SHOW US YOUR TAXES! #WeakDonald

The first question we are often asked when strolling around Amsterdam is “where are you from?”  A close second are questions about Trump and guns.  I often feel the need to apologize on behalf of all reasonable Americans for what appears to be our national testosterone rage.

People we meet in Europe are often surprised when we tell them we live in Amsterdam and have been doing so for nearly 2 years.  For some reason, many are doubly surprised when we tell them how much we like living in Europe.  (They have no idea how good it has been for my psyche to be spared a season of political ads!)  We actually are starting to feel like this is a second home, particularly now that we’ve moved in to the city and adopted many of its sensible ways of living.

When we first moved to Europe, we bemoaned the loss of a multi-car garages, behemoth refrigerators and 1 bathroom per person.  In Holland, the average house is around 100 sq meters (compared to well over 200 sq. meters in the US).  When we instructed the real estate agent that we must have at least 2 bathrooms - she was nice about it, but honest.  This, she said, will greatly limit the number of properties for us to consider.  Thus, we first chose to live outside the city to keep our “standard of living” somewhat on par.  Some immediate differences were a 1 car parking space and no possibility of a turkey for thanksgiving - unless we carved it first and then baked it in our Easy-Bake oven/microwave combination.  The washer and dryer were smaller than the stacked apartment units I had back in the 80s.  But, what we lacked in size and amenities was made up for in the number of stairs.  No one builds vertical quite like the Dutch.   The construction of Holland was not only due to space issues (the country is the size of Maryland) but also because historically residents were taxed on the width of their homes.  Thus, Dutch ingenuity used the ladder, disguised as stairs, to maximize space in a tax efficient way.

We recently moved from a lovely small village to the center of Amsterdam. The 2nd apartment hunt was about a whole different set of priorities.  We did maintain the need for 2 bathrooms (which you’ll understand when I tell you I live with a 14 year old boy who shaves once a week whether he needs to or not), but were happy with street parking, less square meters, and 33 stairs to access the apartment (70 if you want to enjoy the roof!)  We use our 1 car only on occasion.  We don’t buy a lot of stuff as there is no place to put it and we have to ask ourselves - is it worth carrying up all those stairs!  We have no need for the big refrigerator to prolong the life of our preservative laden foods as we shop nearly every day for fresh meats and produce and bread that goes stale quickly if you don’t eat it within a few days.  We are enjoying every square meter of our new apartment and between the bikes, stairs and lack of sugar and preservatives - we are as healthy and happy as we’ve ever been.