Welcome

By way of introduction, we are a retired, married couple. Retirement for us has meant a chance to travel. While we were working, vacations typically were limited to 2 weeks at a time at most, and when our children were younger, we were focused on family activities.  A leisurely couple of hours in a museum was out of the question, and there were few opportunities to immerse ourselves in any one place.

From our initial travels after retirement, we found that we had the most fun when we could spend more time in one area, absorbing the rhythm of life “as a local”.  We decided to try living part of the year abroad, somewhere we could use as a jumping off point for European travel. As New Yorkers, we wanted to make our European home in a city with the familiar energy, but perhaps on a smaller scale.  Also at our age, we weren’t likely to attain fluency in another language, so finding a place where English was widely spoken was a key factor.  

And so, Amsterdam. A vibrant, cosmopolitan city with beautiful and unique architecture, where most people speak fluent English, and with a great public transportation system and a world class airport.  The biggest problem with Amsterdam is that it is grappling with too many tourists in the center of the city. Yep, Amsterdam feels like home. 

Of course, we couldn't afford to live in a hotel for weeks or months. And Amsterdam, like many cities, has tightened up housing rules to regulate short term tourist rentals. Serendipity intervened in the form of a friend of a friend of a friend who was trying a sell an apartment and could temporarily rent it out.   It did mean it could get sold out from under us during our stay, but we accepted that risk.  The opportunity gave us up to 2 months to try out living in Amsterdam. And we were hooked. We have since rented a different apartment in the canal ring that is now our home base for travel. 

Day to day living in Amsterdam is both different from and similar to living in New York City. We walk or take the tram most places.  Grocery shopping is almost a daily event, because the refrigerator is small.  Even by the standards of a New York City apartment, the kitchen is small.  The oven can accommodate one medium-sized chicken or a small roast but not a big pot with the top on it!  But we have learned to cook some great meals here, as long as only one of us is in the kitchen at a time.

We will post from time to time about our experiences living in Amsterdam as well as traveling and eating in Europe. We hope you will return to our site regularly and enjoy our posts.