In case you missed it… my husband and I recently relocated from Denver, Colorado to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Living abroad has been a lifelong dream for both of us and we couldn’t be happier, but it hasn’t been all sunshine and tulips. In this post, I’m putting artwork aside for a minute to share a personal look at my first few months as an expat.

Arriving in Amsterdam

If you’re a cat mom, you’ll understand this crazy statement - my biggest concern about the move from day one was my cat, Archer. This was his longest flight by far and he had to fly in pet cargo. I had a mini nervous breakdown when the airline took 40 minutes to get him to me after the flight landed.

Thankfully, it all turned out ok. I'm very lucky that he adjusts so quickly to moves. He was back to his old self within 24 hours.

Me on the other hand…

This is probably TMI but I'm going to be real with you - I managed to get food poisoning from something that I ate at the airport. I spent my first night in Amsterdam hugging the toilet. Not a great start.

I'm so thankful that I didn't lose my cookies on one of the trams that we took all over Amsterdam that first week. Normally I believe in good old fashioned rest when you're sick but we had taken the week off to explore the city's various neighborhoods and I wasn't letting my vacation time go to waste.

On top of feeling like death, the weather was AWFUL when we arrived. It was nothing but wind and rain for 5 days straight. But by the weekend the sun was out, I was back to my healthy self again, and I was in love with Amsterdam.

Apartment Hunting

I've had to find apartments to rent in NYC and the Bay Area and let me tell you - it's far harder to find an apartment in Amsterdam. Of course, we didn't make it easy on ourselves by having a pet and limiting our search to furnished apartments.

The clock was ticking. We only had one month to find a place before we needed to check out of our short-term housing at the Wittenberg (which I highly recommend to anyone relocating or just staying in Amsterdam for a week or more).

Countless times a day my husband and I would check the listings on the local housing. We made a gigantic spreadsheet of all the places we reached out to. Of those, we only got responses from a fraction of listing agents that resulted in showings.

As we rolled into the second half of the month, we were really starting to get nervous. That's when we found the PERFECT apartment. It was in a quiet neighborhood away from tourists but still near a lot of bars and restaurants and it overlooked at canal. Best of all - it's a short walk from one of the largest parks in Amsterdam so we could go running. (Got to counter the stroopwafels somehow!)

And… WE GOT IT!!!

I honestly couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect place to live.

daily life

Food

Rather than doing one weekly grocery trip, people here seem to stop by the grocery store daily. Food also seems to be A LOT cheaper and there is an emphasis on fresh foods. Even our smaller-size local grocery store has a huge selection of pre-cut veggies. Making Chinese? There’s a fresh veggie blend for that. Italian, no problem. How about Indonesian? Done. I just love it!

Restaurants are about as expensive as New York City or San Francisco but there are cheap options available. People in the Netherlands seem to love grilled cheese sandwiches (toasties). Even a small bar we went into had a little panini press to make toasties for patrons. (I’m sure the college students here live off the stuff.)

A popular snack that I am now addicted to is bitterballen. These are fried balls filled with stew that you dip in mustard. The traditional version is made with meat but most restaurants have a vegetarian version - yes please! These little golden nuggets of goodness pair nicely with a blonde dutch beer. (Did I mention that I’m happy to have a park to run in?)

I give Amsterdam high marks on restaurant selection. They have all types of cuisine and it can all be delivered by bike - pizza, curry, ramen, pasta, burgers, etc. Just don’t expect anything to be spicy. The Dutch seem to be like US midwesterners in that respect. I’m going to need to start carrying around hot sauce in my purse like Hilary.

There has been one big downside… I’m sad to say that we still have not found decent Mexican food. Weekly at-home taco night is going to be a necessity.

Bikes

Someone told me before I left the States, “In Amsterdam, the bikes have the right of way. If you’re a pedestrian and you get hit by a bike, you’re at fault.” I’m not sure how true this is from a legal sense but it sure feels true. If you step into the bike lane without looking, you better have good insurance.

I tried to rent a Dutch bike during our first month and I hated it. Traditional Dutch bikes have coaster breaks, meaning the only way to stop is to pedal backward. It’s also nearly impossible for a short person like me to get started after stopping. Instead, you have to use your feet to push along.

I turned in my hellish rental bike ASAP and bought a bike with hand breaks. I couldn’t be happier.

Travel

So far I’ve spent long weekends in Brussels and Vienna and we’ve got another trip coming up to Bruges. The security lines at the local airport have been insanely long lately so we’re likely going to stick to train travel for a bit.

I love to travel. Exploring new places in Europe has made the trials and tribulations of moving countries worthwhile. If you have any favorite spots in Europe to recommend please let me know in the comments below.

That’s it for this little personal update. Is there something else you want to know about expat life? Leave a comment below.

First Months as an Expat in Amsterdam