# American moving to NL



## avonlulu (Jul 22, 2012)

Hi,
I am moving from Seattle to the NL in October, I have a few questions that hopefully someone here can help with.

I will be working in Rotterdam, are there good places to live around there and what would rent look like for a one or two bedroom apt?

Is a salary of 73000 euros enough to support myself?

Should I bring my motorcycle and jeep from the us, and how hard is it to register a foreign car?

I am assuming thy the weather is similar to Seattle, but wouldn't mind thoughts on that as well

Thank you very much


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## Renee236 (Apr 16, 2012)

Hi! 

I don't know Rotterdam very well, so I can't help you on the neighborhoods. I like Delft a lot, it's a smaller, older more picturesque city.

Most Dutchies rent through the socialized sector which has a very long waiting list, all houses up to 664 euros a month fall in this category. Everything else is called free sector. The expat companies especially will charge you exorbitant amounts.
You could check out this website to give you an idea of normal prices: http://www.funda.nl/huur/rotterdam
Almost all places will allow dogs. 

I think you can import your own car without paying taxes if you're immigrating, this is the Dutch customs site: 
I am moving to the Netherlands and I want to import my removal goods tax-free into the Netherlands

If you choose to do this, realize gas is about $8 a gallon and parking in the cities hardly accommodates a jeep . Other than that, you could live quite comfortably on that salary; it's well above average. 

As for the weather; in the Bible 40 days of rain was called the flood, here it's called summer...

Good luck with all your preparations! Renee


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## cschrd2 (Oct 31, 2011)

Import of bike and car are cheap (including the Dutch registration) as long as they are moved with the household goods. Rental free sector estimate between 800-1000€/month in the sub-urban area. Just above 1000€ in the urban area. Rotterdam is not really a great place to live if you like luxury as its coming from a laborer history. It's trying hard to improve the image by building new neighborhoods on the old docks (Koo van Zuid). If you prefer a little more peaceful but acceptable drive check Bergschenhoek and Berkel and Rodentijs next to Rotterdam's Hilligersberg. The south side of Rotterdam is typically more congested in traffic as they have to pass bridges or tunnels to the downtown. Enjoy the Netherlands!


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## lear0028 (Jul 28, 2012)

Registering for a car wouldn't be a problem, but your American driver's license would be invalid after 6 months of living in the Netherlands. After that you must take courses and exams, they do offer an English version. Just much better to use public transport as its much more efficient. Or a bike! 

73,000 Euros is more than enough to support a family, but watch out for taxes, much higher in the Netherlands than the U.S.

The weather is very much like Seattle, if you like the rain and humidity the Netherlands is the right place for you.


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## Mad Amster (Aug 31, 2012)

Re your bike and car. The Dutch have a tax called BPM. It is a tax no other country has on cars. When you import a car or bike you have to pay the BPM for the vehicle. I dont know if it still is, but it used to be based on the value if you bought it new. That means that if your car is 6 years old and would cost €20K today, you wold pay tax on 20K and not just the 8K or so the car is now worth.

On bpmberekenen dot com you can work out what the bpm on your car will be. It is in Dutch but you can translate the lines using babel fish or another translation tool.


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## nicky29 (Nov 15, 2009)

ROtterdam is a big place you might as well live there, or nearby. NS trains (the Dutch railwails) are absolute rubbish and there's always delays. I would not recommend moving far unless you can drive but with your US license you probably can't. UNLESS you got the 30% tax ruling? this enables you to swap your license for a Dutch one. If you are being recruited from abroad ask about this and insist on it, they should give it to you..


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