We’re heading to the Isle of Skye on Thursday for our 21st wedding anniversary, so if anyone needs me to pay a visit to a certain evil author and do the needful while I’m over there I’m at your service.
I feel you! When I had to move out of my splurging former Dutch Indies Apartment Hotel reconverted in luxury flats (with Art Deco finishes) as it became unaffordable, I ended up living in one of those typical Haagse post-war flats with external staircases leading to a common external corridor for all apartments. It was cheap (at that time I paid less than 900 euros for a one bedroom flat with double glazing and all appliance - and curtains and floor!). It was also 5 minutes commute from work so yay. I’d never been able to live in a typical Dutch house. I regularly had staircase related accidents whenever I visited friends in those kind of flats (rare in The Hague due to bombings).
You get it. I know two people who had very serious accidents on the Dutch stairs (one broke her leg so badly she was in the hospital for 6 weeks and needed a year of PT). It’s such a tough market, and it’s so hard to leave our special house that we’ve been so lucky to have. 🏰
When we first arrived in the Netherlands with all our worldly goods* in suitcases on the footpath outside the apartment we were renting, and I opened the front door and gazed up at the Perilous Stairs within, I seriously wondered how I'd cope.
These days I manage in our house pretty well--without dying of breathlessness--but I never feel entirely safe without clinging onto the bannister.
But there is an upside!
"Compared with not climbing stairs, stair climbing was associated with a 24% reduced risk of dying from any cause and a 39% lower likelihood of dying from cardiovascular disease. Stair climbing was also linked with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease including heart attack, heart failure and stroke." https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Climb-stairs-to-live-longer
So I guess we'll live longer, even if a lot of those years will be in traction.
Good luck with the house hunting, and enjoy Skye!
[*Not quite all... there was the container from Australia that was somewhere in the Indian Ocean at the time.]
Dutch people keep telling us how healthy we will be climbing those stairs and I say, not if I am dead because I fell and broke my neck and they say, yes, this is also true. 😂
Have you looked in Rotterdam. It is a fantastic city with many great neighborhoods. It is a little less crowded that Amsterdam and i think the housing situation might be a bit better. Still the stairs are all like that! The Dutch are very hearty people!
My son lives in Holland. He goes to Erasmus in Rotterdam. We are also fortunate to have close friends there. We will be spending our summer there. I just live it. So easy and just pleasant.
Also... if you haven't been to Texel (pronounced Tessel) you should make a trip. It is and island off of North Holland. Look it up! A place to bring the boat!
Okay, I am officially in LOVE with Shrimpy and I don't think I've ever fangirled over a boat. I can't imagine a better way to spend Sunday afternoon--with cocktails, charcute, and the canals! I DO seriously worry about Brian and those Dutch stairs. Eesh. My "Grace & Frankie" bestie and I looked at a house in Beacon Hill this year with THOSE same skinny steps and we both immediately envisioned matching ankle casts and were like, "Nope, we'll die!" 😂 Sending you all the good house hunting karma, so that right place just unfurls before you and Brian doesn't have to be hoisted from floor to floor. Plus, nighttime loo trips... precarious at best! PS - I'm trying to think of the most fitting prank while on Skye.
I have total faith you’re going to find something amazing. That picture on the stairs with James and your dog is the sweetest thing ever. And I’m just going to trust in the witchy currents pulling you toward something wonderful. I want your book of weird tales, too. Happy house hunting and happy anniversary ❤️
Thank you! I really hope we find something and I’m calling to the witchy currents for divine intervention. (Witchy currents, I love that, you get it.) xo
Hi Jennifer, thank you for taking us out on your boat with you. That was glorious!!! You are enveloped in such beauty!!! I feel for you -moving - ugh. We moved out of NY City (praise the lord) and landed in a charming suburban town, on the foot of a greenway. So we found our little piece of heaven. BUT it was 3 years of aggressive house searching- the market, as you know went insane and we just couldn't outbid the competition. All eventually fell into place, like those rich-colored autumn leaves that seemingly float to the ground. But hang in there, house hunting is one bumpy ride, as you know. Let it out here- we will hold you afloat. Hee hee Hugs from over here.
I’m guessing the houses also have bathrooms far away from the bedroom, making getting up to pee in the night tricky? We stayed in Slovenia and had to climb down a ladder to go, and let me tell you, I was considering a chamber pot.
The housing market is indeed very tough in the Netherlands. Especially in Amsterdam. I couldn’t afford to move back to my own country right now. Unless I rent an apartment in some undesirable province. I hope you will find something suitable for you and your family.
I spent four days in Amsterdam and nearly died at least a dozen times trying to navigate stairs 😅 (I also almost fell into a canal because…there was no railing, or, like any pylons or boundary of any kind. It was dark and the street was jam-packed with jostling soccer fans and I was accidentally VERY high and I absolutely would be at the bottom of a canal if my husband did not have great reflexes.)
