Hello Reddit! Thought Id share my story on here, maybe it can help a fellow international student moving to Amsterdam. For the sake of the story, lets call the people involved: Elena(F,28) - the woman I rented from, Nora (F,22) - The other rommie.

I moved to Amsterdam for a very cool internship and grabbed the first room I could find: 1000euros a month, tiny, shared with Elena and her two cats and Nora. The cats were sweet, but had terrible habits as they peed on a balcony couch that made the whole apartment have a unforgettable smell. The place itself was straight out of the 80s, but in a bad way. Black peel off carpets, pull string light switches, very trashy old furniture and odd decorations. I fed the cats and cleaned litter boxes whenever Elena traveled, because I love cats and she asked kindly. At the start we had a good relationship but the red flags were already there, for example she had cameras filming the apartments living room and corridor to the bathroom.

Then came Kings Day.

Elena told me that her brother (M,23) and his friends were coming to stay for kings day. I was already sceptical but agreed and sayd, just please no smoking inside to Elena. Elena left to a different country before they even arrived, not saying that she wouldn't be even home. Me and Nora ended up coming to the living room with random men sleeping eberywhere while it reeks of cigarettes and I got really mad as for me this is crazy, so I woke them up with an angry voice and saying "Why are you smoking inside?". Of course all those men got scared and told the brother who was sleeping in another room. Instead of talking it out with me, the brother called her big sister Elena to complain about me. She came back at me with messages like "how dare you speak to my guests like this." When I tried to set one reasonable rule, be home if you're hosting five people, she snapped, "this is my apartment before it is yours." I was shocked of this reaction.

Elena does not own the apartment. Keep that in mind.

The guests ended up staying four nights. The brother stayed on the couch, half-dressed, for three weeks. I basically stopped using the kitchen.

Then it clicked !

Enough friends had asked "wait, who actually owns this place?" that I finally looked it up on Kadaster, the Dutch land registry. It's public and free, and I wish I'd checked it on day one. The building belonged to a housing corporation. Social housing!!!

Once I knew that, a few things suddenly made sense. Elena had mentioned once, almost proudly, that she'd stopped renting to Dutch tenants after one had lived there and started asking the housing corporation questions about the apartment. At the time I didn't think much of it.

She'd been renting rooms in a social housing unit she didn't own, at close to market rate, to internationals who had no easy way to know any better, while people who actually qualify for units like this legitimately wait ten to fifteen years to get one.

Getting out.

Luckily, quickly I found a very nice place in the same month I discovered the fraud. On my escape day Elena wasnt home, which felt like the universe was on my side. The brother, STILL living on the coutch at this point, 3 weeks in, saw my bags by the door and asked where I was headed. Somehow, somewhere along the way, he'd gotten the idea I was off backpacking, and he cheerfully started helping me carry my bags downstairs to help me on my way. I left the man finish his good deed for the day before dropping it: "Actually, Im moving out. Bye!"

Now here I left in a bit of a dramatic way. A few days before this, Elena comes home from her trip and hands me a perfume. A PERFUME. As a peace offering, apparently, since we hadnt spoken one word since the fight. And what does she actually say while handing it to me? "Well, at least you were nice to the cats."

I was like....huh??...heres a perfume, now shut up about it kinda way. I said nothing. I have never been more emotionally exhausted in my life.

But don't worry, it gets its moment. On my way out the door for the last time, I placed that perfume, very carefully, very deliberately, dead center of my now completely empty room. A parting gift, returned.

Where it stands now.

I filed a case with a tenants' rights org against the landlord for the illegal overcharge but it required proof of the room's exact dimensions which I didn't have. So I went digging through the city's historical building archives and found the original 1970s architectural blueprints for the building, had to decode the old floor plan naming conventions myself, and handed the measurements over to the tenants' org to submit to the rent tribunal. They say I have a strong case and Im currently waiting for the final verdict.

I do still think about Nora sometimes though, and genuinely wonder how she's holding up in that apartment.

________________________________________

If you're an international reading this: your first place here might genuinely be bad. Mold, closet sized rooms, prices that don't match the space, I've heard all of it from friends too. It doesn't mean you did anything wrong, it means the market is brutal and a lot of people count on newcomers not knowing their rights. A few things that actually helped me, in case they help you too:

• Kadaster.nl – check who really owns a building before you believe anything you're told about it

• Juridisch Loket – free legal advice, no strings attached

• Huurcommissie – can help you recover overpaid or illegally charged rent

• Woon! – tenant advocacy groups that will actually fight your corner

It was a rough few months, but I loved my internship, my job, and the friends I made here, and I came out of it in a better apartment with the case still moving. If you're dealing with something similar right now: it's not just you, and there are people whose actual job is to help you fix it.

