Amsterdammers increasingly leaving the city to find bigger, better homes elsewhere in NL

After decades of Amsterdam being the place to live, attracting residents from all over the Netherlands, the trend has shifted. More Netherlands residents are moving away from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area to other parts of the Netherlands. Amsterdam residents are no longer satisfied with paying more for smaller and less well-kempt homes than they can find elsewhere in the Netherlands, Rabobank reported in a study on living satisfaction in the Amsterdam Metropolitan area.

According to the bank, the trend shift started in 2017. Amsterdam residents are dissatisfied with their homes, primarily due to the smaller living space and the state of the homes’ repair. They’d also like better neighborhoods with more social cohesion. So they’re looking elsewhere in the Netherlands.

“The municipality of Amsterdam is seeing considerably more people leave than are coming in, especially among the over-30s - the group in which life events like cohabitation, family formation, and moving to a larger rental or owner-occupied home come into play,” the bank said.

Only students - 17 to 24-year-olds - and, to a lesser extent, young adults between 25 and 29, are still moving to Amsterdam more often than leaving the city for another part of the Netherlands. “But since 2017, this has also been at a lower level than in previous years.”

According to Rabobank, this is partly due to how cities function. They offer more opportunities in terms of education, career, recreation, and personal development, so they are very attractive to young people. Families with children more often opt for the surrounding countryside, aiming for a calm, spacious, and safe living environment. But the trend “seems much stronger now than a decade ago” in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam residents leaving the metropolitan area mostly moved to nearby municipalities between 2017 and 2021. Though some also moved further away, heading toward Zwolle and Emmen.

According to Rabobank, Amsterdam can try to keep families in the city by accelerating the housing construction and increasing supply. But that alone won’t be sufficient. “Policies aimed at housing satisfaction and affordability should be implemented in the same urgency,” the bank said.

“However, it is unlikely that the difference with other regions will disappear completely,” Rabobank added. Improving residential satisfaction will again increase the attractiveness of Amsterdam and attract more residents from elsewhere in the Netherlands and abroad. And that will again put pressure on housing supply and prices.