mopsy

Hi Everyone,

I'm wanting to move from Dublin to Amsterdam sometime next year and was just wondering how much I'd need in savings in order to get by for the first month or two.

I'm 23, Irish/UK-Australian (I hold both an EU & Australian passport, so moving there won't be an issue) and I work in Finance (Credit Control/Account/Sales orientated work etc).

With The Netherlands having the lowest unemployment rate in all of the EU at the moment with only 3.3 % unemployed, I don't think that it'll be too difficult to find work, despite me only being able to speak English with some basic German (I do intend to eventually learn Dutch!). Do people agree on here that it'll be feasible to find work within a month/less?

In regards to housing, I don't mind renting in the suburbs and living with 1 or 2 housemates. Can anybody recommend how much I would expect to spend per month on rent and how much/what security deposits generally amount to? Also, does anybody know of any websites in English that advertise in English for housemates?

Also, can anyone advise on which mobile phone networks are the cheapest (particularly pre-paid to begin with when I move over as it's probably not possible to start a contract straight away unless my employer will cover it?).

I'm guessing that €4000 would be the absolute min to come over on, but was just wondering if anyone else agrees/disagrees.

Thanks in advance for any help/info guys!

Brendan

germike

Unemployed rates are so low because of what you do not see :

- There are about 400.000 people in "de bijstand"
- There are about 950.000 people in "De wao"

Bijstand being a mothly payment if you do not fall in any other social scheme. The unemployment benefit lasts for a relativly short time depening on how long you had work before you became unemployed, after that it's the bijstand. Or if you have cash yourself, it's no money from the state.

De wao being the disability benefit, however this was misused for long periods to dump unwanted employee's in. Guess that about half of them are actually unemployed.

So actual unemployed is higher than the nice statistics will led you to believe. There is lies, damned lies and statistics remember

Finding higher level employment without speaking dutch is not easy, unless in ICT and then only in the international institutes in the hague. Think about it, you will not be hired if it means that the a whole office section will have to speak english just because you cant speak dutch..

Renting in NL is very difficult. It's completly different from the UK, roommates are not common. Rent sector is social (forget it amsterdam is 12 year wait) or commercial and the very little and very very expensive.

Mobile phones : prepaids very cheap, weekly changing offers like everywhere else on the planet.

4000 Euro to start with ? Not in my mind but depends on how you see yourself living there. Very possible if you find 2 other people and rent something together. If you can find something. If that's all the cash before you find work, it will be too little. Note about renting : most landlords will only accept you if you have a steady income. Most landlords are not private people but large pensionfunds.

Finding work within a month : yes simple low paid jobs no problem. In finance no way if you do not speak/read/write dutch.

Sorry to sound negative, you can always try but learn the language first. Het is niet zo ontzettend moeilijk !

Groeten.

furkew

Hi Brendan,

Germike is right in a lot of what he says.

I would try to save a bit more for the unexpected, but work is easy to find if you want to work, and the language is not that difficult if you are prepared to mix with the Dutch crowd, and not just the English speaking crowd.

Starseed

germike, what's this "12 year wait" for Amsterdam? Can you elaborate. What if I have "lots of" euros? Still onmoeilijk?

germike

If you have a lower income, the only way to find something to rent in NL is to use the "Sociale woningbouw". This is housing build by giant semi-government institues called "woningcorporaties". As they build too little, due to long and boring political reasons, the waiting list for an appartment from them is bordering on the insane.

However if you have lots of euro's you just rent something in the "vrije sector" which means anything above 621,78 Euro's a month. If you buy something below about 160K you also need a "permit to live there".

For info : NL is still part communist, if you fall under the social housing scheme, you can only live in the city you are already living in or have economic connection to (work). You CANNOT just move to a city/village you like. Of course if you have more $ you can do what you want.

Disclaimer : I really dislike my country, that's why i left. So keep this in mind when you read my cynical comments. But hey if you want to live in that oversized nuthouse they call Holland, go right ahead

Starseed

Dammit man. That's not encouraging! I know we've both been round this area before, and folks here should know how you've escaped to the relative orderliness of Deutschland, but I stll harbour aspirations of escaping this "oversized nuthouse" called Britain, and in my ignorance, have found Amsterdam ( or at least the non-tourist-truly-white-Dutch areas ) quite gezellig ).

Don't you find the Germans a bit "tight" after the easygoing looseness of the Dutch?

germike

Yes you are right, Germany is far from "gezellig". Altough the people in our neighbourhood welcomed us, and invited me to play football and my wife to church, there is not much contact. However that's also partly to blame on ourselves as i dislike football and we do not believe in a guy-in-the-sky. A further handycap is that we drink very little alcohol, and the locals here find that very amusing. I think making real German friends, not just "people you know" is really really difficult, due to the big differences in attitude. In that respect NL is way more relaxed and open.

We are looking at other possibilities in the EU, and possibly Australia when we hit 55, as they have a retirement visa-plan. On the other hand, the grass on the other side is not that green as you think, nor is your own grass as brown as you think.

But hey, my Audi alone was 25k Euro cheaper (Car taxes in NL are over the top) and the house i have here would cost 4-5 times the price in the Randstad.

Think long and hard before emigrating as it's not all that fun afther the initial "vacation feeling" wears of. Living somewhere is completly different from visiting. We very much like parts of England and if it's was not so crazy expensive we would have looked there to emigrate....

Edit : I doubt if anyone could really shake of their original "nationality", the place you grow up in and the attitude that goes with that place sticks to you like glue. Even though i sometimes dislike it, i am still very very dutch.

Starseed

True, England has much to offer, if you can ignore the morons who make the rules here, and the "moron culture" that dominates. I live in a nice bungalow on the south coast two minutes from the beach, and 20 minutes from beautiful hills where you can find solitude in nature. Holland in small doses keeps me sane; in large doses? you may well be right.