Leaving the Netherlands: Seven and a Half Years of Driving Through Europe
Last week, I officially sold my BMW 330i Touring. Knowing each drive could be the last made me appreciate the car and the roads around me a little more than usual. Somewhere during those final weeks, it hit me that I wasn't really saying goodbye to the BMW. I was saying goodbye to seven and a half years of automotive experiences that completely changed how I think about driving.
After seven and a half years in the Netherlands, my family and I are preparing to move back to the United States.
It's difficult to compress that amount of time abroad into a single reflection, but if there's one constant thread running through it for me, it's the experiences that cars made possible. They took me across Europe, introduced me to incredible people, pushed me out of my comfort zone, and even inspired me to start sharing those experiences on YouTube.
Looking back, this chapter wasn't really about the cars themselves. It was about where they took me, the people I met along the way, and the experiences I'll carry with me long after leaving Europe.
When driving becomes optional, it becomes meaningful
Growing up in Florida, driving was simply part of life. You didn’t think about it, you just did it (and you had to) because it was how you got anywhere. Like most teenagers in the US, I couldn't wait to get my driver's license.
Living in the Netherlands completely changed that perspective.
In Amsterdam, you don't need a car most of the time. Between cycling, trams, trains, and dense urban design, driving becomes optional rather than essential. If you live and work within the city like I did, getting around by bike is genuinely the best way to get around.
Ironically, driving less made me enjoy driving even more.
During our first year here in 2019, we didn't own a car at all. If I wanted to drive, I rented one simply because I wanted to. One weekend it might be a Volvo wagon, another a BMW, another a convertible. Between 2019 and 2020, I rented more than twenty different cars. Not only was it fun to experience so many different makes and models, driving became more of an event.
That period didn't last long though and in 2020 I decided to lease a car here full time. Looking back, that decision didn't just give me permanent access to a car. It opened the door to hundreds of experiences that otherwise never would have happened.
Cars as experiences
Over time, I realized that while cars are technically material possessions, they've become much more than that for me. They're an experience multiplier.
Some people experience a place through food, language, or the people they meet. For me, it's also through driving. Every country has its own personality on the road. The cars people buy, the way they drive, and even the roads themselves all tell you something about the place you're in.
That's why some of my strongest memories of Europe aren't the destinations, but the drives themselves. The Alps feel different when you've driven through them. The Autobahn isn't just another motorway when you've experienced it in your own car at top speed.
Looking back, driving became one of the defining ways I experienced Europe.
The cars that defined this chapter
During my time in the Netherlands, I owned two Euro-market BMWs that were never sold in the United States:
2020 BMW 118i hatchback (2020-2022)
2020 BMW 330i Touring (2022-2026)
I wanted to embrace European automotive culture by driving the kinds of cars Europeans actually own. Neither was particularly exotic, but they were perfectly suited for life here. Comfortable on long road trips, compact enough for Dutch cities, efficient enough for the Autobahn, and genuinely enjoyable to drive.
Somewhere along the way, I also became a bit of a BMW fan as well.
Selling my 330i Touring has honestly been one of the hardest parts of this move. It might just be a car, but it’s also been a dream to own a “Euro wagon” and a BMW 3 series as well; I’m lucky that I got both in one. It's also the car that carried me through some of the best experiences of my life. When I think about it now, I don't just see a Euro touring wagon. I see road trips with my wife, late-night drives, alpine passes, the Autobahn, the Nürburgring, Circuit Zandvoort, and eventually our baby riding in the back seat (becoming a real dad car!).
It carried me through more than nine countries and over 50,000 kilometers without ever missing a beat.
The driving experiences I'll never forget
There were so many moments that stood out not because of where I was going, but because of how it felt to be behind the wheel.
One of the most surreal was completing two laps of the Nürburgring Nordschleife in my own BMW 330i Touring. We tacked it onto a weekend birthday trip to Frankfurt. There's something uniquely European about taking the same wagon that carried your groceries, luggage, and family on road trips and driving it around one of the world's most legendary racing circuits, all while your weekend bags are still sitting in the trunk. That experience perfectly captured what I came to appreciate about European car culture. An ordinary family wagon can also be a genuine driver's car.
