One Month In Amsterdam

So...we've reached the one month mark. For me it seems like it has been about two weeks, but we've gotten a lot done in that time. Here are the main things we've accomplished (some of these we started when we were in the states):

• Registered a B.V. (essentially an LLC) which we needed for our visas

• Got BSNs (essentially SSNs)

• Got Dutch phone numbers (our 650 numbers still work as well, so feel free to text/call those)

• Got all of our utilities set up

• Rented bikes

• Got saddle bags put on the bikes so we can carry stuff

• Registered in our municipality - I'm not sure there is something similar in the US

  • Still waiting on the resident permit (supposed to get that sometime in mid August)

• Registered for our visa - still waiting to hear confirmation on that

• Registered for health insurance, but we can't actually get that until we have our residence permit (see above)

• Got Dutch bank accounts - very frustrating process

• Registered our car with the Dutch DMV

• Got Alex a train card (Mike and I just use credit cards - it's super easy for us)

Once we get approved for the visa we can trade in our US driver's licenses for Dutch ones, so that's one of the next things we need to get done (other than health insurance).

As I mentioned in another blog, almost all of these things required multiple steps. A lot of times it was "You sign up on the website, then there is an appointment you have to go to so they can look at your passport and confirm it is you, then you have to wait to get something in the mail, then you have to confirm the thing in the mail online." So, even though the list above is somewhat short, it's quite an accomplishment to have all of that done!

Mike made a diagram of the various things that have to happen and their dependencies to settle as an expat in the Netherlands for your enjoyment and education. :-)

We've also gotten pretty good at getting around. We play padel (kind of a mix between racquetball and pickle ball - pronounced pah-dell) every other day and took a lesson. Here's a video of people playing padel in case you are interested in what it entails. We're definitely not this good, but Alex had heard about it before we left, so he got us into it.

We also go to the mall once in a while and get gelato. It's a 20 minute bike ride to the padel courts and a 10 minute bike ride to the mall. Mike and I went into Amsterdam last week to buy good rain jackets (we live in a suburb just south of Amsterdam). Rain jackets here go below your waist since you need that for biking in the rain. We take the train everywhere that is too far to bike and even to the places that are fairly close when it is raining, which is fairly often.

We use google translate for a lot of the email and mail we get that is in Dutch. It's pretty impressive to bring up the camera feature of google translate and have it show us the English version of what is on the screen in real-time. But...we have yet to encounter even one person who doesn't speak English - including when we have to call people on the phone, like the bank or the utility companies.

We will pick up our car tomorrow and then we head out on our road trip on Tuesday. We had to shorten the trip to ~3 weeks since we have to be back for Alex's intake interview at his school (Aug 9) and to go to the Women's gold medal Olympic soccer (or, as they say here, "the football you play with your feet") game (Aug 10) in Paris.

For the soccer game we're going to spend the night in Brussels. We take the train from Brussels to Paris in the afternoon, the game starts at 5, and then at 9 we take the train from Paris back to Brussels. We figured that would be a bit less chaotic than spending the night in Paris. Unfortunately, the Dutch women's team didn't make it into the Olympics (only 3 European teams get in), so they won't be in the finals. Go USA!

We'll be publishing more blogs during our roadtrip, so stay tuned for those.

Much love to everyone...