Moving to Netherland from England - Originally from South Africa - Utrecht forum

Moving to Netherland from England - Originally from South Africa

1POSTS

15 years ago

Hi All,

I have an opportunity to work in Utrecht.聽 Obviously the prospect of packing up and moving over is daunting but I am seriously considering it.

I was hoping that someone out there could share their experiences with me.聽 I am married and have a daughter (2 months).

I was born in South Africa and lived there for most of my life.聽 I moved to England in 2003 so I know what it means to move to a different country.聽 Obviously as you get older it would not be as easy to move country so I hope someone could give me some local information about Netherlands (Utrecht).

Healthcare -聽 I understand that there is no NHS equivalent.聽 What does insurance cost for a small family?
Accommodation - Good family area.聽 Where in Utrecht can I find a good 3 bed, with a small garden and good transport links?聽 How much can I expect to pay? Rent, council tax, utilities etc?
Tax - how does taxation work?聽 I am being offered a fixed term contract but I would like to know what the taxes are like.
Childcare and Schools - Any information would be great.聽 We are English speaking although I would not mind it if my daughter speaks Dutch.聽 We have a good grasp of the Dutch language as we speak Afrikaans.

I would appreciate information on the ANY of the above.

Cheers,
Wikus

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Invader_Stu Contributor

101POSTS

15 years ago

I'm afraid I can't answer you specific questions because I don't know the answered but I can tell you that personally I like living in the Netherlands. I've lived here for nine years and although the first few years were a bit difficult at times (just trying to find out how everything worked) I'm very happy to still be living and working here. Of course that is my personal experience and not everyone has the same. Ultimately it's a decision you have to arrive at yourself.

Grafnik New member

4POSTS

15 years ago

Hi Futare,

I don't live in Utrecht so I can't tell you anything about the housing cost but I might be able to help you with other questions.

Healthcare: it would cost you between 100 - 120 eur per persons. Your daughter not cost you anything.

Taxes: We have a progressive taxing system so the more you earn, the more tax you pay. These are the scales:

Yearly income - tax %

0 -> EUR 18.218: 33,4%
18.218 ->聽 32.738: 41,9%
32.738 -> 54.367: 42%
54.367 -> more: 52%

Childcare and school: I don't have any kids so I there's not much I know about it. But if you need to know anything specifially, just tell me and I'll find out.

Good luck!

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stroopwafel New member

4POSTS

15 years ago

I live in utrecht. Im south african. Utrecht is a good place for a family. Amsterdam is a nice place for expats. if you move here you will figure out what i mean. Theres an english pub in Utrecht if that helps.

housing:
If you want to rent a relatively cheap house in holland you have to be on a housing list - waiting time up to 10 years depending on the area you want to live in. Unless your employer is paying your accomodation, excpect to fork out an absolute minimum of 1000 euro on a 3 bedroom house with a garden and most likely EXCLUDING utilities youve lived in the UK so im sure you already know what size bedroom and houses to expect so nothing i can say about that will shock you.

Decent health care will cost around 100 euros.

Grafnik is spot on with the tax thing.

If you already have a kid and stuff im assuming you guys are not like every weekend party people. In that case utrecht is fine. Its acute town, slap bang in middle of the country so its uber convenient. Decnet shops, if you dont live in the city though its kind of boring but if thats what you want then the suburbs of utecht are fine.