Hello everyone. I visited Amsterdam in April of 2006 and had the best time ever. The weather was great, the girls were even better, and I left the hustle and bustle of America behind for a week. While I was there, time didn't fly surprisingly as it almost always seems to do while having fun. However, now that I'm back I just can't wait to return and this time for good, permanently. I want to move to the Netherlands to start my own business and I know this porcess is fairly easy if you have the capital. I'm a young college graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and I've been looking for a company that would sponsor me for a work permit so that I could save up the capital for my business while I live there. To make a long story short, if anyone has info on companies in the Netherlands that would sponsor an American for work, or if anyone knows someone from America who works at a company that sponsored their work permit to work in the Netherlands, let me know. You can reply on here or leave me an email at Valentine.Inc@gmail.com. Thanks again.

One way to get your foot in the door is apply to one of the universities in town and get your MBA, ETC.
If need be and you think you can pay it back later, finance a year or two abroad using US financial aid. Once you're accepted, they will help you find a room to live in. I live in an international dorm on the Prinsengracht and the facilities are great. Only wish I weren't pushing 50 years old so I could date the co-eds, but hey you can't have it all.

Good luck with your quest, as one of the board members once wrote to me.

Thanks for the reply. In your case, I guess it's never too late to stop learning. I know that I have this option, but I'm sick of school. I know there's absolutely no way I'll be able to pass the classes with the RLD in town anyway. After my bachelor degree, I've had it with school. I would like to find a job to help me make some money anyway rather than accruing more debt than I already have. America is the most boring and stressful place to be. In Amsterdam I would be at peace without the hassles of car ins., gas prices, and other annoying things about this country. I was so at peace while I was there and I have these dreams that never seem to go away every night about the window girls. Especially my favorite named Sandra usually 2 doors from the entrance to Sint Annestraat from the canal. Kinda tall with black hair 2 doors from the famous old one with the tube lights around her door. Anyway, if you have any info on jobs in Amsterdam, let me know. I feel like a bachelor degree has no value. It's sad that I wasted 4 years of my life on something that everyone said was supposed to last a lifetime, but can't help me out in my ventures anytime soon in this lifetime.

Just keep in mind that living in AMS and vacationing there might be very different experiences.

Thanks for the reply. I don' t think that vacationing and moving would be the same. Care to state any of the differences? I have alot of them in mind but maybe you know some major ones that others don't know or that I haven't considered.

Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is likely also the most obvious thing. I know that when I am in AMS I spend way more money per day than my income can typically support. My impression is that even as a resident AMS is not a cheap place to live. And even at 50 euro a pop (and I usually spend 100) I'm not sure how much RLD I could afford as a part of my regular budget.

The second thing that comes to mind is language. As a visitor NL can almost feel like an English speaking country, especially in AMS...but I soon discovered that the locals can, at any moment, switch to Dutch and suddenly they are in a bubble and you are an outsider. I am not saying this is a bad thing the Dutch people are doing. It's what *everyone* does "at home". It's just that the fluid use of English as a second language tends to lull us into a false sense of belonging. And that's our (English speakers) misperception...i.e. our fault not theirs.

So you'll *have* to learn Dutch to be happy there. At least I would. And Dutch has some sounds in it I'm not even sure I can make!

;)

Thanks fo the reply. I definetly considered your statement. Those are two significant things to consider that tourists usually don't think too much about. I realized that 50Eur a day is quite an expense and can be about a $18,000 expense annually. I also know that the locals do speak Dutch and prefer it to English. I have the Rosetta Stone in Dutch from a friend of mine who works at a library over here. I am currently studying it and you're absolutely right with the pronunciation sounds. There is a hocking with the back of your throat that you do in pronunciation that takes a while to get used to and may never be mastered fully if not learned at an early age. However, I plan to do my best, considering that I plan to start a business there in the future and it would be best for customer service. I just want the opportunity to prove myself to a company out there that would be willing to hire me. I guess it will just take time. Till then.....gotta stay focused on the goal.

Classic! Me too.

you need to learn dutch for sure. i have been having tuition for 8 months now and figure it is going to take me another couple of years to become fluent, maybe slightly less. but you are repaid in spades. it is appreciated greatly that you are making the effort to assimilate and praise is frequently forthcoming even if you are butchering the language in your attempts. be prepared to make 1000 mistakes in order to achieve your goal. my worst to date is asking for brown testicles instead of a brown bread roll in the late shop on ceintuurbaan but hey, even that i was able to shrug off with big laughs all round :-) just do not try and learn from tapes / books etc. unless you are a genius you will never get there.

de mazzel!

withnail

You might want to look at the Dutch IND site. Run thru their guidelines for moving to and working in the Nethlerlands.

http://www.ind.nl/EN/verblijfwijzer/