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Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

venturebeat.com

11–20 of 57 posts

Re: Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

#11
post #4

Instead of promoting Appsterdam with vague stories about how awesome Amsterdam is, I like to see more concrete and specific information. I understand that its just starting up, but this would be nice to have in the (near) future. Like: - Average cost of living is X - Developers can earn X-Z salary - Tax burden for companies is X - You can find apartments in the range of X-Y at site Z - X companies joined this initiat…

well, NL is pretty expensive to live in if you're earning USD; the tax burden is high if you're used to the US (though there's some offset because that tax includes what would be private medical insurance in the US); and people are forever grumbling about how hard it is to find places to live in Amsterdam. So maybe there's a reason for that.

The meeting on 6th July in their event planner is labelled as 'weekly' though that would mean there should be one in a couple days too (?)

Re: Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

#12
post #4

Instead of promoting Appsterdam with vague stories about how awesome Amsterdam is, I like to see more concrete and specific information. I understand that its just starting up, but this would be nice to have in the (near) future. Like: - Average cost of living is X - Developers can earn X-Z salary - Tax burden for companies is X - You can find apartments in the range of X-Y at site Z - X companies joined this initiat…

We are definitely going to provide all this info, just give us some time. Thank you for the feedback.

Re: Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

#14
post #4

Instead of promoting Appsterdam with vague stories about how awesome Amsterdam is, I like to see more concrete and specific information. I understand that its just starting up, but this would be nice to have in the (near) future. Like: - Average cost of living is X - Developers can earn X-Z salary - Tax burden for companies is X - You can find apartments in the range of X-Y at site Z - X companies joined this initiat…

I wish there was a list like this for every city.

Re: Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

#15
post #5

What about the language barrier? Is English prominent enough in Amsterdam to easily get through everyday interactions or would you need to learn an entirely new language in order to truly enjoy the city?

As the umpteen other comments say, yes: Amsterdam is extremely English friendly.

That said, outside of Amsterdam, some rudimentary Dutch helps a lot, especially if you're using public transport. Also, even just trying will automatically garner you a little respect with the locals, they're a bit sick of people who don't even try. ;)

Re: Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

#16
post #7
post #5

What about the language barrier? Is English prominent enough in Amsterdam to easily get through everyday interactions or would you need to learn an entirely new language in order to truly enjoy the city?

Yes, to the point that learning Dutch on the fly is hard because nobody will try to speak it with you when they are so good with English.

Typical anecdote in that respect: we have a German and a Greek developer on our team in Amsterdam. They practice Dutch by speaking it to each other, because everyone else will automatically switch to English.

Re: Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

#17
post #4

Instead of promoting Appsterdam with vague stories about how awesome Amsterdam is, I like to see more concrete and specific information. I understand that its just starting up, but this would be nice to have in the (near) future. Like: - Average cost of living is X - Developers can earn X-Z salary - Tax burden for companies is X - You can find apartments in the range of X-Y at site Z - X companies joined this initiat…

I wish there was a list like this for every city.

that's an idea right there

Re: Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

#18
> "The conclusion I came to was that Amsterdam was the most livable city in the world."

Before publicly stating that idea I would have waited until I had lived in the place for a few years.

I've been to Amsterdam and about 50 or so other cities in 30 countries(sorry for the humble brag here). I would never come to that conclusion for one reason: the winter weather.

I personally love the Northern California climate and would say San Francisco is the most livable city in the world(I've lived there for 2.5 years). But Amsterdam is a cool place and a great city. I could see how it'd be nice to live there if you don't mind crummy weather in the winter.

Re: Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

#19
post #5

What about the language barrier? Is English prominent enough in Amsterdam to easily get through everyday interactions or would you need to learn an entirely new language in order to truly enjoy the city?

The only barrier you will encounter if you actually want to settle there is dealing with paperwork. Companies and official authorities will gladly help you in English, but the paperwork is in Dutch. People often seem to forget the implications of that tiny detail when they move here.

Re: Appsterdam: A Haven for Indie App Makers?

#20
post #5

What about the language barrier? Is English prominent enough in Amsterdam to easily get through everyday interactions or would you need to learn an entirely new language in order to truly enjoy the city?

What I've noticed during meetups is that if there is even one non-Dutch speaker in the audience everyone switches to English. Amsterdam is very touristic and I think you won't miss out on anything in Amsterdam without knowing our native language.
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