My Dutch Dream

Wow, it’s getting closer and closer to moving to Amsterdam. I am nowhere near ready yet but I find that as things get more urgent, you work your best and find a way of getting them done! I mean, who has ever finished a project early?

• Language – nowhere near the level of Dutch I would like to be at. I have learned a lot of Dutch phrases by watching American TV series like Lost and 24 and then using Dutch subtitles. It’s amazing how much you can pick up this way. I’m now consolidating this by learning Dutch grammar with my Colloquial Dutch studies and I’m about halfway through that book as I write. I need to finish this book and go back over Michel Thomas and Pimsleur audio series and then check out Teach Yourself Dutch. Basically, I have a ton of resources and now I need to put them to use! I am apprehensive about going to NL without a good level of Dutch to navigate the bureaucracy and I know it is a myth that you can’t get good in a language without going there because I know many who have pulled it off.
• Money – I’ve spent about 4 years part-time figuring out how to make money on the internet and about 6 months full-time trying to figure it out. I’ve also had my fair share of personal problems during this latter period but case in point: as things get more urgent I think I’m finally turning the corner. I’m making about $500 per month right now and rapidly rising – I’m confident that I can make it to $3000 per month by June. And as I’m handing my notice in on my current lease in 2 months I am currently working my arse off to get there a.s.a.p!!
• Clutter – I need to throw out a ton of clutter and put everything else into storage. Luckily, there’s a storage unit very close to where I live at a competitive rate. As I live near an airport it also means that I can easily get to my stuff on my return trips every now and again to this country. I intend to throw out a lot of stuff though – I have been carrying a lot of junk with me, some of it for over 10 years that I never even look at – trinkets and mementos and the like. I cannot wait to get rid of this clutter and maybe make a tiny amount of money too, who knows. It will be great to just get rid of stuff that is not worth taking with me – even stuff as mundane as kitchen utensils!
• Business – this is sort of related to money. I’m still looking into the best way to manage my business from another country. I am fairly sure I will create a UK limited company (similar to a US LLC) but I am still in the research stage at the moment.

Well that’s it for now – stay tuned!