GOING FOR A SHORT WEEKEND TO AMSTERDAM? GREAT CHOICE! BUT WHERE TO STAY? I hate to bring the news to you; but in my opinion does Amsterdam lack on quality hotels. There are just a few who are positively noted; such as the Park Hotel, great location and great atmosphere (with the great bar/restaurant MoMo’s). The Lloyd Hotel is also a great hotel, but not really near the center of Amsterdam.

But the best way to experience Amsterdam is by bed & breakfast. We’ve selected the best site for you to find the best bed and breakfast in Amsterdam. It has a great selection of good price/quality bed and breakfasts in Amsterdam. You should really check it out.

Or you could of course rent a short stay apartment in Amsterdam. Which can also be a good option, as it offers you lots of freedom. As there are many sites on this topic, we certainly recommend this website if looking for short stay apartments in Amsterdam.

AMSTELVEEN APARTMENTS, DO THEY DIFFER FROM AMSTERDAM APARTMENTS? Well, most people in Amsterdam call Amstelveen ‘the family city’. Although Amstelveen offers most of the time cheaper and more modern real estate than Amsterdam, the city itself isn’t very attractive to the young people. As you can imagine the positive points of Amstelveen are traffic safety, international schools and as a bonus shopping in Amstelveen is quite good. Most people with an apartment in Amstelveen are pilots or aircraft crew, expat(families) or just ‘Amsterdam-off’ families. Most family houses in Amstelveen offer good price/quality compared to living in Amsterdam. Lots of family houses you can only find in Amstelveen, instead of Amsterdam. Recently we discovered this map of Amstelveen and its available properties to rent. Quite useful, if you are looking for house or apartment rentals in Amstelveen, you should definitely check out Amstelveen Housing – Apartments to Rent.

IF YOU’RE MOVING TO AMSTERDAM, SHOULD YOU BUY AN APARTMENT OR RENT IT? An essential question for lots of expats moving to Amsterdam. It may sound easy to answer this question, but it really is not. Amsterdam has a complicated housing market and key to this is to get in touch with experts who understand your needs.

BUYING. The Netherlands has one of the best economic climates for buying property. If you live in The Netherlands you and you have an income of 100.000 euro per year, and you bought a property you get a tax-discount of 30%! Meaning that you’ll only have to pay taxes over 70.000 euro, which can make a big difference. Still, you should do proper research before jumping to decisions. We’ve found this site The Guide To Buying An Apartment in Amsterdam which gives you all the information you should know. AND via that site you can get in touch with real estate brokers who’re experts in the Amsterdam market and have worked with lots of expats.

RENTING. If you’re going to stay in Amsterdam for less than 3 years it is advisable to rent a property in Amsterdam. As the expat housing market in Amsterdam is quite fast moving and complicated we suggest you get in touch with a professional expat housing agent. Always check of the housing agent you’re working with is licensed by the city council. What you should know: if you find an apartment yourself, you have to pay 1 month commission. BUT if you get a professional housing agent you have to pay 1 month commission as well, so always make sure you get in touch with a licensed housing agent. This website about renting apartments in Amsterdam will tell you everything about renting a property in Amsterdam and sure is a must read!

IF YOU WANT TO GO SHOPPING: YOU HAVE TO SEE THE PC HOOFTSTRAAT. Although the PC Hooftstraat  in Amsterdam isn’t really that special, it still is a must see. Why? Because it’s more a hotspot of Dutch celebrities, rich kids and show offs. There was even made a TV-Serie of this street called Bij ons in de PC, it’s all in Dutch, but you might find it funny to watch. In the ever so busy PC Hooftstraat the Porsches are standing in line, the shop bouncers are looking grumpy and Vespa’s are riding on and off. And if you don’t believe me, roger, we’ve got vision. Oh, and did you know? The PC Hooftstraat even got its own Wikipedia page.

GLOBAL VILLAGE. You won’t see typically Dutch brands in this street, the ‘luxury global brands’ are dominating the horizon: Armani, Louis Vuitton, Tommy Hilfiger, etc. So if you want to go shopping bring along a big wallet, the PC Hooftstraat is not cheap… One of the most famous stores is Oger, this family company sells business suits. Another popular shop is Cosmic Cowboys, for women a must see. And if you want to be prepared when shopping here is the exact list of shops in the PC Hooftstraat. Hell, I’ve even made a Twitter list of cool shops in Amsterdam, for all you shopping freaks! And even if you’re looking for a souvenir of Amsterdam, you can find it in the PC Hooftstraat. The PC Hooftstraat is perfect accessible by public transport: you can take tram 2 or 5. For more information about transportation in Amsterdam, I’d recommend you read my other post about Public Transport in Amsterdam.

