As any other member of this forum would agree... I don't think I speak for myself when I say that what I love most about AMS is the girls. The scenery, the feeling of freedom, and the overall vibe of the city are also a part of the greatness of Amsterdam. However, the girls are a big part of this. As I've been reading on other posts and the news on the front page of this site. The government has it in their heads to end the best part of Amsterdam and turn the city into a flavorless suburb.

My question to all who read this post is this: Would you still visit the best city in the world if it didn't have the girls in the windows or the brothels? Of course there' s prostitutes in every major city, but to me..it;s not the same as AMS. If somebow they passed laws to prohibit prostitution, would you still come to Amsterdam for vacation? Also, for those who live there now...would you remain or relocate?

Not to sound shallow or closedminded. But my plan is to move there in the long run. I feel that if this plan to close the windows continues...things can only get worse. I'm not much of a ganja fanatic so there wouldn't be any reason for me to come. Not to disrespect the opinions of others, but I love the girls most of all in AMS.

So tell me...would you stick around if the government stopped the girls?

cant honestly see this happening. too much money/tourism would be lost to the dutch government. if it does happen, there is always frankfurt/hamburg/prague, not the same, but still nice girls to fuck. lol

Thats true. Germany has the FKK clubs as well as others in Europe. But it isn' t the same to me. I wish this wasn't happening. I'd miss the streets that I've been on in the dam but I'd hate the fact that the girls aren't there anymore. I guess you could say that I want the best of both.

Hell I'd probably be off. If the government in NL decides that weed and hookers are evil, then chances are that the society is fucked and sticking is pointless.

Would you stay in Jamaica when a hurricane is pounding it or would you get off the island?

Fuck if I wanted bad weather, no weed, no hookers, and a race war, I'd go to Detroit.

Wait I forgot the cost. DC!

Thanks for the reply. That's kinda how I feel. Don't get me wrong, this hasn't happened yet and I hope it doesn't. But if it does, and we all know how life goes........ Can't say I'd stay or ever come back either. I couldn't bear to walk through Annestraat knowing what was there and having it gone. I'd definetly lose my mind.

Would I keep coming to Amsterdam if the girls were forced out? No. Or at least no where near as often as I come now.

MovingtoAMS raises a good point of imagery. I hadn't thought about it like that. I couldn't imagine the experience of walking through the Wallen with the windows converted to gentrified condos or something else. Just doesn't seem possible or probable. But, if it did, I doubt I would be coming to Amsterdam the 30 to 40 days per year I am currently averaging. If the coffeeshops went away, then I can guarantee it would be zero days.

Though, financially for me, that would probably be a good thing. ., . could start saving the money I typically play away while in Amsterdam.

Ss

I think that if you live in Holland you have many other chances to meet working girls besides the RLD.
This is only the tip of the iceberg, unfortunately the rest is accessible only if you live there and have time to move around and do a bit of research.

Also the rest of the offer is much cheaper than the RLD.

What the government could do is to clean up activities in the RLD, but would never really hit prostitution in general.

Personally I might be happy if the kamers business will be better regulated. From what I know it puts a lot of money in the wrong pockets with bad consequences for some of the girls.

Raul

Raul, maybe you could list some of those cheaper alternatives to the RLD for us. From one man to another, I think that would benefit us all. As long as the girls are good quality as those in the RLD, I'd be interested to know where these cheaper alternatives are located. If anyone else sees this, they should reply too.

As for the topic of the post though,.... I think the general consensus is that it just wouldn't be the same. I wouldn't bear to return. I wonder if there'd be anyone who would return despite the end of the windowgirls.

Leeuwarden, Groningen, Alkmaar and the list goes on and on.These cities have RLD and lower cost than AMS.

Plus, many cities and towns have 'prive' houses. Check the device here or hookers.nl or google.

So many girls; so little time.

movingtoams - i have to say you DO appear shallow. what is your reasoning to move here other than to seek out prostitutes (whom you describe in a way which conjures images of a cattle auction 'good quality' etc). i am curious.

... and to answer your question of course i would stay here. there is nowhere i would rather be living right now for dozens of reasons. but my friend there is a lot more to the city than sex and drugs.

withnail

I agree that there is MUCH more to this city than hookers and drugs. I'm not going to list them. But pretty much any tourbook of Europe has them listed.

However, hookers and drugs are a significant symbol of the freedoms and personal responsibilities of the Netherlands. Nowhere else in the world has such freedoms.

See, all countries have history. Most have cool stuff to do. Most also have friendly people. Many also have better weather. But these allowable activities set The Netherlands above all others. If that leaves, then this country is just another expensive wacky Euro country. I'd be really disappointed.

And whoever makes that decision must wisely weigh in a couple issues -

Who is going to come spend a week in Amsterdam when there's no hookers and weed?

During the winter, when the parks are closed, the sun is out from 10am to 4pm, and it's pouring freezing rain down, what is a tourist to do?

If there are no hookers or weed, why would someone come to NL rather than Paris or London or Barcelona or Prague or Rome?

