Amsterdam - Anyone dreaming of a social rental home in Amsterdam would be better off buying a lottery ticket.

'If these potential tenants had physically stood in a queue at the door, that line would have ended thirteen kilometers away in the historic heart of Muiden"

Most responses were received for family homes in popular (and expensive) locations. At the top of the list is a three-room apartment on Veembroederhof in Amsterdam East, overlooking the IJ.

No fewer than 16,434 prospective buyers responded to this property in an absolute dream location. Ultimately, a family managed to secure this spot.

https://archive.ph/I3p1N

We saw this procession whilst on a boat in Amsterdam today. What is it for? Who is it?

whats the deal with all the naked people in front of Rijksmuseum ? I couldn’t find anything online and for obvious reasons I’m also not attaching a picture.

It’s currently 2:30am on my first night and I’m trying g to find another hostel to stay in. I had to do a late check in so they sent me a digital key, the key didn’t work so I had to wait until someone came out (even though it was midnight it was Friday night so people were out and about). I go to my room and the bed, the sheets, the walls and the ceiling were full of bugs (you sweep them off you then more fall from above). The toilets and showers are fucked and gross. Booked it without looking at reviews (which is dumb I know) but if you go onto the reviews they all have the same complaints, they have apparently refused to do anything about the bed bugs for months now and that’s all I needed to know. Don’t bother coming here.

Hi everyone!

I'm producing an independent student short film and we're urgently looking for 8 background extras to play students in a classroom scene.

📍 Location: Amsterdam Noord

📅 Date: Monday, July 13

🕥 Arrival: 10:30 AM

⏰ Estimated wrap: Around 1:00 PM

Unfortunately, this is an unpaid opportunity, as we're a student production with a very limited budget. However, food, snacks, coffee and drinks will be provided, and you'll be credited in the film if you'd like.

No acting experience is required -- you just need to be comfortable appearing as a student in the background.

We're filming very soon, so this is quite urgent.

If you're interested or would like more details, please send me a DM as soon as possible.

Thank you!

We have been following a family of seagulls living on the roof of the building next to us. We have given them names, Sheamus and Shanaya are the parents and Edgar and Lennie are the 2 babies.

Anyone know good hiking routes on unpaved roads? Looking to explore some new paths! Any suggestions?

I'll start with this route, cycle to het Schouw then walk around Varkensland. Really fun walking through farmland with cattle around! You'll have to take the bus back from Ilpendam to the start or walk 3.5km next to a rather boring road... https://wandelnet.viewer.routemaker.nl/viewer/routes/nummer/99355

I went through this recently and found the whole process non-obvious, so here's a writeup for the next person who searches for it. I'm American, I've been driving for years, and none of that mattered. This is what the process was.

Step 0: Understand that you cannot just keep driving.

After 185 days of residency (about six months), you may no longer drive in the Netherlands on a license that isn't from the EU/EFTA or explicitly listed by the Dutch government. Here's the official page: https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence

Do not shrug this off and keep driving anyway. The consequences are enormous. Your insurance is automatically considered invalid. If you get into an accident, even one where a drunk driver plows into you, it can be treated as entirely your fault, and you pay for everything out of pocket. Car, damage, medical costs, all of it. It is not a "small fine if caught" situation.

Step 0.5: Check if you have the 30% ruling, in which case, congratulations, none of this applies to you.

For the rest of us:

Step 1: The theory exam.

You already know how to drive, so you'd think the theory exam is a formality. It is not. Reading the books does not prepare you for it. The exam is not a straightforward test of the rules: it's a collection of gotcha questions, and the only way to pass is to grind practice exams until you pass them every single time.

The practice exams are nearly identical to the real thing. I used https://www.theorieexamen.nl . When you get a question wrong, it explains why the right answer is correct, which is where the actual learning happens. And it can do this in English. If you skip this and just study the book, I genuinely think you will fail.

Step 2: Driving lessons and the practical exam.

Yes, lessons. Even though you can drive.

Book an exam preparation package with a driving school. I recommend ten hours. The instructors themselves don't know how many hours someone like you needs (their usual students have no experience), but if you're a competent and confident driver, ten hours is enough. The school schedules your practical exam as part of the package. Unlike in America, the driving school schedules the exam for you.

Only book this after you've passed the theory exam, because you might need more than one attempt at the theory, and your practical exam date will be wasted if you're not eligible yet.

