Tulips, bikes and egalitarian bosses: Some Chicagoans dream of moving to Netherlands, the US soccer team’s next World Cup opponent

When the U.S. takes on the Netherlands in the first knockout round of the World Cup on Saturday, some of the most invested viewers in Chicago might be in Frits Lentz’s class at the Tulip School.

Lentz teaches the Dutch language and culture to adults at the North Side school, many of whom have the goal, or at least the fancy, to one day live in the Netherlands, which perennially ranks near the top of global quality-of-life indexes. But becoming proficient is no simple feat.

“Typically we get between maybe 15 and 20 applicants (a year),” Lentz said. “And then half of them drop out during the course because it’s not that easy. You have to put in the effort.”

Lentz said those heading to his homeland tend to do so for career reasons, particularly if they’re in the health or software fields, though he has also taught same-sex couples who wanted to emigrate when their marriages weren’t legally recognized in the U.S.

The Dutch embassy in Washington could not provide exact numbers, but said the U.S. is among the top nations whose citizens go to Netherlands for work or study.

Chicago resident Maggie Cheng has been learning the language in anticipation of a possible move to the Netherlands with her husband, Thomas Plaisier, a Dutch citizen who is getting a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at Northwestern University.

Her studies come with particular urgency. She is a citizen of Taiwan, and people who aren’t citizens of the U.S., a European Union nation or a handful of other exempt countries must pass a language and cultural test known as the “basisexamen inburgering,” or basic civic integration exam, to get a residency permit.

Cheng grew up speaking Mandarin, and said her experience learning English helped prepare her for Dutch, which uses the same alphabet and basic sentence structure.

“I think it’s not too awfully difficult, like trying to learn Mandarin scripts or Russian Cyrillic,” she said.

Culturally, she appreciates the Netherlands’ bike-centric transportation system, though she wasn’t as sure about the weather, which dips into the 30s on average during the winter with plenty of rain.

“I just asked my husband, ‘Please assure me it won’t be as cold as Chicago,’” she said.

Plaisier said the biggest adjustments for people coming from America might be the density of development in the Netherlands, as well as the relative informality between bosses and employees.

“Here, hierarchical structures are a little more strict,” he said. “It might take some getting used to that (in the Netherlands) you can basically just have lunch with your boss and chat about stuff. There’s not that much distance between people in organizations.”

The relocation plans of Chicagoan Scott Bonnett are more speculative. Another fan of the country’s cycling scene, he’s studying Dutch in preparation for a visit next summer, persisting despite the challenges of the language’s guttural “G” and often-difficult vocabulary.

“People tell me everyone speaks English (there), but I think it’s slightly disrespectful to assume you can just walk into another country and have no knowledge whatsoever of their language,” he said.

Though he envisions the trip as just a vacation, he doesn’t rule out trying for a permanent move someday.

“I think with the political and social climate in this country at the moment, it doesn’t hurt to hedge your bets in case things really fall apart here,” he said.

Amanda Kleinman and her husband, also Chicagoans, became enthralled with the country during a 2019 visit that coincided with the 350th anniversary of the death of the painter Rembrandt. They are taking Dutch lessons with Lentz after getting started with the Duolingo language app, but any possible move to the Netherlands remains a daydream, she said.

“We’re realistic,” she said. “Our home is here. Our work is here. But it would be pretty special if it could happen.”

She admires Dutch culture, which she finds remarkably frank and direct, and plans to watch Saturday’s World Cup matchup. Oddsmakers have the Netherlands as favorites, though plenty of experts think the Yanks can pull off a win.

Lentz, who said he’ll probably show the game during his Saturday class at the Tulip School, said the Dutch are blasé about this year’s squad (it doesn’t help that reports Friday said the team is dealing with a flu outbreak).

“They haven’t been doing that well, though they’ve won enough to get this far,” Lentz said. “We’re not all that excited yet about their chances.”

The American team includes defender Sergino Dest, who grew up in the Netherlands but has dual nationality with the U.S. In 2020, he made the highly scrutinized decision to represent the Stars and Stripes in international competition despite the Netherlands’ traditional standing as a soccer powerhouse.

“My heart told me the U.S. was the best option for me,” he told ESPN at the time. “I was raised in the Netherlands. I love it here. But in life, you have to make difficult decisions. I felt the U.S. was the best option.”

Picking which team to root for won’t be quite as fraught for Kleinman and her husband, though she said it’ll still be a tough call.

“My husband follows football relentlessly,” she said. “He loves the U.S. team. He’s so proud of them. But of course, we have a soft spot for the Netherlands. We watch them as well. At the end of the day, we’ll be happy no matter what.”

jkeilman@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @JohnKeilman