Moving to netherlands, thinking of affordable housin

Last activity 14 April 2022 by 3Josh

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That special someoneNew member10 April 2022 08:40:50

Hey

I have had long time dream to move to netherlands. I have visited the place several times and i love the "athmosphere", architecture and people. Now i have decided that i move in summer.

My plan was to move to amstedam. But i found out there is a shortage of available housing and the prices are insane,

Is there any "affordable" housing, lets say 30-45min travel time from amsterdam? What price range should i expect? How is the public transit? Is there trains or so that goes to capital?

Can you give me advises on affordable places to live that is close to amsterdam?

CynicUK / Netherlands Expert10 April 2022 10:49:22

7664

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

If by affordable housing you mean social housing, then no, that's pretty much all taken up by refugees, you can't even put yourself on the list nowadays. This pretty much applies to the whole country these days; the housing market is just insane.

All I can advise is to search around the online rental agents; Pararius is one of many, this link will take you straight to its website; it has price details there.

Further, you can expect to pay a substantial deposit on any rental property you manage to find.

45 minutes from Amsterdam will take you as far as Utrecht in the east - it's actually the middle of the country. It used to be a simple rule that the further away you went from the west of the Netherlands, you got more house for your Euro, now it's not so simple. My sister in law recently sold her house in the east, the price she got paid for a new house just over the border in Germany.

Hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team

That special someoneNew member10 April 2022 15:09:14

I dont mean social housing, But renting from a private entity. Is there any villages near amsterdam(45min distance). Would there be affordable housing? idont have to live in a city, if amsterdam is "close". Surely there must be some "sleepy" village where its esyer to get housing and prices arent that steep

My monthly budget is somewhere from 700-850, is that low? Maybe i need to increase it?

Thanks for your input.

CynicUK / Netherlands Expert10 April 2022 17:34:12

7664

Hi again.

The private Entity you refer to is the likes of Pararius, for whom I gave you a link to their website. You can do a search using key criteria, i.e. place, rent cost etc. From the link I gave you for your budget, you will get a single room in Utrecht on a short-term contract.

If there was a sleepy village somewhere, then it would have been given to the refugees; there are people living in storage containers at the moment.

Hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team

That special someoneNew member10 April 2022 17:39:48

I noticed a 30 square feet appartment for 655e, Is this expensive? I was expecting MUCH more.
So i guess i'm moving in july. Is that price common, or a "steal". Just wondering should i snatch it asap or look for other apartments.

Thanks for all your info. I'm very thankful,

CynicUK / Netherlands Expert10 April 2022 17:56:43

7664

Hi again.

30 square feet is a single (very small) room; my bathroom is bigger than that.

In general, when dealing with housing of any sort in the Netherlands, if it's to be good to be true, then it's probably a scammer. My daughter moved back to the Netherlands 5 years ago, when we discussed it, the best/safest way is to use something like Airbnb for your first couple of months so you can find a place where you want to be at the price you can afford; you also get a chance to check that the place you end up renting actually exists; people have told us stories where they got scammed at the doorstep and it wasn't until they walked into the house and found the cupboards full of somebody else's clothes, that they realised they had just been scammed for 6 months rent on a house they were never going to be able to live in and they would never get their money back.

People still go the Airbnb route, but there is such a shortage of houses that many Gemeente's have put limits on how long you can stay in them.

Hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team

That special someoneNew member10 April 2022 18:06:16

Sorry, english is my second language, Its 30 square meters

That special someoneNew member10 April 2022 18:10:13

How can they scam if i visit the place first. See all the papers. And pay only after the papers are correct and have some lawyer etc check it all?

The listing was from the website you linked

CynicUK / Netherlands Expert10 April 2022 18:26:01

7664

Lawyers get involved in house purchases, not house rentals.

The person who told us they had been scammed had the key to the front door in her hand and was standing outside the house, papers signed, money handed over.

30 Square meters is still a small place to live in; whatever, be careful and if possible take a friend or a work colleague with you when you go to see the place. You already know from your own research that there are issues in renting in the west of the country, the new bit as far as you're concerned is that it's pretty much everywhere unless of course, you have the money to pay the high rents.

The Dutch government have a website with a section devoted to rented housing, it's worth reading it; this link will take you straight to it.

3JoshNetherlands Advisor14 April 2022 17:08:48

#10

Is there any villages near amsterdam(45min distance). Would there be affordable housing? idont have to live in a city, if amsterdam is "close". Surely there must be some "sleepy" village where its esyer to get housing and prices arent that steep

My monthly budget is somewhere from 700-850, is that low? Maybe i need to increase it?

- @That special someone

One important thing to consider is unless you speak decent Dutch you are going to have a tough time getting around unless you are in a larger city. You might even have a lot of difficulty renting out a place without it (especially if your spoken English isn't great either).

If you are single, have you thought about finding a roommate? For the price you are looking for moving in with someone else is certainly doable if you are in one of the outskirts areas of Amsterdam (Amstelveen, Diemen, maybe some place like Almere). Hope this helps.

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