Willemijn van Dolen | No, the past in Amsterdam wasn’t nicer, friendlier, or better
Amsterdam used to be quieter, kinder, and better. At least, that’s how it seems, writes Willemijn van Dolen. “If you believe some people, the capital was once a paradise where neighbors knew each other, everyone moved respectfully through traffic, and your bike was never stolen.”
I love Amsterdam. Yet hardly a day goes by without someone grumbling about this wonderful city. “The city is too crowded and nobody cares about each other anymore.” “Back then, everything was better here.” If you believe some people, the capital was once a paradise where neighbors knew each other, everyone moved respectfully through traffic, and your bike was never stolen.
This grumbling is perfectly normal. People always think the past was better. But back then, people complained just as much—about rubbish in the canals, noise on the streets, and arrogant Amsterdammers.
In a recent study in Nature (2023), researchers show that the feeling of moral decline is an illusion. We selectively remember the positive aspects of the past while forgetting the negative ones. Our memories wear rose-colored glasses. We remember the cheerful street parties, the cozy neighborhoods, the honest finder. The misery, the quarrels—we forget those.
At the same time, we read negative news every day. News rarely covers the Amsterdammer who helps his neighbor. Bad news simply sells better. This creates the impression that everything is going downhill. But if you look closely, you’ll see that people are still kind, still help one another, and still try to make the best of their city.
Amsterdam hasn’t gotten worse, just different. The city evolves, as it has for 750 years.
So the next time you hear someone say, “Amsterdam used to be so much friendlier,” remember that this says more about how our memory works than about the actual state of the city. It’s not a sign of decline but of a universal human longing for an idealized past.
Complaining about Amsterdam? It’s timeless. And actually rather reassuring. It proves that some things never change.
