Expectations for our home/community too high?

Hi there!
I could tell yu a lot about living in the Netherlands;  just let me know if ur already provided with info. Reply and u get my email adress!
Greetz

Thank you, Angelika! I’d love to hear your thoughts on what I’m looking for in community and housing.

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Holland is definitely a marmite country, many love it, some hate it.  We lived in the east of Holland (Enschede) and I used to have a similar work pattern to what you describe for your husband.  We chose Enschede because that's where my wife is from and we have family and friends there; we had all that you describe as being desirable on your list (except for a detached house; they do exist and some are very nice houses, just in a country where land is always at a premium, very expensive in Holland); the Dutch tend to build up rather than out.  There are many websites offering details for housing, one of which is Funda; this link will take you to the website where you can search for houses across Holland.

In general, Holland isn't that big; the whole country is just less than twice the size of New Jersey and you can drive across it in a couple of hours; it's the most densely populated country on the European mainland.  That said, there always seems to be a lot of green around you.  With the exception of a few hills in the South East, it's flat, very flat.  My experience was that living in the coastal regions means you get a lot of wind coming in off the North Sea and it does tend to rain a lot.

With regards to airports; the major international one is Schiphol, but we used to use Münster/Osnabrück across the border in Germany when we lived in the east; it's in no way comparable to Schiphol in terms of destinations, but the commute was much better and it may suit your husband depending on where his travels will take him; the message here is that unless Amsterdam is absolutely essential, there are many other nice places in Holland.  Utrecht (it's roughly in the centre of the country, so a good commute to everywhere) has some nice places.  My only other general comment is that traffic in the east is horrific (LA horrific); luckily, most people can safely use bikes to get around and public transport is generally very good.

Our eldest daughter has just moved back to Holland; she wouldn't live anywhere else; we'll probably be joining her in a couple of years when retirement opens a new door to our lives.

If you have any further specific questions, please come back to us.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Write me!  ****

Hi there!

I'm not an expat but I would definitely not recommend living in Amsterdam. It's expensive and crowded. If you want your kids to be able to play on the streets I think the thing you have to consider is with district within a city you'll be living. Most cities have quiet and green quarters.

As for your wishlist: I can recommend Arnhem (the quarter Paasberg for example). It's detached houses with nice gardens and Arnhem is next to the Veluwe. A big nature area with woods and uhhh in Dutch: heide. Also Paasberg is next to a small forest area.

Leiden is also a nice city, but the houses are more expensive. Lots of expats, 30 minutes by bike from the beach etc. Try to search for Merenwijk.

Hilversum is almost in the center of the Netherlands and it's also surrounded by nature. I don't know what it's like to live there though.

A lot of Dutch people don't like Almere because it's quite a new city. I hear that there's also a lot of nature around it. But i've never been there either.