I moved to the Netherlands from the states recently using DAFT. Sold the car/furniture, shipped the personal items. My wife and I haven't missed our car at all because the city (Amsterdam) has good transit and we live in a very walkable part of town. I work later in the day to overlap a few hours with my team which means I don't have to worry about waking up at 7-8am to make standup. I'm still learning what it's like to live here but so far it's a great improvement in many ways over Scottsdale. We feel like this might be the place we start our family.
My partner and I are based nominally half in London and half in Amsterdam. He's Dutch so we've had a house right in the centre of Amsterdam for years.
At the start of last year, we rented a wonderful office there. Even though I'm only there half the time, it feels like a wonderful getaway, perfectly set up for tech-oriented careers.
What makes it so special:
* It's on a canal, facing an island with beautiful 17th century warehouses.
* The office is three minutes walk from home, and accessible only by foot.
* It's also huge, 90m2, with a main room (with our two desks, a lunch table, a couch/relaxed sitting area, and a gym/yoga area) a meeting room, a kitchen and a toilet.
* I keep my bikes and kayak there. Most mornings at 6:30am, I do an hour long bike ride, through parks, with just four traffic lights.
* Plus it's only ten minutes' walk from Amsterdam Central Station.
All the advantages of being in the middle of a real city. But it feels like the countryside.
1. Too hot for too long (winters are pretty good though), at least in the cold I can get outside with layers on and be comfortable, no escaping the heat
2. I'm legally blind and deaf, Amsterdam is giving me back freedom because a car is not a necessity (it is in Scottsdale/Phoenix, don't let anyone tell you otherwise)
3. I don't necessarily always feel safe there (especially in a car)
Scottsdale does have a lot of things going for it, don't get me wrong:
1. Lots of cool restaurants/activities (I used to go to ifly once a week for training)
2. Airport is very accessible
3. Good nature spots just a short drive out of the city (mini vacations for a weekend are great)
4. Lots of disc golf parks which I've taken up as another sport I can mostly participate in despite my vision loss
5. Rent is affordable compared to the other big cities
Lots of good reasons to move to Scottsdale, don't get me wrong. If it weren't so hot I probably wouldn't have left as readily.
