Herman(55)

I was a primary school teacher in Roosendaal for 25 years. Dutch education was my calling, but workload became unbearable: ever larger classes, more administration, less autonomy. When I heard Flemish schools actively recruit Dutch teachers due to a teacher shortage, I became curious.

My Dutch teaching diploma was recognized through the Flemish government (NARIC Flanders). The process took eight weeks. I applied at a municipal primary school in Sint-Niklaas and was hired as a grade 3 teacher. The salary is noticeably higher: as an experienced teacher I earn €4,200 gross per month — in the Netherlands it was €3,600.

Sint-Niklaas is a charming city in the Waasland region, between Antwerp and Ghent. I bought a spacious home with garden in the Belsele neighborhood for €245,000 — in Roosendaal I paid €310,000. Registration duties were 3%, and I needed my rijksregisternummer for the mortgage file at Argenta (a Belgian bank popular among teachers for their teacher account).

The Flemish education system differs from the Dutch. There's more emphasis on subject knowledge, classes are slightly smaller and the inspection system is less suffocating. What I appreciate most: the autonomy. In Flanders I can shape my own lessons as a teacher without endless protocols and digital registration systems. Trust in the professional is greater.

The mutualiteit (I chose Partena) I arranged immediately after registering at the municipality. As an education employee I build pension through the Federal Pension Service. The Belgian teacher pension is more favorable than the Dutch — teachers are considered civil servants and build a government pension.

My tip for Dutch teachers: if you still love the profession but the system suffocates you, look at Flanders. Recognition of your diploma is well arranged, salary is better and working conditions are more humane. Sint-Niklaas is ideal: affordable, accessible and with a community that sees the school as the heart of the neighborhood.