Why moving to the Netherlands is harder on your body than you think
By Inge Oosthuizen
A chiropractor, expat, mother of three, and founder of Advance Chiropractic Studio, shares five habits that have helped them, and their patients, thrive for more than 15 years in the Netherlands.
Moving abroad is one of the most exciting decisions a person can make. A new country, a new culture, a new chapter. But somewhere between signing the rental contract and figuring out the DigiD system, your body starts keeping score.
I know this firsthand, not just as a chiropractor, but as someone who lived it. In May 2011, my husband Barend and I landed in the Netherlands from South Africa with two suitcases between us.
We had just graduated from the University of Johannesburg, we were newly qualified, newly married in spirit if not yet in paperwork, and absolutely certain we would stay for two years. We came to learn, to explore Europe, to grow. What we did not plan for was three daughters, a mini-labradoodle, or to stay as long as we did. Fifteen years later, we are still here, still loving it, and still deeply grateful we stayed.
But I would be lying if I said those first years were easy on the body.
Your body notices everything you think you've adjusted to
Most people think of relocation stress as emotional: the homesickness, the loneliness, the quiet ache of missing your mum's cooking or a glass of wine with your old friends. All of that is real. I felt every bit of it. But as a chiropractor, I have learned that stress does not live only in the mind. It lives in the body too; in the spine, the nervous system, the tissues that hold you together through everything.
The triad of stress
Think about what your body quietly absorbs in the first years of a new country:
The physical
Physically, your movement patterns are completely different. In the Netherlands, you cycle. If you grew up somewhere car-dependent, your legs, neck and wrists suddenly have a full-time job they have never trained for. Add a new mattress, unfamiliar office ergonomics, and the hours spent hunched over forms trying to decode Dutch bureaucracy, and the nervous system is working overtime trying to adapt.
The chemical
Chemically, your body is recalibrating. Different food, different water, and most significantly, dramatically less sunlight, depending on where you are from. Coming from South Africa, I was not prepared for a Dutch winter. That first November felt like the sun had simply resigned. The grey is not just a mood issue; it is a genuine physiological adjustment that affects hormones, immunity, and energy in ways most new arrivals do not connect to their surroundings.
The emotional
Emotionally, you are rebuilding from scratch. Your support network, your rhythms, your sense of belonging. Your nervous system, which governs all of this, runs in a state of low-grade alert for months, sometimes longer, before you even notice the strain.
This is what we call the triad of stress: physical, chemical and emotional. For expats, all three arrive together with the moving boxes.
5 habits that can make a difference
After 15 years of living this experience, and caring for thousands of international patients from across The Hague's extraordinary multicultural community, people who have come from the US, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa, Brunei, and everywhere in between, these are the five habits I come back to again and again:
1. Find your community before you need it
Barend joined an underwater hockey club when we first arrived. It sounds completely random, and honestly, it is a story for another day, but it was one of the best things he did for his health and sanity in those early months. Shared movement with people who become friends is one of the fastest routes to feeling at home. The Netherlands has an incredible number of international clubs, networks, and groups. Find yours early, before isolation takes root.
2. Move often
Never sit for longer than 25 minutes. The cycling culture here is a genuine gift to your body; embrace it fully. But be intentional at your desk too. Set a timer. Stand up. Walk around the block or in a local park. The research is unambiguous: prolonged sitting undoes the benefits of an otherwise active day, and most of us sit far more than we realise.
3. Guard your sleep rhythm, especially during winter
South Africa does not use daylight saving time. The light there is consistent, generous, and reliable. Here, the shift can quietly unravel your body clock. A Dutch winter sunrise after 8.30am and darkness by 5pm disrupts circadian rhythms in ways that are subtle but cumulative. Anchor your wake time, prioritise morning light exposure even on overcast days, and treat your sleep rhythm as seriously as any medical appointment.
4. Take Vitamin D
Everyone in the Netherlands should. The Netherlands sits at a latitude where the sun simply cannot produce adequate Vitamin D synthesis for much of the year. Low Vitamin D quietly contributes to fatigue, low mood, weakened immunity, and musculoskeletal pain, symptoms that are often chalked up to "just the stress of adjusting”. Supplement. This one is non-negotiable.
5. Get your nervous system checked, not just your blood pressure
Most expats are diligent about registering with a GP, and that matters. But just as you monitor blood pressure as a baseline for cardiovascular health, your nervous system deserves the same attention. It is the master controller of everything: your immune response, your hormonal balance, your capacity to adapt.
Some chiropractors use Insight scanning technology: a gentle, non-invasive assessment that shows them exactly how your nervous system is managing the load of daily life. It reveals stress patterns long before they become pain or illness. Think of it as a check-in for your body's ability to adapt, and for expats, especially, that ability is everything.
Vulnerability and courage
As a mother of three daughters, twins who are now 11, and our youngest, who just turned 5, and as someone who built a family here without the safety net of home, I understand what it means to find your feet in the Netherlands. The vulnerability of it. The courage it takes. And how much it helps to have people in your corner who genuinely know what you are going through.
This May, Advanced Chiropractic Studio turns 25. A quarter century of serving The Hague's international community. They are proud of that, and even more excited about the next chapter. If you have just arrived, or have been here for years and feel like your body has quietly been running on reserve, come in. They would love to meet you.
Dr. Inge is a chiropractor and co-owner of Advanced Chiropractic Studio, located at
Turfmarkt 110 in The Hague. Originally from South Africa and a graduate of the
University of Johannesburg, she has lived in the Netherlands since 2011. With
extensive postgraduate training in paediatric and pregnancy chiropractic care, she is
passionate about supporting families and the international community. She lives in
The Hague with her husband Barend (also a chiropractor and co-owner of the
practice) and their three daughters. Read more