Rotterdam: 28 minutes by intercity to Amsterdam Centraal, €1,100/month for a full apartment, actu…
T=0: The Decision
Amsterdam studio apartment, €1,900/month, 42 m², 12th rejection in 18 months trying to buy anything within commuting distance. The Dutch mortgage system favours existing owners and my income, while competitive, was not enough to bid above asking on properties that went 30% over.
Rotterdam: 28 minutes by intercity to Amsterdam Centraal, €1,100/month for a full apartment, actual architecture designed for human beings. I moved in August 2022, stopped commuting (already remote), and started saving for a flat purchase properly.
A flat I own by 35. Not spending my life on the A10.
6 Months Out
Rotterdam is dramatically underrated. The architecture (Markthal, Cube Houses, the entire rebuilt post-war centre) is more interesting than Amsterdam's canal sameness. The nightlife is better than most people from Amsterdam will admit. I am saving €800/month more.
“The Kralingen and Hillegersberg neighbourhoods are where I would look if buying — quieter than Centrum, good schools, and the Kralingse Plas is an extraordinary amenity that Amsterdam has no equivalent of.”