Well its been an interesting 4 months so far, i never imagined id be able to accomplish 3 things id never thought i would be able to do in a life time. 1.to live abroad 2. to go to Amsterdam 3. Work making video games. But fate was on my side this year. First since its the hip forums ill begin with the coffeshops. In terms of quality i shall forever be spoiled,ill cry a little inside in the future when i am in the states again and i have to settle and smoke schwag. I almost feel like a wine taster living in a wine region of France. Except brother it aint wine. Into the 3rd week of living here novelty of being able to smoke without the fear of swat breaking down your door,arresting you and sending you to prison leaves so smelling it in the air in public isnt as big of a deal anymore like it was in the states when you did. So its basiclly like alcohol the way i see it now, i wanna get blown go down to the local Liqour store....er coffeeshop,pick out what flavor i want and go home,its great!! Ive visited quite a few shops since i arrived in terms of quality and atmosphere there are 3 shops which have become my favorites. The Grey Area,i love to go there get me a little Yellow Cab,sketch and chat it up with John. The Dampkring is number 2, i love their AK-47 and as of recent their black domina haze,i wish it alsways wasnt so packed but on Wednesday nights there arent as many tourist so chilling out there is possible. Finally is Barney's Love their Wille Nelson,Braney Rubble and Caramella Cream. After they won the Cannibis cup i went down there to see the trophy, i asked if i could take a picture holding it,but the guy selling gave me a stern "No" then he grabbed a tupperware full of willie nelson,grabbed 2 giant buds placed each in one trophy,handed me the trophies and said "now take the picture" so far its been my favorite pic in Holland . I feel like im a pilgram in Mecca. I have also had the fortunate pleasure to live in both a town which isnt Amsterdam and currently Amsterdam, which gives you great insight and comparison to life and Holland. Firstly people in Holland get unfairly branded by Amsterdam's reputation, 95% of the Dutch people ive met arent wild weed smoking party types, in fact most will tell you Amsterdam isnt Holland,hell some have told me its a different country, for the most part most Dutch people ive met have been really nice,modest hard working people. Living in Purmerend really showed me this and alot of them resent the way they are regarded in the media. But although they dont like the image they are a tolerant people but people confuse tolerance with approval. Good example of tolerance is in the states, religious wack jobs who disapprove of how people live their lives go out of their way to fuck with people,judge them and try to impede on their rights because they dont approve,that isnt tolerance. The Dutch on the other hand have their issues which they dont like,but for the most part they dont go out of their way to fuck with people because they disagree with them. Which i like. Live and let live. In terms of culture ive yet to really have any culture shock, i dont give a rats ass if i cant find all the conviniences which there are in the states,aside from language,dealing with all the paperwork involved with anything related to goverment i love living here. But ill begin language lessons soon so that wont be an issue. One problem i see is that i think eventually Amsterdam's freedoms on things like coffeeshops will change due to people's stupid behavior and misunderstanding of what tolerence is. And frankly i can see why you would hate tourist in time living in Amsterdam. Most Amercians are chill visiting here,but from time to time you will run into some which make you cringe when you see how they behave and carry themselves. But for now i will cherish every moment i spend living in Amsterdam and one day look back fondly in the time i spent in such a fun city.
Great feedback there jo420, I liked the buds in the cannabis cup thing, don't suppose you want to post the pic here, sorry that's cheeky of me. Glad everything is working out for you, it's nice to hear a positive feedback as I'm particularly interested because I have a plan to move over there and work too sometime down the line, I've always liked the Dutch laissez faire style of approach.
yeah i can post it,likely on monday. If you plan on living here learn Dutch,its hard to get a job here without it,only way i got here is because of my specialized expertise which the company was willing to fly me over here for.
very nice post......the ones with substance have been fewer and farther in between recently! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Thanks for takin' the time! What a great insightful post from someone who is in a position most of us can only dream about. Very interesting perspective. I totally agree with remaining respectful and chill when visiting any country or town in the world, much less Holland. Hope life continues so fruitfully. Perhaps we'll se ya in April.
Yes, I remember talking about it before with you last year and it's very kind of of you to come back to the forums and let everyone know how it's going with first hand experience. Have you managed to learn much Dutch yourself, btw. Let's be honest it's not the easiest of languages to grasp. I've done shed loads of research about working there and it's quite a shock to actually find anywhere to live in A'dam central at a reasonable cost. So looking at alternatives now. Meanwhile the UK is where I'll be for a while as it has more opportunities for me and it makes sense to stay put for a myriad of reasons. I'm always looking into moving there it's just a matter of time but fully intend to for sure one day, it's only a 45 min flight for me, so close but yet so far away, if you know what I mean. kind regards
Send me a PM and ill tell ya,wouldnt by some crazy chance want info like this to get back to my family types
good story! mehh, i lived in every city in holland, can't wait to get outta here i've seen it i do however dig that snail that saved a field from being turned into a highway
Hello there. We just read your post. Was hoping you would take a minute and read the post we made earlier today (2-20-06.) Thanks.
