{"id":2588,"date":"2013-12-25T16:42:21","date_gmt":"2013-12-25T16:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/?p=2588"},"modified":"2022-01-10T21:41:52","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T21:41:52","slug":"december-2013-member-of-the-month-jer-rem-dutch-with-a-british-employer-in-austin-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/december-2013-member-of-the-month-jer-rem-dutch-with-a-british-employer-in-austin-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"<img src=\"\/images\/flags\/Netherlands.gif\"> Austin &#8211; Jer Rem, Dutch with a British Employer in Austin, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-2y3xfg-07a8fdba2110e4b0a52dd88eb328d86d\">\n#top .avia-gallery.av-2y3xfg-07a8fdba2110e4b0a52dd88eb328d86d .avia-gallery-thumb a{\nwidth:14.2857%;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-gallery av-2y3xfg-07a8fdba2110e4b0a52dd88eb328d86d avia_animate_when_visible  avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  deactivate_avia_lazyload avia-gallery-animate avia-gallery-1'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class='avia-gallery-thumb'> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem-450x225.jpg 450w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" data-rel='gallery-1' data-prev-img='https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem-495x350.jpg' class='first_thumb lightbox ' data-onclick='1' title='Motm-Jer-Rem'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"  ><img class=\"wp-image-2593 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-2593\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem-180x180.jpg\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"  title='Motm-Jer-Rem' alt='' srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem-180x180.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem-36x36.jpg 36w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/member-of-the-month\/2013\/12\/Motm-Jer-Rem-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<p><em>EuroCircle will have its 15th Anniversary in Jan 2014 and celebrate it at the Netherland Club of New York City. To honor the Dutch we decided to interview other Dutch members in different cities. Jer actually attended the first EuroCircle Austin event in November 2010 @ The Austonian.<\/em><\/p>\n<h4>Tell us about yourself \u2013 who are you and what would be the short story of your life?<\/h4>\n<p>My name is Jer Rem, I\u2019m originally from the Netherlands. I received my bachelor\u2019s degree in Marketing there. During my education, I also spent a year studying and working in the UK. In 2001 I was relocated to Los Angeles for my work and in 2006 I moved to Austin, still working for the same employer, but now working remotely. In those 7 years I have lived in different parts of the city. Currently, I live in Round Rock with my fianc\u00e9e Samara and our two dogs.<\/p>\n<h4>We know that your work is very important for you \u2013 could you tell us more about you work and what makes you \u201ctick\u201d workwise\u2026<\/h4>\n<p>I work for BT (British Telecommunication) as an application manager. Due to the international environment of my employer, I deal with co-workers from all over the world. It is an interesting blend of technology and cultures.<\/p>\n<h4>What is THE thing\/s about Austin captivates you the most? If someone asked you what they should NOT miss while in Austin, what would reply? And what I really SHOULD miss\u2026.<\/h4>\n<p>Things not to miss in Austin are South Congress, especially on a Sunday stroll, maybe for some brunch at Perla\u2019s or South Congress Caf\u00e9 and do some people watching. Going for a run or walk around Town Lake. Both Town Lake and Lake Travis are some nice places to cool off during the summer.<br \/>\nHaving lived most of my life in Europe, I am not into American Football, just the real football. As a result, I am not much into the tailgating or watching the Football games.<\/p>\n<h4>What really annoys you about Austin \u2013 or maybe nothing does? Netherlands..same question?<\/h4>\n<p>What really annoys me about Austin? It has been mentioned before by others, the lack of public transportation. Another thing that annoys me sometimes is the overuse of \u201ckeep Austin weird\u201d. I get it, but it doesn\u2019t mean you have to show up in shorts and flip flops for a fancy dinner.<\/p>\n<h4>What do you miss most from The Netherlands or Europe\u2026in addition to the family and friends? Food, culture, life style\u2026<\/h4>\n<p>I do miss my family and friends, but through Eurocircle I have met some people that have become some of my best friends.