Amsterdam Vs Thailand

We moved to the Amsterdam suburbs one year ago, after 5 years in Bangkok and one year in Phuket.

Every couple of days a thought comes up of what I like and dislike.

This article is to keep track of these, to help make choices in the future.

Because we do know, that Amsterdam isn’t our final destination...

The Dutch Infrastructure is Great

I love it when things run efficient and predictable, that's why this comes first. I guess I'm a little autistic, probably with a bit of ADHD on top. I digress, in the very first sentence of this article already!

The Dutch infrastructure is amazing: the bicycles paths are the Eight Wonder of the World, safe and convenient, there is no comparison. The highways and public roads are in perfect shape and continuously improved.

Public playgrounds are ubiquitious and challenging, for our kids, ...and for me as well!

Trains and buses go at high frequency. They're less punctual than the Swiss or the Japanese, but because off the high frequency it doesn't matter that much, I'll just wait and my transport will show up soon. The bus lanes and train routes are optimised for speed and the public offices continuously improve them.

Hope for a better future as a key variable

And that's is a common thread for me: continuous improvement

In the Netherlands - at least for infrastructure - there is hope on improvement if something is wrong today.

Case in point, we had a little sand path in front of our house which people used as a shortcut (an Elephant Path in Dutch). I emailed the city and they made it into a paved path.

When things can be improved, it generally will be done.

Nevertheless, despite the great infrastructure, and despite the broken window theory, there is more trash around than I would expect. In playgrounds, trains, buses and public spaces overall.

In some parts of Asia, eating and drinking on public transport is prohibited, it keeps at least trains and buses spotless.

That would be solving the symptom though, because the real problem lies deeper...

There is no Optimism

Remember what I said about improving infrastructure? There is real hope that Dutch infrastructure improves year over year. We can see it, we can feel it. It was the same in Bangkok, they were building everywhere, it gives a sense of optimism.

Less so elsewhere in the Dutch society, there is an overall lack of optimism. Sometimes even apathy.

People don't smile easily here. Worse, people seem to be afraid of each other. Smiling to a stranger feels inappropriate. Let alone talking to him or her.

Could the Lack of affordable housing be a reason? They really missed the ball on this one in last decade, and for us it's the reason to move away in 2026 when our rental contract expires.

Aging Population

Other than housing, I believe the median age has something to do with it.

The Dutch population, and Europe's population overall, is old. An abundance of older people takes the energy and velocity out of a society. I'm not the youngest myself anymore, and soon will be part of the problem. That doesn't take away that I would like to live in an environment which exudes energy.

This was also a problem when we lived in a popular tourist destination like Phuket. They are full of old people. It's not their fault obviously, but the skewing demographics are not a good thing.

Moving back to Thailand won't solve this, as this is a global problem and most of Asia suffers from the same.

Developing countries like India, the Philippines or most of Africa are where the societies are vibrant with young energy, who have hopes and dreams, who want to build and create, who want to change things and make a difference.

Finding a community of like-minded people

One of the strongest driver of deciding where to live should be where we find young couples like us, with kids the same age. Pockets like this exist, also in the Netherlands. Though I guess they become scarcer.

Moving to a young country could help this, and might solve something related: finding like-minded people. Foreigners living abroad are there with a purpose, not by coincidence, they tend to have better stories. From all the criteria in this list, people and community are probably the most important.

Life is easy when it's 30 degrees every day

I don't know how better to express this, but life was EASY when it was thirty degrees every day.

I walked outside, I jumped on the bicycle or motorbike, the kids played outside.

People were more enthusiastic. Image being spontaneous and enthusiastic when you're huddled into your collar against darkness, wind, rain and cold. I tried it and it takes an active effort to walk upright when the whether is bad.

But...

At least 4-5 months out of the year Thailand was too hot for me. My wife will disagree, but the warm season, when the sun burns vertical on my head, is unbearable for me. Climate change will probably exacerbate this. Once again, I have little hope for the near future.

What's Next?

Bangkok is a great city, but we left because every year there is smog from January to April. Which we could cope with, but not our newborn daughter.

More importantly, I have no hope that Thailand will be able to solve this, as this is a regional problem.

Then we moved to Phuket. Which is a great place. And many people started to realise this. And the local government welcomes them all, because they see dollar signs. But there is no vision for the future, no plan for the roads, the water, or any type of public transport.

And hence, Phuket is gridlocked, short on water, and polluted. And again, I have very little confidence they can solve this. There is no hope, it will only get worse in the next 5 - 10 years.

So we won't go back to Thailand.

But we wont't stay in Amsterdam either.

The Netherlands feels familiar, while Thailand was a foreign country.

And that foreign country comes with something special: The sense of feeling abroad, the feeling off adventure.

An optimistic community, a higher temperature, and a sense of adventure.

That's what I will be looking for in the next 12 months.

Appendix: Where to Go

The perfect location doesn't exist, but the places below are on my radar. This list changes every month, but I feel I have to write it down somewhere.

• Sydney and Cape Town are early cities. I love early cities. Try getting a coffee in Amsterdam before 9am. Sydney is too far though. Cape Town is more realistic.
• I've never been, but Curacao sounds great. Overall the Caribbean sounds great. Though most islands seem to be inhabited by old rich people.
• Cambodia: because the population is young. It's corrupt as hell though
• India: because that's the real remaining frontier I guess. And it's young and dynamic. And it's growing, it's an interesting bet on the future.
• Costa Rica: just because ...
• Kuala Lumpur: more green and clean than Bangkok, more modern, less touristy.
• Taiwan: Efficient society with relatively good weather. A society under threat performs better.

This is a never-ending article. I started May 12 2025, my latest update is Oct 29 2025.

I was building a website on this but I abandoned (for now).