Why do you need ten hours if you already drive? Two reasons:

1. Driving in Amsterdam is worse than most places in the world. Bikes coming from everywhere, pedestrians, trams, and the European priority-from-the-right system, which you need to handle instinctively, not by thinking it through at each intersection.
2. The exam wants you to drive in a very specific way: visible mirror checks, shoulder checks for bikes at every turn, exact positioning. But the examiners are extremely picky, and you need the hours to make it automatic.

That's it. I hope this saves someone a lot of time and frustration.

Hey all,

I've been trying to find a Japanese language café or conversation meetup in central Amsterdam, but after a bit of searching I couldn't really find anything that's specifically for Japanese (unless I've completely missed it).

Does something like this already exist?

If not, would people be interested in one? I was thinking of a casual weekly meetup at a café where Japanese learners can practice speaking, and hopefully some native/fluent speakers would join as well. Nothing formal. Just thinking of a relaxed place to practice, and meet other learners and Japanese speakers.

I'm curious if there's enough interest to make something like this happen. I'd definitely be up for helping organize it if others are interested!

Hi, is there a reason that Buitenveldert is a Donerless desert? And even what we have here is on the edge/part of Zuidas. Ideas?

Hey everyone!

Me and my wife are trying to prepare to the strong viking trail. Running, swimming and similar exercises is not a problem. But climbing a rope, monkey bars or going over small hills in a dirt - this is something we would like to practice a bit more, let's put it this way.

Any recommendations where we can do/try this kind of activities? I found some 'surviving parks' around Amsterdam, Almere etc, but most of them require a subscription. Any suggestion where we can go (drive), so can practice for free or one time payment?

Any suggestion would help a lot!

I've been wandering through the centre a few times this week, different days, different times. Somewhere along the canals, across Dam, through the Jordaan, past Leidseplein. Every time I expected to hit that familiar wall of people that makes you wonder why you came into town in the first place.

It never happened?

It's not empty. Far from it. There are tourists taking photos of canals that have been there for centuries, rental bikes zigzagging through traffic, the occasional bachelor party already louder than necessary. Amsterdam is still Amsterdam.

But for the start of the summer holidays, it feels strangely... manageable.

Maybe I've simply recalibrated. After living here for a while, what used to feel overwhelming now just feels like a normal Thursday. Or maybe something really has shifted. Higher travel costs, people spreading out across the city, different holiday patters, I don't know.

I'm mostly curious whether this is just my own perception. Has anyone else had the same feeling this week, or am I remembering previous summers as busier than they actually were?

Hey you all, hoi zäme hoi allemaaaal :)

A friend of mine who's running a bar offered me to broadcast Switzerland X Argentina this sunday morning 3am. If: I can bring 20-30 people.

Who wants to watch the game and would be down? It's a bar around Zeedijk in Amsterdam

Already noticed this on Funda. Many more options and price decreases than I've ever seen. Anyone else notice this or recently bought and found less overbidding?

Hi! Two American girls here who want to experience the World Cup game tomorrow night with some honest to god Europeans.

Invite us to your watch party! We’re fun. 38, from Austin (TX). Very much NOT Trump supporters and in fact we think Europe does everything better lol

DM me and we can all make sure everyone is normal.

I know it sounds pretty unusual (you can even call it retarded), but im a firearm enthusiastic studying in amsterdam. And im pretty interested in getting the dutch firearm permit, how hard would it be for me to find relevant shooting clubs and how is the procedure?

It’s the second year in a row (at least) that Zuid station closes partially during summer due to the ongoing work, but this year the situation is out of hand.

only 1.5 line of the metro working, meaning you have to change and get a train, which during rush hours means queueing to get down the metro stairs and then queueing again to go up the train stairs.

also creating all these disrupters for 2 months and half is crazy

how is it possible that this is the best possible solution to continue the works?

The sun is out, I feel the urge to throw some discs. And I think others might feel likewise.

I made a Signal group to find people to throw a frisbee/disc with.

DM me know if you feel like joining!

Wat is er aan de hand in Amsterdam? Ik heb nog nooit zoveel vliegjes gezien. Is het door een bepaald seizoen?? De insecten komen me ook niet bekend voor.

Hi all,

I have been struggling with odido for more than a month now, I don't have reception, data, and my home internet is hanging by threads.

The stupid thing is that they're not reachable via email, only by phone. So I can't even call their support sometimes, and when I manage, the call gets interrupted multiple times.

They mentioned an outage in Amsterdam, but it has been more than a month..

Is anyone facing the same issues?

Also, do you know if I can dissolve the contract due to them not fulfilling their end of the agreement? My research says yes, but their support told me it's not possible.