If the bustle of the city is not for you, Amstelveen is an excellent alternative for Amsterdam. It is a haven of peace and quiet, but it has a direct connection to the city. It is more spacious than Amsterdam, parking is easier by far, and the housing market is less frantic, there. While Amstelveen offers all the perks of a large city, it is a suburban area with a quieter atmosphere.
History of an overflow-municipality
Bordering Amsterdam at the South is the city of Amstelveen. As early as the 17th and 18th century, well to do Amsterdammers moved to Amstelveen to escape the bustle of the city. During the 1930s, the northwestern borough of the city was developed in order to accommodate a wealthier population. Throughout the years, the city kept expanding, and the ingrained preference for quality of living and an abundance of green areas was maintained.
After World War I, Schiphol airport evolved from a military airport into a commercial one. Today, only Heathrow (London) and Charles de Gaulle (Paris) are busier European airports. During the 1960s, many Schiphol employees moved to Amstelveen, causing the city to thrive even more.
In 2003, Amstelveen was elected the most attractive large city to live in, in the Netherlands.
An addition to Amsterdam
If the bustle of the city is not for you, Amstelveen is an excellent alternative for Amsterdam. It is a haven of peace and quiet, but it has a direct connection to the city. It is more spacious than Amsterdam, parking is easier by far, and the housing market is less frantic, there. While Amstelveen offers all the perks of a large city, it is a suburban area with a quieter atmosphere.
That being said, Amstelveen still has a strong connection to Amsterdam, yet it also has more direct access to arterial roads leading to Schiphol Airport, The Hague, and Rotterdam, as well as into the rest of the Netherlands. The population density is less high than it is in Amsterdam, and enrolling in schools, for example, can be easier than in downtown Amsterdam.
More than an alternative
Once our professional real estate agents start selecting proper housing for you, it is not a matter of ‘either / or’. Amsterdam is a city with as many flavors as it has neighborhoods. Every borough (stadsdeel) of Amsterdam has its own personality. Many first-time visitors expect Amsterdam to consist of the Red Light District, Dam Square, and the Flower Market – but before long, they find out that expectation is a very limited view of Amsterdam. Amsterdam also has its Chinatown, the Jordaan is an authentic part of Amsterdam-city where the canal-based city architecture thrives, and the Amsterdam Science Park is a tech campus capable of competing with the world’s best, to name only a few. And of course, there’s Amstelveen. Which, although officially not exactly a part of Amsterdam, is near enough so.