LUXURY APARTMENTS IN THE PC HOOFTSTRAAT – AMSTERDAM are really popular because of their location and the vivid atmosphere which buzzes in the street. As you would not expect it; there are lots of apartments for rent in the PC Hooftstraat Amsterdam. Most of the apartments are starting around 1.500 euro per month, but hey, you have the best place to stay in Amsterdam. You are in between the center of Amsterdam and Oud Zuid (Old South). If you want to rent an appartment in Amsterdam do let us know!

TWITTER IS HOT IN AMSTERDAM. In the post about Sightseeing Amsterdam I’ve already said some things about FourSquare and Amsterdam, and now I’ll discuss some things about Twitter & Amsterdam. What I am going to do is I’ll present you the Amsterdam Top Ten of Twitter.

AMSTERDAM TWITTER TOP 10 (ENGLISH):
1. IAmsterdam – IAmsterdam is the slogan of the city Amsterdam, along with their website, they give you some information on their Twitter about events which are going to take place in Amsterdam as well as some nice sightseeing in Amsterdam. They also have a Twitter account of IAmsterdamCard which is a card which gives you discount to several attractions in Amsterdam.

2. Spotted By Locals Amsterdam – Not really active on Twitter, but hey, they’ve got some good tips about the nightlife of Amsterdam, they give you some damn good advice on what clubs and bars to visit in Amsterdam… (And I can know..)

3. IAmExpat – Besides that those guys have a website which rocks for expats in Amsterdam, they are twittering their ass off. IAmExpat is more professionally focussed; about jobs in Amsterdam and official issues for expats.

4. Foam Amsterdam – THE Photography Museum in Amsterdam, top exhibitions and an important place in Amsterdam for the art scene.

5. Artists Not Armies Amsterdam –  An underground art/fashion movement based in Amsterdam, the brand breathes an air of freshness and intellectual revolution.

6. TimeOut Amsterdam –   Time Out Magazine twitters about what to do in Amsterdam, from cultural things (art exhibitions in Amsterdam to a newborn giraffe in the Amsterdam Zoo).

7. TEDx Amsterdam – A conference in Amsterdam about spreading ideas, which they also do on Twitter.

8. Mediamatic – Another art movement in Amsterdam, they regularly organise exhibitions and presentations.

9. Unfold Amsterdam – It seems like they’ve just started out, but their website looks good.. so let’s wait and see for the magic to happen!

10. RealTravel Amsterdam – Shares posts of tourists which visited Amsterdam and share their hotspots and sights to see. Can be useful, but well most of the time it’s just your Average Joe who’s talking.

HEY, AND DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!

Too lazy to follow all of these Twitterazi’s? Well, you’re a lucky bastard, I’ve created a list of them in my Twitter.

JUST FROM THE PRESS. Amsterdam is losing its position on the list of most expensive cities. Amsterdam is now #35 of the worlds’ most expensive cities. You can find more information about this research at the website of Mercer – Worldwide Cost of Living survey 2010. The main reason why Amsterdam is still expensives is because of the housing. Unfortunately the prices for real estate (especially for expats who rent) are quite high. Expats pay for a (legal) apartment in Amsterdam at least 1.200 euros per month, this is because of the city government regulations, so Amsterdam still is not that cheap. If you want more information about renting an apartment in Amsterdam you can leave your information at our site, we will help you find a professional agency.

NOT IN AMSTERDAM FOR BUSINESS? Well, than there is enough to do to enjoy your stay in Amsterdam! Amsterdam has lots of beautiful sights to see.  But why would you stand in queue for the dumb attractions just like all the tourists? Our advice: let a local show you around Amsterdam! A local is often a better guide than some tourist company. You get to see the depth of a city when a local is your guide, you see the real sights to see to find the caracter of a city. You can find local guides on the Guided by a Local site.  Another site which I recommend is Pure Amsterdam which is lead by Anna Maria ‘Puur’, as an active ‘Tweep’ she might also be able to give you tips of great sights in Amsterdam. Puur has also a PuurDaily on Twitter (which is unfortunately in Dutch), but gives you information about what’s hot & happening in Amsterdam. Amsterdam has also a TimeOut magazine, but well, to be honest, the hot & happening they bring to you is already not that hot & happening anymore. You’d better check out the Amsterdam Weekly instead, as it isn’t active, it still is useful because of the ads you can place.

