Where to live in Amsterdam

Living in Amsterdam isn't cheap, or so they say. At least not in the nice neighbourhoods. At the moment I don't have the money to spend, but if I did, then where would I choose to live?

Right now I live in Amsterdam West, in a borough called De Baarsjes. Levi and I occupy a tiny attic appartment, with furniture from your friendly Scandinavian warehouse, chosen more for economical than aesthetical reasons. It's ok, certainly for the rent we pay, but we've been living in close quarters for so long, we long to move somewhere bigger.

Levi's got a steady job. Me? I've been hopping from one crappy job to the next the past few years, in search of... Fulfillment? That typical thirties thing, you might say.

Wanted: a perfectly good, steady job
I quit a perfectly good, steady, part-time job, because I wanted to do something more creative. Then the crisis hit and to be honest, now I'd settle for a perfectly good, steady, part-time job. I've got some freelance gigs, but eventhough I love what I do, financially it's nothing to write home about.

Now, if I did have a steady job, with firm financial ground under my feet, then Levi and I would buy a house. The Westerpark neighbourhood might suit our fancy, with the hip and happening Westerpark nearby. Barbeque in the park in the summer, cultural happenings at the Westergas, movies at the Ketelhuis. There is no end to the possibilities there.

Alternatively, we might look for a house in the neighbourhood of the Wilhelmina Gasthuis. There is a timeless charm to this neighbourhood, with its lovely old buildings and leafy courtyards and arches.

In love with a street
Or, and this is my ultimate dream: we'd get a place nearby in the Bosboom Toussaintstraat. A lovely treelined street, close to the centre and yet relatively quiet. And there are some very good restaurants right on your street.

Levi and I are in love with the Bosboom Toussaintstraat. Granted, it does not sound as ideal as the Westerpark does with all its possibilities, but if you happen to walk or ride your bike through this street once, you'll know what I mean.

Prices start at E225.000 for around 60 square metres. So Levi and I have some dreaming left to do before we'll be able to buy.


Grotere kaart weergeven