Living in the Netherlands: Bussum or Hilversum?

[irishmumonthemove]

Hello,

I have recently posted about education in NL and have that question pretty much sorted in my head. Now on to where to live. We want to live outside Amsterdam, close enough but not a suburb and are looking at the above two towns. I have spoken to schools in both that have places for my 3 children and we could get a rental house in both too. I will be visiting NL soon but would love some opinions from anyone who has/is living there. Both are excellent regarding public transport. Hilversum is a lot bigger- is this a plus or minus? Are there areas to avoid? Where's better for family life while still offering culture, sports, cafes, restaurants, parks, nature etc? Any thoughts welcome.

Baroness do you think Irish Mum is ready to learn that the stairs will only be slightly less steep than an upright ladder - or do you think we should leave that bit till later? :)

Baroness our windows are double glazed as are most of our neighbours whose houses were bult in the early 1900's.

Yes the stairs are steep.

I did say may not be double-glazed; some are, some aren't. In the case of our house, and neighbours, downstairs is double-glazed (although not the full-length glass front door ), but upstairs is only single glazed because we've got aluminium shutters instead.

The plus side is, our stairs aren't too bad. No, scrap that - I'm just used to them!

Irish, how's the house hunting going? Are you still looking at Hilversum?

Hi, yes we have our eye on one but viewings don't start till beginning of june. It's near the house that Natation posted about before. My hubby viewed that first one and liked it except for ...you've guessed it - the kitchen. He said it's actually smaller than it looks in the photo, literally one person can stand at the sink, alone, doing the dishes, as no room for a second body.

So, scratching that and looking at a slightly bigger house with a nice smallish kitchen and hoping we will get it. Have places for a school close by so fingers crossed. But we will keep looking for a 3/4 bed house as no guarantee we will secure that one. DH really liked the area, leafy area, nice park there called Oude Haven I think and cafes and restaurants around too so happy about that feedback. Wasn't it you Pinkiemum who said you liked that area? It's called Scrieberquartier or similar.

Just checked spelling- that should be Schrijverskwartier!

Irish, yes I do like that part of Hilversum, it is very nice, If there is anything I can do to help you please ask. Now my daughter has started school I am leaning much more about Hilversum and its surrounding area.

Irish, have you completed your move now? We just relocated from the UK to Hilversum last week and are busy hunting down playgrounds and the like. Kids are loving it so far, though that may have more to do with the weather than anything else...

Hi MajaM and everyone else who responded to me on this thread. Time for an update!
We moved to Amsterdam in the end...3 weeks ago now. It was quite a dance trying to decide where to live, Hilversum, Bussum, Utrecht, small villages, the whole job lot and we eventually went for Amsterdam. Despite being really on for for moving abroad I was blindsided by how difficult it was to leave Ireland and our families, friends and lovely neighbours. That last week was very heart-rending saying goodbye and so the first week here I was sad and lonely and conflicted. But no longer! I like Amsterdam a lot. It helps hugely that my kids are very happy. They have made friends with the kids on our street and are out playing all day, especially this last week, kids back from their holidays are calling for them, table tennis, sand pit and slide are right out side at the end of our cul de sac, bike rides around the block, football in the park across the street. So they are loving it here so far and Dutch kids are really friendly. Our children are very sociable too so it's working out very well so far. But of course, their local Dutch school starts next week and it will be a whole new ball game for them. I am ( more than ) a little nervous for them as they have no Dutch whatsoever but we will organise private tutors or language classes for them in September.
Our neighbours are very nice and we have met about half on our street of 16 houses. They are keen to emphasise that if we need any help or information that we shouldn't hesitate to ask. We were over to next door for drinks last night so really couldn't ask for more. After a shakey start, it's looking good. Amsterdam is great, we have a tram at the end of our street that goes through the centre of town in 15 mins and the museums are fab. Still so much to explore.
Thanks again to everyone who helped on my two threads, especially Mrs. Gypsy here in Amsterdam and Natation with the school maps and to everyone who contributed with all the stories about quirky life in the Netherlands. It really helped get our heads around visualising a country. And for the record, our kitchen is indeed small but an original 1960's Brunyzeel and very appealing with it's oak/stainless steel/painted grey panels and the open plan living room/kitchen perfectly suits our taste with wooden floors and white walls so we are happy out! The only blip are the separate tiny toilets where one is lucky to still have a nose intact after sitting down! But apart from that so far so good.

Just to add: MajaM the parks are great here too and if you are ever up this way do give me a shout and we can meet up for a playground/park visit. I hope you settle in well in Hilversum. I would be interested to hear how you are doing.

