Best Amsterdam Expat Areas

As with any city, in which area you live, is essential for enjoying Amsterdam. Six 'expat' areas can be identified. All of them are close to the centre and train stations, allowing you to enjoy the city and its surroundings at best. Each of them has its own feel, so find out which matches your preferred lifestyle best.

                         

                         

                         

Quality of Life in Amsterdam

 Amsterdam Quality of Life Survey (2011)

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best expat amsterdam websites

Expatriate: Latin for (ex) out of (patria) country. Here is a listing of websites that can help you prior, during and after your relocation to another patria.

Expatica - number 1 expat information website
Expatica provides daily news, expat forums, features and practical information on expat life in The Netherlands. There is so much information, it is easy to get lost. Here is a selection of the best pages: Moving to the Netherlands, Lifestyle, Housing, Health & Fitness, and Employment.

Amsterdam Tips - for newly arrived expats in Amsterdam.

DutchNews - Dutch news in English,

including: what's on, opinion columns and features

Expat Women - for expat women in The Netherlands

Babyccino Kids - for mummies in Amsterdam (London, New York and Paris)

Docklands

History
Mid 19th century, Amsterdam’s harbour was in need of expansion to accommodate to the growing number of big passenger and cargo ships heading for the former Dutch East and West Indies, the Americas and Africa. In 1874, the harbour was enlarged the building of the Eastern Docklands consisting of seven artificial peninsulas. The picture depicts houses on the Scheepstimmermanstraat, Borneo island.

After the Second World War the decay of the Eastern Docklands started. Passengers traveled by airlines rather than on ships. General mixed cargo was replaced by container and bulk transport. The new port moved to the area west of Amsterdam. For some years Eastern Docklands became an area for artists, squatters and city nomads, living in old buses, caravans, tents, huts and dens.

In the 90s the KNSM- and Java peninsulas were fully redeveloped with modern up market housing. Typical Amsterdam elements, such as house fronts and canals, are recognizable in the futuristic architecture and urban design of the islands.

In this article we refer to the islands most popular amongst expatriates: Sporenburg and Borneo island (mostly low rise buildings), Java island and KNSM island.

Ambiance
The small yachts and house boats on the canals, and the futuristic architecture make the look and feel of the islands unique. The ambiance is suburbian. People live a settled live in the modern houses on the islands, yet apart from sleeping (and working from home) the inhabitants cross the bridge to meet friends and have fun. The picture depicts a street running from north to south on the Java island. You can recognize the old Amsterdam waterway imitation.

Who live on the islands?

• Entrepreneurs, highly educated and well-paid employees, and creative people.
• Single people and couples without children (76%)
• Families with young children (18%)

KNSM is ideal for:

• Expats placing high value on comfortable, modern housing

• Expats enjoying a view over ‘t IJ and being able to look farther than 25 m.

• Expats without a car; parking is limited. However, you can park your boat in front of your house.

Dockland Life
Most inhabitants live on the island yet spend their leisure (and work) time in the city centre which is at 5-10 mins biking distance. The ambiance is less lively than elsewhere in Amsterdam. The is no lively ‘island centre’, yet supermarkets are found at a maximum of 5 minutes’ biking.

Housing
Modern, well-constructed and futuristic design. Many ‘canal houses’ allow you to park the boat right in front of your house. These houses also have back garden. Mostly on KNSM island and on the edges of the Java island you find high rise buildings, as depicted on the right.

Good to Know

• The Scheepstimmermanstraat (Borneo island, see top picture) is unique street where each home owner could have build the house of his dream with a self selected architect.
  
• Borneo and Sporenburg have got the most beautiful and large modern canal houses, each with their own design, private dock and canal view.
• The feel of Java island is more unique and styling than that of KNSM.

View on the Sumatrakade, Java island

Amsterdam Expat Areas weergeven op een grotere kaart

Canal Girlde

History
The Amsterdam canals are quite literally the trademark of the city. The canals allowed Amsterdam to flourish as a major traders’ hub since the Middle ages. The three main canals, Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form a concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel (canal girdle). For hygienic reasons and to obtain more space, many canals have been filled up in the last century. The canal girdle is still well in tact and is nominated for the Unesco World heritage list.

Ambiance
The grand canal houses, canals, boats and full grown trees create a distinguished setting. The Dutch down-to-earth way of life is immediately recognizable in the business men on bikes, Porsches parked next to a rusty Volkswagens, tourists walking strolling around and a delivery man blocking the road holding up all traffic. In other words, the view of the canals are stunning, outside on the streets lots is going on and everyone does his own business.

Who live on the canals?
Everyone who can afford a place of his likings live on the canals. This includes the wealthy with private parking garages and gardens, students renting a shabby back room, the lucky who bought a floor two decades ago, companies who need a representative location and expatriates with a good housing allowance.

