I am moving to Holland to be with my boyfriend in June and would like to find out more about life, costs etc..

Question

I am planning to move to holland in June to be with my boyfriend (Dutch) and am starting to do some research into the costs of life in the Netherlands. I am also looking to do a CELTA course in Amsterdam as a view to working as an english language teacher in a language school . But am not sure about how to go about contacting the schools too. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou

Answer 1

good luck, I moved to Australia last year, it is good fun and I enjoyed it, I hope you do too. Get a driving licence sorted asap is theadvice I'd give, then you 've got your own ID and can get bank accounts, rented place to live etc

Answer 2

Silv is very right! Not all about Amsterdam is sex and drugs. It is a great city, a lovely place!
The cost of living is high is you go eat out in restaurants, but if you cook home and buy most food in markets (it's also fresher anyway) then it's no big deal compared with other european cities.
However getting a place to rent costs a lot of money specially in Amsterdam, but if you have a boyfriend there then maybe he has already a place of his own and you can move in? Or consider some nearby city that is less costy in terms of renting.
Anyway I know lots of people who went to the Netherlands like Silv and love it in there and don't want to go back. Dutch people are very friendly! However if you want to stay there then it is better to learn the language (a hard task, you bet, the second most difficult language in the world, after the chinese, so I heard! ehehe), as then you will be better treated (I also heard). However in the first times there will most likely be no problems as almost verybody speaks english there! Just pay attention to pick pockets and so on, but as for the rest I am sure you will love it, even if the weather is not that nice anyway... But if you go there to be with the person you love... Then who needs the sun in the sky if you have the sun in your soul? ehehe.
Expatica is a good link for foreigneirs indeed so have a look there.
Best of luck! :-)

Answer 3

Holland is definitively NOT more expensive than UK!!
Ok, living accomodation is expensive in Amsterdam, but that's because of a system that makes the open market very, very small. That keeps the prices up. Most appartments in Amsterdam are owned by corporations, and it's kind of impossible to get one of those when coming from outside the place ;-)
But if your boyfriend already lives here, I guess that won't be the problem!:-)
Groceries are cheaper than in the UK, even than in Spain or France, actually (I come from Spain and live in Holland already 5 years)

Of course when you're new in a place and don't know where to shop, everything looks more expensive ;-) But that's usually 'cos you're going to a kind of shops you'd avoid in your own country LOL

The only certificate you'll need to translate, if you have it, is your teacher's qualification. You need a "lesbevoegheid" if you want to work at a normal school. That doesn't apply to some private international schools, or just language schools.
But the market is not easy, there are a lot of foreigners, so take it easy and don't be too impatient ;-)

I would start mailing once you have your qualification and are settled here. And then be very assertive, as Dutch people are. Sometimes if you only send a cv but don't call, they'll think you don't want it enough or lack iniciative ;-)

The culture is a bit different and that frustates sometimes in the beginning, but think it's just fases you have to go through till you addapt completely :-) Amsterdam is very nice, and there are so many expats you won't feel alone unless you want to ;-) (www.expatica.com > netherlands)
Good luck :-)

P.D. Dutch guys are the best, really ;-) :-D

Answer 4

Not too sure about Celta...

As far as living...yes it's expensive but there are ways to get around it some. Apartments and housing gets cheaper the further from the center you are. With in the center you're looking at 1100 euros and up for a 2bdrm. You can bring that down to as low as 800 if you go outside of the center.Public transport is great but if you want to be really thrifty I'd get a bike. I've gotten to the point that I'm too impatient to wait on the trams so I just take my bike.

Food is found very cheaply at the various outdoor markets in town. The grocery store prices aren't too bad either. If you go out to eat that's where it gets really expensive. What is super cheap here is flowers & dairy products...well cheaper than I'm used to.

But life here is wonderful. NO it's not all sex and drugs. Amsterdam is a very culturally diverse city. Lots to see and do. It's never a dull moment especially in the summer when there's a festival almost every week.

Outside of Amsterdam there are other bustling cities...rotterdam, utrecht, gronigen, maastricht, den haag...but for me...amsterdam is where its at.

feel free to send me a message if you have any other questions. I moved here from the US about a year and a half ago and I don't want to leave :)

Answer 5

Were does your boyfriend live? If i were you i shouldn't take an apartment in Amsterdam, big cities are more expensive then smaller towns. If you really want to be near Amsterdam, i should looking for a small town near Amsterdam. Holland is not that big, so you can reach every town and city in no time! About costs.. i have absolutely no idea, I'm still a teenager and live with my parents so i don't know! It depends on what you want to study.

Answer 6

Amsterdam may be the capital of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, is certainly one of the most used tourist destinations in Europe; and you are able to visit it from with hotelbye . with its universities, academies, and study institutes, along with an increase of than 40 museums, numerous theaters, and leisure sites, Amsterdam could be the country's primary ethnic middle and an excellent place to pay your holyday. Additionally, Amsterdam can also be fabled for their old homes, laid out in a design of concentric portions in the design of a fan. Are some 6,750 structures relationship from the 16th to 18th generations are crowded into an area of 2,000 acres, dissected by 160 canals, themselves house to varied houseboats.

Answer 7

Check the web for Celta courses in Holland, I'm doing mine now, it'll give you more opportunities, good luck

Answer 8

relies upon. Is your boyfriend ecu and might you be keen to bypass stay there for him? If he's ecu (probably non-Dutch), then he has the main appropriate below the guidelines of the ecu Union to convey his considerable different/considerable different to stay with him interior the country of his selection (interior the ecu). If he isn't ecu, yet you may nevertheless be keen to attempt to bypass there, you're able to try another tactic - you are going to be able to nicely be waiting to get a pupil visa, or, reckoning on your age, i think there's a software of a few variety for babies who desire to artwork as an Au according to. Or in case you have finished college in a profession it fairly is fairly paid, you are going to be able to qualify to alter right into a information migrant. in case you at the instant are not keen to bypass there, and he, curiously, wasn't keen to stay with you - perchance it's time to enable it choose for now, and have faith that if it fairly is meant to be, then you definately will discover yourselves returned interior the comparable place sometime.

Answer 9

let your degrees translated and valued.

Learn Dutch.

And as for the costs of living.....big towns like Amsterdam are more expensive.

Good luck :-)

Answer 10

My friend's 18 yr old niece recently used to live in the Netherlands and she constantly complains that everything, especially cigarettes, is more expensive in the UK. Can't help you with the school thing, sorry.