Nestled in the Dutch countryside near the borders of Belgium and Germany is NATO JFC Brunssum located in the Netherlands. It’s here that military spouse and Army National Guard member Carina Hanks found herself after a summer move with her husband and their lovable dog.
For Carina, the biggest challenge of moving overseas has been finding employment. After working remotely for a health insurance company for several years, she lost her job, even though she went through all the right channels to see if she could continue working from abroad.
“It was about a 4 to 5 month process of going back-and-forth with legal and human resources trying to decide if they could keep me on,” Carina explained. “My supervisor, her supervisor and then the VP all fought for me to stay on, they were extremely supportive, but unfortunately, the ultimate decision was with HR. They couldn’t accept the SOFA agreement.”
Currently, spouse employment policies in The Netherlands are a bit more flexible compared to neighboring countries like Belgium, where spouses working for US-based companies need a permit and are subject to Belgian income tax. In The Netherlands, teleworking is considered a home-based business, and “US dependents are not required to obtain a Dutch working permit, making employment opportunities or entrepreneurship possible while residing in the country.”
“The biggest issue [spouses] face is just a lack of knowledge and understanding and having people believe us when we say we are allowed to work,” said Carina.
Though her company offered her the option to take a sabbatical and return as an internal candidate in the future, she’s still facing three years of unemployment.
To stay positive, Carina has focused on traveling around The Netherlands, strengthening her relationship with her husband, playing intramural volleyball, and diving into her hobbies.
“I am incredibly grateful to be here, the region is absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend everyone experience the Limburg region at least once,” said Carina. “The Dutch are incredibly friendly people and I’m very excited to experience my first Christmas here.”
One of her passions, reading, inspired her to start a business called Timberstales Books, where she helps military spouses become self-published authors by editing their work. After seeing how many aspiring authors struggled to find professional editing support, Carina jumped in and became a reliable editor. While running a startup overseas has its challenges—like figuring out how to manage an online shop—Carina says it’s opened new doors and taught her a lot about herself.
“[Spouses] do benefit from times like these, because we get to kind of recreate ourselves if we want to, and we learn about ourselves in the process,” said Carina. She also says she has started applying for editing jobs as a result of her new business, which is something that Carina didn’t think she would enjoy at first.
Carina’s advice for those about to move overseas is to be patient and open to the experience. “We’re afforded an amazing opportunity that most people only dream of and we squander that we are doing ourselves a disservice,” Carina shared.
“We’ve met a lot of people here so far that are very closed off and of the American mindset where it's ‘my way or the highway’,” said Carina. “If you are open to the culture, you will have a better experience. We’ve chosen to gravitate towards the families that are trying new things and visiting new places.”
Want to learn more about Carina’s business? Visit her website here. For editing inquiries, email Timberstalesbooks@gmail.com.
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