Navigating Finding Housing in the Netherlands When You Don’t Live There

Your first job is to secure housing. Here are some of our expectations and a few tips to help you stay sane.

Have you ever been on vacation, pulled up Zillow, and daydreamed about living there? That was us. Except we weren’t on vacation, and we weren’t just dreaming. We had never set foot in the Netherlands, so our only window into our future home was the listings we scrolled through each morning. My husband and I would wake up, coffee in hand, trading links back and forth. We would swipe through photos, hit Google Translate to understand the descriptions, and imagine what life might look like in those rooms. It was exciting but also nerve wracking. In a market this tight, even waiting an extra minute to act felt like the difference between landing a home and watching it vanish to someone else.

Hiring a Realtor

I’ll be honest: I despise needing a realtor. Maybe that’s my American tendencies showing, but the whole system feels like paying middlemen to open doors you could walk through yourself. Still, this was one of those times where having someone on our side mattered.

We hired our realtor in February on a small subscription plan just to hold our place on his roster. By March, he was touring homes on our behalf, filming walk-throughs, and sending us updates. When he walked us through one place on video, I found myself pausing and rewinding, trying to picture where desks might fit or whether the kids’ beds would squeeze into the tiny bedrooms. It felt surreal to imagine a new life in spaces I had only seen through his shaky iPhone lens.

The first property he toured for us was a dream: three bedrooms, two bathrooms, modern and bright. But we lost it. The owners went with another applicant, probably because of the income-to-rent ratio. That stung. Still, the same day, I sent him he to another option, and this time we got it.

Types of Housing Options

Dutch listings can be confusing. “Unfurnished” doesn’t just mean no furniture. It often means no flooring, no blinds, and sometimes even cabinets. The idea of uninstalling and reinstalling flooring every time you move is a cultural difference I did not expect and still cannot wrap my head around. How will you even know the flooring will fit another house?

“Upholstered” is the next step up: flooring and window coverings specifically are usually included. Finally, there are fully furnished rentals, which is what we opted for in year one. After landing in a foreign country, the last thing we wanted was to walk into an empty house and drop thousands on furniture.

Our rental came with everything we needed, except we bought two beds and mattresses for the kids. Internet and cable were also included, which was one less headache to manage.

Competition and Timing

The rental market here is fierce. Our apartment had 14 showings in one day. We were chosen out of 13 other applicants, something we had never experienced in the U.S. Timing mattered. We sent our realtor a property on March 13, and by March 27 we had signed the lease.

Deposit and Payments

Here is where the costs sting: we paid two months’ rent as a security deposit, plus half a month of rent before our lease even started. By May, we had already lost a full month’s rent on a place we had not moved into yet. One friend had to pay six months upfront. That is just the reality of securing safe housing from abroad.

Utilities

Utilities usually are not included. You will need to set them up yourself, and without a Dutch ID you often have to use an expat-friendly service. Our realtor helped us with this. On move-in day, he photographed the meters so we could send them to the utility provider.

Not everything is predictable, though. Our neighbor casually mentioned their winter heating bills ran about €700, thanks to the age of the building. In Tucson, we paid around $360 for solar, $200 for gas, and $120 for water. By comparison, we are still in a decent spot, but I will admit when I heard that number I had a mini panic attack.

Registration at the Address

Registering at your address is non-negotiable. Without it, you cannot get a BSN, which you need for things like health insurance, banking, and taxes. Online, you will read that you need to register within five days of arriving, but in reality it took us months to even get an appointment. I was not allowed to register until I had paperwork from the immigration office confirming my visa application. It is one of those things you cannot fully prepare for until you are here.

Language Barriers

Your lease will be in Dutch. Most landlords provide an English translation, but legally, the Dutch contract rules. Having a Dutch speaking realtor gave me peace of mind that what I signed was what I agreed to.

Expectations vs. Reality

I tried not to have high expectations before we arrived. As a marketer, I know “expectations vs. reality” makes for clickable headlines, but I did not want to set myself up for disappointment. Still, the first time we walked in, the apartment smelled like old lady perfume and mildew. The rooms were smaller than I imagined, and the layout made no sense.

But then we stepped outside. The neighborhood was charming, with cafés and shops within walking distance. That saved me. The apartment might not have been perfect, but the community around it made the transition so much easier.

The Family’s Perspective

The kids did not see mildew or cramped bedrooms. They saw a blank slate. They ran through the empty rooms, brainstorming how they would decorate and play. What lit them up most was not the house but the location: a fifteen-minute bike ride to the beach and a park right down the street. I know once school starts, they will find even more reasons to love this place.

Reflection

This whole process has been one long learning curve. But honestly, I would not have done much differently. From another country, your choices are limited. You do the best you can with the information you have, knowing most decisions are not permanent.

So what if the apartment is smaller than we would like? So what if it smells faintly of someone else’s perfume? For now, it is home. And for this first year, home is enough.