Workpermits for non-EU citizens are in the Netherlands in general only given to:
1) People with a university degree (preferably a master degree or PhD) and then only if they have in advance secured a job with a company based in the Netherlands. There is for instance a huge shortage of people with a university degree in electronics, physics, maths, computer science, chemistry, etc.
2) Business people working for foreign companies who also have offices in the Netherlands. Normally these peope stay only for a couple of years.
3) Foreign entrepreneurs, who invest a lot of money.
The main problem is that, as a US citizen, you do not have the legal right to up and move to the Netherlands just because you feel like it. You need to get a job there first, then the employer will help you with a work visa. But, given the very high unemployment in Europe at the moment, it will be impossible for you to get a job as European citizens must be offered work first. To get a job you will need work skills that are in short supply there.
I'm not sure what you mean by a "career in the cannabis culture". You will not get a job in the cannabis industry, it's run by criminals, and no one is going to give a decent job to a pothead.
You also need to be aware that weed might be tolerated in Amsterdam, but it us in no way legal. And, if the city chooses to ban foreigners from coffeeshops, as other Dutch cities have done, you'll have a real problem.
yes, especially the rent (or mortgage) is higher than in most other places in the Netherlands.
I'm not sure what you mean by "cannabis culture". Growing cannabis still is very illegal, and people lose their house if more than a few plants are found in it.
I hope you are aware that foreigners over 18 can enjoy cannabis in all provinces of the netherlands, except the three southern ones
I don't know why the other two people have gotten thumbs down- for telling the truth, maybe? It's odd to me that young people in the U.S. think they can just move anywhere they want. You can't- and especially not to the EU. The visa restrictions are very strict. You almost always have to have a job with an employer who will sponsor you for the visa, and they've got lots of people in the EU who can do any job you can do.
Yes it is.!!!! You need a S1.33 to equal 1 euro. Gas is about 7 dollars a gallon if you ever get a car, But the transportation system in the NL is great. The prices are high Amsterdam.
None of you answered my question, my question was on daily living and expenses, not immigration. I have the immigration taken care of and a job set up, all I got was hostility because I'm American. Now again I ask all of you , is it expensive to live in Amsterdam?
