Thanks for the reply, Julf.

Quote:
It sounds slightly on the lower end, but remember that a lot of techies want to live here, and there is a vast pool of very skilled, educated and hard-working programmers/software engineers here from Russia and the former Eastern Europe.


Interesting... I was wondering if this was the case. Given the standard of living in their home countries, I suspect they are willing to accept lower pay than I would. One of the things I'm struggling with the most is how I will gauge my marketability before I've sold my house and possessions. I figure it will be at least a 3 month process to leave the US. I don't think I can find a job and then expect my future employer to wait that long. But I certainly don't want to sell everything I own and then find out I misjudged my ability to earn a living in Holland.

Quote:
That is also the most expensive areas in the city... So expensive that most Dutch people feel "only silly foreigners are stupid enough to pay that kind of prices".


Ha! I haven't spent much time outside of the Centre. My vision of living in Amsterdam is in the old part of the city. I've lived in the soul numbing US suburbs my whole life and I love how alive and pedestrian/bike friendly the inner city is. I also like the architecture and history. I like having so many things close by. Do I lose that as I go further out? For example, even De Pijp was much less appealing to me.

Quote:
But you have to be prepared to live with bureaucracy and red tape.


Boy this must be bad because every Dutch person I talk to cites this as one of the worst aspects of Dutch life.