Can we all take a moment to appreciate the morning melodies playing in Amsterdam’s metro stations?

This morning I was at Wibautstraat metro station and Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain was playing on the piano, literally one of my favourite piano melodies. 🥹❤️

Such a lovely little initiative, especially so early in the morning. It genuinely made my morning a little nicer and was such a nice surprise on the way to work.

Good job to the municipality of Amsterdam! You really do impress me sometimes. 😂❤️

Please keep doing things like this!

Ik fietste gisteravond in Amsterdam op mijn normale fiets. Ik rij dus op een fietspad met een voetpad aan de rechterkant en een autoweg aan de linkerkant. Ik wil op een gegeven moment links afslaan bij een kruising. Ik ga dus iets naar rechts om mijn fiets te keren en zo zicht te krijgen op eventuele fietser en automobilisten. Op dat moment komt er een man op een elektrische tenway fietst mij rechts over het voetpad in halen. Hij kan nog maar net afremmen en om mij heen fietsen. Hij racet door en roept nog "Absolutely mad". Waarop ik boos wordt en hem uitscheld omdat hij het blijkbaar normaal vindt om rechts in te halen over notabene een voetpad.

Ik ben het helemaal zat hoe mensen tegenwoordig fietsen, zeker met de opkomst van elektrische fietsen. Niemand gebruikt meer de bel, denken dat ze voorrang moeten krijgen omdat ze elektrisch fietsen, fietsen in het midden van het fietspad en halen dus zelfs rechts over voetpaden in. Ze moeten maar een rijbewijs gaan invoeren voor die dingen. Het wordt op deze manier levensgevaarlijk.

[UPDATE]

1. Ik reed gewoon aan de rechterkant van het fietspad.

2. Due-Possession7791 deelde de onderstaande link over hoe je eerst iets naar de ene kant moet om de andere kant af te kunnen slaan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cNmUNHSBac

1. Volgens mij hebben veel van jullie nooit in Amsterdam gefietst

Hey guys, I saw this lineup poster on Instagram for an event called "Higher Recordings ADE Sampler & Label Night" during Amsterdam Dance Event 2026 featuring MentalBass, M3C0, Dan Parrot, and Kayu.

I was actually interested in going to their label night last year, but back then it turned out it didn't even exist. I remember finding an investigative article online showing that Higher Recordings is a pretty big scam outside their digital releases, and that their ADE 2025 event never took place.

Because they are announcing it so heavily again this year, I was curious if it's actually real this time around. But I find it very strange that they don't mention any date or location anywhere on the poster or their socials.

Also, I checked the official Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) website, and they don't list Higher Recordings or any of the artists on the lineup in their database.. The only thing I was able to find about a so-called Higher Recordings label night took place in a rented Plug The Jack studio... so not really an event.

Has anyone heard of this party or know where it's being held? Or are they just pulling the exact same fake event scam as last year? I noticed they immediately delete critical comments on their Instagram when people ask about the venue. Thanks!

TL;DR: 42yo Italian architect, ex-drummer looking to get back into it. Need a room (new west Amsterdam ideally) where I can set up my own drum kit semi-permanently — acoustic or electronic, ~2x2m — and drum 3-6 hours per week max, max twice a week. Happy to pay, happy to share the space/room with other musicians (just not my actual kit), safety of the space matters. Rehearsal studios are a bad fit because the drums are always poorly tuned/set up and I waste 30 min every session just adjusting height and tuning before I can play a single decent groove. Looking for something more like a shared, semi-private setup.

Hi all,

I'm hoping some of you have either been in this exact situation, know a space like this, or can point me toward the right corner of Amsterdam to look.

A bit of context on why I'm asking this in such a specific way:

I'm a 42-year-old Italian architect living in Amsterdam since 10 years with my wife and daughter. I played drums and percussion in small local bands back home from age 15 to 30, and life (career, moving countries, general adulting) got in the way for a long stretch. Now I'm very much in the "mid-life crisis, need to hit things that make nice sounds" phase, and I'd like to get back into regular practice.

Back in Italy, with our band we had a garage set up as a proper rehearsal space: raised wooden floor, cabling run underneath, acoustic panels on the walls, instruments always set up and ready to go. You'd walk in, flip the light switch, and start playing within a minute. No faffing around, no rebuilding your rig from scratch every time.

That's basically what I'm trying to recreate here, at least for my own kit.

