I heartily concur with you concerning life in Amsterdam. While I have never lived there, I have been there five times from 2002-2018.

My very first visit, I was very concerned about all the drunkenness that is part of the reputation for people visiting Amsterdam. For that reason, I stayed in Haarlem. But on my forays into Amsterdam, I realized that the crazy partying was limited to a relatively small part of town.

I can definitely see that the winter weather would be a bummer. I have visited only in the summer.

You are certainly right about the Museumkaart! What a treasure, with all those museums in Amsterdam, along with the added benefit of being able to be used anywhere in the whole country! Quite a remarkable system!