Moving to Eindhoven: 9 things you need to know

✍ Sarah O’Leary, Jana Vondráčková, Abuzer van Leeuwen

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People are always banging on about Randstad. It’s the place to be, they say. But is that really the case? 

While the Randstad may be the most popular part of the Netherlands for expats to live in, there are other, under-rated but no-less-impressive locations in the lowlands that would make a wonderful home. The largest city in North Brabant — Eindhoven — is one of them. 

From job opportunities to housing and city life, here are nine things you should know before you make the move to what is nicknamed de gekste (the craziest). 

1. Eindhoven is THE place for tech talent

Are you tech-savvy? Or looking to remould yourself into the type of person who is? Good on you! Oh, and Eindhoven is the place to be. 

Why? Here are just a few impressive tech names that have found their home in the largest city of North Brabant.

High Tech Campus: the smartest square kilometre in Europe 

Awarded as one of the best places for tech venture development by big names such as Forbes, The Financial Times, and Fortune, High Tech Campus is the largest start-up hub in the Netherlands — and it’s based in Eindhoven! 

2. It’s job seeker friendly

With tech companies come — you guessed it — jobs. Plenty of them. Well paying ones at that! This marks Eindhoven as a great place for international job seekers, not only ones that are already based in the Netherlands, but also abroad. 

Many of these companies owe their fortunes to their international success, meaning that they are often happy to hire non-Dutch speakers. 

However, if your job hunt takes you elsewhere, that’s also fine. Eindhoven is within commuting distance of a number of large Dutch cities and towns. 

Brainport Eindhoven 

If you’re looking for a place where bright minds get together to solve issues around human health, food, energy, and mobility, look no further than Brainport Eindhoven. 

Home to around 5,000 innovative companies, this is the place you want to be if you’re after a challenging job in IT or tech. 

3. Buying a house in Eindhoven is actually possible

Unless you’ve been living mortgage-free under a rock for the past couple of years, you know that housing prices in the Netherlands are steadily rising — and Eindhoven is, of course, no exception to this trend. 

But it’s still better and far cheaper to buy a house in Eindhoven than, say, in Utrecht or Amsterdam. For example, if you were looking to buy a house in Eindhoven, it would cost you 555K on average. At the same time, a house in Utrecht would come at more than 600K. 

The obvious benefit (lower prices) aside, there’s also a lot of construction going on in and around Eindhoven. Some of its surrounding villages belong to the most beautiful in the Netherlands, so settling in one of them is definitely something to consider.

On top of that, there’s plenty of space compared to other Dutch cities. Both in terms of getting a tad bigger home and in terms of being able to roam around in nature (more on that later). So if you find Randstad too crowded, Eindhoven is the place to go. 

Furthermore, companies like ASML are planning to double in size, meaning that houses will be in high demand in this area in the coming years.

4. There are some awesome neighbourhoods for expats to live in

We all love a beautiful home — but where exactly should it be situated? Of course, factors such as where you want to work, or where you’re going to school play a role, but if you’re looking for some insider tips, we recommend that you keep an eye on these neighbourhoods: 

Meerhoven

Want to be surrounded by neighbours who are equally perplexed by the Dutch language? Then Meerhoven is the place for you. In recent years, more than 80% of houses sold in this neighbourhood have been bought by internationals.

Strijp-R and Strijp-S

Once an industrial area belonging to Philips, this snazzy new neighbourhood has developed to become a hub for cultural events and activities. The old industrial buildings have been transformed into creative office spaces and housing.  

Schrijversbuurt 

Schrijversbuurt (meaning writer’s neighbourhood) is a great area to consider if you’re torn between choosing an apartment or a more family-style home. The neighbourhood offers both! On top of this, selling prices tend to be on the less eye-watering side. 

5. Eindhoven is locally — and globally — connected

Thanks to its smooth highway system and a multitude of convenient train and bus connections, you can get from Eindhoven to cities like Rotterdam, Antwerp, or Brussels in one fell swoop. 

North Brabant’s largest city is also home to the second biggest airport in the Netherlands, giving you easy access to the rest of Europe — and the world. 

Within the city itself, the best way to get around is — you guessed it — by bike. It’s a pretty safe way too. Eindhoven was named one of the five most bicycle-friendly cities in the world! 

6. It’s the centre of design 

As we mentioned above, Philips used to be based in Eindhoven. The huge company owned several buildings throughout the city — but it left them empty when it decided to move to Amsterdam. 

However, the cityscape of Eindhoven adapted to the change, filling these buildings with hip new companies. Many of which centre around creativity, design and innovation. It’s not all tech and computer chips you know! 

7. There are some impressive new developments on the way

Just like any other place in the world, really, Eindhoven needs to make sure that the city is livable for the generations to come — and boy, is it doing a good job! These are just some of the projects that will make the city an even nicer place to live in. 

Knoop XL

Eindhoven is growing and thriving. This means, aside from plentiful job opportunities, that its infrastructure needs to keep up. That’s what the international Knoop XL is all about. Located between the PSV football stadium and Dommel, the area is currently home to around 200 people. 

However, within the next 20 years, there are plans to make it into an international hub with new working locations, plenty of greenery to relieve heat stress, no cars, and homes for about 15,000 people! 🤯 Yep — your read that right. 

Knoop XL is also supposed to see direct train connections with cities like Düsseldorf, Aachen, and Liège. This video explains just how cool it’s going to be.

The Dutch mountains

We all know that the Netherlands doesn’t have anything even closely resembling a mountainous landscape — but that’s (kind of) about to change. 

The mountains we are talking about is a new building complex constructed with bio-based material with two towers, which will be used for offices, new homes, and a hotel. 

This space, nicknamed the living room of Eindhoven, will become a true symbol of “healthy and sustainable urbanisation.”

8. The city is thriving

In spite of the challenges the past few years have brought to the Netherlands, Eindhoven is not only surviving — but thriving. 

From hosting larger events such as Dutch Design Week and GLOW festival to being home to smaller venues and places to go out, Eindhoven has a rich and vibrant cultural scene.

9. Eindhoven is a great place for nature lovers

Dutch cities and vast greenery usually don’t mix well. However, Eindhoven offers plenty of nearby nature areas for the keen wanderer. The natuurgebied Dommeldal is one of the most popular ones. 

For some more proper nature, residents of Eindhoven can head to the nearby De Groote Peel National Park to enjoy vast areas of wetland with plenty of bird species. 

Speaking of national parks, the Belgian Bosland is also a mere 45-minute drive away — and it’s the biggest adventure forest in all of Flanders. Talk about exciting day trips! 

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Ready to move to Eindhoven? Wonderful! Need some more convincing? That’s okay. Maybe a day trip experiencing what the city has to offer will do the job. 😉

Will you be making the move to Eindhoven? Let us know in the comments!