As the capital of the Netherlands and the leader of a more liberal lifestyle, Amsterdam needs little introduction. The city is divided into seven districts: Centrum, Oost, West, Nieu-West, Nord, Zuid and Zuid-Oost – all well connected by cycle paths, public transport and even water taxi.
Although not classed as a coastal city, Amsterdam is linked to open water by the long North Sea Canal and the centre itself is reported to have more than 165 ‘grachten’ (canals) that total in excess of 100 kilometres, with around 90 islands and 1,500 bridges.
Plenty of office space and job opportunities
It’s not just tulips from Amsterdam but a wealth of job opportunities, cultural assets and an amiable way of life too, as relocating professionals are discovering. Many will pass through Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport en route to a new role at one of many blue-chip businesses that have a base or headquarters in the city. You’ll find companies including Cisco Systems in Haarlerbergweg, Ikea in Hullenbergweg, Tesla Motors in Burgemeester Stramanweg, Akzo Nobel at Christian Neefestraat, Booking.com BV at Herengracht and Netflix at multiple city sites.
The Zuidas quarter of Amsterdam is known as the ‘Financial Mile’ and is also home to the World Trade Center – a building with 125,000m2 of office space that also houses IN Amsterdam (formerly Expatcenter Amsterdam). Another hotspot for employment is the Piet Hein Buildings office complex in Piet Heinkade, with 27,000sqm of desk space, while the Amstel Business Park is home to notable occupants including LinkedIn and Phillips
One of the most coveted employers, however, is Nike, with its impressive European headquarters in Hilversum, 40 minutes outside of Amsterdam’s city centre. Here over 2,000 employees representing 80 nationalities enjoy a full suite of sports complexes and a heavily-discounted Nike store. We have to mention Adidas as well, as it too has its European headquarters in Amsterdam, in the Atlas Building close to the Bijlmer-ArenA station. Here over 50 nationalities provide skills in the mainly digital, marketing, finance and supply chain sectors.
A vast choice of neighbourhoods and properties
So does the choice of properties match the choice of job opportunities? Prolific in the Amsterdam property market are the terraced townhouses that line the canal paths (many are converted into flats), although there are over 2,500 houseboats for those who prefer to go with the ebb and flow. Professionals can also choose from a number of new apartment buildings in the Nieuw-West district, many of which include access to gyms, swimming pools, concierge services, and parking for the ubiquitous Amsterdam cycles as well as cars.
City neighbourhoods that find favour with relocators include Oud Zuid (genteel), Indische Buurt (cosmopolitan) and Leidseplein (party central), with suburbs such as Amstelveen (home of the Amsterdam International School), Jordaan and De Pijp on the ‘must-move to’ list – especially where the cycle time to the business districts are less than 30 minutes.
As is common in mainland Europe, there is a housing shortage in Amsterdam and many renters get fed up with waiting for a rent-controlled housing association property. They turn to the open rental market for options, which increases competition for relocators. As a result, expect to pay in excess of €1,300 a month for a one-bedroom apartment.
Property rental law is pro-tenant in the Netherlands
A typical tenancy length will be for 12 months – after that, it will switch to a rolling monthly basis with a one-month notice period on either side. As well as helping to agree on the best tenancy agreement for the circumstances, our Amsterdam agents will help you negotiate the tricky area of finding a rental with furnishings.
A rental offered as ‘gestoffeerd’ will come complete with soft furnishings, including carpets and curtains. A note of caution around properties advertised as unfurnished – they will be completely empty but the tenant is usually given permission to redecorate as they wish, as long as the decor is returned to a ‘neutral’ state when the tenancy ends. Relocators looking for a fully-furnished rental home may need expert assistance from Klippa, as these are usually reserved for the holiday let market, rather than the private rented one.
As a final word of advice when relocating Amsterdam, estate agents tend to service-specific neighbourhoods and districts only; therefore you may be shown what’s available in a small, set area. Klippa’s agents will provide more choice and give a broader picture of rental availability, so don’t hesitate to ask for our assistance.
Contact us today for support with relocating to Amsterdam.
