Netherlands is the most beautiful, well-structured and clean country that I have visited so far. Amsterdam, being its capital, is one of the most happening European cities you would ever visit.
It has something for everyone, and it’s truly multicultural. With so many Indians moving to the Netherlands, I felt like sharing some of my experiences about moving to Amsterdam. Hope it’ll help those planning to come here. Take a look!
#1 While, there are a lot of options, it’s really tough to find authentic Indian taste at the Indian restaurants.
#2 I wish I knew finding a perfect home on Funda.nl was harder than getting a job in Netherlands.
#3 Get ready for the tiny one bathroom apartments with a wierd layout unless you’re filthy rich. Amsterdam is like Mumbai of India, very little space for a whole lot of money.
#4 Walk instead of taking an Uber. Your wallet and waistline will thank me for this tip.
#5 ABN Amro ATMs (Geldautomaat) are ubiquitous. A lot of expats opt for an ABN Amro account as they are the only ones with their menu in English! So till you learn Dutch, I would advise you to get it.
#6 Your mom told you to look both ways before crossing a street for a reason. Watch out! There are lots of things on the road including cars, buses, trams. Everything will stop for you, except for the bikes!
#7 People are happy to help if you’re lost! Police are the sweetest of them all. They might even cook dinner for you if you’re lost or even just wasted after a night of craziness. Don’t believe me – check out their Facebook page
#8 Public transport is great, but trams, metros, and regular buses don’t run after midnight. It’s only late night buses or Uber on surge prices.
#9 It can rain anytime. Never leave home without an umbrella, even if it’s a sunny day. Of course, don’t forget your sunglasses on a stormy day either day!
#10 If you’re renting/buying a home, all the housing has a grocery, pharmacy, transportation and doctor’s clinic nearby. Be it any corner of Amsterdam or surroundings. The Dutch planned it that way! Good thing, right?
#11 Weekend getaways are possible even without a car. You can take the NS rail to reach most places. In fact, you might find yourself in another country in a couple of hours.
#12 The metros or the trams will break down, at least, once in a week. Blame it on the weather, or some tourist with a bike who fell down on the tracks.
#13 Don’t get too happy seeing an empty metro or tram. It is not going to some station called ‘Geen Dienst’ (Dutch for – No service).
I really hope these pointers help you plan your move to Amsterdam. I would love to know if you found the article useful. Share your thoughts in the comment’s section below. Also, if you’ve some additional thoughts and suggestions, do share with me. I’m all ears in that case
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4 Comments
Rakesh
I don’t agree with few points
Shagun
I don’t think these points are written keeping in mind a person who wants to move in to NL. Looks to me more like a travel blog. There is hardly any info here like example how to search for a house, how to apply for a health insurance plan, how does the public transport system works here, how to apply for an ov-chipkaart, 9292.nl, How to register at Gemeente and the list goes on and on.
I think these are some of the more practical things that can help new people moving in than to know that they have to see both sides before crossing the road 🙂
Akansha S Dimri
Great ideas..will definitely try to work on these ones in the future. 🙂
furtdso linopv
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossips and net and this is actually annoying. A good blog with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thanks for keeping this web site, I will be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Can’t find it.