I'm from Delfzijl, The Netherlands. Its a small harbor town at the north-east corner. I guess its nice here, its pretty quiet and the grocery store is a 10 second walk from my home. I dont have to worry about people whenever I smoke/vape outside. It isnt a big deal anyway here in the Netherlands but you always have some people who have to complain.
I have Groningen(one of the bigger cities) near my place, its also where I go to college. Its around a 30-40 minute drive but from monday to friday I can use the public transport for free everywhere in the country because I am a student. So whenever I get bored Ill just go to the city.
I really hate the weather here. Its mostly just wind with alot of rain. Whenever it gets hot the moisture levels are so high that it makes it uncomfortable. Not to mention we only have a few hot days in a year.
On the otherside, there is enough things to do here. If you put the weather aside the Netherlands is a nice place to live. If anyone wants to live here, try to get a place outside the bigger cities. Its way more quiet and the people are usually more nice. The country is small so you can always get to one pretty quick if you need to.
We have coffeeshops(yay), but weed still isn't legal. Its 'gedoogd' which basically means its still illegal but decriminalized. If you are caught with weed, they might take it from you but if you're over 18 and only have less than 5 grams, they cant arrest/fine you. Coffeeshops are allowed to sell, but weed isnt allowed to be grown. This system is outdated and weird, as it promotes illegal street dealers to sell to coffeeshops. There have been alot of debates about this lately, currently they're expirimenting with state-owned cannabis farms to replace the street dealers. If that works out correctly, a new law will be accepted which says coffeeshops may only buy from these farms. The price per gram will lower and the weed will be more clean. People are worried about the strength getting lower though.
Overall the Netherlands is a nice, modern place to live. I dont have much complaints, the weather just sucks. My only big worry are the terrorist attacks in Europe. So far there hasn't been an attack in the Netherlands yet but you can still feel the tension here, people are easily scared. Its all happening really close here. Several people have been arrested for planning such attacks.
OP, if you do plan on coming to Europe, I would gladly welcome you to the Netherlands. Quality of life here is pretty good, but its a small country. I could see why people are choosing France, England or Germany over the Netherlands, but hey atleast we have the best weed laws in Europe so far
The summer months are what we look forward to up here, lots of activities and festivals, Autumn months are absolutely post card stunning great for hiking, cycling or apple picking, The Winters suck! long and cold which can take a toll on spirits with cabin fever, I take advantage of that by going to nearby ski resorts to shoosh on da shlopes, Entertain guests for fun dinners. 
if any of you are in the neighborhood swing by.