[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.