It looks like dh is going to be working in Amsterdam, where should he live?

[bran]

He's got a 3 month contract, which is likely to be longer, possibly over a year.

He will be working in Bijlmer, which apparently is a bit of a shit-hole. Rather than stay in hotels he would like to rent a 2-bed flat so that ds and I could come and visit. We're not worried about schools etc but we would like an area with good public transport links to Bijlmer and the airport, plenty of good restaurants and shops and perhaps access to some interesting things to do with a nearly 4 yr old while dh is at work (although we will mostly be there at the weekend I imagine).

He's looking to pay around ?1,500 a month (which I think is a bit optimistic for a short term let) but could go up higher.

That question mark ought to be a euro sign.

blimey, that's not dublin is it ?

No, it's not even the right direction is it? But Dublin is more of a two or three year plan, so there's plenty of time to get this contract done before we move.

Actually HC, what will be very good about this contract is that I will have to give up work as dh won't be able to do the drop-offs anymore. I think dh thought I would be annoyed about sacrificing my career for his, but I can't wait.

. think of all that marvellous free time during the day. you can come & play with dd & i!

Do you work on Wednesdays? I've started taking ds out at noon on Wednesdays to give him a break as he's finding it very tiring. We could have lunch at Nandos or something if you're around and then go to the Museum of Childhood for an hour or so.

yes, wednesday is one of my work days .

That's a pity HC. I was talking to my Mum about this today and she suggested that I could spend the summer in Dublin if I'm not working. DS is the apple of her eye. She complains that we never spend more than 3 nights there at a time. I really should tell her that it's because her sofa bed is so uncomfortable that more than 3 nights would mean some sort of medical intervention would be necessary.

Bumping in case there's anyone who knows Amsterdam around.

Hi,
Bijlemer is one big housing project surrounded by the Ajax arena and office/industrial estates.
It's ghastly.

The good news is transport is efficient in Amsterdam and there is is an underground line (line 54 stop Bijlemer arena) that runs straight into central station (centre of Amsterdam) in about 20-25 mn maximum.

Along that line The area around the Amstel stop (about 3 or 4 stops) is quite nice but very quiet. It's right on the river. There is a road called Omval with modern buildings with great views of the river, quite popular with brit expats.
(we stayed there first 2 months before we found our flat).
From there trams run into the centre in 10mn

Further along the line I would recommend the area between stops weesperplein and waterlooplein. Very central, very "amsterdam", right on the canals.
The area around Weesperplein might be better value and there are more spacious flats going towards the zoo.
When you reach waterlooplein you are bang in the middle of old historic picturesque canals.

Of course he can also go further west (line 51 I thing) around Amstelwensweg.
That line runs into bijlemer in about same time (20mn)
North of Amstelweensweg stop is Beethovenstraat which runs into the posh neighborhoods of Amsterdam Zuid all the way up to the museums ( a 5/10mn tram journey). More expensive, but no doubt he could find a 2 bed there.
It's leafy and the british school os there so you'd have lots of company in the playgrounds when you visit.

Just remember commuting distances are much shorter and schedules very reliable. So don't restrict yourself. Pick a nice stop. It's just short time. Better make most of it.

Go the expatica.com it's the best ressource for living and working in the Netherlands.

PS: I would suggest you spend the summer in Amsterdam with DH. Lovely time of year to visit. Lots to do and the added bonus of many beaches is 20mn away by train + lots of pretty town to visit in a 200km radius (that takes you to brussels - Paris is 3 hours away by train....)

Slim22 - that is loads of fab info. Thank you. DH has had a quick look, and I'm going to paste onto an email to send to him tomorrow so he can have a look while he's at the office (because I'm sure as hell not going to tell him my MN name so that he look it up on here ). He is going to be sending a colleague out to do the flat hunting for him, but colleage has very good taste and common sense (probably better than dh) so that should work out ok.

I'm almost looking forward to it now.

NEVER give you MN alias!

We only spent 1 year in Amsterdam and really loved it.
DS was only 18 months but I made lots of friends very quickly.
The best spots to meet English speaking expats with toddlers is the playgrounds around Beethovenstraat + Vondelpark + Beatrix park which has a lovely paddling pool in the summer.

The dutch do speak English but unfortunately, it's very difficult to break the ice!

Hope you enjoy.

Why aren't you going since you're giving up your job anyway?

My sister lives in Amsterdam, near Beethovenstraat (mentioned by slim22 below) and it is very nice and family friendly. They have half a house (first two floors plus garden) and pay EUR 4,000 a month in rent for four bedrooms. My sister is very happy with the area/shops/sort of neighbours etc.

Why don't you go out there with your DH?

I'm not going because I don't see the point in pulling ds out of school if the contract does turn out to be just 3 months, his school has a waiting list so we wouldn't get him back in on our return (unless we keep paying the fees while we're away).

Anyway, IME it takes at least 10-12 weeks to get settled into a new country so even if the contract extends a bit longer it's not really worth the effort to move. We are also about to go to panel to be approved as adoptors, so we need to be living in the UK in case a possible match comes up. It would be fairly easy for dh to come back and send a colleague out to Amsterdam at very short notice, but I we all move out it would be much more of a pain.

Apart from anything else we are probably going to move to Dublin in 2-3 years so I don't want to move ds and then move him again just as he's made loads of new friends.

fair enough

Hi Bran, I have an excel sheet with every part of amsterdam on it classified in good or bad place to live. I'm Dutch and me and my husband were thinking about moving to Amsterdam for a while (but now live in Newcastle). My sister who lives in Amsterdam made this file for me, because she knows the city very well. If you want I can email it to you...