Skip to main Logo Nijmegen Old City Young vibe (home)

Expat life in Nijmegen: Ivana, Italy/Serbia

In the series "Expat Life in Nijmegen", expats talk about their lives in the Netherlands' oldest city. How did they end up here? What do they do in daily life here and what do they think of the city and its surroundings? 

Here's the story of Ivana from Italy/Serbia...

"Moving to Nijmegen happened kind of accidentally for me. I could have shown you the Netherlands on a map, and then Amsterdam or Rotterdam, maybe Eindhoven, Utrecht – but I didn’t know where Nijmegen was before coming here. Nijmegen wasn’t even something I could pronounce at the beginning.

I was born in Serbia in 1986 and my family moved to Italy during the war in the Balkans. Before moving to Nijmegen, I lived in Milan and worked as a freelance film director, mainly doing TV commercials. Milan is a big city and I was a bit fed up with that at the time, so I was thinking of moving abroad. And then I met my partner, who’s from Groningen and lives in Nijmegen, and we decided to move in together.

In some ways, Nijmegen reminds me of Lucca, the Italian town where I grew up. It has a human dimension – you can reach most places by walking, and within ten minutes, you’re in nature, but you’re also close to the German border, so there is another country nearby. The size makes you feel like you’re in control of the place you live in and that’s something I really like.

A big difference I noticed between Italy and the Netherlands is the work. In Italy, everyone is working all the time. You work weekends or you work late into the evening. Especially in the creative sector. You have to work like a machine to make it. It’s a really tough school. In the Netherlands, it’s easier to get funding for non-commercial projects, even though this has also become more difficult in recent years. Since moving here, I made four documentaries and that wouldn’t have been possible without subsidies and funding.

But one piece of advice I would give to expats coming here is to learn the language. At least when you plan on staying for longer. I’m a perfectionist, so at the beginning, I wouldn’t talk in Dutch because I was afraid to make mistakes. But at a certain point, I said: I don’t care, I will just talk. My Dutch sounds terrible sometimes, but I think that if I live here, I have to put in this effort. Even if it’s not perfect, speaking the language can really make you feel more part of the city, more connected."

More expat stories - Life in Nijmegen

Studying & working in Nijmegen

Nijmegen has a lot to offer in terms of studying, working and business. The oldest city in The Netherlands is also one of the largest student cities in the country. The city presents itself as a leading global player in solving social issues and problems. With its significant position in the Health & High Tech sector, Nijmegen belongs to the international top when it comes to improving the quality of life, healthcare and the development of high-quality technology for various social applications.

Discover more

Do you also want to tell your expat story?

You can apply via this form if you work in Nijmegen, or via this form if you study in Nijmegen.

Back

This website uses cookies

This website uses cookies (Functioneel, Analytisch, Marketing) that are required for the website to perform as good as possible. By clicking on "I accept all cookies", you agree with the use of these cookies.

I want to set my cookie settings manually