Starting My New Life in Amsterdam

New neighborhood, new friends, and a new Substack name.

My last post was called, ¨Moving to Europe, Part One¨ - and here I am, weeks later, just getting back into my Substack again!

I never got around to posting (or even writing) Part Two about my between-Buenos-Aires-and-Amsterdam stay in Brazil for several weeks. Once I got there, I just wanted to live in my swimsuit, walk on the beach, and relish the time with family. I took full advantage of it.

We arrived in Amsterdam on April 3rd on the most glorious sunny day, and the sunshine kept coming. What a wonderful welcome! (And yes, I know that´s not the norm here in early spring.)

I have been getting questions about how things are going, so I will use this post to give you an update.

Wisteria everywhere!

First of all, let me be clear: it is especially easy for U.S. citizens to move to The Netherlands, thanks to the Dutch American Friendship Treaty. The DAFT visa allows us to get a freelancer/contract work visa quite quickly. I´ve been here for two weeks, and already have an official visa that allows me to work! It´s renewable, there are few rules regarding minimum income or number of clients, and just a simple requirement to keep a minimum balance of 4500 Euros in a business bank account. I don´t take this good fortune for granted! (And who knows how long this visa will be offered?)

My husband is also granted the right to work as part of my visa - in fact, he can even work for a company if he wants to, which is something I can´t do yet with my visa. All steps (going to the immigration office and city hall, etc.) have gone very smoothly. I have been through this process in several countries, and this has been the most organized, straightforward, stress-free, and English-speaking experience to date.

Also: we got our BSNs (like local Social Security numbers), and were verified to open a bank account. (This can take months or even years in other countries.)

Another head start: my husband and I moved into the sunny two-bedroom apartment that was recently vacated by our daughter and her Dutch husband. They purchased an apartment a few months ago, have been remodeling it, and moved into their new place just a week before we arrived. They even left a few things here to make our first days more comfortable!

So, we did not have to do the dreaded queue-up-to-view-an-apartment-and-outbid-the-others thing in Amsterdam, which is notoriously challenging. I am very grateful for that. Instead, we have spent these last two weeks submitting documents, buying furniture, waiting for delivery, getting our internet set up, and gathering household goods.

We are feeling very fortunate, and very much at home.

Our youngest daughter, who came here from Buenos Aires with her young son, moved into a nice furnished apartment that is owned by her sister´s friends, so that was another unusually smooth transition. (She has been busy getting her documents sorted, starting her son in school, riding her new bike everywhere, and meeting her future co-workers.)

Best part: We all live within a short walk or ride of each other!

Prices: we live around the corner from both a great little grocery store and a cozy cafe. In general, we have been delighted by the relatively low prices for food here - less expensive than the U.S., and definitely cheaper than things in Argentina, with a laughably superior selection.

The big expense here is rent, as Amsterdam is one of the most expensive cities in Europe for rent prices. We are paying 2250 Euros per month, which is a shock after living in places we own, but it´s a price we are happy to pay at this stage of our lives in order to be close to family and live in such a beautiful, world-class city with an ethos that suits us.

There is a small park/square right in front of our apartment that is the gathering place for neighbors of all ages - mothers pushing toddlers on swings, older children climbing on play equipment, big kids kicking balls in the fenced-in basketball-court-turned-soccer-pitch area, and adults working with personal fitness trainers. On Fridays, people bring chairs and snacks to share. It even has its own free library.

The closest commercial street to us is lined with everything from Indonesian, Turkish, and Japanese restaurants to Thai massage, Chinese and Brazilian grocery stores, several vintage clothing shops, a lively food hall with stalls selling dishes from many cultures, a hardware store, numerous bars and cafes, and a HEMA, like a tiny Target.

We have ridden the tram and bus to various parts of the city.

We have strolled through the beautiful parks closest to us - Rembrandt and Vondelpark.

We have taken our grandson to his new woodsy Dutch school (we just attended an Easter breakfast there and met his teacher, who is Japanese), to bakeries for treats, and to some wildly-challenging climbing structures in public playgrounds.

Dutch playground - what a confidence builder!

My husband bought a bike, and I will do so soon. But mostly, we walk…something we´re used to from living in Buenos Aires, but here it´s with canals and loads of tall people whizzing by us on bikes.

On Tuesday, I had my first face-to-face meeting with a new contact here. I went to Vrije University to meet Ginie Servant-Miklos for coffee. That one-hour coffee became lunch, and then I joined Ginie as she presented a lecture about collapse to a packed roomful of science professors and students.

Ginie is an assistant professor at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and her book, Pedagogies of Collapse: A Hopeful Education for the End of the World As We Know It is the handbook for educators trying to make sense of this process of planning for a future that looks nothing like we had once envisioned. Her book is clear-eyed and thoughtful, loving and practical.

We were having such a great time swapping stories over those two hours that it never occurred to us to take a selfie! I did manage to take a photo of OTHER people getting a selfie with her after her lecture (just before she dashed off on her motorbike to do another lecture in Rotterdam). She´s the lovely (and brilliant) redhead.

Ginie was at the top of my list of LinkedIn contacts to chat with here in The Randstad - people re-thinking and planning for the future. So, when she invited me to meet up, I jumped at the chance, despite the cold I was still getting over. (That swimsuits-to-early-spring-temperatures switch hit hard.)

Once I get my office set up and my business officially registered with the Chamber of Commerce next week, I will be scheduling calls and walks with folks here and - yay! - begin working with clients again.

All this to say that it has been a remarkably seamless move.

Also: I have changed the name of this Substack from Future Foreword (my U.S. entity) to Collapse Into Joy - the name of the conversation series I offer to those looking to turn their despair about the state of the world into intentional acts of joy as a form of ritual, resilience, and resistance.

Less doom. More BLOOM.

Because, as Ginie and I well know, it is a lot easier to adapt to collapse if you ALSO embrace joy and wonder. It is this joy and continued curiosity about the world around us that will help us get through the hard times ahead.

So, I will be leading with and leveraging joy, not only in my work but in the stories I share here about finding a way forward through creative action.

On Easter Monday (it´s a thing), my husband and I will host our Amsterfam for brunch. We are excited to start new traditions together!

I hope you enjoy a lovely spring (or fall) weekend with your loved ones.

Thank you so much for being here, and for your patience during my long absence. I appreciate you.

See you next Friday.

Maya 🧡

P.S. Questions about Amsterdam… or dealing with the daily drama that is life now? You are always welcome to reach out to me personally at maya@mayafrost.com.

You can learn more about my Collapse Into Joy series or the 90-minute Bloom Zoom sessions at MayaFrost.com (some openings available in May.)