How much does the economy of NL depend on tourism, sex, and weed? Can the country afford to be without them?

If I were king here, I'd totally legalize all mj products, force a blind eye as to the sources unless there were a problem, and have tourism pushes. The more tourists that come through and the more educated they are about your country, the more goods and services of yours they will consume wherever they are. For example, I drink Heineken when I'm out, wherever I am. I try to keep my money in the system rather than send it to germany or mexico or america.

Maybe that's the problem? Maybe we need to stop buying Dutch products so the government comes to depend on tourism?

I hate to sound like i am putting Amsterdam down - I most certainly am NOT, I love the place and would live there in a hot even without windows.

BUT, and its a big but, I bet 90% of the tourist trade goes and at least has a quick look at the windows. Even those who go just to look.

Without the windows, I think 90% of that 90% would not go. Even in the early eighties I remember very young girls in the UK saying they had been to Amsterdam and were titilated by the windows, feigning shock. That is before cheap flights and SleazyJet.com dumping their refuse on the place.

The current multi-million Euro stag and hen party business is right out the window that no-longer exists as the sex clubs becaome as anonymous as those in say, Latvia, dearer, the architecture in Amsterdam whilst unique becomes no less beautiful and culturally outstanding as say, Barcelona, and the shops and food inferior to say Milan.

All that Amsterdam will have left that is different, will be the coffee shops. Of course the canals, the buildings and the art galleries, but Venice, Bruge, Barcelona, Riga, Prague, London, Paris have all of those. What Amsterdam has, is tolerance for naughty stuff. Start eating away at that, beginning with something so visual, so popular and so symbolic as the windows, then I am afraid you have trouble.

Don't mistake this post as "All Amsterdam has is hookers and weed" it is a post saying that this is what Amsterdam has, ON TOP of everything else that every major capital city in the Europe has.

Think of the Economy of Amsterdam, without the packed planes of Ryan Air, Riga, American Airlines....

Ah well, there is still canal tours and tulips.

Just some random observations:

Holland isn't a 3rd world country and doesn't depend on tourism for it's economy.
Foreign tourism contributes less than 1% to the dutch economy, so even if every single tourist would stay away, it wouldn't really make a big impact.

On a board like this, with likewise minds, it might look like a large majority of tourists come to Holland just for the weed and the girls, but that isn't the case.
81% of "normal" tourists staying away if the RLD closes?
I don't think so.........

I have no idea what's being spent on dope and hookers, but I can't imagine the dutch government being really bothered by the loss of income of drugdealers and pimps if these activities were to be banned.

Just like everyone else here I don't want the RLD to be closed, but arguments like these won't really persuade politicians to change their mind.

Thanks for the replies again. I agree with all of you. The truth and essence of the matter is that the windows and the weed in Amsterdam are the strongest commodity in the tourism industry. Whether these are a value to each person living in or visiting Amsterdam is there own preference. But the fact still remains that these are the biggest aspects of the country that bring in tourists.

As for myself. I guess I am shallow as withnail said. I do love the girls the most. I can't deny it. This is the reason I come every year. I'm a man that loves women more than many other things on earth and I'm not going to be politically correct or conform to society's viewpoints just because another does not agree. Everyone is different and I guess my difference is that I love the girls. This is another reason that I love amsterdam. The society allows you to live as you will as long as you do not affect others negatively.

I just hope that the prostitution in AMS stays forever and doesn't slow down by one window. The world needs at least one place in the world like this and if they put an end to the RLD, the dam is going to be less unique and without a major part of its history.

Sorry to offend anyone else. I love the girls in the windows more than anything else in Amsterdam. This is my opinion. Maybe others will feel the same and maybe not. I don't mean to be shallow or to disrespect the country. But if my love of the girls constitutes disrespect, I cannot apologize for the truth.

I wouldn't go back. Don't care if that sounds shallow or not.

Like Mike said, lots of cities offer museums, canals, etc etc. and I took all that in when I was there. Also, just so happens that I'm young, single, and want to have easy sex while on vacation.

If all the windows closed I'd still come to AMS first...to pick up some weed. But then, after catching up on museums for a day or so, I'd move on elsewhere.

If both sex and drugs were removed from the menu, suddenly Amsterdam would have to compete with Paris and Rome and others for my tourism dollar.

DELETED

I really went for the RLD. If that was gone, I wouldn't go back. There are loads of other places to see in the world without going somewhere I've seen already.

I'd continue to go. There's always escorts if emptying your sack is your main objective. That said, if it did happen more (sex) tourists would go to Prague and further east instead I reckon.

I actually think that the imminent closure of the 30-odd (correct me if I'm wrong) windows could be a good thing. How many 'For Hire' signs do you see on your wanders? Windows with girls in them are more sporadic than ever, so if it concentrates the distributuion of actually occupied rooms then so much the better for the punter.

BTW, stop picking on easyJet. Sure they've helped fcuk the environment, but they've seen me travel around Europe the last decade at cheaper prices than it is for me to catch a train to GB's capital city. I don't even agree with gongs, but Stelios is more than worth his I reckon.

Rgds
G~