Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

startupjuncture.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 75 posts

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#31

Post by DrinkWater »

nirvana wrote: post #24
subsystem wrote: post #12

The real question is of course "Is it better than Berlin?". I personally wouldn't bother with any European city with housing market problem, excluding London.

No. And contrary to what others have said, more Germans know english than Dutch know english, on a day to day basis. Though you can get by without knowing dutch in amsterdam with a little creativity.

This is not what i experienced. I live in Germany, but i am quite often visiting the Netherlands. I was even able to speak to elderly people in English when i was lost in some small Dutch village.

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#32

Post by dlib »

yread wrote: post #10
inbys wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tax rates in continental Europe can indeed be steep compared to UK and US. In the Netherlands the top rate is 'only' 52%, not 70%. Most people, especially company owners, pay much less.

Yep. And only the income above ~ €56,491 will be taxed by 52% so your average tax rate will be much lower

Especially since the rent on your mortgage is deductible. Adding to that, expats have extra tax discounts (30% ruling).

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#33

Post by mtrimpe »

patrickk wrote: post #26
mtrimpe wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apart from London Amsterdam is probably the city where you can get by most easily speaking only English. It will be hard to fully integrate into Dutch social life without learning proper Dutch of course, but professionally it will not be much of a problem and the expat community is so large that it is fairly easy to build a decent social life within it.

Dublin? Everyone in Ireland (well 99.99%) speaks English as their first language. Some people even speak Irish ;)

Isn't Dublin a part of England though? ;)

But good catch... I meant countries where English is not already the native language.

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#34

Post by Glowbox »

nirvana wrote: post #24
subsystem wrote: post #12

The real question is of course "Is it better than Berlin?". I personally wouldn't bother with any European city with housing market problem, excluding London.

No. And contrary to what others have said, more Germans know english than Dutch know english, on a day to day basis. Though you can get by without knowing dutch in amsterdam with a little creativity.

Do you have any numbers to back that up? This site (http://www.nfia-india.com/why_english_speaking_society.html) says 62% vs 91% in favor of the Netherlands.

edit: seeing this guys profile/comments in this thread it's an obvious troll.

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#35

Post by eLobato »

nirvana wrote: post #24
subsystem wrote: post #12

The real question is of course "Is it better than Berlin?". I personally wouldn't bother with any European city with housing market problem, excluding London.

No. And contrary to what others have said, more Germans know english than Dutch know english, on a day to day basis. Though you can get by without knowing dutch in amsterdam with a little creativity.

On my experience, everyone in the Netherlands speaks English. I had problems getting by in Berlin and I know some basic notions of German (had to use English when that wasn't enough), English does NOT cut it, you need at least some basic German (maybe 1 or 2 months of studying).

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#36

Post by digitalengineer »

pogosian wrote: post #6

Do they have some sort of startup visa in Netherlands? Something like UK's Tier 1 Entrepreneur perhaps?

Even better, according to the guys at Appsterdam there's this piece of law created after WW2 where anyone from the US can start their own company in Holland. USA citizens can apply for a Dutch residence permit to be self-employed or operate their business in the Netherlands. They can also sponsor their married partners and minor children for residence. http://www.expatlaw.nl/dutch_american_friendship_treaty.htm

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#37

Post by mtrimpe »

jonascopenhagen wrote: post #21
mtrimpe wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apart from London Amsterdam is probably the city where you can get by most easily speaking only English. It will be hard to fully integrate into Dutch social life without learning proper Dutch of course, but professionally it will not be much of a problem and the expat community is so large that it is fairly easy to build a decent social life within it.

> Amsterdam is probably the only city, apart from London, where you can get by perfectly speaking only English. You can get by perfectly speaking only English in most of Northern Europe. Southern Europe is a different story.

Seeing that your from Copenhagen; how is the expat community there?

Here it feels very thriving, lively and well-functioning, but quite insular because on the one hand we make it so easy to get by with English alone but on the other hand we don't truly accept people into our social circles unless they speak Dutch.

Can you relate to that?

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#38

Post by raverbashing »

digitalengineer wrote: post #29
josscrowcroft wrote: post #8

So, although I found the article a little bit light, I'm fascinated to hear anybody's experience of Amsterdam for solo entrepreneurs and creatives. I've been considering it as a place to live, work and play for a while. E.g. what are the pros/cons of moving there for 3–6 months, assuming there are no plans to raise funding, hire staff or rent an office?

Dutchman here. Depends on where your from. Trying to find an affordable place to live can be difficult. (Depending on what you feel is affordable). On the other hand, distance is nothing in Holland. You drive through the entire country in 3 hours. An affordable place to live just 30 min outside Amsterdam is a lot easier. Public transport is good, most of the time. Driving and parking in A'dam is expensive as well...…

Can you give a ballpark on rent figures?

Also on average 'take home pay' for jobs

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#39

Post by mryan »

nirvana wrote: post #27
ddbryant wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's not make up numbers... Income tax is high here (not 70%) but you know, you get what you pay for. If you're American the 30% rule kicks in as long as you are here on a dutch american treaty visa or sponsored by a company. Any American can start a company here and get a 1 year visa. That's a pretty low barrier or entry compared to most countries. Corporate tax is also incredibly low, with a ton of benefits for th…

Those aren't made up numbers. I actually did the math based on my income. How about you stop being a dishonest coward who characterizes your opponent, rather than making an argument, hmm? You don't get what you pay for, of course, if you bothered to actually add up what you really do pay, and what you really do get, but then that is the essential swindle isn't it? You and all the rest of the thieves like to pretend l…

Would you be interested in posting the numbers you used for your calculations? I appreciate it is confidential information, but I find it very difficult to believe your tax rate is 70%.

If you are in fact paying 70% of your income in taxes, I can recommend an accountant who can advise on a more efficient tax strategy.

I would prefer it if you didn't reply and call me a socialist, or complain that I am dishonest - I have no horse in this race, I am merely pointing out that if you are in fact paying 70% tax, you could save a lot of money by talking to an accountant who specialises in tax efficiency.

Re: Why (or why not) to move your company to Amsterdam

#40

Post by meepmorp »

nirvana wrote: post #27
ddbryant wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's not make up numbers... Income tax is high here (not 70%) but you know, you get what you pay for. If you're American the 30% rule kicks in as long as you are here on a dutch american treaty visa or sponsored by a company. Any American can start a company here and get a 1 year visa. That's a pretty low barrier or entry compared to most countries. Corporate tax is also incredibly low, with a ton of benefits for th…

Those aren't made up numbers. I actually did the math based on my income. How about you stop being a dishonest coward who characterizes your opponent, rather than making an argument, hmm? You don't get what you pay for, of course, if you bothered to actually add up what you really do pay, and what you really do get, but then that is the essential swindle isn't it? You and all the rest of the thieves like to pretend l…

> How about you stop being a dishonest coward who characterizes your opponent

Ahem.

Post reply on HN