As I remember how glad I was when people introduced me some apps that are actually very useful, I want to make it easier for you! I summarized the top apps that made my life easier or more fun while living in Groningen, the student city in The Netherlands.
I live in Groningen for a year now and you might hardly meet someone that active and inlove with the city and dutch culture as me. Which is honestly good for you, as I really wanna share my excitement and tips how to enjoy the city and student life here!
There are lot of apps I discovered here and I use them all the time. And maybe you just came to Groningen from another country as me and you have no idea what apps dutchies use. Next to snapchat and whatsapp, those are like necessity to have tbh, there are many apps that I did not know earlier! And I will teach you some random important dutch words throughout the article, nice he?
1) ALBERT HEIJN
Let's start with food. In the Albert Heijn app you can login with your bonus card, that you HAVE TO GET! It is necessary to have a bonus card if you wanna use of the discount(bonus, korting) and the best part of it is that you even get your own personal bonus and every week you get around 10 new discounts based on products you buy often! It is really amazing. It is in the section "my bonus box". For example, I have a discount for croissants and my favorite cheese!
There are also recipes available and you can check whether is the food you want to buy currently in a discount. In a section Eerder gekocht, you can also see what everything you ever bought. They generate that due to your personal bonus card. That might be usefull when you do not remember what product was it that you liked last time or just to show your friends what food they should bring! Or what alcohol haha.
2) GORILLAS
Continuing with food, you have probably heard of Gorillas. The amazing fast grocery delivering which is delivered in 10 minutes to your door. And it really is. The fee for delivery is not much and if you are hangover(brak) and can not leave your house, it is very handy! I ordered a lot when I had corona in July, Gorillas saved my life haha.
3) THUISBEZORGD
4) UBER EATS
Seems like we are pretty lazy students, because food deliveries are definitely popular in Groningen. Thuisbezorgd (and Uber eats as well) delivers meals from many many restaurants and bistros. You can even order a cheesecake or smoothie from Smooth Brothers! (We love them btw). Again, the fee is not much and if you are lazy to cook or brak, it is really handy and life saving. I usually order from Poké Spot and Vapiano. They also deliver even later in the night, so that is amazing when you host or attending a party and get pretty hungry!
5) GAMES
Talking about parties, dutchies love drinking games! Not only board games as 30 seconds or cards (getting in a bus will make you definitely drunk), but also funny games online! I always enjoy Photo roulette, which is fun to play with your close friends or rather people you might never see again, haha. Just make sure you will not select a picture you are really not happy to show around, because it selects random photos from your photo album!
Another fun game is 100 questions, to warm up the party a bit. It is also fun to play with friends but also with people you do not even know! Then apps as Evil Apples, Would you _ or Girls night.
6) STICKER MAKER
Forget about texting on facebook messenger, everyone is on Whatsapp, and everyone loves sending stickers. I have a full gallery of stickers of my friends, that I send instead of emojis or just to express my reactions. In sticker maker, you can easily make your own stickers that you can share with your friends!
7) KNAEK - de studentenkortingsapp
You have probably never heard of Knaek before. It is an app & websites full of discounts! You pay 25e for the whole year, but if you really use all of the available discounts, it is worth it. I always use cashback option for ASOS or MediaMarkt. There is also McDonald's menu for 6e, discount in The Burger Company or in House of Pita. And you want that haha.
8) SPLITSER - Wie Betaald Wat
This amazing app makes clear who paid what (Wie betaald wat) when you were on a trip, when you have group of friends and someone paid dinner for all of you or just doing groceries to prepare dinner together. If you live in a student house, it is also very handy to see who bought stuff for the house. It is fair that all of you contribute, no?
You can always see the balance, where you see who spent how much money or who owns some. In the end you can always settle the list and you will get a summary! It is really handy app, specially for group a friends or when you go on a vacation.
9) TIKKIE
Stuur maar een tikkie! An electronic bill that makes everything easier. Are you on a party and ordering pizza for random people? Send them a tikkie! Are you in a terrace and paying for few people? Send them a tikkie!
You do not need tikkie app to pay some, but indeed you need it to generate one. There is also option to create your own gif when someone pays your tikkie! It plays a big role in a student life in the Netherlands, so make sure you know what tikkie is and how it works.
Moreover, it is way better to own a dutch bank account. It is for free with ABN Amro or ING and it will make your life way easier. You can pay with iDeal (online method of payment) and of course pay a tikkie. In some stores you can not even pay with VISA (you can in Lidl).
10) 9292
Every country has their own public transport online system when you can see how to get somewhere by train or bus. You can indeed use NS or simply Google maps, but it is very handy to use what locals do. This app is called 9292! And about transport, do not forget to obtain your OV chipkaart!
I hope you found some of the apps really interesting and handy to use! I did not know any of them before I moved here. What other apps do you use on daily basis that you did not use before?
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