Post deleted by Mat Sklansky

[StevieG]

I lived in the Netherlands for a while. In Holland (Delft), but not Amsterdam.

My wife (then girlfriend) was doing a post doc. I did some freelance work in Amsterdam, was there a few times a week.

I loved it. Biked around everywhere, enjoyed Belgian beers all the time, made weekend forays to other spots in Europe (Thalys bullet train to Paris, ftw).

Tough thing was Dutch. First, everyone speaks English well, so they'll just jump to it if you struggle. You really need to be persistent to learn it.

The weather is not ideal. Rains a whole lot, but you get used to it.

Amsterdam is overcrowded and it could be tough for you to find a place.

[fabadam]

I've sent you a fairly extensive PM about Amsterdam itself.
If you want to look further away, there's Amstelveen to the south, which has very good public transport to Amsterdam. Amstelveen is quite expensive mostly however.

There's a lot of places in varying quality if you're willing to look further away. You would probably need a car for most of those places if you want to go anywhere.
I have a personal bias for Haarlem, because I live there, but it's a very nice small city.

If you just want to live in Amsterdam itself, you can do without a car.

Seeing what you're asking in this post, I think your chances are best in the areas just outside the center: Oud-Zuid (de Pijp especially), Oost/Watergraafsmeer (near Oosterpark), and Oud-West, Baarsjes and Bos en Lommer. The latter is a bit rundown in some places, but hardly unsafe.
(There's always some safety risk in a city like Amsterdam, so you need to take care to lock your doors well and stuff, and if you have a bike, you're need a honking big chain for it.)

[GoCubsGo]

I am going to study abroad there for a semester starting in February. I would like to hear what you have to say about the city, fabadam. I will be living in dorms at the University of Amsterdam.