There were plenty of other unforgettable moments too:
Unrestricted sections of the German Autobahn, experiencing sustained speeds around 250 km/h (155 mph) in my own car
Road trips across Western Europe; through Spain, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and beyond, where crossing international borders often felt as simple as crossing state lines in the US
Driving through the Alps around Mont Blanc, where every corner feels like a decision and every view feels earned
Taking that same BMW onto Circuit Zandvoort, home of Dutch Formula 1 GP, and discovering an entirely different side of a car I thought I already knew
Driving supercars on the same circuit in 2020 as part of a race experience, gaining a newfound appreciation for precision, balance, and control
Learning to drive manual, something I still wouldn't say I've mastered.
Driving in the UK and Ireland, where adapting to left-hand traffic became part of the adventure itself and driving my own left-hand drive car on right-hand drive roads
Looking back, what amazes me most is how many of these bucket-list experiences quietly became normal life. Before moving here, driving the Autobahn, taking my own car around the Nürburgring, owning a BMW wagon Americans never got, or casually driving across five countries in a week felt like things I'd only ever watch on YouTube.
Importing a piece of America
In 2022, I also did something a bit crazy and I imported a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis from Florida over to Amsterdam.
That car represented something completely different.
It wasn't practical. It wasn't efficient. It didn't belong here. In America, it was the kind of stereotypical "elderly Floridian retiree" car that no one would give a second thought.
And that was exactly why it mattered. It was ironically out of context for Dutch roads.
Driving it through the Netherlands felt quirky and surreal at times, lofting around through a world of compact Euro hatchbacks and tight European proportions in something that represented an entirely different automotive philosophy. It received so much attention and so many looks every time I took it for a drive.
More importantly, it became a bridge between my two homes.
It connected me back to home while introducing me to new people here. It led to conversations at fuel stations, local meetups, and American Car Sundays at Circuit Zandvoort. It also reminded me that car enthusiasm is a universal language.
That Mercury wasn't just a project car for me and YouTube. It represented the only car I've owned and driven extensively on two different continents that I have called home.
Sharing the journey
Starting a YouTube channel wasn't something I ever imagined doing.
I'm naturally much more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it. But these experiences felt too unique not to share.
Looking back, I'm really glad I did.
It pushed me outside my comfort zone and connected me with thousands of people who shared the same curiosity about European cars, road trips, and driving culture. Some simply enjoyed coming along for the ride. Others reached out to say my videos helped them plan their own European road trips, Nürburgring visits, or even decide which car to buy.
Knowing that my experiences have helped others has been one of the most rewarding parts of this entire journey.
What I won’t miss
As much as I'll miss Europe, it certainly isn't perfect for car enthusiasts.and being a car enthusiast in a non-car city like Amsterdam is especially challenging. Owning a car in the Netherlands is expensive. Taxes, insurance, parking, inspections, and the general cost of ownership add up quickly. I won't miss €2+/L fuel, dealing with average-speed cameras, tiny and expensive parking garages, or some of the more questionable motorway rest stops in Germany and Belgium. Those are the trade-offs that come with driving here. None of these define the experience, but they are part of it.
Looking ahead
As I prepare to return to the United States, I find myself thinking less about what I'm leaving behind and more about what I'll rediscover.
American driving culture is where my enthusiasm began. It's louder, bigger, and celebrates individuality in a way that's very different from Europe.
I'm already looking forward to future vacations and road trips back across Europe. This continent still has so many roads I'd love to drive, and one day I hope to share some of them with my son. I'd love to show him the Alps, the Autobahn, the Nürburgring, and all the places that shaped so much of my own automotive journey.
Closing thoughts
Looking back, I don't remember Europe as a collection of destinations.
I remember it as a collection of drives and experiences.
The first rental car in 2019. The realization that driving could be something chosen instead of required. The Autobahn. The Alps. The Nürburgring. Circuit Zandvoort. The faithful BMW wagon. The wonderfully ridiculous Mercury Grand Marquis. The speeding tickets.
Europe didn't make me love cars more.
It changed what I love about them.
I realize how fortunate I was. Very few American automotive enthusiasts get the opportunity to call Europe home for seven and a half years instead of simply visiting for a week. I certainly don't take that for granted.
As this chapter comes to an end, I leave with a deeper appreciation for driving, for Europe, and for the experiences that cars can make possible.
-K
