Young American, planning on relocating to Amsterdam after school!

Hey guys,
I'm eighteen years old and will be attending Trade School here in the United States starting January 8th 2014. My schooling is around 6-7 months, and afterward I am planning on applying for a residence permit and making arrangements to move to Amsterdam longterm. I train dogs, but not pets, more so a focus on Law Enforcement, Military and Sport. My goal is to get involved and train with the Koninklijke Nederlandse Politiehond Vereniging (KNPV, Royal Dutch Police Dog Association). I've already talked with a few trainers and found some clubs to scout out, but other than that, I'm still exploring. I will probably be nineteen by the time I leave the US for NL.

I will have around at least a few thousand dollars on me before I leave, from selling school dogs and my car, I can't imagine leaving with anything less than $7,000-$8,000 available. I'd like to know how long this amount would sustain me in Amsterdam while I look for a job and rent a place, living cheaply of course.

I would also like to know if any US citizens here have had experience applying for a residence permit for NL? How long did it take? What exact paperwork did you need? And how much did it cost? Of course, I will be contacting an embassy here in the states before doing anything official.

I think that's all my questions for now! Nice to meet you all and I'm looking forward to hanging around