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I've just gotten an offer from my company to move from the US to a position in Amsterdam. The offices are located in Schiphol-Rijk. The company will be handling the visa stuffs and such, but I'd like more information about where to live, commutes, how hard is it to find housing, how hard is it to find housing with pets (two cats and a dog), and so on. The use of a relocation company will be involved as well, along with 30 days of company paid housing while i get settled and find places to live. From the research I've done, public transportation is a good and viable option (and paid for by the company!) so i won't need a car too terribly. I've found a couple links/blog posts: http://blog.abahgat.com/2012/11/20/what-you-should-know-before-moving-to-amsterdam/ http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/local/move/before-moving What else should i know? If I accept the offer I'd pretty much sell everything house related i have (cars, furniture, large electronics, speakers, kitchen appliances, etc) or is there a reasonable way to ship some of it overseas without too much trouble? If I accept (by the end of next week is what they've given me) i'll have about 60 days to get everything in order. I know what my yearly salary will be, but i have no idea what the tax structure is over there so I'm not sure how/what my monthly budget would shape up to be. So, please, tell me about this grand adventure and the pros and cons of the expat life in the Netherlands.
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Aug 28, 2015 22:26
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| # ? May 3, 2024 08:17 |
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Keep in mind that a lot of electronics may be unusable without voltage transformers because Euro wall outlets give you 240 instead of 120, especially kitchen gear (or old kitchen gear at least). Even for electronics that can handle 240v you're going to need to buy a plug adapter for each one.
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Aug 28, 2015 22:38
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The only major electronics I'm thinking about bringing already have switching power supplies. (Pc, Xbox, ps3, and I'm thinking of selling the latter two items.)
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Aug 28, 2015 22:51
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I can't help you with the nuts and bolts logistics stuff because when we lived in Amsterdam my husband was doing his grad work so we had housing provided by the university and didn't pay much in the way of taxes (except the drat canal tax!). We lived in Bos en Lommer, which was fine, but I think if we were living there again I might want to look for a place in Haarlemmerbuurt, which is where I worked and which was an awesome neighbourhood. Schiphol-Rijk is pretty far outside the city centre; I would plan on an hour+ commute by transit or about 30 minutes if you're planning to have a car if you live actually in the city. If you live farther to the west (Slotervaart, Nieuw-West, etc) you'll have a shorter commute but you'll also be father from the city centre. As far as shipping goes, if you want to move a significant amount of stuff the easiest thing to do is rent a shipping container. There are companies that will rent you a container, which you can then fill with all your worldly goods, and ship it anywhere you like for you. My major piece of advice is to learn Dutch as soon as possible. I learned to speak Dutch pretty well pretty quickly and my experience was really different from that of my husband, who never really picked it up. Yes, everyone speaks English, but it's really hard to make friends if you don't speak Dutch. As a Canadian I found Dutch people a little standoffish at first, but once I was fluent enough to make and understand jokes it was easier for me to be accepted. For sure get a bike. The transit is really good but you really need a bike to fully participate in city life. It's just not the same otherwise. I didn't have one for the first three months because I figured I could walk or take transit everywhere, and while I was technically correct it felt like the whole city opened up to me once I got a bike. I also found volunteering a great way to meet people; you can sign up at the Vrijwilligersbureau for volunteer positions that require English or any other language you might speak. I loved Amsterdam and would move back in a heartbeat if circumstances were favourable. It's a really great town with tons to do. We each got a Museumkaart, which gave us admission to like 50 museums in the city for a very reasonable flat fee, plus we had many bike adventures around the city as well as bike day trips out of the city. Architecturally, the city itself is really beautiful so it was awesome to walk around. I advise making friends with someone who has a boat when summertime rolls around.
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Aug 29, 2015 00:18
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I'm either moving to Utrecht or Amsterdam as soon as I get a consistent income/a real job. Mostly I'm looking for any advice to make the transition as smooth and cheap as possible. I guess my process has to be: 1) Get money 2) gently caress 3) Fly over there and stay in a hotel for a week or so, looking at different apartments then signing some sort of contract? 4) Prepare like gently caress, get insurance, sort phone stuff out, research ISPs, gas & electric, pay deposits. 5) Get ferry over to new place, get settled in. Get a burgerservicenummer within 3 to 5 days, so I'm able to wait in line for burgers while sitting down. 6) Celebrate too soon I've been neglecting Duolingo for a while now, I find it's a bit naff, I need to motivate myself to listen to Dutch media more, I can almost understand them. I'll dump a bunch of my notes in case it helps anyone. code:code:code:http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/plan-your-trip/ http://www.expatica.com/nl/ They drive on the right side, so if you're bringing a car make sure the driver seat is on the left.
