak the language. That way, you can talk to people you meet in a bar or shop; I wouldn’t like it if I couldn’t understand anything. When you speak the language, you also feel like you belong.“
She has already found a favorite place in Rotterdam. “When the weather is nice, I enjoy going to the farmers’ market in Rotterdam North on Saturdays. There, I drink coffee and buy some really good quality groceries.”
She plans to stay, especially now that she has set up her own business here with her family. “It’s going really well! Everyone contributes their own strengths, which is great to see. I also enjoy my work and the city, so I have no good reason to leave.”