We’ve just landed near your hood for the foreseeable! 🇳🇱Just finding a rental felt like nyc in the early 2000s. Hunger Games shit. Defo dispatch with those hateful demons whilst in Scotland. I’ll buy you a drink upon your return. 🥳
Seeing James carrying Brian down those stairs puts the absolute fright in me! Yowsa!! I thought going up & down these stairs would make me fit, but I have yet to find it easy especially lugging up groceries.
I’m sending all the positive energy towards you finding your next oasis in Amsterdam. 🙌
Skye for your anniversary? Envy levels: high. If you do end up hexing an author or two, I have a small list you could work your way through. Just saying.
As for the Dutch housing circus: I feel you. We’ve got the stairs that double as climbing walls, the basements that feel one heavy rain away from Venice, and the 2-million-euro “fixer-uppers” with toilets you access via a rope ladder. It's... character-building.
Here’s a plot twist for you: I’ll sell our spacious 1930s family house soon. It has **actual wide stairs** you can walk up *like a normal human*, tons of light, and a front and a back garden big enough to host an entire Shakespeare play. It’s built on a dike, so no soggy socks. Everything’s been well cared for, and it has *zero* ladders disguised as staircases.
Small caveat: it’s in Amstelveen. BUT—it’s only 10 minutes from Schiphol, excellent international schools around the corner, and a massive mall nearby (Bijenkorf, Uniqlo!) where your kids can go full feral on energy drinks while you pretend you’re in Tokyo.
If any of that sounds remotely tempting, drop me a line or DM me, and I’ll send you the details. If not, I’ll still cheer you on as you scale the stair-ladders of destiny. 😅
Give Shrimpy a pat from me—and happy house hunting!
I love hearing from you! Thank you for chiming in. Our kid graduated from high school and is in the States for college so we are going closer to Center (if you can believe it, what are we thinking? We're in Oud Zuid now. Ideally we'll find a place in Oud West, but we'll see). Your place in Amstelveen sounds fantastic and it will sell so fast you won't even believe it.
Gaiman and Rowling are on my current evil author in Scotland to do list. Let me know if you have someone else to put on my radar.
Live on Shrimpy!!!
The cat who lives on Shrimpy would not be pleased. He barely puts up with us all summer. Winter it’s all his.
I feel you! When I had to move out of my splurging former Dutch Indies Apartment Hotel reconverted in luxury flats (with Art Deco finishes) as it became unaffordable, I ended up living in one of those typical Haagse post-war flats with external staircases leading to a common external corridor for all apartments. It was cheap (at that time I paid less than 900 euros for a one bedroom flat with double glazing and all appliance - and curtains and floor!). It was also 5 minutes commute from work so yay. I’d never been able to live in a typical Dutch house. I regularly had staircase related accidents whenever I visited friends in those kind of flats (rare in The Hague due to bombings).
You get it. I know two people who had very serious accidents on the Dutch stairs (one broke her leg so badly she was in the hospital for 6 weeks and needed a year of PT). It’s such a tough market, and it’s so hard to leave our special house that we’ve been so lucky to have. 🏰
I cannot imagine breaking a leg in NL and have to endure their hospital care fueled by paracetamol. Your friend is a martyr :)
You totally get it!!!
When we first arrived in the Netherlands with all our worldly goods* in suitcases on the footpath outside the apartment we were renting, and I opened the front door and gazed up at the Perilous Stairs within, I seriously wondered how I'd cope.
These days I manage in our house pretty well--without dying of breathlessness--but I never feel entirely safe without clinging onto the bannister.
But there is an upside!
"Compared with not climbing stairs, stair climbing was associated with a 24% reduced risk of dying from any cause and a 39% lower likelihood of dying from cardiovascular disease. Stair climbing was also linked with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease including heart attack, heart failure and stroke." https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/Climb-stairs-to-live-longer
So I guess we'll live longer, even if a lot of those years will be in traction.
Good luck with the house hunting, and enjoy Skye!
[*Not quite all... there was the container from Australia that was somewhere in the Indian Ocean at the time.]
Dutch people keep telling us how healthy we will be climbing those stairs and I say, not if I am dead because I fell and broke my neck and they say, yes, this is also true. 😂
Have you looked in Rotterdam. It is a fantastic city with many great neighborhoods. It is a little less crowded that Amsterdam and i think the housing situation might be a bit better. Still the stairs are all like that! The Dutch are very hearty people!
My son lives in Holland. He goes to Erasmus in Rotterdam. We are also fortunate to have close friends there. We will be spending our summer there. I just live it. So easy and just pleasant.
Also... if you haven't been to Texel (pronounced Tessel) you should make a trip. It is and island off of North Holland. Look it up! A place to bring the boat!
Okay, I am officially in LOVE with Shrimpy and I don't think I've ever fangirled over a boat. I can't imagine a better way to spend Sunday afternoon--with cocktails, charcute, and the canals! I DO seriously worry about Brian and those Dutch stairs. Eesh. My "Grace & Frankie" bestie and I looked at a house in Beacon Hill this year with THOSE same skinny steps and we both immediately envisioned matching ankle casts and were like, "Nope, we'll die!" 😂 Sending you all the good house hunting karma, so that right place just unfurls before you and Brian doesn't have to be hoisted from floor to floor. Plus, nighttime loo trips... precarious at best! PS - I'm trying to think of the most fitting prank while on Skye.
