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I've never lived in Amsterdam, and actually prefer The Hague - but in general, NL is a pretty cool place to live. Just do not be fooled into believing everyone is oh-so tolerant - there are the same biases all over the world.
I am not certain how visa etc works, and if it was even possible for an American to open a CS. Just be aware that weed is not legal in NL either, and opening a CS means you will be dealing with organized crime. As for a restaurant - if you or anyone else is ever in The Hague, check out "Scallywags" (tea room) in the center (Het Lint). Richard is British and started with the best tea room ever - and expanded with a restaurant and bistro. So it is possible! It's one of the places where I just immediately feel happy.
from what i understand the guys that opened Grey Area are american ... but that's just what i heard, so it could be wrong. I haven't truely thought about my plans yet, i'm still young and in college so i have time to get a business plan together ..... it probably would start as a restraunt though and hten expand from there. And i thought that I had heard somewhere that weed might not be legal in all of the netherlands but in Holland it is ... but i haven't seen the exact laws so i am in no way an expert. I had a good time though and that's all that matters i guess.
I'll deffinately have to go check out Scallywags the next time i'm in the NL though.