Ask an Expat: To market, to market…
japra | Feb 18, 2010 | Comments 25
I thought you might get a kick out of seeing how I do our grocery shopping here in the Netherlands. And now you can see why I don’t look nearly as cute as those Dutch ladies in my post yesterday ;-) I think I’m too stiff and worried about tipping over because of the ungainly load of groceries I insist on carrying in my panniers. LOL!
I ride my bike or walk to the grocery store about twice a week for veggies, bread, and stuff like that. I can get about a handbasket’s worth of food in my two panniers.
I am not overly fond of grocery shopping–I didn’t care for it back in the States either. But the one thing that really stresses me out about shopping here is I have never gotten over shopping “American style”, meaning buying a lot of groceries at one time instead of buying a couple of days worth and then heading back out to the store when things run out.
The stores aren’t really designed for the bulk shopping I prefer to do. At the check out, the conveyor belt is too short. You cannot fit a whole basket full of groceries on it in one pass, which is kind of awkward when you need to be at the other end of the check out to quickly bag your groceries after the clerk scans them.
The other pain about big grocery shopping is even if my family comes with me and we navigate the aisles and make it through the check out, we don’t have a reserved space in front of our house, so parking is iffy. We used to just pull up in front, quickly unload and then one of us tries to find a parking space while the rest of us haul the groceries into the house.
This was not a pleasant experience for anyone.
But online grocery shopping? It rocks. It really does. I place my order every month or so, and for a smallish fee, a very nice and strong delivery person comes to my front door with my huge order. The online system remembers everything I’ve ordered, so basically it’s click, click, click and in 15 minutes I’m done with the bulk of my shopping for the month. It’s GREAT.
Last delivery was five crates (one crate filled with dog food!) and a dozen large bottles of sparkling water.
And in case anyone is wondering, yes we do have wonderful neighbourhood shops like a butcher, a fish shop, two cheese shops, a couple of bakeries, a patisserie, a vegetable/fruit stand, a couple of floral shops, etc. And yes, I do shop at those places sometimes. But frankly, if I shopped like that all the time, I wouldn’t have time for anything else. Then I’d be cranky. Also, those shops tend to be a little bit pricey, and I’ve had a couple of locals tell me they only shop there for special occasions.
And while we’re on the subject of food, thank you all for sharing your favourite pancakes! Lucylucia asked for a pic of mine, so here you go! Roxi likes hers with a thin (but not too thin) layer of Nutella. I like mine with lots of different things, but because we had the real deal, I had mine with a little butter and honest-to-goodness-imported-from-the-USA maple syrup. Lekker!
~
By the way, those of you who are new to my blog, every Thursday I try to post answers to questions people have about being an expat or really any question people might want to ask of me in general. If I don’t get any questions, I usually try to find a topic that might be ineteresting, but it is easier when there are questions from readers :-)
So if anyone has ever wondered anything about expat living or life in England or the Netherlands, drop me a note in the comments and I’ll try to answer next Thursday.
Filed Under: Blog • Expat Life • Featured
About the Author: JaPRA is an expat Texan living in England with her husband (Mr. DJ), their 17-year old daughter (Roxi), and their dog Trudy.
I salute you, my friend! :o) I have mentioned before that I don’t normally ride a bike, haven’t I? :o) The good thing is that the “winkelcentrum” in my neighbourhood is just 200 mts. from my house, so I just walk there once every two days, or so.
I can see how bulk shopping (I also used to do that back home) can be difficult here in NL for all the reasons you’ve mentioned! I do like shopping for groceries, though – and I also like going to the smaller shops as well, sometimes produce there is better and you have more options.
I have a question for you, related to shopping for groceries: do you ever get things sent over from home, things that you can’t do without and you can’t find here in NL?
THose pancakes, mmmmmmm….!!! :o)
I love all of the little neighbourhood shops, Aledys! They are really nice in my neighbourhood too.
I’ll answer your question in Ask an Expat next week! That’s a good one :-)
Hey you have a solostream theme too! Aren’t they great? I’ve had Bosco, WP-Vybe and now WP-Genius :)
I would DIE without AH Delivery, seriously. We live in a 3rd floor walk up and I don’t want to be carrying up potatoes and washing liquid or crates of beer. It’s worth paying the 5 euro to let some boy do it.
Also, I like being able to shop with a running total on the side and removing things being just a matter of a click of a button. It helps me keep how much I spend under control :)
Hi Breigh! Yes, I do like this theme, though I’m thinking about trying to find one that will display my pics a wee bit bigger. But that will require a little time and effort… I am a bit short on that right now :-)
Oh, you’re on the third floor! Our small deep freezer and laundry room are on the third level of our house, so I so know what you mean about having to haul heavy stuff up. UGH!