Grace and Frankie! Love. I was inspired to start my own fake moustache collection after watching that show.
I have total faith you’re going to find something amazing. That picture on the stairs with James and your dog is the sweetest thing ever. And I’m just going to trust in the witchy currents pulling you toward something wonderful. I want your book of weird tales, too. Happy house hunting and happy anniversary ❤️
Thank you! I really hope we find something and I’m calling to the witchy currents for divine intervention. (Witchy currents, I love that, you get it.) xo
Hi Jennifer, thank you for taking us out on your boat with you. That was glorious!!! You are enveloped in such beauty!!! I feel for you -moving - ugh. We moved out of NY City (praise the lord) and landed in a charming suburban town, on the foot of a greenway. So we found our little piece of heaven. BUT it was 3 years of aggressive house searching- the market, as you know went insane and we just couldn't outbid the competition. All eventually fell into place, like those rich-colored autumn leaves that seemingly float to the ground. But hang in there, house hunting is one bumpy ride, as you know. Let it out here- we will hold you afloat. Hee hee Hugs from over here.
I’m carrying these thoughts with me. Thank you!!
I’m guessing the houses also have bathrooms far away from the bedroom, making getting up to pee in the night tricky? We stayed in Slovenia and had to climb down a ladder to go, and let me tell you, I was considering a chamber pot.
Yep. Our house has a toilet room with no sink and a bathroom with no toilet and you have to go up and down stairs to get to both. 😂
The housing market is indeed very tough in the Netherlands. Especially in Amsterdam. I couldn’t afford to move back to my own country right now. Unless I rent an apartment in some undesirable province. I hope you will find something suitable for you and your family.
It’s really tough 😬. I’m not sure how it will play out for us. Think positive thoughts for us. 🤞
Looks fab. Good luck with your house hunting! All the best from sunny Grenoble, France !
Thanks! I’ll take all the luck we can get. 🍀
Shrimpy! She's a beauty. I'm guessing those large houses cost 4 billion euros and still have a rope ladder to the bathroom. Good luck to you!
I love this episode of House Hunters International! No I don't watch that to cope why do you ask.
AHOY, SHRIMPY!
I spent four days in Amsterdam and nearly died at least a dozen times trying to navigate stairs 😅 (I also almost fell into a canal because…there was no railing, or, like any pylons or boundary of any kind. It was dark and the street was jam-packed with jostling soccer fans and I was accidentally VERY high and I absolutely would be at the bottom of a canal if my husband did not have great reflexes.)
“I was accidentally VERY high” is an experience I can absolutely relate to here (and we are not alone!) 😂. I’m glad you didn’t fall into the canals.
We’ve just landed near your hood for the foreseeable! 🇳🇱Just finding a rental felt like nyc in the early 2000s. Hunger Games shit. Defo dispatch with those hateful demons whilst in Scotland. I’ll buy you a drink upon your return. 🥳
I’ve also compared it to apartment hunting in NYC back in the day. Welcome to the Netherlands!! Looking forward to meeting.
Seeing James carrying Brian down those stairs puts the absolute fright in me! Yowsa!! I thought going up & down these stairs would make me fit, but I have yet to find it easy especially lugging up groceries.
I’m sending all the positive energy towards you finding your next oasis in Amsterdam. 🙌
Skye for your anniversary? Envy levels: high. If you do end up hexing an author or two, I have a small list you could work your way through. Just saying.
As for the Dutch housing circus: I feel you. We’ve got the stairs that double as climbing walls, the basements that feel one heavy rain away from Venice, and the 2-million-euro “fixer-uppers” with toilets you access via a rope ladder. It's... character-building.
Here’s a plot twist for you: I’ll sell our spacious 1930s family house soon. It has **actual wide stairs** you can walk up *like a normal human*, tons of light, and a front and a back garden big enough to host an entire Shakespeare play. It’s built on a dike, so no soggy socks. Everything’s been well cared for, and it has *zero* ladders disguised as staircases.
Small caveat: it’s in Amstelveen. BUT—it’s only 10 minutes from Schiphol, excellent international schools around the corner, and a massive mall nearby (Bijenkorf, Uniqlo!) where your kids can go full feral on energy drinks while you pretend you’re in Tokyo.
If any of that sounds remotely tempting, drop me a line or DM me, and I’ll send you the details. If not, I’ll still cheer you on as you scale the stair-ladders of destiny. 😅
Give Shrimpy a pat from me—and happy house hunting!
I love hearing from you! Thank you for chiming in. Our kid graduated from high school and is in the States for college so we are going closer to Center (if you can believe it, what are we thinking? We're in Oud Zuid now. Ideally we'll find a place in Oud West, but we'll see). Your place in Amstelveen sounds fantastic and it will sell so fast you won't even believe it.
Gaiman and Rowling are on my current evil author in Scotland to do list. Let me know if you have someone else to put on my radar.
Ooof sending all the positive vibes with house hunting here, it is rough!
Thank you 🙏