katrinadoe

Hello!!

I've already gotten so much help from reading through the forum, but this is my first post. My husband & I plan on moving to NL in the first half of 2020 (It might seem like it'a a ways off, but we have some things to get in order). Our daughter will be 6 years old when we move. We're looking at the Hilversum area as we have friends in Soest & one of them works at the Intl School in Hilversum. We plan on putting our daughter into Dutch school - which brings me to my first question:

SCHOOL:
- at 6 years old, I've read that she would go to into a Dutch immersion program. Would this take place at her school or at a separate school dedicated to that (I've looked, but haven't found one, so I'm assuming the former)? Also, how easy was it for your child to get into the school you chose?
Another school question I have is that I'd like to live as close to the school as possible. But I'm not sure of the timing - can she get admitted to a school before we have an address & then we buy/rent a house close to the school? From what I'm reading, it sounds like everything hinges on having an address first, but I'm not sure.

WORK:
Another question I have is in regards to finding work in the Netherlands & then moving. My husband is a highly skilled UX/UI designer at a large US company. We've been reading job postings that look promising. I read on one forum that it took a person a YEAR to find work in the Netherlands before moving. Is that common? When would you suggest he start submitting his resumé/CV for jobs if we plan on moving in early 2020?

HOUSE:
I've done some reading about buying a home in the Netherlands & I'm trying to figure out if we could buy a house when we move there. We are US citizens... We're hoping to have $50-$100K from the sale of our home to be able to put down on a house (I know Euros are different). From what I'm reading, it might be tricky to be able to buy without having been in the country for at least 3 years. Is that accurate? It's looking like the rental market has very low inventory.

Thank you all in advance!! <3

BritInParis

Unless one of you has an EU passport then finding a job with visa sponsorship will need to be your first priority.

Red_Wine_Fairy

That entirely depends. The gemeente (town hall) will give additional funding to schools to help with the extra costs of getting an immigrant child up to speed. How the school uses that is up to the school. My daughter's school taught her themselves, although sadly mainly with the use of software. Our neighbouring gemeente has far greater numbers of non-Dutch pupils and so many of them put their funds together for a special intensive workshop where the kids go for 2 days each week to focus purely on language (transport from school and back also provided). So this has to be a question you pose to a prospective school's director. I didn't have any issue getting my children into my first choice of school, but again, this is probably situational and varies by town or city.

Very sensible, considering that she will probably want to bike to school with her friends in a few years time. Here, everything depends on your registration. The school will likely want your child's BSN number, and that will require registration at your address (temporary is good enough but you must have a rental contract in hand when you go to register).

Employers are a bit like rental agents - they simply aren't interested until they know you're about to step on the plane here. That might involve him being prepared to fly over to meet potential employers for a final interview (and to view some properties at the same time!) - initial interviews are often held via video conferencing. The Dutch are VERY keen on 'fit' within a team, and for that, the hiring manager needs to meet you. But there's no harm in putting out feelers - I would seriously recommend he starts to follow some potential companies on LinkedIn which is a major recruiting tool here.

I can only tell you from my own experience that the Dutch bank is keen on many things. One: a vaste contract (permanent) rather than the temporary ones they like to give away at first, and a commitment from your employer that you're a keeper. Two: your CV (they want to be sure that should you lose work, you're employable and will likely continue to pay the mortgage). Three: you're here for the long term (you don't walk away from a property here, if you try they will sell it cheap then set international collectors onto you for the difference). So it's quite realistic that you rent for a year or so, and also wise that you read up on buying a house here, as all countries are different. Not only that, but your first neighbourhood might not be all you hoped for, and you might find another street or neighbourhood which you prefer after living here a short while. This is not an advertisement, but this video might help to understand the process a little: https://expatmortgages.nl/wp-content...s_animatie.mp4

katrinadoe

Thank you SO much - incredibly helpful!! I'm going to encourage my husband to get on LinkedIN NOW (he has an account, but isn't active) to start that ball rolling as it sounds like it could take some time. That actually makes me feel really good that they like to see it you're a "good fit" for the team as my husband has always been a favorite among his co-workers, is appreciated as a team-player, & is very knowledgeable with a great temperament.

SushiFan

The advice by RWF to rent first before you buy a house is very sound advice. You want to spend time to see the differences between various neighbourhoods, prices, accessibility and various other aspects relevant to you before you make a decision which will tie you up for multiple years. You can't judge these things from looking at maps and internet websites; you have to have lived there for a while to truly understand what's important to you.
And you may want to brush up your Dutch language skills. That will come in very handy.

calman014

You should aim to rent at first. If you work at it, it will take you at least 2 years to master the language enough to do basic stuff and by that time you should have a better idea of the housing market if you are still keen on buying.

Kids tend to pick up the language quickly but additional help at the beginning is a bonus..

None of this is any use without employment.. That's really where you need to start, and have an employer willing to give the necessary support with that.

Then there is the question of residence permits/ visa's and taxes.

If you are U.S. nationals you may have a double tax obligation on your income!

Good luck.