Quote:Original post by Marmin
Just a friendly reminder of these things: - taxes are very high here. - the climate is bad. - The pollution is very high in the western part. - traffic problems are common, and rising.
Not to mention Geert Wilders [cry]
Salaries in Holland
Not to mention Geert Wilders [cry]
Quote:Original post by PouyaCat
I live about 1 hour away from the city center, and here things are affordable.
Mind you, I live nearly on the other side of the country *laughs*
You mean you can nearly drive the whole way across your country in an hour or two?
Wow, crazy Europeans. I can't even get to the NEXT CITY after an hour's drive. (Summerside is NOT a city, despite what people there want to think. Hell, Charlottetown isn't much of a city either.)
Quote:Original post by WanMaster
And a beer normally costs around € 2.50.
You're insane if you pay that. I live in the south (about 1 hour from Amsterdam if traffic is light) and I rarely pay over € 1.90. There's one pub here that charges € 2.10 but they serve extra large glasses (ironically, those glasses are called "Amsterdammertjes", except in Amsterdam where they call them "Vaasjes" :-)
€ 2500-3000 a month is a good pay indication. Rents vary widely between € 200 and € 1000 or more, depending on location. The two major impacting factors on rent is how close you are to the city center and who you rent from. Every city has one or more major social housing cooperations and they are usually cheap, but have long waiting lists (A few years is common). You can get living space much faster than that by renting from private companies but the rents are a lot higher.
If you're in a hurry and want to rent cheap then you could also try an anti-squatting cooperation. They rent out buildings to prevent squatters from moving in (Here in Holand, it's legal to squat if a building is abandoned for more than a year). It's ridiculously cheap, you get vast amounts of living space but the downside is that they can tell you to move out on a six week notice. So you move around a lot (once or maybe twice a year). If you don't own too much stuff it's a great way to live until you've been on the waiting list long enough for the social housing cooperation.
Another alternative is simply to buy a house. For the monthly rent of a two bedroom appartment in the center of town you can probably pay a mortgage for a nice house in the suburbs.
Most figures here are gross, btw. Gross 3000 - net < 2000 sounds plausible for someone in your position id say.
Cost of living really depends, like others have said. If you are willing to live in the ghetto / like a student, rates start at 0 a month. If you want something resembling a decent place to live, either find more money or forget about amsterdam, or any big city.
Incidentally, a day or so ago the IMF marked the dutch housing market as one of the most overvalued in the world. And i would be inclined to agree. The person who mentioned pollution probably has never seen any real pollution in his life, but there are plenty of bad things to be said about living there. I dont see why someone would want to pay those rates.
That said, ill probably be in precisely the same situation about a year from now: moving near amsterdam for personal reasons.
Cost of living really depends, like others have said. If you are willing to live in the ghetto / like a student, rates start at 0 a month. If you want something resembling a decent place to live, either find more money or forget about amsterdam, or any big city.
Incidentally, a day or so ago the IMF marked the dutch housing market as one of the most overvalued in the world. And i would be inclined to agree. The person who mentioned pollution probably has never seen any real pollution in his life, but there are plenty of bad things to be said about living there. I dont see why someone would want to pay those rates.
That said, ill probably be in precisely the same situation about a year from now: moving near amsterdam for personal reasons.
i had an apartment in de pijp (amsterdam) about 8 years ago, 250guilders ~100euro a month. depends on who you know, in holland though generally its pretty difficult to find a place
Author
Quote:Original post by Eelco
Most figures here are gross, btw. Gross 3000 - net < 2000 sounds plausible for someone in your position id say.
So, taxes are high... bummer :(.
Looks like that if I really go I will have to do a lot of digging to find a good house/bedroom for a good price. Do public transportations work well? I mean... if you are far from Amsterdam, is it easy to enter the city in public transportations or do you take a lot of time to do it?
Quote:Original post by ToolmakerThat is the worst pollution we have!Quote:Original post by Marmin
Just a friendly reminder of these things: - taxes are very high here. - the climate is bad. - The pollution is very high in the western part. - traffic problems are common, and rising.
Not to mention Geert Wilders [cry]
Quote:Original post by wolverineQuote:Original post by Eelco
Most figures here are gross, btw. Gross 3000 - net < 2000 sounds plausible for someone in your position id say.
So, taxes are high... bummer :(.
yes indeed. And dont even think about the combination of living in amsterdam and having a car, that will surely redefine your concept of high taxes.
Quote:
Looks like that if I really go I will have to do a lot of digging to find a good house/bedroom for a good price. Do public transportations work well? I mean... if you are far from Amsterdam, is it easy to enter the city in public transportations or do you take a lot of time to do it?
It also depends. If you tailor your living situation to your commute, public transportation can work fine. If you dont pay any heed, you might end up having to do something like bus->train->bus, with 50 minutes of pure travel time and 30 of transfer time, even though you live right next to amsterdam. If your house or place of work is near a public transportation hub, thats a big plus. If you are lucky/clever you can go from work to your home in the next city in 15 minutes or so by train.
Quote:Original post by SanderQuote:Original post by WanMaster
And a beer normally costs around € 2.50.
You're insane if you pay that.
It's either that, or spending the evening with a six pack at home. :/
Quote:Every city has one or more major social housing cooperations and they are usually cheap, but have long waiting lists (A few years is common).
Make that an average of ten years for Amsterdam.
Quote:Another alternative is simply to buy a house. For the monthly rent of a two bedroom appartment in the center of town you can probably pay a mortgage for a nice house in the suburbs.
That's true. It's probably cheaper as well. May not be an option from someone just arriving in a new country though. As for renting: expats can get more (and sometimes better) deals at real estate agents, as they expect you not to live there for too long (are they wrong!).
Quote:Original post by wolverine
So, taxes are high... bummer :(.
High speed internet is relatively cheap though. ;)
Quote:Looks like that if I really go I will have to do a lot of digging to find a good house/bedroom for a good price.
No doubt.
Quote:Do public transportations work well? I mean... if you are far from Amsterdam, is it easy to enter the city in public transportations or do you take a lot of time to do it?
Within the city it's pretty good, although many prefer to use bikes. The western part of the Netherlands has a high density network of various types of public transport, but the other cities of the country are also well connected.
Author
Quote:Original post by Eelco
It also depends. If you tailor your living situation to your commute, public transportation can work fine. If you dont pay any heed, you might end up having to do something like bus->train-&>bus, with 50 minutes of pure travel time and 30 of transfer time, even though you live right next to amsterdam. If your house or place of work is near a public transportation hub, thats a big plus. If you are lucky/clever you can go from work to your home in the next city in 15 minutes or so by train.
Quote:Original post by WanMaster
Within the city it's pretty good, although many prefer to use bikes. The western part of the Netherlands has a high density network of various types of public transport, but the other cities of the country are also well connected.
Ok, thank you both. I will look into the public transportations and the wester part of the Netherlands :). txs
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