https://expatnetherlandshub.com/categories/cities/Recent content in Cities on Expat Netherlands HubHugoen-usMon, 30 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/almere/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/almere/Almere at a Glance Population: approximately 220,000 — making it the sixth-largest city in the Netherlands Expat population: a growing international community, particularly from the Amsterdam overflow; around 15% of residents have a non-Dutch background Main languages spoken: Dutch; English widely understood, particularly among younger professionals and those who arrived from Amsterdam Key industries: construction, logistics, government services, retail, growing tech and creative sector Average commute: 25 minutes by train to Amsterdam Centraal; 35 minutes to Utrecht; 40 minutes to Schiphol Almere is unlike any other city in the Netherlands, and that is not a compliment or a criticism — it is just a fact worth understanding before you decide to live here.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/arnhem/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/arnhem/Arnhem at a Glance Population: 165,000 (city proper) Expat population: approximately 12,000 — around 7% of residents Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (well understood in professional settings; German speakers also find it reasonably easy given proximity to the border) Key industries: provincial government, energy sector, fashion and design, healthcare, logistics Average commute: 15–25 minutes by bike within the city; train to Nijmegen 15 minutes, Utrecht 45 minutes, Amsterdam approximately 70 minutes, Düsseldorf approximately 90 minutes Arnhem is the capital of Gelderland, the largest province in the Netherlands by area.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/breda/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/breda/Breda at a Glance Photo: Breda, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 185,000 (city proper) Expat population: growing international community, particularly in logistics, tech, and academic sectors Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (widely spoken in logistics, digital, and university-connected sectors; most shops and employers comfortable in English) Key industries: logistics and distribution, creative and digital media, healthcare, cross-border trade with Belgium Average commute: 15–20 minutes by bike within the city; train to Rotterdam 25 minutes, Eindhoven 45 minutes, Amsterdam 70 minutes Breda sits in the province of North Brabant, roughly halfway between Rotterdam and Eindhoven, about 10 kilometres north of the Belgian border.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/delft/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/delft/Delft at a Glance Photo: Delft, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 115,000 (city proper) Expat population: large — a significant share of TU Delft’s 27,000 students are international, plus thousands of international staff at TU Delft and TNO Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (very widely spoken; the university environment means you will rarely struggle to get by in English) Key industries: engineering research and education, applied scientific research, tech startups, government (proximity to The Hague) Average commute: 10–20 minutes by bike within the city; train to Rotterdam 12 minutes, The Hague 15 minutes, Amsterdam 55 minutes Delft is a city of about 115,000 people in South Holland, sitting between Rotterdam and The Hague.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/den-bosch/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/den-bosch/Den Bosch at a Glance Photo: Den Bosch, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 160,000 (city proper) Expat population: growing — driven largely by the Brabant tech and logistics corridor and proximity to Eindhoven Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (widely spoken, particularly in the business and service sectors; the ASML ecosystem in nearby Eindhoven has raised English proficiency across the region) Key industries: logistics, healthcare and pharma, public sector, tech (with strong links to Eindhoven) Average commute: 15–20 minutes by bike within the city; train to Eindhoven 20–25 minutes, Utrecht 35 minutes, Amsterdam under 1 hour Den Bosch — officially ’s-Hertogenbosch, though nobody outside of official paperwork calls it that — is the capital of North Brabant province, sitting at the junction of the A2 and A59 motorways roughly in the middle of the country’s southern half.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/haarlem/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/haarlem/Haarlem at a Glance Photo: Haarlem, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 162,000 (city proper) Expat population: growing international community; many expats work in Amsterdam and commute Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (widely spoken across shops, restaurants, and services) Key industries: healthcare, education, creative industries, retail; most expats commute to Amsterdam, Schiphol, or The Hague for corporate roles Average commute: 15–17 minutes by train to Amsterdam Centraal; 16 minutes direct to Schiphol Airport; 25 minutes to Leiden When I first visited Haarlem, I arrived on a Saturday afternoon on a whim.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/amstelveen/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/amstelveen/Amstelveen at a Glance Population: approximately 92,000 Expat population: one of the highest concentrations in the Netherlands — significant Japanese, Korean, Indian, and broader international communities driven by corporate relocations Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (widely spoken in professional and business contexts); Japanese is notably common in certain neighbourhoods and shops Key industries: financial services, management consulting, corporate headquarters, Schiphol-related logistics and aviation Average commute: 20–30 minutes by metro or tram to central Amsterdam; 15–20 minutes by road to Schiphol Airport Amstelveen sits directly south of Amsterdam, separated from the city by the Amsterdamse Bos — a large forested park — and bordered to the west by the Schiphol area.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/nijmegen/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/nijmegen/Nijmegen at a Glance Population: 177,000 (city proper) Expat population: approximately 18,000 — around 10% of residents Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (widely spoken in academic and medical circles; Radboud University has a large international staff and student body) Key industries: healthcare, higher education, microchip/semiconductor manufacturing, government and public services Average commute: 15–25 minutes by bike within the city; train to Arnhem 15 minutes, Utrecht 60 minutes, Amsterdam 90 minutes Nijmegen sits on the south bank of the Waal river in Gelderland, a few kilometres from the German border.