[bxc]

well, NL is pretty expensive to live in if you're earning USD; the tax burden is high if you're used to the US (though there's some offset because that tax includes what would be private medical insurance in the US); and people are forever grumbling about how hard it is to find places to live in Amsterdam. So maybe there's a reason for that.

The meeting on 6th July in their event planner is labelled as 'weekly' though that would mean there should be one in a couple days too (?)

[vegasbrianc]

I lived in The Netherlands (right outside Amsterdam) for 6 years. It is a nice country with a lot to do and see when it wasn't raining. But the Dutch tax the heck out of you on everything. On the flip side you get an 8% holiday bonus mandatory by the government but most companies already compensate this into your salary already.

If you are an entrepreneur I would recommend never to hire a fulltime employee and only hire contractors or be absolutely certain on who you hire. We had such big problems with a few employees and the government would not let us fire them. Our company had to pay them compensation and help find them a new job?!?! We also had another employee that became to stressed with the workload and the Dutch government told us we had to pay his salary until he returns for up to 2 years.

Finally the nail in the coffin for me was the weather. I couldn't take wind and rain for what seemed like months straight and summer lasting for sometimes only 1 month.

I wish Appsterdam success but for me I prefer lower taxes and better climate. Malta or Switzerland anyone?

[saghul]

About taxes: yes, they are high, very. But, if you play your cards right you can get the '30% regeling', which means 30% of your salary is tax free. IIRC you can get it for 4 years, and can be extended to 10.

[weel]

The tax does NOT include medical insurance. You're supposed to take out your own "zorgverzekering" (i.e. medical insurance) from a private company, although you can get a subsidy to cover the expense ("zorgtoeslag") if you have a low income. What you may be thinking about is AWBZ, a national insurance scheme for which you do indeed pay the premiums along with your taxes and that covers various sorts of long-term care, mostly for the disabled and the mentally ill.

In general, for some reason Americans imagine that European countries always have government-run healthcare, presumably because that's what Britain has. In fact, most European countries have hybrid systems, with insurance provided by private companies or in some cases unions, and heavily regulated and subsidized by the government.

As for taxes: while taxes in NL are indeed extremely high, there are loopholes for foreign high skilled workers ("kennismigranten.") My cynical public choice economist interpretation is that the Dutch government realized that this group of people is more likely to vote with their feet, inducing a different Laffer curve, and as such the taxation rate maximizing public revenue is a bit lower in their case...

As for finding housing: very strict rent control laws depress rents way below market rates, which of course means that demand outstrips supply and some allocation mechanism other than price must be invented. In the Dutch case, most rental property subject to rent control is owned by semi-public nonprofits, and their allocation mechanism is almost universally a waiting list. In the case of Amsterdam, there are many districts for which a 7 year waiting list is not out of the ordinary. While there is a blanket exception from the strictest rent control laws for properties with a monthly rent above about 650 euros, the city of Amsterdam has the additional problem that an even larger share of rental properties is owned by said semi-public nonprofits ("woningcorporaties") than in other cities. As an outsider looking to get a"vrije sector" apartment (i.e. over 650 euros a month and thus exempt from the strictest rent control rules) you're in trouble. Consider living in Amstelveen, which has a lot of "vrije sector" housing because it is historically run by the liberal party, whereas Amsterdam is historically run by the labor party.

[weel]

By the way, don't interpret the above as saying that Amsterdam, or Holland generally, is a horrible place.

Amsterdam is a cosmopolitan, small city -- a combination you won't find many other places. It's a college town, a tourist attraction, and a center of international commerce. The city center and indeed many of the residential neighborhoods are extremely beautiful, at least if you're into brick and trees. You'll find many decently trained people to hire, all of whom speak Dutch and English fluently as well as a bit of German and French. You'll find that official bureaucracy is comparatively efficient and honest. You'll find well maintained, if slightly underprovisioned, highways linking you to the rest of Europe, as well as comfortable, clean trains running to every significant town in the country twice an hour, and a very well designed and operated international airport with a train station in the basement.

[richcollins]

I pay $100 a month for insurance and make $150 an hour contracting. I'm guessing that I would lose way more money in taxes by taking free healthcare in the Netherlands.

[muhfuhkuh]

I doubt that $100 covers everything the Dutch system would. And, if you have/had any kind of illness (current or pre-existing), I sincerely doubt it.

[richcollins]

I don't require much medical treatment, but if I did I would pay the first 5k, then insurance would pay 80% up to a max. Well worth it if you're young(ish) and healthy.