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Aug 29, 2015 14:39
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Megaspel posted:I've been neglecting Duolingo for a while now, I find it's a bit naff, I need to motivate myself to listen to Dutch media more, I can almost understand them. You're welcome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILRAD31B4tU
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Aug 29, 2015 18:19
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Resident of Amstelveen here, it is a suburb of Amsterdam. I lived in the city itself for 8 years before that but recently moved because kids. Rent prices are a weird thing, there are basically two different and seperate housing markets in Amsterdam and it's surroundings. - Houses (and apartments) for locals. These are delivered often without flooring, furnishing or any appliances. This is either rent controlled (and thus cheap but impossible to get) or "vrije markt" (free market) and therefor expensive. Prices are (should be) bare bones, any utitlities and additional costs will be added so don't think you are done for that 650, another 450 might easily be added. - Expat housing. Furnished, complete with floors, appliances and curtains. Crazy prices for really small places, crazier prices for more living space. And with crazy I mean relative to income. Prices are often including utilities, internet and whatnot. Basically, if you are willing to furnish a place (after you put in floors, cheapo carpets or something), you will be saving money. In my street, which is admittedly very far from the city, there is a house for rent for 1300 euro, 130 m2, 4 bedrooms, garden and general nice area. This has floors now that I think of it but no furniture. After moving you will be hit with a bunch of weird taxes such as: - Municipal taxes for trash disposal, sewers and some other random things. This is based on the size of your household - Waterschapsbelasting, this is to keep the dykes in good condition so you don't drown while living below sealevel We all live with these and they are not excessive, but now you are no longer surprised. Other oddities: - All Dutch people have their own washing machine, there are not many laundromats and almost nobody has communal machines. - Get your drivers licence registered within 6 months, else it expires and you will have to do an exam. Total costs for the exam including lessons: 2500 euro. Registration a few tenners. Where to live? Really depending on who you bring and what you want from life. If you have a family and work most of the time anyway, come to Amstelveen. About 15% of the population here is an expat and prices are reasonable while at the same time the uber crowded city is somewhat further away. Closer to Shiphol Rijk as well. If you are single, better get something in Amsterdam city center or westside, eastside near Wibautstraat so you can go to Club Trouw and gently caress your brains out on new tourists every weekend. So I heard, it was a different hotspot when I was still single. Dogfish posted:You're welcome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILRAD31B4tU In short, it is almost as if you move to a completely new place! Hit me up on PM if you have specific questions a local should be able to answer or if you just arrived and need someone to show you the local watering holes.
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Aug 29, 2015 19:26
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Don't bother bringing anything with a motor in it. Not only is the voltage different here, so is the frequency. Kitchen stuff like Kitchenaid mixers, Cuisinart food processors etc will die, even if you spend the $$ to get a converter from 240->120 volt. Getting stuff overall shipped overseas can be fairly costly (we shipped a 20' container and it cost a fuckton) so if you don't have a bunch of stuff you _really_ love just get rid of it. Pets can be a problem if you're planning on bringing them. When we moved US->Sweden we had to get a shitload of tests and paperwork done in the US, and Sweden is one of the easier countries to move pets to (no quarantine requirements if coming from the US). Make sure to check up on _exactly_ what is required. We had to drive 4 hours to get to the proper US authority to get some papers done that could _only_ be done in person.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:01
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Keetron posted:Pfff, I was hoping it was Zanger Rinus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHEFbX81XWQ If I wanted to show him really serious intellectual stuff like that I would have suggested Kabouter Wesley (yes, Belgian, but Dutch-language!)
