Practical tips

• Pro-tip: get thee a bike and learn to ride it well (bonus points for learning to make/ eat breakfast while cycling to the university and dodging tourists). 
  Be sure to buy two locks to keep your prided possession, well, in your possession. Try to lock your bike to a solid object at all times (e.g. bike-rack, lamppost, fence). That's all you can do against the nasty bicycle thieves.
  Also check out craigslist, there are a lot of expats selling their bikes there. If you want to make sure a bike is in excellent shape, check if it's possible to cycle on it without any hands, if
  it does that easily it means the bicycle is in good shape and balanced out (do not try if not good in cycling). Bicycles start from 80 euros up. If you have a bit more budget, the Dutch
  store HEMA offers quite excellent bicycles, classic style for 275 (add a front rack for 30) and a bit more modern for 350. To show you whats possible through craigslist, I scored a HEMA
  classic bike in excellent condition for 95 euro's. Be sure to have lights, will save you tickets by the police and in general it will keep you safer. 
• Health insurance:

"I am supposed to get my own health insurance, so how much should I expect to spend on it per month?"

Between €90 and €150, depending on whether you get options like dental and optical, and what amount of annual deductible you choose.
Also check with your employer, they might have special deals that makes the price go down! 

• Banking
  "Any recommended bank to set up my accounts? I rather have a bank with a strong online application, where I can manage most of the account."

I think the major banks (ABN, ING, Rabo) all have decent online banking. If I were you I wouldn't sweat it too much, and just go with whoever is more convenient to your house. You could always change later if you needed to.
- ABN AMRO is currently the only Dutch bank that offers online banking (and our excellent app) in English (by your moderator Marcooo, who works for ABN ;p). The app is available for blackberry, iOS and android.

• Volunteering

          Volunteering organisations are Volunteer Centre Amsterdam and Amsterdam Cares

• Immigration issues 

          Stichting Rechtswinkel Migranten (Migrant Legal Aid) offers free legal aid; Avocado Legal is incredibly helpful. 

• Life style 

          Lifeinamsterdam.com. Enjoy the best in town.

• Hackerspace

          Amsterdam Hackerspace - Technologia Incognita

• Housing/accommodation

Some sites for rental:

• http://www.easykamer.nl
• http://kamernet.nl
• http://perfecthousing.nl
• http://www.pararius.com/
• http://www.funda.nl/

 Note that renters have far more rights in the Netherlands than in some other countries, this link gives an overview of the important points. Also, much accommodation is found by word of mouth. So spreading the word out about needing housing can be a good way to hunt something down.

• Study

          http://www.studyinholland.nl/

Some posts by fellow Redditors:

• Insurance, Jobs and Learning Dutch, more and more
• Living in Amsterdam as an expat 
• Working as a freelancer in The Netherlands 
• Coming from Australia to live and work in Amsterdam or your wife is Austrialian and more.
• Hey r/Amsterdam. As a Hispanic that is living in a trailer in Texas, my head suggested to move and raise my family over there. 
  
• Best Amsterdam apps
• Things to do/see while living in Haarlemmerbuurt 
• Things to do/see while living at Prinsengracht + Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 

Learning Dutch

• Good, free resources for learning Dutch
• The best way to learn Dutch and more
• Best iPhone app for learning a bit of Dutch 
• Dutch language lessons in Amsterdam 
• r/learndutch 

Housing

• An excellent discussion on housing prices and neighborhoods in Amsterdam
• Looking for a room in Amsterdam
• Student housing

Where to buy/hire/get/find:

• Affordable cheese that's legit 
• Ajax tickets 
• 'Alternative' clothes (hoodies, etc)
• American Peanut Butter 
• Band shirts 
  
• Bicycle - buy
• Bicycle - buy (only in Amsterdam for 3 months)
• Bicycle - buy (used) 
• Bicycle - rent
• Bonbons Napoléon 
• Cheddar cheese
• Cinemas that have english subs 
• Coffee beans
• Cold medicine: Sudafed (Nyquil, etc) or Psudoephedrine based cold medicine
• Decent butter
• Disposable, sealable jars
• EMT, first responders course in English 
• English muffins 
• European power supply for an american xbox 360 (non slim version.) 
• Fire extinghuiser
• Flowers (to send to boyfriend) 
• Fresh meat and vegetables 
• Gluten free beer 
• Hairdresser (ladies) 
• Hair salon to dye hair green
• Keychains w/ a bud in it 
• Kimchi
• Light affordable jacket 
• Local farm products 
• Lumber 
• Mac (used) 
• Men's suit
• Money order 
• Moutain Dew
• News (current events, economy, politics) happening in Amsterdam, Amstelveen and the Netherlands in English 
• OB/GYN 
• Old maps 
• Old school barber shops 
• Oliebollen 
• Pedicures (with nail polish) 
• Photo Booth
• Plumber
• Print shop 
• Pull-up bar
• Sarajevsko beer 
• Scan a stack of paper 
• Seals on my fridge
• Semolina flour 
• Shaving gear
• STD Tests
• Tailor 
• Tattoo artists/shops 
• Thanksgiving ingredients 
• Thrift Shops 
• Vintage picking. 
• Wallpapers/tapestries 
• White-wine spritzers 

30% Ruling

• What it is: The 30% ruling is designed to attract foreign workers to the Netherlands by making wages more comparable to areas with lower taxation (ex. the United States). By receiving the 30% ruling, expats will receive 70% of their salary as normal and 30% as an untaxed "bonus" wage. Additionally, the 30% ruling enables you to trade your US (or other country's) drivers license in for a Dutch one without taking Dutch driver's exams.
• To qualify: Not every expat will qualify for the 30% ruling. The basic rules are:
• You must receive your job offer while residing OUTSIDE (at a distance of at least 150km) of the Netherlands. If you find and get a job while here, it is IMPOSSIBLE to receive the 30% ruling.
• You must have a skillset which is difficult to find within the Netherlands. This criteria is relatively flexible and dependent on your employer's description of the job, but they must justify why hiring a non-resident is necessary. Additionally, there are salary criteria associated with the 30% ruling.
• Your contract must state that the 30% ruling is applicable. If it is not written into the agreed contract, no application can be filed
• Process and Caveats
• The 30% ruling is subject to change. Most recent change was per January 1, 2012. Please contact a tax lawyer for information on the latest rules and regulations. 
• Application does not guarantee the tax benefit. While uncommon, it is not unheard of for the government to deny the 30% ruling to expats if the application is weak (the application is completed by the employer). Employers are able to contest the denial once with a revised application. If that fails, you are NOT eligible for 30% ruling benefits. 
• Processing can take three to six months. During this time, you will pay taxes at the same rate as Dutch citizens. Once the application is approved, the overpaid taxes will normally be paid back to you.
• Employers are not obligated to pass the benefits on to you. An employer can keep some or all of the tax savings from the 30% ruling and are not obligated to share them with the employee. This is atypical but does happen and is not illegal.
• The benefits are time limited. An expat can receive the 30% ruling for a maximum of eight years.