Monique from Noordwijk moved to Zoetermeer for love: ‘I actually reacted to his cat’s face’

Monique from Noordwijk and Willem from Zoetermeer met each other through a dating site. It was love at first sight. But the love between Monique and Zoetermeer ran a little less smoothly.

Monique and Willem live in Oosterheem with their two daughters aged 10 and 7. And Monique had to get used to that place. “I was there once during the construction of Oosterheem. I thought it was such a soulless environment. But I’ve lived there for twelve years now and I’m pretty used to it. I don’t have to leave for now!”

His cat’s face

The couple got to know each other in April 2011 via dating site Pepper, Monique says: “I wanted to look beyond the borders of Noordwijk. If you’re in a certain circle, you don’t meet new people that quickly.” No sooner said than done. Monique registered for the website and saw Willem’s profile and also his cat. “I was actually reacting to his cat’s face. I said: ‘Ah what a sweet little face’. To which I received back: ‘You certainly don’t mean my face’.”

Watching the kids at ‘t Geertje

Monique and Willem discovered all kinds of similarities while chatting. Like their favorite movie and shared love for camping and – of course – cats. They agreed and their first date was a success. “We started at half past two in the afternoon and I was dropped off at home at half past two in the morning. We chatted all day.” A follow-up date took place at Farm ‘t Geertje. Monique says: “I thought it was fantastic. Two grown people looking endearingly at a couple of goats.”

From Noordwijk to Zoetermeer

The butterflies began to flutter and the newlyweds wanted to spend every free moment together. The solution? Live together! Before the end of the year, Monique lived with Willem in Oosterheem. She says: “I had a roommate at the time and Willem had a single-family home. I had to choose: either live together in an attic where you have to share everything, or move to Zoetermeer.” Three years later, they got married. “And we got married in Noordwijk,” says Monique.

Guide through Marketplace

“It took me five years to settle here. But since the youngest started school, I had more space to meet other people.” Today, more than twelve years later, Monique has found her footing. She works as a volunteer coordinator at the Rastaplas festival, helps at her children’s school and has familiarized herself with Zoetermeer. “What helped me to get to know Zoetermeer is Marktplaats. I bought a lot of stuff for the children’s rooms from mostly Zoetermeer sellers.” And that was quite a quest: “All streets in Zoetermeer run in circles and they look alike. Especially in Seghwaert. But now I know Zoetermeer maybe even better than my husband!”

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