Anyone know about Utrecht?

[TheresWaldo]

This has been raised as possibility. I know there is an international school and it seems cycling is big thing. But I know nothing else about it. Is it a nice place to live? Expat community etc? Thanks!

[YeOldeTrout]

I spent a whole day walking around there once, does that count? As in hours & hours. I had a work meeting there next day.

Day1: Glorious sun
Day2: Constant rain (it was July !!)

It's safe enough for wandering everywhere tourists, is the part I can attest. I don't speak Dutch but somehow managed. You could tell it was economically diverse & robust.

[eggandonion]

My son was there for a year. Lots of cycling, very safe, no need to speak Dutch as everyone speaks English and won't let you speak Dutch. Supermarkets are not great. The university is excellent!
I was there for two days...lots of unusual shops, cafes, canals, parks, it was pleasant if not exciting- but excellent transport links via Amsterdam and I think easy to travel out of for days away.

[GiantKitten]

It is (I think) the central hub for the wonderful Dutch railway system. The station is massive.

DS2 had a semester there - the autumn one too, when the weather wasn’t the best, but he enjoyed it very much. He made a lot of international friends & has been back twice to meet up with them for the King’s Day celebrations in late April.

I visited 3 times & loved it

[TheresWaldo]

Economically diverse I like the sound of safe and robust. I am getting on a bit so not necessarily looking for excitement. My research to date says it is very switched on for easy access to other Dutch cities.

[lekkerkroketje]

Yes! It's an awesome city. Getting much more international than it used to be and really easy to move to compared to other places. Super expensive to rent, but still just about doable to buy. It's big enough to have most things but small enough to still have a nice atmosphere and is walkable. Unfortunately the tourists are starting to leak out of Amsterdam, but it's still not too bad. It's a super chilled, drink a beer and watch the world go by type of place.

I don't have kids there, but from friends I get the impression that the international school isn't that great academically but has a nice community. It has a large churn from the university so they have to start again with English every year in the lower grades. Maybe that's normal for international primary schools. It's only been set up for a few years. There are loads of bilingual Dutch schools which are probably better long term.