Why not come over here and try it temporarily and see how it feels? You’d certainly have more reliable access to health care. And in a bigger city the language is less of a problem – when I visit Amsterdam I hear more English on the streets than Dutch, and often shop assistants, waiters, etc. don’t even speak Dutch. That’s even becoming more and more the case here in Groningen, because the university has switched to operating in English so there are lots of foreign students and professors.

So if you have German citizenship, you can just move here, find a place to live, register with the gemeente (city government), and you’re a resident (There are probably a few more steps but I don’t know the details and I know it’s meant to be easy for EU citizens). If you only have US citizenship, it’s much more complicated. Here’s the government’s immigration website, which would be a good place to start your research: https://ind.nl/en/stay-or-live-in-the-Netherlands/Pages/default.aspx. But to look at your original question, if you feel an affinity with your German background, you’ll be able to fit in here pretty well. If you choose a city near the German border like Arnhem or Nijmegen, you could always cross the border for, say, German food or shopping.

I forgot to mention that I am in the USA, was born in Germany of German parents. I am a US citizen.

I do have a step son and grandson that currently live in South Holland, Zwartewaal. I know thay language would be an obstacle, I do speak some German and am trying to teach myself Nederland. I have lived in Europe in the past, Germany and France, many years ago. I lost my husband in 2019 to cancer. I understand the concern over my health, I am currently pretty healthy, and am sure the different lifestyle there would be a benefit to my health, better food choices and more walking and or bycicling. I am just so very undecided. Help.

To some extent I think it depends where you move here from and how different that culture is from here. Having said that, many of the bigger cities are very international and diverse, especially Amsterdam, the Hague and Rotterdam, so you’d be able to find a community. The bigger problem is: would you be allowed to move here? If you’re from the European Union, I think it’s pretty simple. From anywhere else and it gets far more complicated. As for your age, it seems to me that a consideration has to be what you would do if you needed more care, i.e. a nursing home. Would you be comfortable if the dominant language in the nursing home isn’t your own?

Yes, and fluency in the language has a lot to do with it here in Europe. I am close to fluent in Dutch, yet I still can’t express myself in Dutch nearly as well as in English. And it’s nice to just be able to chat without having to think about it.

I celebrate Thanksgiving every year, even though I live in the Netherlands and I’m not even American. Something about cooking a special meal for friends and family keeps me doing it. Even lately, when my kids can’t be home for Thanksgiving, I’m still doing it along with other expats.