Canal is ideal for:

• Expatriates who prefer to experience the unique Amsterdam feel and city centre ambiance over space and tranquility.

• Expatriates who are comfortable getting around by bike, moped, public transport; though some houses have a private garage, getting to your house is time costly (delivery vans block the road, many one way/no entry streets and poor road structure).

Canal Life
Life on the canals is life in any city centre. Although, Amsterdam is often referred to as a ‘global village’, as the feel is international, yet the way of life is more relaxed and intimate than in, say, New York or Hong Kong. Additionally, the city is rather small so you often bump into people you know and everything is nearby (read: at a bike ride’s distance). The centre offers everything one would expect from a city: bars, tourists, museums, shops and good tram network. And more: canals where you can ride your boat, terraces where you can enjoy a koffie en appelgebak and the feel of living in an outdoor museum.

Housing
Generally speaking, the buildings in the city centre are old. This has its charms, such as beautiful ceiling decoration and en-suite rooms, yet also its downsides: poor isolation and drainage, skew floors and walls, and mice. Some buildings have been fully refurbished, have a lift and underground parking garage.

Good to Know

• The Oudezijdsevoorburg Wallen, the canals on the east side of the Damrak (main street in the middle of the girdle), form the infamous Red Light District.

• The ambiance east of the Kloveniersburgwal life is tranquil. In the slideshow below there is a picture of the Boomsloot, a canal east of the Kloveniersburgwal.
  

• The area around the Artis is known as the Plantage area. After intense renovation and ‘image rebuilding’ in the 70s, the area is very green, tranquil and charming.

• The Brouwersgracht was voted the most beautiful street in Amsterdam by readers of Het Parool, a local daily newspaper.

Amsterdam Expat Areas weergeven op een grotere kaart

Life in Oud Zuid

The filthiness, noisiness and busyness of the canal girdle, lead to the building of a villa park south of the centre in the 19th century. The ‘tranquil oasis of luxury and wealth ’ included the building of a National Museum (the Rijksmuseum), a dignified Concert Building and a large park, which became the Vondelpark.

Oud Zuid generally refers to the nearby area east of the Vondelpark, though officially it runs up to the banks of the river Amstel. The area is marked in light blue on the map below.

Ambiance
The area offers the tranquility of a small village, yet is near to Leidseplein and the bustling city centre. Each neighbourhood within Old South offer all the convenience one needs to get by; there are many deli’s and specialty stores, so you never have to go far to get hand-made pralines or a beautiful Bordeaux. As a result, you often tun into the same people, heightening the sense of living in a village.

The area is child friendly, so there is a high density of BugaBoo’s (modern Dutch pram) and bakfietsen (cargo bike to transport children).

Who live in Oud Zuid?
Old South is still the home of Amsterdam’s most wealthy inhabitants. The chic boutiques, restaurants and park attract those who long for comfort and convenience.

Old South is ideal for:

• Expats who have been there, done that.
• Expat families.
• Commuters; parking is less of a problem then elsewhere, and the A10 is close.
• Those who want more comfort than the city centre can offer

Oud Zuid Life
Oud Zuid caters for people who want and can afford quality and enjoy lunches is hip venues. You can find delicious, juicy and biological strawberries in the veggie stores here, even in the middle of the winter. Delicious delicacies, hams and cheeses - everything great of taste, and with a price tag...

Housing
Oud Zuid is one of the most expensive areas in Amsterdam with prices of E5000-6000 per square meter. That the houses were build for the wealthy only a century ago is recognizable in the construction of the housing: the typical family houses are well-built, pretty wide (6-8 meters) and the stairs are generally wider and less steep as the ones found in the Jordaan and De Pijp.

Good to Know

• Amstelveensweg becomes home to an increasing amount of good restaurants
• The A. Cuypmarket is quite nearby and is a good alternative for quality & cheap food shopping.
• The David Lloyd and Fitness First (women only) are the gyms frequented by the people of Oud Zuid. Both gyms are on the Overtoom.
• The Vondeltuin’s sand pit is the hotspot of Oud Zuid babies, toddlers and parents.

Amsterdam Expat Areas weergeven op een grotere kaart

Life in Oud West

Oud West was build for the growing worker’s population of Amsterdam at the end of the 19th century. Houses were build cheaply and densely; according to the municipality, Oud West has the highest density of inhabitants in Amsterdam. The area was not a particularly beautiful or pleasant area to live. However in the past 2 decades, the municipality has worked hard on brushing up the area’s image and living conditions. Currently, Old West has obtained the nickname ‘Gold West’, referring to the fact that an increasing amount of well-off people are making home here.

Ambiance
With over 150 different nationalities amongst its inhabitants, Oud West is a hotchpotch of people. Add to this the rise of more wealthy people, you can really speak of a very diverse area of Amsterdam.

