TL;DR
- Losing job sucks
- Having good friends helps a lot
What happened?
Remember how I was excited about the new job and had “new job resolutions?” Well, the good and the bad news is I can get excited and have new “new job resolutions” once again! Yey.
Yeah, the company declared bankruptcy not even a month after my first day on the job. Once again, I had to go on a job hunt, which is not the most fun activity at the best of times. Not to mention when you have a time limit of three months to find a full-time job in the Netherlands (a limited job market with high standards), have a debt of 4k euros, and don’t know when or if you will receive the salary you were counting on to pay the rent and afford food.
Needless to say, my priorities switched from learning grammar, creative writing, and Unreal to finding the money for the rent and food and finding a new job.
Power of Friendship
Here is some flash news: having good friends helps! Who would have thought, right? Usually, I hate asking for help or relying on others. Fortunately, I didn’t have to ask. Almost everyone who I told what happened and who had the means offered me lending the money I needed. I was humbled and deeply touched by the support. I will be forever grateful to all who offered their help! It truly means a lot.
Another person to whom I feel very grateful is my old boss from Turkey. He did help me during my move to Czechia about five years ago, and once again, he did help me now. Even better, his projects are always fun and different from what I’m used to doing. It doesn’t feel like a chore working on those.
Getting a Job. Again.
With the most urgent stuff out of the way, I concentrated on the job search. While I was pleasantly surprised by the number of jobs available in the Netherlands, not many of them were responding to my applications. I hesitate to call it a problem, but the thing is, the Duch people have a very high level of education. Just the other day, a machinist was making announcements in four languages. It is not easy to complete in such an environment, especially considering the high salary requirement for the visa.
Fortunately, I did find a job, albeit on the other side of the country. It wouldn’t be a problem under any other circumstances, but here is the thing about renting in the Netherlands: you can’t get out of a rental contract!
Renting in the Netherlands
Here is a pro tip for future ex-pats in the Netherlands: TAKE YOUR RENTAL CONTRACT SERIOUSLY!
There are two types of rental contracts in the Netherlands: fixed-term and indefinite. A fixed-term contract is valid for two years, and you can move out on short notice. And if you sign the indefinite term contract, you must stay for at least a year. You can’t move out unless you can convince your landlord. Guess which one we signed?
Fortunately, the rental agency agreed to let us go if we paid a fee of 950 euros and a new tenant is found in our place. Not ideal, but acceptable.
On the bright side, I can do some work during my commute. In fact, I find it rather enjoyable.
TODO
I don’t want to be in the same situation ever again. So getting a savings account and alternative sources of income is a must. The good news is I have a few exciting ideas besides releasing a game on Steam and hoping for the best. I will let you know how it goes soon.
Given the circumstances, I will put my literary ambitions on hold. Keeping this blog and arguing with Grammarly will suffice for now (perhaps I can get a subscription though).
Meanwhile, I will get back to learning CSS and Unity’s UIToolkit. It will come in handy both at work and for my side projects. So my homework for this month will be to learn UI Toolkit and implement it in one of my projects (I’m thinking about the Extra Builder).
I hope no one will go bankrupt, and I will have a very stable and boring few months! See you in the next one!