Moving from London to Amsterdam - any tips?

[LondonAmsterdam]

We're moving to Amsterdam this summer (me, DH and 1 y.o DD). DH is Dutch and has lived there before but I haven't and don't speak Dutch.

Does anyone have advice on mother and baby groups (esp for english speakers?) and where/how to make new friends? Also, DH has found somewhere for us to rent in IJburg area - anyone know this area? Is it as bleak as it looks?

Any other advice also welcome - thanks!

I've just directed This Poster over here.

Hi, We used to live in the east of amsterdam with our the 1 year old Ds. If I'm not mistaken (I've been gone a wee while) The Iburg is the new Island the built in the Ij canal, we used to go for bike rides (with baby attatched as people do in the Nederlands!)over there when it was all being built. Well for someone who was living in a rather old third floor apartment on the the MolukenStraat the Ij apartments looks fantastic, all new and good architecture, very dutch! It is not far from the Oosterpark which is quite a large park with a nice playground which has a cafe attached with some very nice ladies running it....I miss the park/cafe culture over here in New Zealand,(although I must admit that is about all,sorry) especially on those cold dutch winter days, coffee and a play was always nice. There was a very good expat playgroup in the east called playdays: PlayDay, Schollenbrugstraat 10, 0628888965
I don't if still going as the website doesn't seem to be active..I do have contact with an Uk friend who was active in running it so if you have no luck I can contact her to find out what'a happening. I loved Playdays, it had good facilities and I met some very interesting and friendly people there. They also ran courses including first aid which were very good. Hope it helps...good luck

you could also try this site

As far as I know playday is closed now!!!
It was a lifesaver when I moved to Amsterdam 3 years ago. It closed just when I was leaving in the summer 2006. Shame really it was the best place around.

Go to www.expatica.com
It's the best portal for info on living in the netherlands. Lots of practical info and expat forums.I'm sure you'll soon find baby/toddler groups on there.

Coming from London, I found life in Amsterdam lovely. I was living near the british school (Beethovenstraat area south of museumplein) though so the playgrounds were full of expats.
That said, Amsterdam is a small place in the sense that transport is cheap, well organised and quick.
You can catch a tram to pretty much everywhere. So head south to the Vondelpark playgrounds and the Beatrix park paddling pool in the summer or the playgrounds around Beethovenstraat anyday.
You'll soon get over that urge though, Amsterdam is full of interesting places and people.

The little gym is also a popular place with expats and I met a few people there. But might be far for you.

The area where you will be is very hype but very Dutch. However, everybody speaks English and with just a little effort you'll be fluent in no time. I only spent a year there and could understand pretty well but was a bit shy to talk.
DS was 18 months when we arrived and developed some dutch just playing and communicating with the baker/babysitter etc....

The US women's networks are also very active (not my cup of tea) but you will info and support there too.

Enjoy!

Does anyone have any more general advice about moving to the Netherlands? We'd be going to Groningen, where I doubt there's an English language school (and not sure I'd want it, part of the point is for the children to be bilingual and they're very little). Could we expect support for my 5 yo DS at school while he learns the language?

Thank you so much for these tips! A real shame playdays has shut; I really hope I can find something similar. And good to hear I might actually pick up some Dutch! I want to do classes over there but haven't done any research into that yet as planning on finding my feet first.

Oh I see now that there was a previous post on this topic (I did a search for "amsterdam" and I didn't spot it, honest). Sorry!

My dh is living in Amsterdam at the moment, and ds and I are going out to visit quite a bit.

I found this book very useful, although your dh will probably already know a lot of the information like how the health service works etc. There were quite a few groups listed in it (unfortunately the book is in Amsterdam and I'm in London otherwise I'd look it up for you) including an international group of people married to a Dutch person.

I haven't bothered networking because dh is only there for a short time but when I was in Berlin with him I joined quite a few different groups (like the American Women in Berlin etc) and attended a few events until I had made a few contacts with people that I got on with. Then I gradually went to fewer events and spent more time with the people I'd made friends with. Most of the other people joining these are looking for new friends too so it's much easier and quicker than trying to form friendships where everyone else has known each other forever.

Agree with Bran re joining groups - I met some lovely friends by doing the same thing!