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Aug 30, 2015 03:45
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Get a bicycle, and not just for recreation. It's a convenient way to move around. Depending on your situation, you may be able to get by without owning a car at all. Many cyclists drive irresponsibly, do be careful around them. In an accident between a motorized and non-motorized vehicle, with regards to insurance, it's always the fault of the driver of the motorized vehicle. Drinking and then riding a bicycle is tolerated. Public transport is quite good, especially in the Amsterdam area. Get an OV-chipkaart, set it up so it automatically deducts money from your bank account for maximum convenience. After midnight, services are very limited. This is why you need that bicycle to get home after a night out. Get a debit card, credit cards are not popular and if accepted often involve extra fees. Using a debit card should be free of extra costs no matter how insignificant the amount. When doing the groceries, you should bring your own bags so it might be worthwhile to invest in some sturdy ones. There are some that clip onto the back of bicycles, very convenient. Supermarkets no longer give out free bags. You'll also have to put the groceries into the bags yourself. If you can't yet, learn to swim, for both your own safety and for recreation. There's a lot of water here. Get used to seeing blackface in December. The Dutch have very conservative attitudes about Black Pete, they're changing but a majority doesn't think it's racist. Stick Insect fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Sep 1, 2015 |
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Sep 1, 2015 18:41
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As a Dutch person, I can only tell you to not just get a bike, but get an OLD bike...with two locks. Don't pay over 90 to 120 euro's for it, because it will get stolen once in a while (if you have two locks, it will get stolen less often) oh, and it's a nice country....everyone can help you out if you speak English and if you learn Dutch, it would be even more fun (because that hardly ever happens) hiring a house in Amterdam?...hmm, good luck with that, be prepared to pay a shitload of money.
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Sep 1, 2015 21:06
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Thanks all. The offer on pay is a small raise compared to my USD salary, but based on the cost of living will actually be a net loss from my current situation. I'm still waiting on the official offer, so we shall see. FWIW: The verbal offer was in the low €60s, and seems like that would make city living a bit tight for 2 people and 3 pets, even with the side perks. (company cell, company travel pass good M-F, only 70% of my income is taxable, etc)
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Sep 1, 2015 21:14
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Lot of dutch goons post in the language thread. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3695908 They have always been extremely kind to me if I had questions. Plus they do the occasional goon meet and are nice people. P.s. get me a job in your company
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Sep 2, 2015 08:09
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toplitzin posted:Thanks all. A few thing to remember: - Income disparity in the Netherlands is low, it is pretty much normalized thanks to taxes and other stuff. - The Median household income is 34K gross. Yes, this is low for a family of 4. - Housing might be expensive but your buffer can be slim thanks to: - Socialized healthcare, if something surprising happens you will be out of a few hundred at the very most and this is with the dentist. My hernia surgery plus a few days in the hospital cost me nothing but 110 euro a month on health insurance (which is the super expanded package, base cost can be 80 euro). Most common meds are covered in base insurance. - There is no litigation culture, no need to fear lawsuits or suddenly high lawyer costs - Life is predictable due to lots of socialized stuff and thus you can budget so much better, don't do crazy stuff and you can live comfortably Now based on your salary I did some quick calculations. 65000 will net you the first 30% (19500) and then out of the remaining 45500 you will receive 31.300, total net income will be 50.800, which is for Dutch standards a shitload 4233 a month. Quick budget: House (furnished): 1250 Utilities (including municipal taxes): 250 Internet: 40 health insurance for two people: 200 Seeing your job pays for a cell and travel to the job, base cost would be about 1700, excluding groceries and other stuff because you will have almost 2500 a month for groceries, clothing and what else. (disclaimer: my wife does our finances so I might have forgotten one or two things) Housing in the area which are furnished and no more than 1250: OMG: smack in the middle of the city center and right in the same street as bars and restaurants and close to the best Whiskey bar in the Netherlands: http://www.funda.nl/huur/amsterdam/appartement-49576825-korte-leidsedwarsstraat-143-ong/ Some other option, further out of the city but maybe you might get more sleep? http://www.funda.nl/huur/amsterdam/appartement-85932051-langswater-6/ If you remove the option "gemeubileerd" you will get many more: http://www.funda.nl/huur/schiphol-rijk/+10km/200-1250/direct-beschikbaar/
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Sep 2, 2015 09:26
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Goodpancakes posted:Lot of dutch goons post in the language thread. Know I.T.? PM me (we're global)
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Sep 2, 2015 15:08
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