# Young family moving to Eindhoven



## scarton (Apr 15, 2013)

My husband is entertaining the idea of studying in Eindhoven for the next 4 years. I'm being the super supportive wife and am getting really excited about it but want to make sure this is something we can really do, financially, socially, mentally.

We currently live in Minneapolis, Minnesota and own a house here. My husband has a car to get to school but I have a cargo bike to go to the store/take my son to kindergarten, etc. One of the pros in our book is that we can be car free since the bike infrastructure is well established there and things aren't as spread out as in the Midwest. 

How realistic is living in Eindhoven with a modest income (he will receive about 2100/mo for teaching while he works towards his degree) and a young family (our children are 3 and almost 6)? I'm crunching numbers and one day it seems like we can make a go of it and other days it seems like we won't be able. I most likely won't be able to have a job at least not right away because I have a fine art degree and don't speak Dutch (yet) so finding employment will be a struggle. I have a small home-based business here in the US and am figuring out the logistics of moving the company (I have to see if it will even be worth it). 

I'm really excited about giving my children a great education especially since they are young enough to soak up the language easily and want them to experience other parts of the world while still young. I'm so excited about this possible adventure. We've talked about it and we feel that this will be awesome for the kids, good for him and not so awesome for me (a stay at home mom/part time apparel designer and photographer). My livelihood is very US-centric so uprooting and moving to Europe puts me in a bind, professionally. 

I'm worried about space-will we be able to afford a family house or will we have to live in a small apartment? I'm used to a small house but a big yard. What are utility and phone costs? Groceries? We are flip flopping back and forth about shipping our furniture there. We don't have great stuff but all the little things really add up and would it be worth it to move our beds/couch/tables/dressers over there in addition to the kids' toys/sentimental items/bikes/etc? 

I apologize for being all over the place. We will find out in the next few days if we even get to go and will leave in about 2 months so once we find out, we have to hit the ground running.


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## cschrd2 (Oct 31, 2011)

I think 2100€ net (social minimum is about 1300€) should give you a reasonable life, just not all the perks. Rental housing is cheaper if you live in the suburbs and kids can go to school for free (if you accept Dutch language tuition). Buying a cheap apartment might also be an option as property is low priced and still interest paid is tax deductible
My (limited) experience would suggest cost of food would be similar to Minneapolis if you go to local supermarkets.
Finding a job in Holland is not easy these days, but I would say that in a year from now things would be much better shape. Also in some disciplines you don't have to speak Dutch. Around Eindhoven there are quite a number or design and technology centers that don't care about language. 
.


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## scarton (Apr 15, 2013)

Rad! I've looked at store websites to see weekly ads and food prices seem reasonable (lidl? I think that was one of the markets that popped up on google maps when I was searching for nearby amenities on a couple of houses I liked). I noticed that prices really drop once you get away from the city center, which is fine for me because I prefer the small town lifestyle with more freedom for the kids. And I'm married to an eternal student so I'm used to not having any of the extras...ha! 

I'm totally down with the kids going to Dutch speaking schools, I think that's part of the experience. I don't want to try to maintain an American life in another country; that would just be setting me up for a lot of headache.

Thanks for your reply, it confirms what I thought. But just to put a wrench in things, I was just told this morning that the woman in charge of the program may want him in the Sydney Australia department. Sigh. I haven't even started looking at Sydney.


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## cschrd2 (Oct 31, 2011)

If you follow adds its cheaper then US, but be careful especially fruit and vegetables are not cheap, but if you follow growth season its ok.
Good luck!


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## Gioppino (Aug 25, 2012)

Assuming it's € 2100 gross, depending on what insurance you're going to choose, the net income won't be more than 1600 or 1700 euro per month. I don't find it realistic. You'll probably regret in after a while.

A term of comparison: I'm a single guy and was living in shared accommodation for a net income of € 1300 a month. I don't drink and don't smoke and that money was barely enough.


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## gbv (Apr 30, 2013)

Regarding shipping, go for transport by boat.. It will take maybe three months but it is a lot cheaper!


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