Amsterdam is not only a financial, logistical, and technological hub of all of Benelux, but also a unique place to study at high-quality universities, grow career-wise, and of course, spend a great time with many international people.

Student Life

• https://www.glassdoor.com – If you are looking for salary insights, and even jobs
• https://dealroom.co – will give inside knowledge of many startups and companies, such as market cap, employee number, and additional info on the financial wellbeing of a company. I highly recommend investing time there to find a place to work. They also have very interesting newsletters every week – great if you are an investor too.
• stackoverflow.com – if you are a software engineer, then you know this website. They also show many insights on the IT industry worldwide
• linkedin.com is familiar to you, and highly used in NL. Once you change your location to Amsterdam, you will receive tons of messages regarding work opportunities. Most of them are spam, but still don’t hesitate to answer them even with suggested messages. Recruiters use filters in LinkedIn to search and send messages, so make sure you fill your “interests” and “skills” to the maximum. Also, invest in your CV, and google for Search Engine Optimization – this will greatly increase the chances of your profile to be a recruiter.
• www.angel.co – is useful if you are searching for small startups. Also possible for a remote. If you are working remotely, then I suggest you create a B.V. company for yourself and be the employer of yourself and then work as a remote. This way, even though you will pay higher taxes, you will be able to work more than 16 hours per week if you are a student. Yes, that is a loophole.
• reddit.com – is a great forum too. There are multiple subreddits that might be very helpful if you want to ask a question and read peoples’ stories related to work. For example, I am subscribed to it from here.
• https://www.iamexpat.nl – actually useful for many topics, but also has many articles on starting a business in The Netherlands, including tax information.
• If you plan to open a business, then governmental websites would be useful. Dutch government gives a lot of subsidies to many fields, for example, Eco Transport. This can be a great boost to your business. Also, don’t forget to check the EU’s websites for grants too, they are very generous, especially during pandemics.

• 350-400 euros for food (excluding restaurants or deliveries). Food quality here is good, but with some exceptions. European Union controls many farmers and food producers, so you can be sure that your vegetables, fruits, and anything you buy to eat are controlled and no dirt included. On the other hand, I really don’t like meat here. Some of my friends don’t like tomatoes. It is about personal taste of course, but you can forget about abundant food flavors as it is in Azerbaijan. The largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands is Albert Heijn, with around 100 locations only in Amsterdam. However, Voordeelmarkt and Lidl are considered cheaper. Even cheaper options are Turkish and Moroccan stores, especially for fruits, vegetables, and meat products.
• A one-time date in a restaurant will cost you around 15-40 euros per person. Even though food in supermarkets is not as tasty as in Azerbaijan, there are many international food restaurants, especially in Amsterdam. You can find almost any kitchen in the world. Last year there is a fetish towards vegan food, and you can have great fast-food made entirely from plants. Even though I don’t buy meat in supermarkets, I always order meat food in high-end restaurants, because it is just different quality, but of course, costs much more.
• 60-100 euros for transportation, usually to work and university. Sometimes, if I travel to another city, I would spend extra 15-20 euros one way. But note that public transportation is one of the best in the world, especially the timing. I use google maps all the time when I use any type of public transportation because everything runs like a clock. Also, I get my work-related transportation costs back, so my monthly expenditure is actually minimal. If you are decisive on using public transport, I recommend you to get your personal OV-chipkaart and get a monthly subscription as soon as you get to the Netherlands.  If you are using public transport every day, having no subscription will generally cost you twice as much. If you live close to university or work, I suggest buying a bike instead, because bike lanes are everywhere – from highways to forests. Amsterdam is called City Of Bikes because there are more bikes than people!
• 650 rent. I talked about the renting issues above, but here I will add that many new residential places are being built around Amsterdam and the city center. I personally like apartments, but typical dutch houses are also great, especially if you share with fellow students. Note that housing prices are very fluctuating and thus, this cost might be higher for you.
• 60 euros for insurance. In the Netherlands, it is mandatory to own health insurance. Therefore, it should be one of the first things that you setup before moving here. I personally have Aon student insurance, to which i approximately pay 60 euros. However, for working professionals, this number can be higher.
• 50 euros on average for Miscellaneous expenses. You know, our lives are not monotone and never stable. Unexpected things happen and your cost is not always same as you expected it to be. There come miscellaneous expenses. For example, my bike got stolen last month despite being locked. There you go, something unexpected. Well not in the Netherlands maybe, but my bicycle getting stolen is definitely not something I think about when calculating my monthly costs.