That is a good point about the running total too. I never thought about that, but it does help!
Such a lovely post! I’m really getting a picture of Dutch living and it makes me realise that living on the continent wouldn’t be such an alien thing.
Emm, I had less culture shock moving here from England than the move from America to England. I don’t think you’d have any problem living on the Continent, my friend.
Interesting post about the logistics of grocery shopping in the Netherlands. It really shows the difference in the cultures. I think everything in North America is all about efficiency and time saving (good or bad). Online shopping seems to be the compromise!
Christine,I think you really have it there. Are the grocery stores in Canada similar to the ones in America?
We wanted to see you ON your bike!
I only shop once a week ‘a big shop’ at the supermarket and once a week at the market for greengrocery and eggs. I couldn’t be bothered going out every couple of days. I’ve never tried online shopping for groceries but my friend does it all the time and raves about it.
Akelamalu, Sainsbury home delivery and the milk man were my best friends in England ;-)
This is really interesting. I vaguely remember in Paris, having to shop every day and how each shop had a limited offering. Yeah, I think I’d get cranky! But it was also delightful, bagging my own (one) bag and getting everything fresh every day.
I’m sorry I’ve been missing so many blogs. Favorite pancake!! I’ll have to look up a recipe. It’s whole wheat with walnuts, but it has some special touches.
Looking fwd to catching up more on your blog. great photos!!
xo
Chris, I love shopping like that while I’m on vacation, but when grocery shopping competes with art time, art wins!
Speaking of Paris… aren’t you going soon?!?
I love this post! I’d like to pretend that I think about “deep” things but really, I think about this kind of stuff A LOT.
When I’m fighting my way through Walmart every Sunday, I’ll try to remember that I’m having a much easier time of it than expats :) It sounds like shopping is a lot easier here. Especially for those of us who like to to a big trip once a week. But, charming, it is not. I’ll never forget the time I walked past the woman who, right in the middle of eating a chicken leg, decided she HAD to start searching for ears of corn. She held the chicken leg between her teeth while she grabbed some corn. All I could think was “I bet you don’t see this at Target.”
OMG, this made me laugh.
I have NEVER seen anyone eating anything in the grocery store here. And for that matter, I’ve not seen people eating in their cars… nor on their bikes. I have not seen any drive through fast food places either.
where do people eat??? In restaurants??? At home? It’s crazy over there!
Oh, so well said! The only two major bumps in our recent relocation to the NL from the US – SHOPPING and LAUNDRY.
I have the AH delivery going on now – hooray! It is awesome!
Now I am looking for a nearby laundromat to pick up our mounds of laundry to be washed and folded once a week AFFORDABLY. I really miss my Whirlpool Duet. I never catch up.
I love so much about the NL!!
I love your site and your writing!!
Kim, that is SUCH a good idea about the laundry!! I never catch up either. It takes me as long to wash the laundry as it does for us to wear the clothes. It’s so frustrating!!
This is really an interesting take on shopping in NL. I have imbibed in the little Dutch shopping traits like bringing your own shopping bag, etc. I haven’t tried shopping online for grocery though, dont know if I will be comfortable with it as I belong to the “Touch, feel and see” shopping school.
Orangesplaash, I leave most of my touch and feel and see shopping for my little trips to the store but do order the old standbys (dog food, tp, tinned tomatoes, wine, sparkling water, etc) online. I like carrying my own bags too! It took me ages to get in the habit–and I confess that I had quite the collection of paid bags–but now I remember every time ;-)
I think it is so cool that you ride your bike to the grocery store. But it must make it so hard when you have a whole family to feed. I just live with me so one person does not require as much. Thank goodness for online shopping.
Sending you a smile.
Jennifer, I do so love getting around on my bike. I will be glad when the weather gets better.
Sending you a smile right back, friend :-)
We usually go every day, in part because we have a small refrigerator/freezer. The previous owners got rid of the full-size fridge in order to install a dishwasher; I’m more than happy to deal with more frequent trips to AH if I have a dishwasher! Fortunately, we’re only a family of two.
I think I’d give up extra refrigerator space for a dishwasher too, Alison! :-)
Those pancakes look delicious! I can imagine how difficult it would be to get out of the bulk shopping habit. I go once a week, I think having to go every couple of days would make me feel like sisyphus! It would be a never ending toil.
LOL, it does get kind of old…