About me

Well, I am Marten and I live in Darlington. I was born long, long ago (in 1980) in The Netherlands, where I have lived until October 2009. The last 4 1/2 years I have lived in The Hague. Not a bad place to live at all, but I got sick of the country. People in England seem to think that The Netherlands is a really liberal, tolerant and open-minded country. It hurts me to say this, but you can’t be much further from the truth. Liberal only counts when it’s about sexuality and drugs, not in other areas. Tolerance against minorities has declined and the situation is now really bad. And open-minded? The average Dutch person is really narrow-minded nowadays.

In October 2009 my dream came true: I got accepted for a job in Stockton-on-Tees so I could move to England! Darlington is now my new location. Life here is a lot better then in The Hague. People are friendlier, the landscape is a lot nicer, life is more relaxed and last but not least, life is a hell of a lot cheaper! Taxes are lower here and the general costs of life are lower (like rent, shopping, a pint in the local pub etc. etc.). I am really settled here. I even pretty much got used to the accents “oop norf”! What helped me as well is that I could keep living together with my housemate and best friend, so I didn’t move on my own!

I am interested in football, AFC Wimbledon specially, politics (I’m proper left wing, and btw, Labour are right wing, unbelievable they still have the nerves to call themselves socialists!), and I love going out “down pub”, specially in the local pub where a pint costs £ 1.30! Also, I enjoy traveling, to football games but also for other reasons. I love seeing different places and traveling around. Keep an eye on this site and you will surely see more posts about my travel experiences!