Why do I stay in Oakland?

 Blog 06-21-22 Monday Amsterdam


Why do I live in Oakland?..........when the world is filled with exciting places to reside?

I was thinking this while reading my book on a park bench in Amsterdam today. I have the resources to move. 

  • Rent in Amsterdam would be around $1,500/month. Overall expenses would be comparable to California. 

  • I have no spouse or close friends in Oakland, no one who would be terribly upset if I left.

  • Oakland is a sick city full of crime. The streets are full of obnoxious cars. Places like Amsterdam are congenial in ways that US cities cannot conceive.

  • English is almost a co-equal language with Dutch here. People can get jobs without speaking the native language. Health care would be good, I suspect. 

But…..

  • I’d be deserting my grandson in Los Angeles (I could still visit but not as often, probably not often enough to be a grandfather).

  • Amsterdam is at 52 degrees north latitude, the same as southern Alaska. My only experience of the place has been in the warmest month.


I had lunch today overlooking a canal. 







Prices of hostels and Airbnb are very high. Rooms in Rotterdam were going for $45-$150, for a BED IN A DORM. But even those are sold out. I found a room via Airbnb for $45/night but that isn’t confirmed yet. I might have to skip Rotterdam and try to find something cheaper in Belgium. I tried the small Dutch city of Delft but prices there were much higher than Rotterdam, over $100 for a dorm bed.

There is bowling in Amsterdam. 

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