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Cheapest cities in the Netherlands

Last activity 02 May 2019 by PrasadSugunan

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Bhavna

Hello everyone,

Budget is an important consideration when moving to the Netherlands. Ideally, expats would settle down in a city in the Netherlands where the cost of living is low but where they could also enjoy a decent quality of life. Would you be able to give a few tips to someone planning a move to the Netherlands by answering the questions below?

What are the cheapest cities in the Netherlands?

Why are they cheap? What singles them out as a city where the cost of living is low?

What is the average budget for one person living in these cities?

Is it easy to find a job as an expat in these cities? What is the overall quality of life like?

Are they expat friendly? Would you recommend these cities to someone looking to settle in the Netherlands?

Please share your experience,

Bhavna

Cynic

An excellent question.  Basically, the further east you go, the cheaper it gets.  The Numbeo website offer a ranking table (I've copied it below); the most expensive in ranking order are:

1     Amsterdam    
2     Den Haag    
3     Utrecht    
4     Leiden    
5     Eindhoven
6     Delft
7     Tilburg
8     Groningen
9     Rotterdam

Of course, it's only relevant for those cities, because these are the cities for which they have data.  My experience is that there are mouth-wateringly expensive areas all over the country if you look hard enough.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Bhavna

Thanks Cynic for the feedback,

Very much appreciated  :thanks:

itayp

Well, don't forget it really depends on what you call quality of life.
As a family with young children, having quite streets and green playgrounds was very important for us. Some would rather be right there in the city.
One like big housing, the other don't care much.
So there are a lot to consider.
The main thing is about working in my mind, and the need of community/other expats around (as it affects how easy it will be for you and your family/children to integrate).

Most important is work - you need to check via Glassdoor or linkedin how many jobs that you can do are available in the city.

Specifically, I was told about Hilversum which should be much cheaper and nicer than other cities.
Another important is to have good transportation - especially cross city one - that can help if you eventually will need to go to work in another city.

PrasadSugunan

Hi All.…

I am about to shift to Netherlands and my office is located near Belmar Arena. My gross salary  as per contract is 4500 Euros and a travel allowance of 500 Euros which will be reimbursed in actuals.

Considering the salary and the fact I would be living with my wife and 5 year old son, which place should be ideal for living where I will need to rent an apartment and enroll my son to an English school?

Cynic

Hi again.

All state schools teach in Dutch; English language schools are private schools that will eat half of your salary without blinking.  We sent all our kids to Dutch state schools, never had a problem, they were speaking Dutch within a few months.

Cost of living - check out the Numbeo website; this link will take you there.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

PrasadSugunan

Thanks Cynic!

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