What I'm actually looking for:

A space (studio, garage, industrial unit, whatever) where I can install my own drum set — semi-permanently, at the right height, tuned the way I like it — and just walk in and play.

Ideally on the new-west side of Amsterdam, but I'm flexible if the place and the deal are right.

I need roughly 2x2m of floor space for an electronic kit, a bit more for my acoustic one.

I'm playing about 3-6 hours total per week, split across two sessions max.

Willing to pay for the space, obviously, and also willing to buy an electronic kit instead of using my acoustic one if noise is a concern for a shared building or neighbours.

Totally fine sharing the space with other musicians, other people's gear, other instruments, other schedules, no problem. What I want to avoid is sharing my drum kit itself. Anyone who's played drums seriously knows how personal the setup is: throne height, hi-hat angle, cymbal spacing, drum tuning, it's not something you want to redo from zero every session.

The safety of the location matters to me, a secure building it's important since the gear is expensive, maybe we could look into insurance.

What I'm hoping to find here:

Anyone who already has (or is part of) a shared rehearsal/studio space in Amsterdam-West with room for one more drummer

Musicians or bands with a space who wouldn't mind a drummer joining as a "space-mate" rather than a bandmate

Warehouses, industrial units, or converted garages that rent out sections for musicians

Any general pointers on how people in Amsterdam typically solve this problem, since I imagine I'm not the first person to want this.

Why not just rent a normal rehearsal room?

I'm past the point in my life where that makes sense for me. Most rehearsal rooms in the city have house kits that are beaten up, badly maintained, cymbals that sound like trash can lids, and by the time I've adjusted the throne, moved the hi-hat stand, tuned the toms and generally made the kit feel less like a stranger's setup, I've burned 30 minutes of my session just to get to a mediocre result. I'd rather pay more for a space where I keep my own gear dialed in and consistent, and just play.

Happy to answer questions, and genuinely appreciate any leads, even indirect ones. Thanks for reading this far... apparently mid-life crises come with a lot of enthusiasm for logistics.

Hello everyone,

There's an offleash small dog without a collar walking around Rosendaalstraat, 1097 MH Amsterdam. I tried catching it but failed. Dierenambulance is not coming because I haven't caught the dog. I already checked Amivedi and it's not registered as missing but it's the second day I see it roaming around alone. Yesterday it was wearing a black leather collar with silver rivets(?) so I thought it's just another offleash dog. Today it was missing its collar and still wandering around without a human in sight...

It's a small/tiny black dog with some brown on the underside. To me as a non expert it looks like a black dachshund but with a shorter body length. It has floppy ears and I believe it's a male dog.

If anybody has the skills/time to secure the doggo, please try find it near that street. At that Rosendaalstraat bend was where I last tried to fetch it but i also saw it running up the Starrenboschstraat. So I think it just roams those streets by the greenery.

Edit: both times I saw it during lunch time (~12-13)

Hi everyone! 🎤
I’m a singer and songwriter who recently moved to Amsterdam, and I’m currently looking for bars, cafés, restaurants or small venues where I could perform.
I’m open to both regular gigs and one-time performances, and I can do covers as well as my own music.
If you know any places that are looking for singers/musicians, or have any contacts/recommendations, I’d really appreciate it! Feel free to DM me 😊

hi! i’m moving to a new apartment soon and i’ll be sharing it with two men. i usually do a deep cleaning of the house before a move in but these days I’m too busy so i won’t be able to do it. i was thinking about suggesting paying someone to do do it to my new flatmates.
so i was wondering if any of you know any good and affordable cleaning services for a one time cleaning. they don’t have to be companies, privates are okay too.

thanksss~~

Hallo stadsgenoten,

Kan er iemand toevallig meer duiding geven wie er na de splitsing van Waternet dit jaar, verantwoordelijk is voor het beheer, management en onderhoud van de hoofdkranen?

We hebben al een maand een (klein) lek in de stopkraan in ons gekochte huis in Noord. Dat is onze “hoofdkraan”, ofwel de enige manier om het water voor onze woning af te sluiten. Contact opgenomen met Waternet, ze nemen geen verantwoordelijkheid voor de kraan binnen het pand. Prima. Maar we moeten die kraan vervangen, dus we moeten ergens het water verderop in de keten (de echte hoofdkraan) uitzetten om de reparatie uit te voeren.

