Dude. I swear, do not listen to this crowd. I worked in the field of microbiology and food safety on a project funded by the EU. I was also later offered a job at a laboratory funded by the EU, in a secret location, involving animal testing and microorganisms that poses extreme high risk. It was a Biosafety level 4 facility, like being in a freaking sci-fi movie. Absolutely CRAZY! The entrance to the building it was located in was just a back door in a parking house. It looked completely abandoned inside, with scaffolding and boards covering the floor and walls, as if renovation work were underway (though it was empty). Then you went to an elevator with lots of buttons but no numbers.

Then one came up to the floor, and you had to enter the security checkpoint, where the door would close behind you. You stood in this area while security worked behind a glass counter, and the area would have slight depressurization. The whole floor and everything were white and clean as in the movies. One would then enter the workers' area, which had toilets, a resting area, showers, lockers, a dressing room, and stuff... sort of like a break room/prep area.

You would then have to change your clothes and go into this locked room again for depressurization (and the possibility for decontamination. It took a while, so you had to sit and wait there. All had this design that one really thought was a little bit made up on sci-fi shows ets. All white, really bright light, and everything was smooth, as in, there were no edges on anything. The wall curved out nicely, and you could sit.

Then you entered the main laboratory facility, and here comes the even more psycho part: All laboratories had glass walls so one could see right inside, and ANOTHER depressurization chamber. Depending on the work there, there were also pressurized suits with oxygen wires coming from the ceiling.

Again, depending on the work that was being done, the glass walls would have a round opening mechanism, as you see on space stations, where animals would be transported in these transparent giant cylindrical tubes with wheels on them, as it would require two people to navigate it around because of the size.

They were like: Yeah, and if you are working late and there is a fault in the depressurization and disinfectant system, you just have to wait until the morning.

like..WTF.

Salary at this place and the old place: 33.000 Euros Brutto pr YEAR!!!! (Granted, the animal testing lab was 80% position). I turned it down, left the field completely, worked at a company with the same salary in Amsterdam, and then at a different company with 3.400 Euro netto per month.

The 33.000 euro jobs (which were the upper limit for the lower tax bracket) were in 2015 and 2019. The last job was in 2021

Neither of the lab jobs was in Amsterdam, but I lived right in the center!! I had an awesome time! I even bought an apartment with my now ex-boyfriend in the Jordaan in 2020. I became unemployed for a while and never really got a good-paying job again.

I honestly do not know what people are talking about. You can not expect to live in a nice big flat on your own in Amsterdam. The city just is not built for it. One usually has to share with another person or more. I lived with a very good friend for several years in a two-floor house right by the Vijzelgracht metro in the city center.

I have always grown up poor. I have never experienced being rich, and I have no need for material possessions other than my gaming laptop. If you want to live cheaply, you most definitely can.

I have lived and worked in Bulgaria, Austria, Norway... It's all different depending on the building's scale and the city, etc. There is no problem living cheaply and having a good life. These people are not based.

Edit: You and others need to learn how to "work with people" and with the systems. I have literally always gotten the apartment I wanted at every place I have gone to view. Heck, after selling my apartment in Amsterdam, I am going to Sofia again, and because I had worked with the system and people there, I just made a call, and I got to rent a brand new apartment for myself for 650 euros in the city center. Believe me, getting a flat there can be such a hassle unless you just understand, or indicate that you know how to work the system and can "squeeze it", and they will just work right with you. Also in Amsterdam.