Amsterdam

Housing is an issue (so cost of living is high) but the city is beautiful and summer in Amsterdam is hard to beat with all the cultural activiies and music festivals. Would not want to live in the actual city center (inside the "grachtengordel") but have been living in East for over 2 years now and aside from the price (and size) of apartment life is just good here. Biking everywhere is bliss. Winter can be cold though.

I lived in Amsterdam for three years in three different apartments in the center. The place is very noisy and during the lockdown it became painfully obvious that the dutch in general don't really care about whether they bother their neighbors or not. After reading expat Facebook groups, it seems I'm not alone with this opinion. The city is gorgeous, but to be frank, I'm not eager to live there again.

One giant tourist trap. Giant hordes of rich Europeans vacationing with their parents credit cards.

I spent 2 months in Amsterdam over the summer. Overall enjoyed the experience but wouldn't return to work.

I stayed in about 5 different hostels (recommend Cocomama) which were great for socialising and met some amazing people, however they were some of the most expensive I've ever stayed in, paying 40-60 euros a night. I stayed at the "nicer" hostels but still very expensive.

Nightlife was very good - great bars and clubs, some of which are overrun by loud drunk tourists but the majority of the ones I went to were okay. Just be prepared for how tall all the locals are, I've never felt so short in my life on a night out.

One of the parts I really enjoyed was cycling everywhere. I bought a second hand bike from a market for 50 euros and could easily get around the city. Felt very safe and almost everyone else was cycling. Could get to most places within a 15 minutes cycle.

I worked out of a Spaces co-working space. I wouldn't necessarily recommend as it was very corporate. The WeWork there might be a better option (or cafes if on a tighter budget).

Central Amsterdam is very busy. I didn't enjoy walking around the central area by the train station, particularly on weekends. Loads of tourists, stag dos, drunk people etc. Outside of that small central area, Amsterdam is a beautiful city with some amazing parks (e.g. Vondelpark), canals and scenery. I recommend some of the boat trips they do along the canals.

Easy to get around outside of Amsterdam too, train network is very efficient and Eurostar now goes to Amsterdam. I did a few day trips, Utrecht being my favourite and very easy to get to.

Amsterdam is not a cheap city, do not live here for a few months unless you have a decent income. I probably spent ~2.5k euros a month and I would say I was being fairly careful with money (minus the hostels and co-working space).

I always felt extremely safe and the locals English was exceptional, I was shocked at how good it was. Dutch people seemed friendly but slightly closed off (not surprising with the number of tourists they get). I struggled to make any local friends.

A note about smoking weed, other drugs etc. which Amsterdam is fairly well known for. I didn't actually do any of this and didn't feel left out at all. You'll still have a lot of fun doing other activities there.

I'd recommend other places over Amsterdam in Europe, my favourite being Madrid and Lisbon so far.

Tourist trap crowded with influencers taking a selfie in front of a canal . Very expensive.

Being in Amsterdam, all I could think of was how amazing this city would have been a decade or more ago when tourism hadn't yet ruined most things here. Typically happy and friendly Dutch people with a generous spattering of tourists from all over the world.

It has pretty great parks and heaps of canals you can light up next to, which is nice. I'd recommend missing Amsterdam and going to Utrecht or some other Dutch town instead - you'll have a much better time!

Great for partying and smoking pot (hard to find fresh air - smells of marijuana everywhere). Lots of huge parks. Overpriced and overpopulated during tourist season. I would not recommend it... you can find much better and cheaper options in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia.

Getting a place to stay is a challenge, and renting an apartment might be a challenge unless you can show proof on stable income job. most leases are 6-12mths minium

Awesome place to travel to, fun environment and beautiful city.

One of Europe’s most beautiful cities that’s been turned into an ovepriced and crowded playground for tourists and rich expats.