From Bali to Amsterdam: Red Lights, Windmills, and a Whole Lot of Cheese - Nomad Notes | EP 31

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Ryan  shares an unforgettable travel experience that takes him from the beaches of Bali to the cobblestone streets and cozy canals of Amsterdam. 

He explores what makes Amsterdam such a compelling opportunity for Americans who want to live in Europe and looking for a change of pace.

You’ll hear his honest first impressions, weird and wonderful fun facts, and what it was really like walking through the red-light district for the first time. 

Whether you're craving a cultural reset or curious about remote work options in Europe, this is a fresh, entertaining, and eye-opening look into life in Amsterdam.

Listen and learn If you're craving fresh air, fresh starts, and maybe even fresh cheese... this one's for you.

Check out Episode 6 to learn how you can move to the Netherlands: https://lnns.co/NLG3akSv4g7

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DISCLAIMER:
Listening to stories of beachside zoom calls, mountainside work views, and island-hopping entrepreneurs may cause severe wanderlust and an irresistible urge to turn your laptop into a passport to freedom. Side effects include daydreaming about tropical coworking spaces, working with Ryan to learn how you can start working and traveling and buying a one-way ticket to Bali. Get ready to start living your dream life today!

Transcript

 [00:00:00] Ryan Mellon: Hey guys. Welcome to another episode of Digital Nomad Nation, where I share what it's really like living and working around the world. usually I'd be coming from you from sunny Bali, but big update. I am not in Bali anymore. I actually hopped on a plane and flew all the way to Amsterdam for a quick adventure.

[00:00:18] Ryan Mellon: I spent about eight days there catching up with some friends and exploring the city, and now I'm back in Virginia. yep, I'm back home on the sailboat for the summer and ready to dive in some big projects and of course, keep bringing you great content. Amsterdam was a, was a great vibe. so let's talk about that.

[00:00:37] Ryan Mellon: This was my very first time in the Netherlands and. It did not disappoint. I met a couple friends, Ricky and Brittany who flew from the US and we thought like, Hey, why not? Let's meet somewhere halfway between Asia and the us. because Bali is just such a far place to go for a week vacation. so it worked out perfectly.

[00:00:58] Ryan Mellon: I could catch it on my way home. They could [00:01:00] get a week vacation, so Amsterdam sounded perfect. And so it's such a unique mix of like old world charm and like chill vibes. the weather caught me off guard a little bit. It was in the low sixties, cloudy and windy, but, after being in Bali for six months, like 85 and sunny every day, it's a little bit of shock to the system, but no complaints here.

[00:01:22] Ryan Mellon: It gave the city a cozy feel. so some of the things that we checked out, were museums. Amsterdam has some really cool museums in 'em, typically not like super, uh, museum person, but they had some very cool art museums, like on the, like graffiti side and street artists type museums, which I really enjoyed and wanna highlight was visiting the MoCo Museum.

[00:01:46] Ryan Mellon: Where they had several, Banksy pieces. So if you're not familiar with Banksy, this is like a mysterious British street artist known for, bold political street art that, uh, really makes you think. And so the museum had [00:02:00] a, some incredible installations there and it was just wild seeing them up close some of these I've seen in documentaries and online before.

[00:02:10] Ryan Mellon: So seeing them in person was really, really cool to check out. And of course we had to check out the red light district and the coffee shop. So Amsterdam has a reputation for a reason, right? Prostitution is legal. And you literally see women standing in red lit. I. Red lit windows as you walk by. It's, uh, it's surreal.

[00:02:32] Ryan Mellon: And uh, also the coffee shops are not your average Starbucks. So they serve cannabis right alongside coffee and snacks. it's edibles, it's flour, it's all kinds of things that you would not expect to see. Even magic, mushrooms, stuff like that. All legal, all for sale there. It's all regulated, all relaxed and very different from what.

[00:02:53] Ryan Mellon: You'd find almost anywhere in the world. So that was definitely interesting to see. we [00:03:00] got out, out of the city as well. We went on a tour, and we went to the Dutch countryside, which was very cool. It was very interesting to see like the incredible old windmills, some that are hundreds of years old, and, they actually move them out from the city to preserve them.

[00:03:17] Ryan Mellon: Some of these old mills. Old windmills and old houses, to an area that was gonna stay more country that has cows and goats, that are Hanging out, in a place that's not gonna be disturbed by new construction and where you could come out and really experience it, in the countryside. So that was really cool.

[00:03:37] Ryan Mellon: And they also had like a cheese, farm there on, on site where they're making cheese. Showed us how it was done and we tasted like 30 different types of cheese. They literally had every type of cheese that you could. Find imaginable in every color. Blue, black, you name it. Things I've never seen before, never tasted before.

[00:03:59] Ryan Mellon: It [00:04:00] was really good. I had no idea cheese could be that creative and that diverse, so that was really cool to check out. Another highlight was the Canal tour. Um.So Amsterdam has canals that weave right through the city, kind of like Venice. And we took a boat tour. It came with unlimited wine, beer, and cheese.

[00:04:20] Ryan Mellon: Yes, unlimited. So getting floating past these buildings that are century old, sipping wine. Learning history of the city. It was a vibe. the, crew that was on board was really friendly and telling us, all about the city and different landmarks and, and the history of Amsterdam. And so it was really enjoyable.

[00:04:40] Ryan Mellon: Experiences was a beautiful day. It was like 70 and sunny outs. And so we were having Heineken's, which is like the beer of the Netherlands. and it was just really enjoyable time, great weather, and great being able to cruise along the canal and see all these spots, from the water.

[00:04:59] Ryan Mellon: And another thing that's [00:05:00] interesting about the Netherlands, if you're thinking about being a digital nomad there, one of the cool things is they have a daft visa, which stands for Dutch American Friendship Treaty. This visa is for US citizens certainly, but it makes it. Relatively easy for Americans to move to the Netherlands and either start a business or work as a freelancer.

[00:05:22] Ryan Mellon: You get two years of residency, it's renewable, and you can even bring your family along as well. Uh, I actually dive deeper into this with my episode with CEPI to Vivian, episode six. So if you wanna learn more about the DAFT Visa for the Netherlands, check out that episode.

[00:05:39] Ryan Mellon: And then on the way home, I got to cross something off my aviation bucket list, so flying on a Boeing 7 47, the legendary double decker plane as a private pilot and aviation nerd. I've always wanted to experience that. I've always wanted to fly on the 7 47 and a three 80. Those are the only real two commercial jets that are, you [00:06:00] know, have two floors, double deckers, and so.

[00:06:03] Ryan Mellon: I flew from Amsterdam to Frankfurt on like an Airbus, and then from Frankfurt to DC to Washington dc which was like a seven hour flight on the Boeing 7 47. It's a beast of a plane. They don't make 'em anymore. And so that felt very special and was, was, a definitely a cool experience for me. But all in all.

[00:06:22] Ryan Mellon: Amsterdam was a perfect little reset. great, great friends, amazing culture, and a few bucket list moments along the way. So now I'm back in Virginia. I've got some exciting stuff planned for the summer, both for life on the sailboat and the podcast. So stay tuned and I will catch you guys on the next one.

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