clasby

Hi there,

We are an English couple living in New Zealand hoping to move to Amsterdam in the next few months. I have a job interview in a few weeks and hope to secure a job working in central Amsterdam. Moving to Holland has never been an option we've considered until now, and so we have a lot of questions which we're hoping you can help us with, all and any advice is much appreciated.

1. What are the prime locations in and around Amsterdam for living - we'll be dependant on public transport and needing to get into central Amsterdam for work. We'll need to be in walking distance to supermarkets/parks/restaurants/etc.?

2. What kind of lifestyle can we expect on a wage of 4000-4500EUR/Month (30% of which will be tax free) supporting two of us. Is this a good wage for Amsterdam, and what would be a sensible proportion of that wage to expect to spend on rent, we currently pay approx. 40% of our wage in NZ on rent.

3. What is the general consensus from landlords about having pets in rented accommodation?

4. Is it likely that we'd be able to find somewhere with a short-term lease initially before tying us down to a twelve month tenancy?

5. Will we be able to survive not being able to speak any Dutch at first? I won't need it for my job, but will the administrative stuff (contracts, utilities, shopping etc.) be prohibitively difficult without any Dutch skills?

6. Could my fiancée expect to be able to find administrative type work without speaking any Dutch, and what sort of salary/hourly wage could she expect in this type of position - either temporary or permanent work. (any contacts or recommendations for recruiters would be awesome).

Apologies for the bombardment of questions, and thanks again for your time.

Cheers
Clasby

Casa Santo Estevo

Hi and welcome to this forum.
I will try and give the best answers I can.
1) What do mean by prime locations? Classy areas? Public transport is plentiful as are small supermarkets (owned by national chains) no matter were you live in Amsterdam.
2) The sort of money is quite good. However what sort of life style you have is going to be down to your own choices. It is hard to say if you will live well or not.
3) Pets? Do not say which ones, but you can find landlords who are willing to accept pets.
4) Yes you can but the law does not protect you against rogue landlords if you do not go through a registered agent. Registered agents normally have properties with longer rents.
5) All contracts food names etc etc will be naturally in Dutch. So you will have difficulties in understanding. Some companies do send you on to language courses. This is not obligatory but it may be good to ask at the interview.
6) You have to ask would an employer from NZ employee someone with out any English language skills? It is highly unlikely but not impossible.

There is more information to help you in the wiki. Let me know if there is something which is not clear or needs further explanation.

Good luck with your possible move.

clasby

In terms of location we're looking for somewhere close to the city, with good shopping, restaurants and transport links. An area which is safe and nice to live in with some open spaces (parks, etc.) to enjoy. We're just looking for the names of a few areas of the city which we can then research in some more detail.

ElliottFJ

Hiya,

I am English (Londoner) and lived in Amsterdam for nearly 12 years so my 2 pence is below as I have lived in ALL areas except the EAST:

Amsterdam Noord (North) is too far away from town, so don't bother there.

Amsterdam West is the most "family" oriented area with a good green belt and cheaper parking (near Schiphol airport)
Try: Nieuw Sloten, Badhoevdorp

Amsterdam East is an up & coming area but was pretty poor a few years ago...
Try: Bijlmer

Amsterdam South is by far the nicest, more expensive part of town, populated predominantly by the locals and very central to shops.
Try: Rivierenbuurt

Fingers crossed

Hi

For jobs you can try http://www.undutchables.nl
Never tried it myself but may help.

Emmis

Hi! I'm living in Amsterdam at the moment and also lived here for 2.5 years 4 years ago.

I would say that where areas are concerned I wouldn't recommend the Bijlmer or the Rivierenbuurt especially if you're looking for somewhere safe (not Bijlmer, I'm afraid - my husband works there and since he's been working there 2 people have been murdered in the middle of day, and he's only been there for 6 months).

If you've never lived in Amsterdam and have a decent disposable income, I would recommend the centre, such as the Grachtengordel (canal belt) or the Jordaan. Everyone loves the Jordaan, with the gorgeous nine streets and where you'll find pretty, typically Amsterdam houses, with cafes and funky shops - though you might have to pay around 1800-2000/month for a not too strangely divided 2 bedroom place. A lot of the canal houses have been divided into apartments and it is not always easy to find apartments with decent kitchens or bathrooms. The Prinsengracht is the cheapest of the canals but it all depends which end you live at. I used to live up by the east end of the canals and I think it was cheaper than in the central part of the belt.

The Museum Quartier in the Oud Zuid is lovely too.

Or you could live in the Plantage area near the zoo which is to the East of the centre. The streets are leafy and wide and I personally prefer it as it's chilled and close to the East where there is a great multi-cultural vibe.

If you want posh, posh, posh then try the Oud Zuid near the Vondelpark. It's very pretty, big houses and wide streets, and lots of Dutch people in white trousers, blazers and designer blonde hair!

De Pijp area is quite nice too where you find the famous Albert Cuyp Market, but the houses aren't as pretty as in the other areas I mentionned, though there's the pretty little Sarphati park and great shops, cafes and restaurants, especially Spanish and South American.

I'm not a fan of the Riviernbuurt just because it's too residential for me, and there aren't a huge amount of funky shops and cafes around.

Of course it's all personal choice!!

Harmony1000

I would not consider the Bijlmer or North Amsterdam - too dangerous and too far. I also wouldn't live in Nieuw Sloten as it's very busy and mostly full of families with kids and not a lot else.

Areas literally change from street to street as Amsterdam is so small - the Pijp has some nice and not so nice streets, same with the area around Sarphatipark - depends on the street.

The Jordaan is one of the most expensive areas in Amsterdam. To rent you would need at least 1500/2000 for a decent one bed flat, which doesn't leave you a lot out of your budget.

Ould Zuid (old South) is nice, especially near Vondlepark, but again you will need mega bucks to get something decent and again there are some areas which aren't great.

The job market here is not good at the moment so getting a job without Dutch is remote, unless you want to work in the black, ie: bar work.

Emmis

I have to agree about the job market at the moment. I lived here a few years ago. I found no problem then finding work as my job is conducted in English so my pathetic Dutch was of no problem. Now I can't find work, even though it is purely in English, as a level of Dutch (A2 - not particularly high, lower intermediate) is needed and even if I did have that level, work cannot be guaranteed.... and that's in an English speaking field!

I also know a lot of expats here who are out of work, who've come over as PAs, as engineers, in IT... basically in all sorts of fields, and who are out of work and are finding it really hard to find work.

Anyway, I'd have a look on www.funda.nl in the meantime. Just looking quickly I found 4 apartments around 1500/mth, including this one which is on the Brouwersgracht, voted the prettiest canal in Amsterdam (allegedly!!) http://www.funda.nl/huur/amsterdam/a...gracht-129-ii/

Best of luck xxx