Best central(ish) locations for a family

Hi again and welcome back to the Forum.

Your Forum information tells me you are interested in living in Oss which is in North Brabant; I've never been there and so I just asked my wife (Dutch), she's none the wiser.  It's to the south of the country, pretty much a flat, agricultural area.  The Gemeente has a Facebook page you can check out (link); it's all in Dutch.  I recall our conversation some time ago about you learning to speak Dutch, how have you got on?

Oss itself is rail served, so commuting is always an option to get to work; the nearest towns are Nijmegen to the east, Eindhoven to the south and 's-Hertogenbosch to the west - all probably about a 30 minute train ride.  Apart from rail, like most of Holland, it will have an excellent public transport structure (bus, taxi and cycle paths).

Our advice is always to pay a trip to the place you are interested in, check it out, see if they have any houses to rent, how much this will cost you.  Perhaps now is not the moment to do it as Covid is causing them some issues in the Netherlands and it could well be a while until they sort things out.  Many people have lost their job because of Covid, which on top of the asylum seekers already seeking help, means job searching may well be problematic.

We have our Discover section at the top left of this page, you can check out our guide in the Discover the Netherlands link.  Once you've read that and any other links it provides, if you have any further specific questions, then please come back to us.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hiya

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, that info was a bit outdated as I forgot I put info and to update it!
I am currently living in Oss at a rental, but would like to have a family and get a mortgage. I am working full time, and just want to find some ideas for nice places to live and 'settle'. (This is a ways a way, but it will be a forever home and it's never too early to plan for the future/explore potential areas to make an informed decision closer to the time/narrow down searches!)

Just looking for places people have enjoyed living or visiting, that are safe, good to raise a family, and easy to get to bigger cities without being in one.
(Btw, haven't learnt much in Dutch. Been focusing on getting residency and work, but now that's sorted I am booked on a  Dutch course and start in a couple weeks! Very excited! Thanks for asking!)

My advise would be Gorinchem (Gorcum), Leerdam, Meerkerk.  If you want something a bit more rural, but still central try Spijk, Arkel, Giessen, Brakel, Heukelum or in the neighbourhood.
Yes Gorcum has city rights, but it's a beautiful old town and has around the 38000 habitants. Gorinchem

All of the towns and villages above are pretty central located and it's close to Rotterdam, Utrecht, Nijmegen, Breda by road or railway. It's an ideal location for cycling, walking etc.

Another nice thing the prices are not that high as in other parts of the country.

LoreleiLee wrote:

Hiya

Thanks for the reply. Sorry, that info was a bit outdated as I forgot I put info and to update it!
I am currently living in Oss at a rental, but would like to have a family and get a mortgage. I am working full time, and just want to find some ideas for nice places to live and 'settle'. (This is a ways a way, but it will be a forever home and it's never too early to plan for the future/explore potential areas to make an informed decision closer to the time/narrow down searches!)

Just looking for places people have enjoyed living or visiting, that are safe, good to raise a family, and easy to get to bigger cities without being in one.
(Btw, haven't learnt much in Dutch. Been focusing on getting residency and work, but now that's sorted I am booked on a  Dutch course and start in a couple weeks! Very excited! Thanks for asking!)

Thanks for the update; then I have nothing much to add to what I've said, it's still relevant as is what Ramses has suggested.

Cynic
Expat Team