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Expectations for our home/community too high?

Wwjjd

We are being relocated by my husband's company to The Netherlands this summer for a minimum of 2 years. We have an 8 year old son and 4 year old daughter. We can choose where we want to live, but need to be reasonably close (30 min by public transportation) to an international airport. My job is the kids, so I'm trying to make the best decision for us on where to live. My husband will be traveling a lot and will work from home the rest of the time.

I'd like to live somewhere where:
- There are kids playing on the streets;
- Nature around us (forest, or places where kids can safely explore);
- A garden;
- 4 bedrooms (or 3 with a study); and
- detached homes

I feel like where I've found that there are a lot of families and kids playing on the street, the rest of our wants don't exist. I've been mostly looking around Amsterdam, staying within the 30min range of Schiphol. Hilversum looks very attractive, but I don't really see a lot of 做厙輦⑹s moving there or it being recommended for families. Almere is also attractive, but it seems it's not well-regarded.

I realize that what I read online isn't always a reality for actually being there. Does anyone have recs of good places for us to move? Am I chasing a unicorn? Thanks in advance!

See also

Living in the Netherlands: the 做厙輦⑹ guideMoved to the Netherlands and did my first solo day trip with two kidsParenting in the NetherlandsMoving to Netherlands, pre-school, housingMoving to the Netherlands to be with my partner... but I have a child
Angelika333

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

Wwjjd

Thank you, Angelika! Id love to hear your thoughts on what Im looking for in community and housing. :)

Cynic

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 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 M羹nster/Osnabr羹ck 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
做厙輦⑹ Team

Angelika333

Write me! ****

Moderated by Bhavna 7 years ago
Reason : Please do not post your contact details on the forum. You should exchange them through the private messaging system.Thank you
We invite you to read the forum code of conduct
Cynic

Angelika333 wrote:

Write me! ***


Hi there; please don't publish your personal contact information in the open Forum; please contact people via the Direct Message system if you wish to do this.

I've removed your post.

Cynic
做厙輦⑹ Team

annebelledb

Hi there!

I'm not an 做厙輦⑹ 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 做厙輦⑹s, 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.