Hello,
We will be moving to Amsterdam from the US in a few months and are deciding between the cities of Almere and Amstelveen to rent a house. We do not know the area and were hoping for some advice about where to live. We have two kids, ages 9 and 7 and will be enrolling them in a Dutch public school. We are looking for a community with good schools, a library (with an English section), A home/townhouse/duplex for rent (3 beds) for 2300 Euros or less. We prefer not to rent an apartment.In terms of city life-- shopping (grocery, etc) and access to easy public transportation are a must. We would like a community in which we can make friends quickly and get our kids involved in activities. Safety is key too. Which, in your opinion, is a better bet-- Almere or Amstelveen? Thank you in advance.
Amstelveen or Almere?
I haven't lived in either place. The only significant difference I can see is the cost, where Almere is significantly cheaper; on average 50% cheaper for the sort of house you described.
Hi snarfydog26325
Welcome to Expat.com 
What is the reason for the move, is it for work purposes?
You might be best having a short term rent somewhere, then while you are actually in the city and country settle in and look for more of a permanent dwelling to reside in?
Amstelveen > Almere
Almere is better than Amstelveen.
If you live near any of the train stations then you have direct connection to Almere shopping center, Schiphol airport, Amsterdam zuid for work, Amsterdam centraal/Amsterdam sloterdijk for entertainment/work.
Amstelveen used to have a Metro rail so people flocked to Amstelveen area earlier. But the metro was removed 3 years back to save money. And even the Tram now travels to relatively less popular places of Amsterdam instead of going to Leidseplein etc. As a result, people lost interest in Amstelveen. You can see that in stagnating house prices.
Almere is better than Amstelveen.
If you live near any of the train stations then you have direct connection to Almere shopping center, Schiphol airport, Amsterdam zuid for work, Amsterdam centraal/Amsterdam sloterdijk for entertainment/work.
Amstelveen used to have a Metro rail so people flocked to Amstelveen area earlier. But the metro was removed 3 years back to save money. And even the Tram now travels to relatively less popular places of Amsterdam instead of going to Leidseplein etc. As a result, people lost interest in Amstelveen. You can see that in stagnating house prices.
-@firstpostcommenter
Hi and welcome to the Forum.
You're responding to a post that's almost 6 years old and the person asking the question hasn't logged on the forum for over 5 years, so I suspect you may not get a response.
So, thanks for your input, it may be of use to somebody else considering the same thing.
I've removed your duplicate post.
Cynic
Expat Team
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