<br \/>\nOf course you cannot beat the bbq from here, but I do miss the diversity of food in Austin. Luckily there are constantly new restaurants and food trailers opening here offering new types of food. What I do not miss from the Netherlands is the weather. Even with the heat in summer, it is still nice to be able to wake up in the morning with bright blue skies, plus you do not need to plan ahead about bringing an overcoat or umbrella.<\/p>\n<h4>Do you have a favorite Austin\/area restaurant?<\/h4>\n<p>I think Justine\u2019s and Est\u00e2ncia Churrascaria would be my favorites. Both of them are just something different and are able to deliver some of their culture to the plate besides tasty food.<\/p>\n<h4>What do you think about the cost of living in the Netherlands vs Austin, TX \u2013 and the standard of life and life style?<\/h4>\n<p>In the US, it is generally cheaper to live than in the Netherlands. The price of real estate was one of the main reasons for me to move from Los Angeles to Austin. Besides real estate, the day to day items are in general are cheaper here as well. Take for example a gallon of gas. It is almost 3 times more expensive in the Netherlands. I have noticed that people tend to go out for food more often here, especially fast food. While in the Netherlands it is more common to eat at home, or at least that is what I recall from 12 years ago.<\/p>\n<h4>If you could change something about Austin \u2013 what would it be?<\/h4>\n<p>It would be nice to have more of a patio culture as you see in Europe. You see this happening on Rainey Street more and more but is of course limited due to the heat in summertime.<\/p>\n<h4>What are the biggest misconceptions (or perceptions that turned out to be correct) you had about Texas when you moved here\u2013 and vice versa you think many of us have about the Dutch\/Amsterdam\/food etc?<\/h4>\n<p>I guess the misconception that I had about Texas before I moved to the US, was that I thought it would be a flat desert like you see in western movies. Fortunately, the Hill Country proved me wrong.<br \/>\nI have met some people here(outside of the EuroCircle) that think when I say I am Dutch that I am from Denmark or that Copenhagen is the capitol of the Netherlands or Amsterdam is all about coffee shops and red-light district. Sure, just like all people over here wear cowboy boots and ride horses\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n<h4>If there are some things you think everyone should know about the Dutch people, country, food, culture, drinks, music \u2013 what are those things to you personally? I don\u2019t even know how many Dutch people are here in Austin, do you??<\/h4>\n<p>To be honest, I have no statistics on how many Dutch people live here, but there are quite a few. After living here for 7 years I still run into new Dutch people. Obviously, you will have exchange students coming over here to UT and the tech industry here in Austin attracts them as well. A sure place to find Dutch people will be at Fado\u2019s during the upcoming World Cup. There is a group on Facebook called \u201cAustin Dutch Club\u201d that started about year and a half ago and has about 70+ members.<\/p>\n<h4>Anything else you feel you\u2019d like to share with us about Austin or yourself? Plan to stay here\u2026.<\/h4>\n<p>I would like to recommend everyone to come the monthly events, it is a nice informal way of meeting new people, plus having these events at different establishments provides you with an opportunity to see new places in Austin as well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Connect with Jer Rem:<\/strong><br \/>\nJer at EuroCircle: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/community\/user\/157051-jer-rem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.eurocircle.com\/community\/user\/157051-jer-rem\/ <\/a><br \/>\nJer at Facebook: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jerphaas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.facebook.com\/jerphaas <\/a><br \/>\nJer at LinkedIn: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pub\/jer-rem\/2\/76a\/10b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.linkedin.com\/pub\/jer-rem\/2\/76a\/10b <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EuroCircle will have its 15th Anniversary in Jan 2014 and celebrate it at the Netherland Club of New York City. To honor the Dutch we decided to interview other Dutch members in different cities. Jer actually attended the first EuroCircle Austin event in November 2010 @ The Austonian. Tell us about yourself \u2013 who are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[81],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2588"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29884,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588\/revisions\/29884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}