Glad to hear you're enjoying Adam irishmum*. How are the kids getting on at school?

Hi Engelsmama, the kids are doing very well overall and are settling in well in school thanks. My 9 year old is a talkative fella and has made friends in his class and been invited to their houses 4-5 times. He is picking up Dutch and last week half translated for me automatically when i asked his friend to visit us. " Would yai like to come to mijn huis to spelen?" I was impressed and his pal understood. He is very content there and loves going in. I am obviously spelling Dutch wrong here but that's what it sounds like to me!

My younger boy, just turned 8 is a quieter, watchful soul and none of his class speak English. He is the eldest by 4 months. He is happy to go in each morning and never says I don't want to go but he does love his two half-days and kicks back playing lego and his DS. He is picking Dutch up too but is not inclined to speak it when out and about whereas my 9 year old will say, "Ik ben ...Ik spreken Engels" like at their first day at Scouts today. So, it's a positive move so far. They miss their Irish friends but not in a way that hampers their enjoyment of here. Conversely, my younger boy is more sociable on the street and gets on with everyone. The 9 year old is a bit more circumspect and is is in competition with a couple of the Dutch kids when they play football!

They will both start free Taalklas ( Dutch lessons ) twice a week for two mornings after mid-term break which will really help them take off. Their teachers are really nice also so all good so far.

PS. Taalklas will be during the week instead of normal school. I drop them there at 8.30am and then a bus will drop them to school at 11.30am.

Hi Irish Mom, I enjoyed reading all the posts and it gave me loads of useful info - thanks! We will need to make similar decisions soon, since we might be moving from South Africa to Amsterdam. My husband will be working in Amsterdam and we also thought of living in Hilversum. Do you mind me asking, why did you eventually decide to move to Amsterdam instead? And where in Amsterdam do you live? I am trying to get a better understanding of the areas in Amsterdam in order to weigh up the pro's and con's between Amsterdam and Hilversum. I have a 6 year old daughter and would like to live in a family-friendly neighborhood. She also does not speak any Dutch, but I would prefer putting her in a Dutch school - hoping there will be some sort of support until she learns the language. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Hilversum schools
batchgeo.com/map/50bcea5ebe06636a230f168e40fc80be

Here is a link to Amstelveen schools
www.amstelveen.nl/web/Leren-en-Werken/Onderwijs-en-huisvesting/Basisonderwijs-Amstelveen.htm

Hi Karinda. I've just seen your message and am running out the door but promise I will respond later today.

Hi. We chose amsterdam for a number of reasons.

We were making a move for a lifestyle reason-we could have stayed in Ireland but really wanted to love in another European city before our kids got too settled with friends, school to move. So, that is why we chose Amsterdam over anywhere else because we wanted to live in a capital city to maximise our opportunities to access music, cultural activities, kid's stuff etc.
We live in Amsterdam Zuid ( South ), a city suburb/neighbourhood with fantastic tram and metro transport to city centre, ( 15 mins ) and lots of parks like Amstelpark and Amsterdamse Bos around us as well as polder/parks behind our house. So, its a great area, close to the centre, good shopping centre ( hardly go there, always go into the city ), schools good but there are lots of other great, family friendly areas too. A little south of Amsterdam Zuid is Amstelveen - Marchmad referred to it's schools above. It's a ' city ' adjacent to Amsterdam, effectively a huge suburb. It's an affluent place, very residential, family friendly and leafy with very good schools ( my kids go to school there ), very good transport to the city centre too, just longer. ( 25-30 mins). There are lots of expats there and middle-class Dutch who like more space around them and bigger ( relatively speaking ) houses. Plenty of South Africans too. Where to live for you? It completely depends on your budget and what kind of life you envisage. Living right in the city you will be part of the buzz of a special city and get a nice apartment for the same money as a house in the 'burbs or an outer neighbourhood like where I am.
Are you on Facebook? There are a few really helpful mamas groups in Amsterdam and Amstelveen where you will get loads of info and advice. If you join now and ask questions you will get lots of help. We moved to Zuid instead of Amstelveen because we wanted to be within striking distance of the city centre whereas in Amstelveen, I coudn't envisage going in so easily as it takes longer, that's all. Lots of expats also live in Oud Zuid, a lovely city area with very high rents, beautiful streets and shops, cafes, etc and also lots of expats in Oud West. School places are much more difficult to access in the city but not impossible, probably easier for a 6 year old. She will be fine starting with no Dutch, a friend's daughter started at xmas aged 6, no dutch at all, only Spanish and she is doing fine, picking it up and happy in school. Same for my older kids. No homework till age 11/12 generally in schools here. To sum up, Amsterdam won for me because it's a very international city with lots of expats so I reckoned I would make friends, meet people more easily here than Hilversum and so it has worked out. PM me with more specific questions whenever you like.