Who live in Oud West?
Oud West offers a healthy quality-price ratio. The proximity to the Vondelpark, the increasing number of quality stores and welcoming bars form an ideal home for:

• Single (income) expats.
• People wanting more space for their money than what they would get in Oud Zuid.
• Those without a car, as parking spots are scarce.
  

Housing
To update the image of Oud West, many houses have been re-build, which was very necessary. Most houses are 1-bed room apartments. House prices are typically between E4.000 and E5.000 per square meter.

Oud West Life
As the nickname Gold West suggests the area is increasing its net value. An increasing number of quality niche stores (eg styling shoes and biological supermarket) are settling on the Overtoom and Kinkerstraat. The neighbourhood is close to the centre and Vondelpark; yet do not have Oud-Zuid prices. The Ten Kate markt, just of the Kinkerstraat, is small, 'gezellig' and has got good deals.

Good to Know

• The Overtoom is home to a growing number of fun bars and eateries.
• The Marqt is a modern, all biological supermarket.
  
• Avoid driving down the Overtoom during peak hours.
• The Ten Kate market is open 6 days a week, from 9am-6pm.
  

Amsterdam Expat Areas weergeven op een grotere kaart

Life in the Jordaan

The Jordaan was build to house the working class and city immigrants in the 17th century. As lively as the area was, living conditions most have been tough. After the World War II, the area was in bad shape and the municipality initiated a modernisation. Now, the Jordaan with its Bohemian ambiance, is a popular area of Amsterdam.

The Jordaan is marked with orange on the map below.

Ambiance
Bohemian and out-going, that’s what the Jordaan is. Inhabitants from all over town enjoy a drink at the Jordanese bars and terraces. Tourists increasingly discover the Jordaan, but the area still feels like a ‘locals’ hub’.

Who live in the Jordaan?
The people living in the Jordaan are lively, free-spirited and young at heart. It is popular amongst artists and students (lucky enough to find a room), young professionals, yuppies, and expats.

The Jordaan is ideal for:

• Expats wanting to enjoy like a local Amsterdammer
• Expats who get around by (old) bike, moped and public transport
• True city people; not for the conservative, couch potatoes and car owners.

Housing
Houses are small with narrow steep stair cases. On the other hand, they have a unique Amsterdam feel, full of nostalgia and ambiance. Prices are about E4.500-E5.500 per square meter.

Life
The many different boutiques, bars and terraces lure you out of your house. The Jordaan truly is not an area for the poor anymore; small specialty food stores and chic deli’s are abundant.

Best Bars & Shops of the Jordaan
Best Restaurants in the Jordaan

Good to Know

• On Saturday’s the farmers market on the Noordermarkt has got great fruit & veggie deals, and offer beautiful products too.
• The Haarlemmerstraat has got numerous specialty shops.
• The Brouwersgracht is the most photographed canal / street of Amsterdam.
• No tram- and buslines run through the Jordaan. Around this small neighbourhood there are ample public transport stops.

P§ weergeven op een grotere kaart

Life in De Pijp

History
Mid 19th century more housing was needed to accommodate to the sudden “population growth explosion”. De Pijp, the pipe, refers to notion that when you took a bird’s view at the area at 8am (in the 1900s), you would see streams of people walking through the streets to work, like smoke coming out of factory pipes’. After the modernization, De Pijp is a popular area with lots of bars, food stalls and restaurants.

De Pijp is highlighted with light orange on the map below.

Ambiance
De Pijp attracts everyone from around Amsterdam and beyond. The multicultural vibe add to this the mix of students, ‘hippies’, young professionals, restaurant and bar-lovers, make the De Pijp very lively and ‘real’.

Who live in De Pijp?
De Pijp is characterized by its multicultural and mixed inhabitants. The area is home to large numbers of immigrants, students, yuppies and young professionals.

De Pijp is ideal for:

• Young-at-heart expats.
• Expat families who are mobile by bike.
• People without a car.
  

De Pijp Life
The A. Cuypmarket, which is open 6 days a week, allows you to buy quality food, fresh fish, flowers and personal products at great prices. Also the many cheap food stalls and outlet stores make life in Amsterdam less costly in this area. Enjoy the Sarphatipark or have a drink at one of the many bars.

Housing
Housing in De Pijp has gone up due to the popularity of the area. Currently, house prices are between E4.000 and E5.000 per square meter. Historically speaking, the quality of the buildings are not the best. In the mean time, many houses have been rebuild with better materials. Nevertheless, typically the houses are not very spacious, have steep narrow stair cases and have no balconies or roof top terrace.

Good to Know

• The Sarphatipark is ideal for a picnic and boasts children’s play facilities.
• The M. Heinekenplein has bars with terraces on the square; it gets very ‘gezellig’ here in the summer.
• A stop is planned on the Ceintuurbaan of the new ‘North-South [metro] Line’, which is planned to be in use as of 2017. Until then, construction work is going on on the F. Bolstraat.

Amsterdam Expat Areas weergeven op een grotere kaart