What's the real cost of living?

I'm looking into moving from the UK to Amsterdam with my family. I am trying to work out my budget but there are a lot of unknowns. I will rent a house, but I will also have to pay for my daughter to go to an English-language school (at least to start with). What I need to know is what monthly bills I must pay and roughly how much they will be, e.g. council tax, gas, water, electricity, tv licence, health insurance etc. I realize that exact figures can't be given for a lot of these, but some guidance would help! I don't want to overcommit myself by missing out an essential payment from my calculations. Can any Holland-dwellers give me some help by listing their outgoings, preferably for a small house.

17 May 2007, 06:04 John Harper

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Replies

Cost of Living in Netherland?

John - Do you answers to your question now? I am in a similar situation now and seek answers to the same questions as yours.

EJ 05 Dec 2007, 06:40 - Report
Same situation

We are in a similar situation, planning on moving from the USA, with 3 kids at school age. Is there an answer somewhere for the cost-of-living?

Amir 14 Dec 2007, 11:50 - Report
how much is for a student

i plan to go to netherlands to study and i would need around 12.000-14.000 euros to pay for everything, including housing and tuition fee.

diane 01 Apr 2008, 05:01 - Report
cost of living in Netherlands

I am gonna get married to a guy in Netherlands. i really have no idea on the cost & kind of living. Am not even sure if I could get a job there. Can you please tell me what would be the average expenses for a couple in Netherlands?

Amitha 28 Aug 2008, 12:39 - Report
cost of living in Netherlands

Ik woon in Nederland en ik ben Nederlandse
Wat wilt u weten ?

jurgen 29 Aug 2008, 09:54 - Report
cost of living

hi jurgen

im an afrikaans south african who plans to come and work there. I also need idea of what my monthly expenses would be like. I have a little boy and wife. i at least want to rent a place where he can play outside. What would your total monthly expenses be for things like rent, food, water and electricity, medical aid, any other insurance one might need. i know this is difficult question... but any help would be appreciated

Francois 08 Oct 2008, 09:41 - Report
found

found this link
http://www.nihes.nl/site/index.php?id=687,815,0,0,1,0

accurate?

Francois 08 Oct 2008, 09:42 - Report
Cost of living

The Nihes sites calculates it as:

Estimated monthly expenses:
Housing € 400
Medical and health insurance € 42
Food & beverage € 340
Local transport € 46
Other € 36
Total € 864

But the real cost is much highter (this calculation is for students). Housing for €400, is more for a single room. Health insurance is way more expensive.

Housing is difficult, the prices vary a lot. To rent a cheap house (known as a "sociale huurwoning", costs till a maximum of about €500, excluding service costs, electricity and everything else), it's almost impossible if you don't live here already and have subscribed for searching for another house (a waitinglist can be as long as 8 years on average!).
Renting a house in another way, is way expensive. A small apartment in a big city, could easily be at least €800. So you would have to search for that at first.

The health insurance is at least €90 (and you have to be insured), but children below 18 are included for free with your own insurance. So you and your wife would pay €180 for that. Be careful, because it's a basic insurance.

Food I would calculate less for it. For €200 per person per month, you can live quite good. That's because it gets more cheap when you buy food for the family (many products are made for a family of 3 or 4 persons).

Then you would have to pay for transportation. The cost is way more than calculated above (students have their own transportationcard). If you can reach your work by public transport, you get a fee from your work, or get money back from the taxes. It depends on the distance.
Driving a car around here, is really expensive. The fuel is about €1,50/l and the taxes are quite high. Still most people own a car and complain a lot about the costs.

Electricity, gas and water costs depend on the size of your house at first. Calculate for an average house around €150-€200.

Then there are the small expenses, like a phone, internet access, television and radio (cable most of the time). That can add up to €50, but could be more expensive, depending on your needs and usage.

If you add all things up, it could mean about €2000 per month. But, since costs can vary a lot and also depends on the way you spend your money and live your life, it could be more cheap or more expensive.

If you want to stay here permanently, it's worth to pay that sum of money. After some time, you could rent a more cheap house, or maybe you could buy a house (although prices are very, very high here).

Johan 13 Oct 2008, 03:55 - Report
Cost of living

Ik denk dat Johan heel goed zijn huiswerk heeft gedaan en ik kan me daar helemaal bij aansluiten.
Hoewel er voor veel zaken overheidssteun is.
Denk ten eerste aan huursubisidie en zorg toeslagen. Echter om daar voor in aanmerking te komen moet je wel voldoen aan veel zaken.
Maar laat je vooral niet uit het veld slaan, leer Nederland goed kennen en stel je vragen. Je word er alleen maar wijzer van.

Take care !
Jurgen

Jurgen 15 Oct 2008, 03:30 - Report
Cost of living

You will receive E190 for child benefits per child. Also the interest of the mortgage can be taken of the gross income, resulting in paying less tax.

In all, I agree with Johan, it is expensive to live here, do not underestimate that.

Good luck!

Ellen 02 Nov 2008, 10:19 - Report
Cost of living

Come to Poland
Housing €400 1room (36m)/ €1500 3rooms(50m)

Medical and health insurance € 60/75 Highly recommended books € 200
Food & beverage € 340(in mc donald)
Local transport € 46 bus/tram
Other €100 by a week

Total... is newer mind ,because you can't find the job over 500€, you must have a wife or living with you parents ;/

Sebastian 06 Jan 2009, 03:28 - Report
right in nederland goverment if i meeried in guy nederlander

im getting merried soon in nederlander man but i want to know if how they policy if thier wife have a kids in her past,do i get some bebefits in goverment if i merried a nederlandersse?

clara 20 Jul 2009, 10:19 - Report