[travel] The city of Amsterdam

[mattbell]

Amsterdam is one of the most impressive cities I've been to so far. It's architecturally picturesque, with long rows of pretty but not overly ornate brick house, . The construction of its extensive canal system only adds to the beauty and gives the city a unique, quirky, and romantic charm. While the canals were initially strictly practical, they now give the city a great deal of character. Amsterdam is also extremely international. It certainly helps that the Dutch have a very open society. People of all races, beliefs and cultural persuasions can feel comfortable here. (There are many benefits to a diverse multicultural society, though the one coming to mind at the moment is the access to good food.) Progressive cultural forces have a strong voice. Unlike other countries, the Netherlands is too small to get pushy about having everyone speak their language, so it's relatively easy for English-speaking foreigners to settle here. The government is also highly generous with art grants and invests heavily in education. Overall, it's the perfect formula for success. I definitely will return to the Nethetlands.

Comments

[easwaran.livejournal.com]

I've heard that the Netherlands actually has a serious right-wing movement pushing back against Muslim immigrants, because the immigrants aren't as tolerant of women and gays. I suspect things are relatively comfortable in Amsterdam, but I've heard at least some murmurings that there are powerful anti-immigrant forces, whether or not they make themselves directly felt by the immigrants.

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

That wouldn't surprise me. Every country has an ultranationalist anti-immigrant party, though usually such parties are closed-minded instead of "trying to protect our traditional values of open-mindedness"!

I'd be interested to see studies of attitude shifts of Muslim immigrants to various European countries. The pattern I've seen in the US is that second-generation immigrants tend to be much more assimilated, culturally speaking, than first-generation immigrants.