FOURSQUARE. You want real-time-coolness in Amsterdam? Take along your iPhone or other gadget and find out as a modern James Bond where the hot sights to see are right now! Logon to FourSquare, or look for some hot FourSquare sights right here. The Dutch made their own FourSquare, called Feest.je (which stands for party), but well it’s in Dutch… Anyway, don’t be worried, in some next posts I will give you some more tips of what to do and what sights to see in Amsterdam. The things that are really cool, you know

i29 ARCHITECTS from Amsterdam has created this wonderful apartment in Amsterdam Oud Zuid (South of Amsterdam). This piece of interior art has been flooded over the internet as a tsunami, some famous websites as Dezeen and Contemporist have been buzzing about it.

HOME 07: NAME OF THE APARTMENT. This apartment in Amsterdam has been created by a laser which has cut the holes. You can open for instance cabinets by these holes, they function as handles / handgrips. The whole apartment is full of air and light feeling.

IT’S EVERYBODY’S DREAM: to rent a houseboat in Amsterdam. As Amsterdam is most famous for its inner waters (the famous canals of Amsterdam) to rent a boat is the wet dream for everybody: from tourist to the people from Amsterdam self. If you can stay at your holiday in a houseboat in Amsterdam, you can count yourself lucky. If you want to rent a houseboat, I’ve got some bad news: houseboats in Amsterdam are quite expensive to rent. So if you just want to get a taste of what living in a houseboat in Amsterdam might be, you can check in into the Amsterdam house boat hotel!

FACT: in Amsterdam 2.400 (round and about) families live on houseboats. As the government has strict rules for houseboats in the canals of Amsterdam, the houseboats can be quite expensive. And because of these rules and permits, when renting a house boat it’s important you should seek advice of a professional broker. If you want to buy or rent a houseboat in Amsterdam, we can help you contacting the right professionals, who have lots of know in how to rent / buy a houseboat.

THE DUTCH ARE WATER RATS. Dutch people are really creative when it comes down to water. The Dutch have a love / hate relation with water, but they have lots of experience with water.  We’ve been building house boats for many, many years now. In fact there are two types of house boats:
1. Ark (Dutch: woonarken): houses built above concrete platforms. This Woonark in Amsterdam is a good example of an ark.
2. Houseboat (Dutch: woonschip / woonboot): houses built into ships which are out of the running.
Arks are most of the time more comfortable to live and have bit more luxury. Houseboats on the other hand are really cosy and you can find lots of them in the center of Amsterdam. Those kinds of boats look more like this.

BED & BREAKFAST + HOTELS. Here are some of the most unforgettable bed & breakfasts and hotels on a houseboat in Amsterdam:
- Blue Wave Houseboat B&B, great bed & breakfast accommodation in the center of Amsterdam. Lovely place to stay.
- PhilDutch B&B, also a bed & breakfast, you can also here rent a houseboat for a short stay in Amsterdam

HOUSEBOAT MUSEUM. Yes, Amsterdam has a house boat museum. It’s near the Anne Frank House. If you’re talking about sights to see in Amsterdam, this is definitely one you shouldn’t miss. And besides that, it’s cheap and good fun!

TASTE AMSTERDAM: when visiting Amsterdam you have to try at least a pancake and a satekroket. The Dutch have their own sense of taste, some typical Dutch food includes: stroopwafels, frikandellen, drop, pancakes and satekroketten.

WHAT IS A SATEKROKET? A satekroket is deep fried pastry, pretty much the same as a croquette. It has been filled with a combination of sate, flesh and ragout. And the pretty thing of it all: in Amsterdam you can buy everywhere a satekroket. If it is about snacks, we sure make it simple. The snackbars in Amsterdam have often a wall with small doors, with behind the doors the snack. You just enter the amount for a satekroket into the machine (most of the time around 1.50 Euro), you open the door and you can start enjoying the satekroket: picture right hurrrr. Lovely.  The snackbar franchise Febo sells satekroketten for instance. You want to try it, but you can’t come to Amsterdam? Sweet, I’ve just found some great recipes for you to try: Recept Satekroketten, it is written in Dutch, so I’d recommend you open the site via Google Translate.

PANCAKES: ANOTHER DUTCH SURPRISE. You have pancakes all over the world, in different shapes and sizes. The Dutch eat the pancake for diner, along with sweet ingredients (as sugar), but also in combination with bacon, apple or cheese. The ingredients of a pancake are quite simple: milk, eggs, flour and a bit of salt.  As easy as it sounds, the art of baking the perfect pancake is still a hell of a job. So when visiting Amsterdam, we’d recommend to eat your pancakes at the (several award winning & world famous) Pancake Bakery. As the ‘pannenkoek’ (Dutch for pancake) is so famous, Wikipedia even got it’s own English page of the pannenkoek. Go check it out, and when in Amsterdam don’t forget this food: the pancake, besides that it tastes damn good, it is quite cheap as well!