More young families leave city for small town life

Many young families in the Netherlands traded big city living for a house in a small town nearby over the past two years, Statistics Netherlands revealed on Thursday. In 2014 and 2015 the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht saw more young families with one or more children under the age of four years moving away to a small town, than in the previous five years. Amsterdam in particular saw a sharp increase in young families moving away from the city. Last year one in 10 such families moved to a nearby small town, compared to 6 percent in 2012. The other three large cities also saw an increase, though Rotterdam and The Hague increased less sharply than Amsterdam. Young families that move away from a city often have a high income. The lower the income, the less likely a family is to move away from a city, according to Statistics Netherlands.