Hey everyone,
I was hoping some of you would be kind enough to help me with some general information on The Netherlands. My girlfriend recently became a dual Irish/US citizen. I myself am a US citizen. Her citizenship gives us the ability to live and work anywhere in the EU and we're very interested in The Netherlands. We've been researching it for quite some time now and find ourselves becoming more and more interested in living there for a time.
Our main issue at the moment is deciding upon a place to live. I've spoken to some people on an expat message board and many recommended moving somewhere in the Randstad, as it would be easier for an American to adjust. That may be true, but neither of us have ever lived in a proper, big city and we love nature, animals, etc. Amsterdam, while it seems beautiful and amazing, has the obvious housing drawback. We don't mind a smaller place, but would want it in good condition and would need it furnished. There's nothing in Amsterdam that meets that for under 1300euro a month. ( God bless those of you who are on that public housing list
) Den Haag seems lovely also and there are more places available and at more reasonable prices. But, what about moving further east? It seems greener there and there is definitely more housing for much cheaper.
Now, we're both young ( 32 and 29 ) I own my own business and work at home, so commuting wouldn't be an issue. We would like to learn Dutch, but as of now speak none. We don't plan on buying a car there and would like to rely on buses, train, cycling, etc. I've also heard that it's common for everything in the smaller towns to shut down at 6, but I don't know if that's true or an exaggeration. Anyway, all of that being said, do you think an American would have a much tougher time in the east? Any thoughts on nice areas I can research online?
Any and all input would be really appreciated. I figured as a bodybuilder, other bodybuilders would understand the lifestyle I live and might be able to give better recommendations. hartelijk dank
I was hoping some of you would be kind enough to help me with some general information on The Netherlands. My girlfriend recently became a dual Irish/US citizen. I myself am a US citizen. Her citizenship gives us the ability to live and work anywhere in the EU and we're very interested in The Netherlands. We've been researching it for quite some time now and find ourselves becoming more and more interested in living there for a time.
Our main issue at the moment is deciding upon a place to live. I've spoken to some people on an expat message board and many recommended moving somewhere in the Randstad, as it would be easier for an American to adjust. That may be true, but neither of us have ever lived in a proper, big city and we love nature, animals, etc. Amsterdam, while it seems beautiful and amazing, has the obvious housing drawback. We don't mind a smaller place, but would want it in good condition and would need it furnished. There's nothing in Amsterdam that meets that for under 1300euro a month. ( God bless those of you who are on that public housing list
) Den Haag seems lovely also and there are more places available and at more reasonable prices. But, what about moving further east? It seems greener there and there is definitely more housing for much cheaper. Now, we're both young ( 32 and 29 ) I own my own business and work at home, so commuting wouldn't be an issue. We would like to learn Dutch, but as of now speak none. We don't plan on buying a car there and would like to rely on buses, train, cycling, etc. I've also heard that it's common for everything in the smaller towns to shut down at 6, but I don't know if that's true or an exaggeration. Anyway, all of that being said, do you think an American would have a much tougher time in the east? Any thoughts on nice areas I can research online?
Any and all input would be really appreciated. I figured as a bodybuilder, other bodybuilders would understand the lifestyle I live and might be able to give better recommendations.
hartelijk dank
.