There is an organisation aimed at helping expats living in Holland called Access - they have offices in The Hague and Amsterdam - and also run various courses etc. Not sure about the Amsterdam office but know the one in The Hague has lots of info about local groups/activities including various mother and toddler groups. The website is: www.access-nl.org/

Think the Baby Centre UK website has a special message board called Living in Holland (or similar) which also may help you?
Another website which may be worth a look is AngloInfo.com which has a Holland/Amsterdam site.

Hope some of this helps - Holland isn't that bad a place to live - I still have bad 'Dutch Days' when I long for a decent supermarket or trip to Next but on the whole its ok - and at least being in Amsterdam means there will plenty of other expats to meet! Good Luck

It's been a few years since we lived in Amsterdam but then we were there we joined a playgroup called De Robbeburg which ran sessions in various languages and it was a godsend! They were in Amstelveen then but have now moved into Amsterdam and from googling it still seems to be active. The website is robbeburg.com (sorry, too lazy to do the link). I also found the American Womens Club good for toddler groups and generally making friends although there is also a British Club which was a bit more "normal". The American women were all lovely but mostly very elegant, living in large expat houses and with help coming out their ears so maybe not quite what you want! You need to have some kind of US connection to join but it can be fairly tenuous - I got in on the basis of having lived in the US for a year.

Hi, I live in Amsterdam (I am English and have been here for 4 years). I have two kids, a boy 21 months and a girl of 3 months. We have just joined the International PlayGroup here, it's great and a wonderful way to meet people. The site link is below.
www.robbeburg.com/

Amsterdam is a great city to bring up kids.

Hi
Well we're now begining to get settled in IJburg so I thought I'd add an update for anyone else searching for baby activities in Amsterdam:

• there are a few "speel-o-theek"s around which are for borrowing toys but the one I go to also operates as a brilliant playgroup - you pay 10.50 per year. Check out www.ijsterk.nl - click on the relevant area of Amsterdam then the dropdown labelled "kinderen" and look for speel-o-theek.
• The same website, www.ijsterk.nl has details of loads of other kid's activities too. I'm hoping to join "minipins" which is a morning session once a week for 1.5 - 2.5 yrs at De Boomsspijker, Recht Boomssloot 52, 1011 EC Amsterdam.
• a friend is setting up a play session on Wednesday mornings 9.30-12 at Christ Church, Groenburgwal 42, 1011HW. Hopefully it will be really sucessful so please come!
• The English Bookshop has story and play sessions - see shop.englishbookshop.nl/
• Waterstones has a play session on upstairs on Wednesday at 3pm
• Tunfun is an indoor play area for a wide range of ages (and also has a baby section). It's quite pricey but you can buy a book of 10 tickets for a reduced price - see www.tunfun.nl/
• Various swimming pools have classes and baby sessions
• a couple of people have mentioned www.robbeburg.com/ but it's a bit far for me so I haven't been
• the only place in Amsterdam I've found so far with proper baby swings is the large playground behind the Melkhuisje cafe in Vondelpark (if you know anywhere else let me know!)
• there are some nice city farms around which are free like the one in Westerpark and another with cute, strokable rabbits at Bickersgracht on Bickers Eiland

Things change, so feel free to contact me if you want more info. I really hope this helps!

Hello everyone!
I'm American, married to a Dutchie, and have raised two boys, now 9 and 11 in Holland. I run a yoga center in Amsterdam called The Yoga Community and offer many Mama and Baby yoga courses (in English)....here's info about the upcoming one in June:

Mama & Baby Yoga Course
The Yoga Community
Voetboogstraat 11

Tuesdays in June
11.00 - noon, starting June 1st
€60 for 5 classes
taught by Susan Nicolas

For mamas with pre-walking babies - about 2 months to 1 year old
Maximum 10, minimum 5 mamas

Focus is mostly on postures that tone and relax mom, though variations are offered to practice together with baby as well, depending on what feels right in the moment. Working with individual needs, circumstances, and abilities, we create a relaxed bond and flow within ourselves and with our babies.

We hope you and your wee one will join us!

The Yoga Community
Susan Nicolas, facilitator
[email protected]
amsterdam.yoga108.org
Phone: 06 517 646 21