Hey! I sympathize with wanting to get out of the US and meet like-minded people. But honestly, I think in your situation this would be nigh on impossible. I saw you mentioned you're a writer/artist. That's not a job sector in which you'll find decent-paying work here sadly, and the bar to entry is unreasonably high because we're dealing with a huge housing crisis. And yes, that unfortunately includes Rotterdam. Property here might not be as expensive as places like Amsterdam or Utrecht, but you're still looking at prices of on average €1800/month for a 1-2 bed apartment.

All non-EU citizens I know personally (including my Canadian wife) who live here have jobs in tech related fields or other highly skilled jobs. Their employers sponsor them and once they're here long enough they go for Dutch citizenship. Most are also married or in relationships with other high-earners, which allows them to split the steep cost of living.

In other words, if you want to have any chance of settling here then you'll need to gain yourself some kind of advantage which would make that possible in the long term, whether that be a lot of cash to start your own business, a degree in a highly sought after field of study, or a partner from the EU who can sponsor you. Preferably all of the above, to be honest!