Amsterdam-age

Apparently teenage dreams are hard to beat. It’s doubtful that your teenagers are dreaming of a move to Holland; uprooting and leaving their friends, schools and social life completely behind. But if a great move is on the cards for your family, here’s a little juicy information about Amsterdam to reassure your kids that moving to Holland doesn’t have to be all about clogs and tulips!

Getting Around
The Dutch love bicycles. Simply put, Holland is quite flat so cycling is easy. Cycle paths are numerous and well-used, vehicle drivers are polite, and bicycles are inexpensive. Similarly to Japan, cycling around both your hometown and cities is a common form of transport.

Language
Moving to Holland brings you and your family up against that whole language barrier issue, against which we Brits generally panic and behave like a little group of clucking hens (mostly through embarrassment) until someone speaks to us in English and is they become our new best and most trusted friend. The fact is that the lovely folk of Amsterdam, on the whole, speak some English. Signs, warnings etc are usually written in English too, so the kids aren’t going to feel like they stick out more than giant alien spiders on their adventures.

Exploring
Entertainment, clubs, music venues, shopping, street fairs, nice big parks to hang out in and moan about society – Amsterdam is very, very much a city for the young. Of course the standard museums etc (are actually anything but standard) exist for you too. Reassuring your teenagers that relocating to Holland is exciting is crucial to everyone’s happiness, so… pre-move trip to Amsterdam anyone?