Netherlands or Germany - which is better for family life and work opportunities?

[Solnichna]

I recently posted about finding it difficult to settle back into the UK and it has got me revisiting ideas DH and I have had about possibly moving to the Netherlands or Germany. Would love to hear from those of you who know more about these countries (or anywhere in Europe we are overlooking).

We would love to live somewhere that allows us to get some of our lifestyle back that we lost when coming back to the UK - outdoor living, easy and safe outside with kids, cycling, family friendly, good international mix of people, using public transport instead of a car...

DH is a teacher and the main earner so he would lead the move and hopefully DCs could go either to his school or a local school, so we would have options. DD is due to start next September in the UK though. What about in the Netherlands or Germany? Does anyone know if it would be realistic to live modestly on a teacher's wage for us with 2 DCs? We are not big spenders, and only just managing in the UK.

Crucial to our move would be the potential for me to (eventually) work part-time (depending on school / childcare). I speak some languages and would learn Dutch if we moved there. One of the reasons we considered these countries was because we thought that the cities would have plenty of international companies and schools, so there could be admin type work available. (Would most love something in a small company or university department if realistic?!) Is this a reasonable assumption? I have specific qualifications, but would rather not out myself on here.

I'd love to hear back from others on here. It's so hard to get the full picture. This was all so easy pre-kids!!!

[homeaway]

The UK state pension is very low compared to a lot of places. I don't know what the situation is for sure but I know what I was told,, so, in my view it would be something to check out . Germany is lovely btw , but as others have said it can be expensive. .

[ReloKayShon]

Earlier this year, I was considering a job in Hilversum which is about an hour outside of Amsterdam - for the big sports company that's out there. It looked like a lovely area for families, really international with good local and private international schools. There seemed to be plenty to do in the surrounding areas and overall I think we would've had a nice life there. Housing was expensive but there was a tax break (30% ruling??) for expats that would've offset some of that.

Currently we're considering the French-speaking part of Switzerland. This actually ticks a few more boxes than the Netherlands for us... I speak a bit of French and think that longer term French would be a more 'useful' language rather than Dutch and being a multilingual country there's obviously the other languages there too. The outdoor activities, climate and travel opportunities are more appealing in that part of Switzerland, than the Netherlands. Cost of living will be high, but salaries and low taxes should hopefully compensate for that.

We will also be on just the one salary - mine. DH will be a SAHD, certainly for the first few years whilst we settle anyway. Our children would be 4 and 1 if/when we move.

There is a thread on here somewhere about "will my children have a better life in the UK or Germany" and there are lots of negative things about the German education system on there. We would consider Germany too, but probably only really Munich and around there. And that again would be for the lifestyle, climate and more international flavour.

[ReloKayShon]

Here's the thread I meant

[MmeLindor]

homeaway
yes, the UK benefit system is totally crap in comparison to many other countries. Not only pensions, but unemployment benefit and child benefit are much higher in Germany. DH was shocked when we moved to UK.

[guardian123]

I suggest you have a look at community.tes.com/forums/teaching-overseas.64/

It is better to go further. South east asia has become the most popular choice for UK teachers due to its much lower living expenses (low rent and low food price), higher salary (better than UK) and possible free school places for your kids.

[vixta88]

I live in the Hague and we live on one teacher salary - and not even the high salary that BSN pays! I gave birth to both my children here in the Hague and life is good here for families. We have great parks, playgrounds and the beach near us. We cycle everywhere! There are great indoor places for kids as well such as - indoor/soft play, trampoline places, museums. There are also organised activities like Little Gym and Play Ball. I would highly recommend life in the Hague for families. Also everyone speaks English which will make transition easy.