Why Amsterdam?

“Gui Dag”, “Astublief” These  are the morning words of habit in the new city Michelle and I have decided to call home. “But why?” many people ask, and “what’s it like up-rooting and changing everything?” There is no quick answer. As newcomers to the specific environment of Houseboat living on the Canals this blog aims to look at what it’s all about.

Six months ago Michelle and I decided we were finally ready to try something new. We had lived in our flat in London for three years, and both of us were ready to take the opportunity to make a real stab at what we wanted to do with our lives, to find fulfilment before we did the whole marriage, kids and a house full of Kath Kidson thing.

Very quickly we quit the rat race, rented out our London home, and four weeks after making the decision and some tearful farewells to well-loved friends, we filled a rental van with our worldly belongings bound for my Mother’s loft in rural Suffolk. A couple of days later we boarded a plane bound for Croatia – Europe is hot in the summer so we decided to check out some of its treasures before ending up in our European city of choice; Amsterdam. Having visited a few times already we both loved the canal/cafe culture of the bicycle based society and we had decided it was here we wanted to try living.

What followed was a series of reality checks, and a few difficult moments. But, sat here with the beautiful power of hindsight, we know it could have been much harder. By making decisions positively and together our life is blossoming in the flat lands of Holland, in the Netherlands unique mix of liberalism and innate conservativism.

Alluded to before, the first thing one needs to purchase to begin your cultural assimilation in Amsterdam is a bicycle, something every Amsterdammer worth their salt uses as an extension of their body. It is amazing what people in this city can do while riding a bike; talk on a mobile phone, use an umbrella, transport multiple children, gesticulate wildly at pedestrians/motor vehicles, and dress immaculately. These feats are not done separately either; they do all these things at the same time!

Locals call “The ‘Dam”, as it is affectionately known, the best village in the world, and it does feel like that. Away from the tiny central zone which is dominated by stumbling, mumbling, legally stoned, Brit parties of young men transfixed by hot young ladies in red windows, Amsterdam is a place loved by its residents. Tall gable ended houses line up jovially along slow moving beautiful canals, the lines broken only by picturesque humped back bridges spanning the narrow, relaxing waterways. When the sun comes out tables and chairs cover all available space and people stop to chat, enjoy a good cold beer, or an equally good coffee, and watch the world go by on its plethora of bikes. When it rains Amsterdam is served by a myriad of local eat houses, and people congregate to warm themselves with Chocomel, Cake, and company.

It also feels different to other cities because of the proximity of very rural countryside. From Central Station you can take your bike on a free ten minute ferry crossing to Ijmeer, cycle for half an hour along the dyke, and soon you are in rural flat-land Holland, complete with Windmills, oldy worldy pubs, and locals looking at you strangely through half-closed eyes.

It’s for all the reasons above that we chose to live in Amsterdam. We also made a conscious decision to pursue living on a houseboat.

This blog aims to offer insight into the world of Canal dwellers in Europe’s village Capital, and to look at life in Amsterdam in general. Tune in for eating recommendations, exhibition info, photos, stories and advice through experience!

My next entry will focus on tips and advice on how to navigate the tricky rental market in Amsterdam, and particularly on how to get a houseboat without being fleeced by agents who are far more Sharky than their London counterparts!