How hard is it to move to Amsterdam from Canada in terms of a place to live, a job and residence status?

I agree with the working holiday visa. You need to get it in Canada and be under 30 years of age. This should get you here and able to find a job as it acts as a sort of work permit as well. You won't be able to stay here forever on it and your employer will eventually have to sponsor your permanent visa. If you are experienced, that second visa would be a "kennismigrant" visa (highly skilled worker visa) which can usually be obtained w/i 2 weeks pending no issues and that visa is valid for up to 5 years but you would be limited to staying at your employer, as they will be applying on your behalf. This ends after approximately 3 - 5 years, at which time you can get a residence permit/work permit exclusive of the company.

Mind you, this is a GENERAL overview and each case is individual. My advice is to contact your local consulate/embassy for further information or alternatively check the IND (immigration administration) site http://www.ind.nl/EN/

VERY difficult. As their website says, "The Netherlands is a small, crowded country...' They are not seeking immigrants and it is nearly impossible to immigrate there. See website below to read residence visa info.

dear your answer really varies based on by which mean you wanna come to netherlands, if you have a dutch partner, its a bit hard since you need to meet certain qualifications like learning the language which is somwhat hard, the culture, history whatever (oops i just forgot you r canadian, you dont need to pass any language or integration exams), if you wanna come here by work visas it isnt that hard though, start looking for jobs and i advise you to seek for one, among american companies and you wont have any problem moving here. good luck

Hard. As a non-Eu resident, you're at the bottom of the pile. It's hard getting a company to sponsor your work permit unless you have excellent qualifications and years of experience. It would actually be easier if you have a Dutch partner haha (he has to earn quite a bit before he can ship you over though).

You're lucky that as a Canadian, you are eligible for the working holiday visa. Maybe that's what you can do and if you get a great job (good enough to qualify for a work permit) , you can convert your working holiday visa into a work permit. After 5 years on a work permit, you can apply for naturalisation or permanent residency.