Ohio native Bethany Papenbrock (45), managing director of RSA Films EU, moved to Amsterdam via Seattle, New York and her beloved Berlin in 2012. The English-speaking Netherlands afforded her more challenging work opportunities in the film and advertising worlds. Bethany, who lives with her 4-year-old son and dog Nikka in Amsterdam west, likes kaasstengels (but not bitterballen) and Amsterdam’s small-town vibe, but she’s appalled by the Dutch weather and lack of elevation.

How did you end up in the Netherlands?

I studied in London when I was in university and knew then I always wanted to live abroad. I was living in Seattle, Washington at the time, but I went to visit Berlin, and I fell in love with it.

It had the energy I missed from New York, but the community I loved about Seattle. So I thought, I’m going to move. I had already planned a trip to London, Berlin and Amsterdam to start interviewing when I was still working in Seattle as an agency producer.

Then I found out we were losing one of our biggest clients and they were letting go of 20% of the agency, and I was on the chopping block. I put everything into storage and bought a one-way ticket to Europe.

But I wasn’t able to speak or work in German, and all the scripts were by German directors and the contracts were in German. I was basically doing project management, not producing, and I realized how important work is to me. I wasn’t feeling fulfilled, and so after about 10 months, I was like, gosh, what do I do now?

I knew I didn’t want to go back to the States. And then the agency that I had interviewed with here, 180 Amsterdam, called me and said they had a full-time job available if I wanted to move to Amsterdam. So, I moved to Amsterdam in May 2012, did my inburgeren classes, and now I have permanent EU residency. And it’s been great. Amsterdam is an easy place to live.

How do you describe yourself – an expat, lovepat, immigrant, international etc?

Oof. I guess I started out as an expat, but no longer have a planned return so I’d say I’m more of an international. My friends are from everywhere, and my work takes me everywhere. I’d say an international human who doesn’t really speak any other languages.

How long do you plan to stay?

I do own an apartment here and have a fully Dutch dog and a half-Dutch kid that I co-parent with his Dutch father. So I’m here at least for the next 15 years!

Do you speak Dutch and how did you learn?

Een beetje. I took a few Dutch courses.

And then working in international companies, they never spoke it. But now having a child, I realize that it’s kind of important when communicating with his other friends. Because he’ll have friends who are French or Spanish who are also learning Dutch.

When I speak English, they look at me like I have ten heads. But I also want to make sure I’m only speaking English to my son, because he obviously speaks Dutch everywhere else.

His dad speaks Dutch, his grandparents speak Dutch, and his school is in Dutch. I speak well enough that I can convince people I can speak it, but I don’t have the synapses to reply. But the minute I walk away from a situation, I realise I could have completely replied in Dutch.

What’s your favourite Dutch thing? (think a bike, or euthanasia, or Ajax – whatever they like)

Oh, probably just jumping on the bike, riding the bike.

I also love, and maybe it’s more of a small-town thing, but I love that just walking out of my house and getting a coffee, I’ll probably run into someone I know.

I think it’s a bit of the industry, but also a bit of the small town vibe. And seeing someone everywhere you go keeps you on your toes. You can’t be an asshole.

How Dutch have you become?

I do like cheese on my bread in the morning, but not hagelslag. I still don’t own rain pants, nor have I acquired the taste for bitterballen or croquettes.

So not very Dutch, I guess. Although I take my time now. I’ve slowed down a little bit.

Which three Dutch people (dead or alive) would you most like to meet?

The first one that comes to mind is Rutger Hauer. Because I obviously would like to know what it was like to work with my boss, Sir Ridley [Scott], on one of the most iconic films ever. So being in Blade Runner, I think he’d be one. And he’s just a legendary Dutch actor.

I guess I’d also have to say Johan Cruyff, just so that I’d be the envy of every Dutch person ever. Especially every Dutchman.

And maybe Van Gogh. Why the ear? Why the left? Why not the right?

What’s your top tourist tip?

I love getting out of Amsterdam and visiting some of the other smaller towns like Zutphen or Leiden.

If you’re limited on time or just want to experience Amsterdam to the fullest, then take a bike on the ferry to the North, ride past the old dijk houses and visit places like FC Hyena, Oedipus brewery or Pllek. Walking through the Noordermarkt is also a must.

Also, don’t waste your time waiting in long lines just because you saw a place on TikTok. The frites at the snack bar across the street from my apartment in the West are just as good, if not better, than those in the 9 streets.

Tell us something surprising you’ve found out about the Netherlands

That the weather is so atrocious. I moved from Seattle, which is well known for its grey, wet climate, but I didn’t realize that Amsterdam was similar. I moved here May 2, 2012, and during my first drinks outing with my colleagues, I had to sip my biertje with gloved hands!

If you had just 24 hours left in the Netherlands, what would you do?

Start with a run through the Rembrandtpark and Vondelpark. Then stroll through the Noordermarkt or along Utrechtsestraat followed by brunch at Little Collins.

In the evening, I’d go for a private canal cruise with friends when the waters are calmer and you can see into the amazing canal houses. And I’d round off the evening at a brown bar such at Tabac or Café de Wetering.

Bethany Papenbrock was talking to Lauren Comiteau