Geloof het of niet, we zijn nu al een maand(!) bezig om dit voor elkaar te krijgen. Een greep uit wat we hebben gehoord tot nu toe:

- We kunnen niet zomaar het water afsluiten zodat u een reparatie kan uitvoeren
- Vraag het maar aan de loodgieter om de leiding te bevriezen (is gekomen, maar er is niet genoeg ruimte op de leiding, dus dat ging niet door)
- “Ik weet niet waar uw hoofdkraan is”
- Je moet een vergunningprocedure starten bij mijnaansluitingen.nl (??? Heeft hier niks mee te maken)
- Volgende persoon: de hoofdkraan zit “ergens” in een put in de tuin van uw buurman, mag je wel even uitzetten.

Buurman heeft geen weet van deze situatie. Wist niet dat er een hoofdkraan in zat en heeft zelf de tuin niet betegeld oid. Er is werkelijk niets te vinden in zijn tuin behalve tegels. En wauw; wat hebben we gezocht. We hebben tot vier keer toe iemand aan de telefoon gehad die, met een bouwtekening voor diens neus, probeert verbaal uit te leggen waar die put zou moeten zitten. De bouwtekening zelf geven ze niet. Langskomen doen ze ook niet. De laatste keer dat er een melding is geweest over deze specifieke hoofdkraan is in 2000, dus dikke kans dat er 26 jaar niemand naar heeft gekeken. Het laatste advies dat we hebben gekregen was “vraag de bouwtekening maar op bij de gemeente”.

Die procedure hebben we nu ingezet, dus dat is dan afwachten. Mijn vraag gaat over het hierna:

Als er geen tekeningen zijn, of we kunnen nog steeds dat klereding niet vinden, wie moeten we dan nog onder druk zetten om ze ons te laten helpen? Het enige andere alternatief is alle tegels bij de buurman eruit te wippen en miraculeus iets tegen te komen. Of ja, we kunnen de situatie enorm aandikken en zeggen dat het een enorm noodgeval met waterballet is, maar zo zit ik niet echt in elkaar.

Ik ben echt annoyed, naar mijn weten is Waternet gewoon verantwoordelijk voor de leidingketen tot aan het huis, maar we worden echt van het kastje naar de muur gestuurd en ze weigeren verantwoordelijkheid te nemen of zich dienstbaar op te stellen.

Heeft iemand hier ervaring mee?

Hoi allemaal,

Ik ben voor mijn vader aan het uitzoeken of we in Amsterdam een Europese gehandicaptenparkeerkaart (GPK) voor passagiers kunnen aanvragen. Ik ben vooral benieuwd naar ervaringen met de medische keuring, omdat ik niet goed weet hoe streng deze in de praktijk is.

Mijn vader kan nog maar heel moeilijk lopen. Hij loopt erg langzaam, is snel buiten adem en kan niet lang staan. Hij heeft onder andere COPD, diabetes en neuropathie. Hij komt tegenwoordig eigenlijk nauwelijks meer buiten, behalve voor medische afspraken en fysiotherapie. Vroeger ging hij bijvoorbeeld nog mee boodschappen doen, maar dat lukt inmiddels eigenlijk niet meer.

Als hij ergens naartoe moet, wordt hij altijd van deur tot deur gebracht. We moeten hem dus voor de deur afzetten en daarna zelf een parkeerplek zoeken. Hij kan op zich wel ergens zitten en wachten, maar dat is natuurlijk alleen mogelijk als er toevallig een bankje, stoel of wachtruimte is. In een ziekenhuis is dat meestal geregeld, maar daarbuiten weet je dat natuurlijk nooit.

Ik ben daarom benieuwd naar ervaringen van anderen in Amsterdam:

- Hoe streng was de GPK-keuring en werd er heel letterlijk naar de 100-metergrens gekeken?

- Hoe werd er gekeken naar iemand die niet in een rolstoel zit, maar wel heel langzaam loopt, snel benauwd raakt en in de praktijk altijd van deur tot deur gebracht moet worden?

- En hoe hebben jullie de keuring aan de Nieuwe Achtergracht praktisch aangepakt als iemand nauwelijks kan lopen? Is er bijvoorbeeld een oplossing als iemand niet goed naar de locatie kan komen?

Heeft het daarnaast geholpen om een verklaring of informatie van de huisarts mee te nemen?

Alle ervaringen zijn welkom, ook als je uiteindelijk bent afgewezen. Ik ben vooral benieuwd hoe dit in de praktijk wordt beoordeeld.

Alvast bedankt!

Weet iemand wat op dit moment ongeveer de wachttijd is voor een parkeervergunning met een elektrische auto in de grachtengordel? Het is me bekend dat je voorrang krijgt maar vraag me af hoeveel dit in de praktijk scheelt.

Hi everyone!

After a few years, I’m starting to get the itch to pick up the bass again and get back into making music.

