Yep, a lot of people like the Netherlands enough to stick around for almost a decade. Most of them live in Amsterdam (of course), followed by Amstelveen, The Hague, Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Utrecht.
Two-thirds of expats still stay after three years, and one in 10 expats end up becoming Dutch, according to NRC.nl.
Why the Netherlands?
Expats like the Netherlands for unsurprising reasons: it’s safe, people speak English, there are good career prospects, and companies here have good reputations.
READ MORE | Vacation, free time and working hours in the Netherlands: all you need to know
When you put it like that, the Netherlands is irresistible. And it’s not for nothing: the Netherlands has made an effort to attract so-called ‘knowledge migrants’ for the past 20 years.
The end of an era?
That being said, the Netherlands will probably become less attractive when the 30% tax ruling is scrapped.
This tax benefit has already shrunk significantly in the past years because the government was losing out on some serious bank.
The number of expats tripled since 2015, so the Dutch government started to run particularly low on cash.
But still, there is much to love in this flat country, so it looks like most of us are going to stick around for the time being.
How long have you lived in the Netherlands? Let us know in the comments!
3 months! And forever with my Dutch husband. 😍