u/BeautifulNet8593

35M living in europe, have been dating for last 5 years and was in a shared apartment (good location).

And though I had success bringing girls home lot of times, there was some uneasiness due to lack of complete privacy and finally , so I bought an apartment recently. its still a good location though.

But after a month of moving , I realised my next door neighbour is a bit crazy (social housing, and also on drugs sometimes, and he likes sitting in the lobby most of the time), and also the lift lobby also smells a bit as its an old apartment complex).

its a bit of revelation now, that it took few months to get comfortable finally. But I am still not comfortable inviting girls over.

tldr: my previous apartment is shared, amazing location, new building but new apartment (living alone more privacy) but old building and smelly lobby.

how should i handle logistics?

35M with more than decade of experience in software engineering. First five years went pretty well in terms learning and getting hikes while switching jobs. But last 6 years(since pandemic with 2 years of wfh completely made me less focused).

First 8 years went well financially, but once I switched 4 years back - led to short tenures (startup layoffs and the contracts not renewing, so last 3 years have been working with paycuts, job instability, few months of stressful job hunting leading to burnout.

But I am finally out of the woods as I got EU passport recently, but my work productivity is very inconsistent.

I feel ready and ambitious to prepare and apply for high paying tech roles, but how can i be a consistent performer? after joining any new company.

TLDR: how can I become highly productive at work and also the lifestyke which enables that?

I do have nice social life outside work, dont drink or smoke,just get distracted by social media etc...random thoughts at work?

I have a conferences to attend in Berlin and Krakow and conference tickets are reimbursed by company but travel and hotel are from my pocket,

Please rate my itenerary:

Tuesday: Amsterdam - berlin by train/bus (6hrs DB or 8Hrs bus)

Wednesday - Friday (conference in Berlin)

Saturday - Sunday: options

1. Stay in Berlin to explore and leave to Krakow on Sunday by train?
2. Leave to Krakow by train on saturday, and attend bachata festival in krakow?

Monday - Friday: (conference in Krakow)

Saturday - sunday: explore Krakow and fly back to Amsterdam on sunday

Edit: please give me tips to save money on travel, hotel and also this is my first solo trip

Hi all,

I have a decade+ of experience in software engineering, mostly backend/distributed systems, and I'm looking to pivot toward AI/ML/LLM work.

I have an annual personal development budget of €1700 that I've never actually used at previous companies. It covers registrations (conferences, courses), certifications, and books — but not travel or accommodation.

Based in Europe, so European conferences are more accessible cost-wise, but open to other ideas too.

How would you spend this budget to maximize a transition into AI? Some options I'm weighing:

• Conference tickets
• Paid courses
• Books on ML/LLM systems
• Certifications (AWS/GCP/Azure ML, etc.)
• Something else entirely?

Would love to hear what's actually moved the needle for people who've made a similar switch.

[supprimé]

Hi all,

I bought a 50+ sqm 1BR apartment near Amsterdam city center 3 months ago for around €450k.

Looking back, I think I may have prioritized location too much and overlooked things like space and the overall living environment.

One of my neighbors seems to have significant personal/mental health issues and someone just mentioned drug addiction also. Since I moved in, police have been called multiple times and have taken him to the hospital on several occasions. He spends a lot of time outside his door, gets visitors occasionally, and the situation has left me feeling a bit uneasy. Things have calmed down recently, but the feeling is still there.

What makes this confusing is that I've lived in Amsterdam for over 6 years and rented the whole time before buying. I've never felt this way about any place I've lived before.

I'm also in my mid-30s and hoping to settle down, so I'm starting to wonder whether a 50 sqm 1BR is the right long-term choice anyway. Part of me thinks I should have bought a 2BR or moved farther from the center for more space.

Would you:

• Give it more time?
• Move because of the neighbor/building situation?
• Move because the apartment itself may not fit long-term plans?

Not sure if this is buyer's remorse, a bad fit, or both. Would appreciate any thoughts

Also how can I evaluate in future for a safe neighbourhood? atleast somewhere I can sleep peacefully

I recently got EU passport, and want to know what are my options regarding better job opportunities as the taxation in Netherlands is pretty high after 5 years.

Have been in Netherlands for more than 6 years and have overall 11 years of Software engineering experience and currently feeling burnout/fatigue .

Where should i look for job options ex: Switzerland or London? etc

Willing to slog for few more years for more pay

Also recommend new places to visit with red passport:)
I so far traveled inside EU only