Ruth Steel

What brought you to Amsterdam?

My husband's job. He moved first and I followed six months later once I found a job and wrapped up my old job in the UK.

What do you love about Amsterdam?

One of the things I really love here is the entrepreneurial spirit of the Dutch. The Dutch are some of the best business people in the world and a lot of the biggest International companies have a Dutchie at the helm! You see this day-to-day with the diversity in the Amsterdam retail sector. I love the fact that retailers have the drive and confidence to open stores dedicated to items that you cannot imagine would ever turn over enough profit to maintain them. Good examples of this are Witte Tandenwinkel on the 9 streets which is a shop dedicated entirely to oral hygiene products and also Check Your Oil on the Haarlemmerstraat which sells a huge range of flavoured oils for cooking etc.

I love the market on the Lindengracht on a Saturday to get great fresh veg and fish and just for the fun of seeing what's on offer. In turn I cook a wider range of meals, but I also eat out a lot more here because it is much cheaper than in the UK and I am much more social.

Is there anything you miss from home?

Not much! Obviously friends and family and also having a garden. Oh, and Topshop.

What do you do differently now?

There is so much I do differently. My complete lifestyle has changed since living in Amsterdam. In the UK I used to drive 50 minutes each way to work, get home, make dinner, watch TV then go to bed and basically live for the weekend. Here, I cycle eight minutes to work along the Herengracht nearly every morning, even when it is raining. I still congratulate myself on not having to be in a car. I also socialise a lot in the early evening after work – a quick biertje with colleagues, dinner with a girlfriend or my husband, a movie or late-night shopping on a Thursday. I feel like your life is a lot less prescribed here.

I have also become a lot more open as a person. I found it really difficult at first because it took a little while to find real ‘friends’ instead of just colleagues and acquaintances. I speak Dutch pretty well now and have friends from all different walks of life and nationalities – I didn’t have that in the UK, I was very much in a friendship comfort zone and didn’t really put myself out there to meet new people.

Favourite Dutch word or phrase?

‘Gezellig’ – there isn’t really a literal translation, but it describes a general atmosphere of contentedness and cosiness with friends. Also ‘Dat kan niet’, ‘It’s not possible’ – a classic customer service strategy employed by most service providers in the Netherlands said in the most uncaring, nonchalant fashion, guaranteed to make the blood boil.

Favourite memory of the city?

On a sunny summer day out on my boat, which has since sunk – RIP The Turtle’s Head (that was her name) – cruising along the Amstel to Ouderkerk-aan-de-Amstel drinking pink champagne with friends and family for a late lunch at Klein Paardenburg on the terrace. There is nothing better than this in the whole world.

Personal recommendations: shops, restaurants, websites?

Shops: &V Spa and Store, Sky Boutique, Lock Stock & Barrel, Local Service, Margriet Nannings and Shoebaloo.

Restaurants: Hostaria (Italian), Ko Chang (Thai), De Silveren Spiegel (Dutch) and Small World (Sandwiches and catering) - all in Amsterdam. Ron Blaauw, Lute and Klein Paardenburg - all in Ouderkerk.

Websites: Topshop, Outnet, Netaporter (they all deliver quickly to Amsterdam!)

Also one thing I love in Amsterdam are all of the arthouse movie theatres. Check Cineville – my favourite is The Movies on the Haarlemmerdijk which also has a great restaurant and bar.

What advice would you give to a newcomer?

1. Look both ways when you cross the road to avoid being taking out by bikes, cars or trams and don’t walk in the cycle lanes.

2. Accept all invitations for socialising even if it is with people you wouldn’t normally hang out with – sometimes these people will end up being your best friends.

3. Don’t moan about what is better back at home – focus on what is better about being here.

4. Don’t live in an expat bubble – learn some Dutch and make the effort to get out of your comfort zone and hang with the locals once in a while.

5. Get a map and a bike and see the whole of Amsterdam (do not read map while cycling bike).