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/tilburg/Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/tilburg/Tilburg at a Glance Population: 224,000 (7th largest city in the Netherlands) Expat population: approximately 18,000 — around 8% of residents Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (widely spoken in university and tech sectors; Brabant Dutch dialect common among locals) Key industries: logistics, creative and tech, higher education, healthcare, manufacturing Average commute: 15–20 minutes by bike within the city; train to Breda 15 minutes, Den Bosch 25 minutes, Eindhoven 30 minutes, Amsterdam approximately 75 minutes Tilburg is the seventh-largest city in the Netherlands, sitting in the North Brabant province between Breda and Eindhoven.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/amsterdam/Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/amsterdam/Amsterdam at a Glance Photo: Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 920,000 (city proper) Expat population: approximately 200,000 — around 22% of residents were born outside the Netherlands Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (near-universal in the city centre), and dozens of others Key industries: technology, financial services, creative industries, tourism Average commute: 25–35 minutes by bike or public transport Amsterdam is the most international city in the Netherlands, and in many ways the easiest soft landing for new arrivals.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/eindhoven/Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/eindhoven/Eindhoven at a Glance Photo: Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 240,000 (city proper) Expat population: approximately 40,000 — roughly 17% of residents, one of the highest proportions outside the Randstad Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (Eindhoven has some of the highest English proficiency among Dutch cities, driven by tech industry hiring) Key industries: semiconductor technology, electronics, industrial design, advanced manufacturing Average commute: 15–25 minutes by bike or public transport Eindhoven is not the city most people imagine when they think of moving to the Netherlands, but it should be higher on the list for anyone working in tech.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/groningen/Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/groningen/Groningen at a Glance Photo: Groningen, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 235,000 (city proper) Expat population: approximately 25,000 — around 11% of residents, a significant proportion given the city’s size Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (well-spoken across the population, especially given the large student and academic community; Gronings dialect also present among long-term residents) Key industries: energy (including a major transition away from natural gas), higher education (University of Groningen, Hanze University), healthcare (UMCG) Average commute: 15–25 minutes by bike; the city is genuinely compact Groningen is the largest city in the northern Netherlands and one of the most affordable in the country.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/leiden/Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/leiden/Leiden at a Glance Photo: Leiden, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 125,000 (city proper) Expat population: approximately 15,000 — around 12% of residents Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (very widely spoken given the academic and life sciences sector; Leiden University is one of the most internationally recruited in the country) Key industries: biotech, pharmaceutical research, higher education, medical research Average commute: 15–25 minutes by bike within the city; train to The Hague 15 minutes, Amsterdam 35 minutes Leiden is a university city in the South Holland province, positioned between The Hague and Amsterdam on the main rail line.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/maastricht/Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/maastricht/Maastricht at a Glance Photo: Maastricht, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 120,000 (city proper) Expat population: approximately 15,000 — around 13% of residents, high for a city of this size Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (widely spoken), French and German (both commonly used given the city’s border location), Limburgs dialect among long-term residents Key industries: higher education (Maastricht University), healthcare, ceramics and advanced materials, services and tourism Average commute: 15–20 minutes by bike or public transport; the city is compact Maastricht is unlike any other city in the Netherlands.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/rotterdam/Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/rotterdam/Rotterdam at a Glance Photo: Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 660,000 (city proper), making it the second largest city in the Netherlands Expat population: approximately 100,000 — around 15% of residents Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (widely spoken in professional settings), significant Turkish, Moroccan Arabic, and Surinamese communities Key industries: port and logistics, architecture, cleantech, construction, retail Average commute: 20–30 minutes by metro, tram, or bike Rotterdam is the city that people choose over Amsterdam when they do the maths.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/the-hague/Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/the-hague/The Hague at a Glance Photo: The Hague, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 550,000 (city proper) Expat population: approximately 90,000 — one of the highest concentrations of international residents in the Netherlands relative to city size Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (widely spoken especially in international and government circles), French, Arabic, and numerous diplomatic community languages Key industries: national government, international law and justice, European and UN institutions, defence Average commute: 20–30 minutes by tram or bike The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government and the location of the Dutch royal house, as well as the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and dozens of other intergovernmental organisations.https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/utrecht/Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0100https://expatnetherlandshub.com/cities/utrecht/Utrecht at a Glance Photo: Utrecht, the Netherlands. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Population: 370,000 (city proper), making it the fourth largest city in the Netherlands Expat population: approximately 50,000 — around 14% of residents Main languages spoken: Dutch, English (very widely spoken, particularly given the large student and academic population) Key industries: healthcare, higher education, gaming and software, financial technology, professional services Average commute: 20–30 minutes by bike or public transport Utrecht sits at the geographic centre of the Netherlands, which means it has the best rail connections of any city in the country — a train to Amsterdam takes 27 minutes, Rotterdam 40 minutes, The Hague 45 minutes, and Eindhoven 45 minutes.