Should read ' live ' in another european city! Though it's apt as we do love Amsterdam.

Hi Irishmum,
Great reading all your threads. We're moving from Dubai to Holland in July. We're having a tough time regarding schools. Some regions (Amstelveen) are postcode dependent. How did you go about this? Did you first find your house and then school? Can I ask, which school are your children going to? We are looking at the Europa School, will know more end of May whether there is space. I heard it has a huge waiting list but trying to call them a lot :)

Which school did you choose and why?
They told us at one school in Amstelveen we can forget it until we have a postcode. A contact of mine said it wasn't postcode related. Getting a bit confused ;)

At the moment my 6 year old son is in the British School here but would like to place him in a Dutch school with some English too. I am half Dutch but never lived in Holland and basic knowledge of the language.

Thank you for getting back to me.
Saskia

Hi Saskia, I'm thinking back to how we got a school place ( seems like so long ago ). I rang schools to enquire as to possibility of places. Those that did, my husband visited and spoke to the Directors. We picked our house first, deciding on a location we liked and could afford, while at the same time checking out and contacting surrounding schools. The schools are not post code related in Amstelveen but you may not be of interest to the school until you are in the country, actually visiting them, showing your committment and they are not wasting their time with you. I am guessing that's what the school meant, that you can forget it until you have an address. We didn't have an actual address at the time the school agreed to give us places. But we did say where we were hoping to get a house and mentioned the area and that we were viewing houses there. So, maybe mentioning a bit of detail might help your case.
Send me a PM and I will tell you my kid's school name. It's a great school and we are very happy with it. There is no English language instruction at all until Group 7 however. Some schools start at Group 3. I will also give you two Facebook mothers groups if you want where you will get great help/ tips for moving/ living in Amsterdam and Amstelveen.
I don't know anything about the Europa school but have you heard of AICS? It's an International school, subsidized so fees approx 5 k a year and Dutch lessons twice a week. I know people with kids there and they love it. Going the Dutch schools route though is highly recommended by me. Your daughter will be bilingual in 2 years or so which is a huge bonus plus schooling is free and high quality.
Visit a few schools that have a place and then decide which to go for. There are Religious schools ( minimal exposure to religion but lovely traditions ) and Vrije ( Waldorf ) and Openbarre schools. If you look for another thread of mine, Natation gave great links to schools in Amstelveen.

Hi Irishmum, I sent you a personal message via message poster. I hope you got it. Thanks, Saskia

hello ladies, great to hear that you are having such a positive time in Holland. I am moving in September to be with my partner who is dutch with what will be a very small baby, Im really scared about not knowing anyone and my language skills being terrible, have you any advice or tips? Im trying to make sure, as much as I can, that I wont feel too isolated! !

any info gratefully received!

Hello Hazeydays. Don't worry too much about your language skills. Most Dutch speak very good English and are keen to practice it. Where are you moving to?

Hi Irish mum, I am Dutch but have been living abroad (Uk, Italy, switzerland) for almost a decade. This summer we are moving back to the Netherlands. My husband's work is in Amsterdam. We ended up renting a house in Naarden (attached to Bussum). My two children will go to a Dutch school for the first time in their lives.... Anyway, I think Bussum/Naarden together are not much smaller then Hilversum, but Bussum/Naarden is a lot closer to Amsterdam, so will make for an easier commute. We rented a house through Funda. Do you have a relocation firm helping you with the housing? If so, they should hopefully be aware that since the housing market hit rock bottom in the Netherlands, a lot of the houses that are up for sale are also available as rental properties.
I wish you the best of luck and if you ever need any help, or are in need of a friendly face, contact me. I'll be in Naarden as of mid July.

Hi ladies,
We decide to settle down in The Netherlands at the end of this year.
I am Bulgarian with South African husband, my twin daughters are 5 years old .We live in Cyprus since 2010.I am doing many researches trough the www and probably we'll rent apartment around Amsterdam,
like Almere or Hilversum .I do not speak Dutch, but I am trying to learn the basic.
The thing is that I am not familiar with the neighbourhoods at this towns.
I've got a really bad experience living in a multy-cultural area in Johannesburg.
Any information please.
Thank you