Amsterdam, Netherlands - (Weeks 4, 5 & Ranking)
Hello Family and Friends,
We have been here long enough to fall into a regular routine of sorts. Recently I told my sister that our lives are very basic even though we're in the middle of this really cool and unique adventure of travelling the world. Once we settle into a place, we really start to feel what it's like to actually live here. We do really normal things like get Atlas ready for daycare.
Usually we ride our bike to daycare, but when it's raining we will take the tram. Not true Netherlanders yet.
Then Brett and I will head to breakfast at the hotel. I like to linger over my toast and tea.
Afterwards Brett and I will head out to explore the city a little bit on our bikes of course.
One of our outings included visiting an all women community. What we thought would be a modern women's complex was really just a somewhat less conservative convent.
We also found some "gable stones". These were used to tell homes apart and as street signs so that the Dutch could navigate through the city. Now they are in random clusters saved from when homes were torn down.
After picking up Atlas from daycare, we usually relax in the hotel lounge. We usually meet other hotel guest. We have even taught a few of the friends we met how to play Farkle.
So honestly a truly normal life, just in a new place!
LIVABILITY SCORE AMSTERDAM
Food: B
This time around, we ate at the hotel a lot. They had a very good breakfast with plenty of options. Then in the evening, the hotel had a happy hour that was supposed to be light fare, but it was definitely a full meal. When we did eat out, there was some food that was really good and some food that was just okay. We found a great Chinese restaurant and a fantastic Korean Sandwich location (that we are still talking about a month later). Still had trouble finding American style pepperoni pizza. We did find some southern style food, fried chicken and collard greens, which was good, but not great. As for Dutch style food, we had their version of a crepe or maybe a pizza? It was pizza toppings on a thin pancake was the best way I could describe it. My dad loved his but the rest of us just thought it was ok. We did have dutch style breakfast pancakes at breakfast which both Atlas and Brett loved. Overall, the ingredient quality throughout Amsterdam wasn't the highest, but flavor was hitting on the correct notes.
Services: C
Items ordered online take 2-5 days to arrive with very limited next day shipping. Selections even online are somewhat limited. Not as much choice as other places. Not easy to buy made in Netherlands products. Everything is imported. Hair removal was easy to schedule, providers were on time and prices were just as expensive as in the states.
In home convenience: B
Not so many services come to you. However, you can order food, groceries and small items delivered fairly quickly from the local restaurants and shops.
Neighborhood Walkability: A
Obviously biking is the best way to get around town. And the biking infrastructure is an A+++. There are sidewalks everywhere and you just have to watch out to not get run over by bikes.
Pollution: B+
It isn't the cleanest city by any stretch of the imagination. There is trash around (and we have heard it's gotten worse lately) and on trash collection day the city has an especially ripe smell due to the often loose trash piles on the sidewalk. However, the city isn't very loud or bright at inopportune times. With the lack of traffic and the canals, along with the large parks the air, outside of trash days, felt clean and crisp. Water was drinkable with no noticeable digestion issues by anyone the entire time. You catch the occasional waft of cannabis here and there but smoking is less than in much of Europe and you can enjoy time outside or a meal without having plumes of smoke blown in your face.
People: B
They say that the Dutch are very direct. In fact, they feel that when you aren't direct, that you are lying. They don't have all the language niceties like we do in the states such as "Could we....", "Should we..", "It might be better if we....". Instead it is just "No, that's not possible" and "That is a bad idea" and "Why would you want to go there?" For example, one time Atlas was doing his zig-zag pattern, running through a crowd of people as he was looking backwards. He ran straight into this girls legs and fell backwards on his bottom. She looked at him, asked if he was okay and then looked at me and said "He's not hurt".
Safety: A-
Another city where the fear of theft is probably higher than actual theft. For example we heard that you need to take you bike battery with you because someone would steal it and to make sure you lock your bike up as bike theft is really high. A bike shop was very hesitant to sell us a quick release seat lever for fear of our seat being stolen easily. However, we saw bikes all over the city with just the wheel lock and not locked to anything solid. And Brett and I at least once each left our bike locks behind by accident and came back to find them in the exact same place a day or two later. Now we did see two or so bikes that were still locked onto racks with everything missing but the frame itself, but they often had the look of having sat in the same spot for quite some time. A good rule in general would be to not "store" your bike in public places for days but if using it regularly we noticed no issues.
Driving: B+
The city of Amsterdam isn't made for cars. It is very difficult to get around the city itself with a car. However, you don't need to own a car as car share is very common. Once you leave the inner city it is very easy to get around. The main thoroughfares have sensored lanes to where you almost never stop unless another car is crossing your path, including the turning lanes being long and sensors long before you approach the light meaning by the time you arrive the light is often green. The highways are well paved and look new (probably because no one uses them because everyone is biking)
Infrastructure: A-
The metro is clean and pretty much just takes you across the city. To get around within the city the Tram is a good option. Don't think we ever used the bus as we were able to get everywhere we wanted via bike, tram or metro. There was a lot of construction in Amsterdam when we were there. Entire roads completely inaccessible and torn up. They say that 2026 was the year of expanding the tramway. So maybe once they are done this it will be better. When we wanted to leave the city we either drove or took the train which was easy enough. Wifi was easily acceptable.
Mobility within the Country: A-
We biked from Breda in the south all the way to Amsterdam via bike highway. A car can pretty much get you anywhere within Amsterdam. The train gives you access to the rest of Europe, Paris is three hours away and Brussels is an hour and a half.
Summary: A-
Cannot stress enough how much we LOVED the bike culture in Amsterdam. Made it so enjoyable to do the daily commute. Able to find good food fairly easily. It is a multicultural city with people from all over Europe and the world. Almost everyone speaks English. However I would need to learn Dutch if I wanted to practice Physical Therapy. They have a program for children to be a part of a hybrid program for their first year of school to learn Dutch. Also on the day your child turns school age, they can enroll in school. They don't have to wait till the next school year. Overall Amsterdam is our favorite European city.
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