Going Dutch: How do the Dutch stay happy when the sky is always grey?

Grey skies, cold wind, frozen bike locks… yet the Dutch stay weirdly upbeat. In the first episode of season 2 of MAG Going Dutch, Luba and Salomé try to work out how the Dutch manage that trick.

How do people in the Netherlands keep their spirits up when daylight disappears before most students have had breakfast? In the first episode of the new season of MAG Going Dutch, new hosts Luba and Salomé team up with Dutch student Jonathan to unpack the small habits, social rituals and quirks that shape Dutch culture. What starts as a conversation about rain quickly becomes a portrait of how Dutch students stay grounded in a climate that can feel permanently grey.

Jonathan laughs at the idea that the Dutch are unbothered by the weather. The rain is irritating, he admits, but what really affects him is the lack of light. Leaving class in darkness is ‘fully apocalyptic’, yet it never seems to push people into full winter hibernation. Instead, he says, Dutch culture has produced a kind of collective reflex: whenever the sun appears, people drop everything and go outside. Miss that moment and it feels like a personal mistake.

For Jonathan, staying active is the most reliable way to stay balanced. From climbing and volleyball to squash sessions that feel more like a game than a workout, movement keeps him energised even on the bleakest days. Sports in the Netherlands come with their own challenges, he notes, remembering childhood football matches played in relentless rain, but the sense of community around them makes up for it. Being surrounded by friends, and being pulled into whatever sport someone suggests that week, helps him stay connected and content.

Part of that happiness, he says, is rooted in Groningen’s size and character. It is a student city, but it behaves like a village. You run into familiar faces on your way to the supermarket or the cinema, and the nightlife works the same way. Luba and Salomé recently ended up at a festival they hadn’t even planned to attend, a perfect example of a city where music, small stages and spontaneous gatherings pop up without warning. That density of social life, Jonathan says, makes it almost impossible to feel alone for long.

The conversation shifts to honesty, another feature internationals often notice. Dutch people rarely decorate their messages, whether they are cancelling plans or expressing a preference. For some students this bluntness is refreshing, for others slightly shocking, but for Jonathan it is simply part of a culture where authenticity is valued above pleasantries. He insists that Dutch people are generally happy, even if they do not broadcast it with wide smiles in the street. The happiness is less theatrical, more internal.

By the end of the episode, Luba and Salomé have pieced together a pattern: Dutch happiness is built on routine, movement, blunt friendliness and community, rather than sunshine or constant enthusiasm. For internationals trying to find their place, these small cultural cues explain a lot more than the weather ever will.

The new season of MAG Going Dutch promises more of these cross-cultural deep dives, with Luba and Salomé exploring what it really means to live and study in the Netherlands. More episodes are on the way.