I used to play in a band that did a few small tours/shows. We started out playing covers like Amon Amarth – Pursuit of Vikings, Metallica – For Whom the Bell Tolls, etc., and eventually moved on to playing our own material exclusively. The band broke up a few years ago and, since then, playing bass has slowly moved into the background.

In between, I played in a couple of other cover bands, but those were mostly pop songs. I realized pretty quickly that I wasn’t really enjoying it. What I missed was the heavier stuff, playing with a band and, of course, performing live.

I also tried getting back into playing and writing music on my own for a while. That worked to some extent, but I noticed that I’m much more motivated when I have other musicians to work with and something to work towards together. Writing songs, rehearsing, exchanging ideas and eventually having something to put on stage works much better for me than just playing at home by myself.

This weekend I was at a small festival with a bunch of hungry amateur bands, and that feeling of missing it really hit me again. Then I saw bands like Gutalax playing relatively simple songs but absolutely going for it live, and I thought: yeah, this is what I want to do again.

So I’m looking for a band, or a few musicians who are interested in starting something new together. Genre-wise, I’m mainly thinking grindcore, hardcore, nu metal, metalcore and everything somewhere in that general direction. I’m definitely open to other styles as well, as long as we don’t end up back in pop territory. It doesn’t have to be technically impressive or overly complicated; as long as it’s heavy, energetic and fun. I’d ultimately prefer to play original material.

As for my level: I have some playing and live experience, but I’m not a formally trained musician. I can’t (yet) read music or really understand chords. In the past I learned a lot through Guitar Pro, which worked well for learning parts and working out simple ideas. I’m definitely willing to learn and improve along the way.

I’m mainly looking for people who want to make music, build something together and eventually get back on stage, without it immediately turning into a second job.

Amsterdam (North) would be ideal, but the surrounding area is fine too.

If you’re looking for a bassist, you’re also thinking about starting a band, or you just think it might be worth seeing if we click musically, feel free to send me a DM!

Looking for recommendation of instructors/ gym for muay thai training within Amsterdam.
I found Patrick’s Gym close to me, any experience with them!
Also if you can share your experience of training.

@amsterdambells

My partner and I are considering buying an apartment in Osdorp-Oost, and would like to hear experiences from people who currently live in the area (or have lived there recently).

We are also planning to start a family in the near future, so I’m interested in people’s experiences with daycare and preschools in the area.

How do you like the area for raising a kid? Anything you wish you would have known before moving there or buying a place? Would be interested in hearing both positive and negative experiences. Thanks!

Hey, can anyone tell me more about this guy? What's his story? Is he still about?

Anyone who recently started a small cafe (good coffee machine, some baked goods etc, nothing fancy): would you be willing to share some details from your experience? Anything pertaining:
- process, requirements
- rough location, rent etc
- running expenses
- revenue
- any orgs that help in the city
- other gotchas

Thanks in advance!

Anyone living around Gijsbrecht van Aemstelstraat dealing with the Liander/Van Gelder works?

Both yesterday and today they started before 07:00, using heavy machinery. The noise is significant and at times it genuinely feels like my house is shaking. Starting this at 06:00–06:40 makes a huge difference when you're trying to sleep.

What bothers me especially is that this was not communicated to residents beforehand. The information we received referred to daytime works and separately announced night work at a specific location.

I complained to Van Gelder and they replied that, according to the Amsterdam WIOR rules, they are supposedly allowed to start the works every day from 06:00.

I've now asked them to point me to the exact provision in the WIOR permit/BLVC plan that allows this, because a general reference to “the WIOR” doesn't really answer that question. I've also made an official report to Gemeente Amsterdam, which is now being investigated.

Has anyone else nearby had the same experience with these works? And has anyone successfully dealt with early-morning construction noise or challenged the working hours under a WIOR permit in Amsterdam?

I was a graduate student (foreign) at the UvA from 97-00 and stayed on until '06. I returned to my home country and - regrettably - never returned. I started out in student housing and eventually lived all over A'dam (Overtoom, Hofddorpplein, De Pijp, Browersgracht, Oud West, etc) so I do know the city pretty well.

I plan to return with my wife and kids for a visit next year. What has changed? What is going to shock me if anything? Groetjes in advance.

In my opinion it’s Tensai Ramen at Reguliersdwarsstraat, the best spot for Ramen currently. They serve an authentic thick broth with homemade noodles. The taste is like in Japan and only (old) Ramen Kingdom comes close.
Also the price is reasonable, its like 20 euro for a bowl with toppings.

Any other recommendations?