Moving to Holland

[palma2016]

I would dearly love to upsticks and move to holland , anyone done it or know of anyone that's done it ? I have a 12 year old and he's keen

Where in the Netherlands would you like to move to?

How good is your Dutch?

How often have you visited?

I've visited a few times , I really like the culture, the friendliness of the people, the food and I think it would be a safer and kinder place to bring our son up . Ideally around Zeewolde would be the area , I know a little Dutch but if it became a serious option I'd really get learning it .

I migrated to the Netherlands almost 10 years ago. I'm not from England but have lived there (South-East but not London) so I'm pretty comfortable comparing.

Rent is a lot cheaper here than SE England, and tenants are well protected. Food is more expensive though. Public transport is only slightly cheaper here but A LOT more efficient. We live just fine without a car, using bikes and public transport for everything.

I'm not sure how you plan to make money but it would be better if you have a sought-after skill or your own business... 'normal' jobs like customer service generally need at least 2 languages (Dutch/English or Dutch/German being most common).

The deciding factor for me would be Brexit. If it goes ahead, I'd move pretty quickly if I were you. The Dutch government have made it clear they're not interested in making things difficult for UK citizens who are already residents prior to Brexit. That means you give your kids a foothold in the EU, and as a non-EU migrant I can't tell you how important that will be in their lifetime.