1 night in Amsterdam part two

Truly one of Northern Europe’s most picture-perfect cities, Amsterdam’s homes have a dolls-house like characteristic and therefore ordinary practicalities go out of the window (literally!) with tight, winding staircases creating the need for furniture-by-crane hoisting services. So after our 1 night in Amsterdam, we headed into the city for a whistlestop tour of its sights and sounds.

Being in continental Europe, a typical 2-bed pad in Amsterdam enjoy a fairly hefty price tag, coming in at 260-280,000 euros. Older properties tend to get snapped up by foreign residents wanting a bit of the old-world living experience whilst new build flats being built close to Centraal Station, which incidentally is itself under construction as new metro line is being added. Amsterdam’s property seeking youth are more interested in the convenience of concierge, on-site gym and underground parking. Not surprising, when you learn the wait for a car parking permit in Amsterdam is around 7 years and there isn’t even the option of bypassing the system and blatantly buying your way into inheriting an arduously achieved 4 years wait from your flats previous owner, nope, it’s back to the bottom of the pile - fairs fair!

This minor inconvenience hardly phases local residents, given the plethora of travel options on offer. I suspect driving might be more stress then it’s actually worth what with the cyclists sailing past, trams trundling by and pedestrians busily crossing before looking out for other cars!

So as I’m slowly coming to realise, the perfect city still remains elusive but as our friends who like so many of the UK’s younger generation, looking for more than what the UK has to offer, Amsterdam is definitely up there.

Leaving the city around 3pm, we headed to Wassenaar, a suburb to the east of the city centre. Many city dwellers and young families have moved out to enjoy the pleasure of living in what I can only describe as a massive centre parks. Open spaces, parks, cycle lanes and even bridal paths for your morning trek with the horse are part and parcel of the lifestyle here. The Dutch, have definitely put quality of life and quality of surroundings at the top of their housing agenda and it is clearly a formula that works and for that very reason popular with expatriates on contract who have been quick to picking up what it can offer them but more importantly their families during their time living there, with good schools, a 15 minute bike ride from the sand dunes and a short drive to the city. Suburban living doesn’t get any better than this.

Holland maybe small but it is perfectly formed and much thought and constant improvement goes into making the best it can possibly be for its residents who in turn give back to the country in much the same way. Britain’s towns and cities could definitely take a leaf out of Holland’s approach to property, life and lifestyle.

If you have something to add about life in Holland your comments are most welcome!

To make a start finding out more about Holland property take a gander at Funda.nl