my a‘dam life
It’s been 425 days since it was first recommended that we work from home; but the weeks leading up to that day had been some of the most hectic of my life. My transition was a frenzy: My last day of work in New York was a Thursday, I turned over the keys to my apartment on Friday, caught a flight on Saturday, landed in Amsterdam on Sunday, and reported to work on Monday. (I’m asking myself now, why would you do that to yourself?!)
I had been extremely lucky to find a reasonably priced, relatively spacious (for one person) apartment in the heart of Amsterdam within my first two weeks. However, instead of getting settled in I was gearing up for a trip back to Southeast Asia which would’ve consisted of six flights, and four countries in a span of fifteen days. That’s how I navigated life, it was always “ok, what’s next?” that if it weren’t for the fact that our phones now have cameras there would probably be very many things I would’ve forgotten by now. In short, I was actually quite pleased to be forced to just take it easy.
The last 425 days haven’t been the easiest time to navigate a new city and set up a new life, but I think I’m incredibly lucky to have landed here at the time I did. There is a certain calm that seems to hover around Amsterdam and I don’t mean this due to the coffeeshop culture.
Here are some things I wish I had known or paid more attention to that would have made my move smoother:
Check the weather. I had totally missed the mark on this and didn’t realize just how far north the Netherlands is relative anywhere else I had lived in the world. The wind is so intense that I once stopped and held onto a light post because I was scared of being blown into a canal.
Coffee Shops and Cafe are not the same thing. If you’re looking for coffee go to a cafe and do not tell people that you’re running late because you’re trying to find a coffee shop that is open at 7am. Yes, I’m one of those people who would rather arrive late with a cappuccino in hand than arrive on time in a harassed and uncaffeinated state.
It’s ok if you don’t speak Dutch. Just about everything is in Dutch, with the exception of tourists signs; but if you speak to someone directly, just about everyone speaks English. However, I have switched my primary browser from Safari to Chrome because of the translation functionality.
It’s ok if you don’t ride a bike. The public transportation system generally gets you to where you need to go; it’s clean and generally on time but not as frequent as I’d expect (but this could be due to less passenger traffic due to the pandemic?). Yesterday I realized that in Central Amsterdam, much like the NY Subway, it is much faster to go North/South than it is to go East/West.
Well-known international banks do not have retail banking facilities available in the Netherlands. You will need to open a bank account with a Dutch bank and they charge a monthly fee, so yes they charge you to keep your money for you. If you need to transfer money overseas you will have to look into either traditional transfer services or a digital bank which seem to be pretty popular here.
One of the most wonderful things about the Netherlands is that any government related process and procedures are highly organized and super efficient. I would say “Singapore levels” but because the Netherlands is bigger geographically with a larger population, I think I’m going to have to change my expression to “Dutch levels”.
Schedule your appointment to get your BSN (social security number equivalent) as soon as possible, you will need this for everything. They couldn’t have made this easier, everything you need is in a one-stop expat center, now called IN Amsterdam. Also, get yourself a Dutch number and a smartphone as soon as possible as this will make your life so much easier for all types of transactions.
Last, but not least, have a good real estate agent. While you will be provided with an english translation of a contract, only the dutch version is legally binding. I highly recommend Expat Housing Network. I reached out to them while I was still in New York and they responded to my web enquiry within 24 hours with a pretty comprehensive list of things to consider. The EHN team communicates clearly and concisely but are also friendly and helpful. They will do an intake call to understand your requirements and manage your expectations; after that call it’s all very efficient as they will have everything organized so you can start shortlisting your viewings. Like I said, I got everything done in two weeks. Their scope of services are also pretty comprehensive especially considering they charge exactly as much as any firm that was slower to respond and less accommodating i.e. only willing to talk to you if you had an eye on one of their listings.
