Klaudia Jandzinska: "I don't want to be stuck in traffic every day – I'd much rather cycle to work."

She swapped the cosmopolitan city of Warsaw for Leeuwarden in Friesland; Klaudia Jandzinska decided to spend a year studying abroad whilst at university. She wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and see the world. And she succeeded. Through an Erasmus exchange programme, she came to Friesland for a year. In the end, she stayed for love.

"I studied International Studies at NHL University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden," she says. She moved to the city a week before her first day of term. "In my first few weeks, I met Jan, who was studying business economics. We bumped into each other in town and got talking. That was at the end of August 2006. From that moment on, we’ve been inseparable and have now been together for 18 years."

Last year, she decided to look for a new challenge. “I really wanted to keep working in Leeuwarden because I think it’s important to have a good work-life balance. I don’t want to be stuck in traffic every day – I’d much rather cycle to work.” In Warsaw, she lived a 15-minute drive from her university, but because of the traffic jams, the journey sometimes took over an hour. These days, she cycles to work in under 15 minutes. Without any traffic jams.

Klaudia had known for some time that she wanted to work in an educational setting. “When I was young, my father worked at a university, and that always seemed so interesting to me. The atmosphere at a school is young and dynamic, and of course there are plenty of holidays,” she laughs. When she saw a vacancy at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, she applied straight away. "My application process at NHL Stenden went incredibly smoothly. The first interview was mainly an introductory meeting, and in the second interview I had to do a case study. Shortly afterwards I was hired, just in time before Jan and I had planned a big trip to India.” The university didn’t make a fuss about her trip. According to Klaudia, the work-life balance in the Netherlands is very different from that in Poland. “In Poland, people often work long hours and do a lot of overtime. The workload is incredibly high. In the Netherlands, you close your laptop at five o’clock, say goodbye to your colleagues and go home.”

Klaudia has a few tips for anyone thinking of moving to Friesland. “There are plenty of opportunities on the Frisian job market. Everyone here speaks good English, so if you don’t speak Dutch, that’s not a problem. You can simply apply to companies that interest you, and they’ll often invite you round for a cup of coffee. You make friends here quite quickly, too. People are friendly and open.”
As for the future, Klaudia is clear: “I’m staying in Friesland. I’m really enjoying myself here and can’t see myself leaving any time soon. I’ve found my place here, both professionally and in my personal life.”