I amsterdam - Expat survey published

Background

Little is known about how the expats living in Amsterdam experience (living in) the city. Therefore, O+S (Department for Research and Statistics of the City of Amsterdam), the Amsterdam Hospitality Project and ACCESS, a non-for profit organization which helps anyone from anywhere settle with ease into The Netherlands, conducted a survey among the expats living in Amsterdam.  

The survey was conducted by means of e-mail and the internet. The data were gathered in December 2005 and January 2006. The expats were invited to participate by several expats organizations. Most expats received an invitation by Expatica, ACCESS, Democrats Abroad or friends or colleagues. The questionnaire was completed by 782 expats.  

Who participated in the survey?

Almost half of the 782 expats who participated in the survey have a British or American nationality. The reason for relocation was in most cases job or trailing of their spouses (respectively 61% and 23%). For 8% the reason for relocation was study. Most respondents work in financial institutions, trade consumer goods or real estate.

Nationality of the respondents	%
English	24
American	21
European, excl. French and English	14
Australian/New Zealand	6
Canadian	5
French	4
African	4
Asian	3
South and Central American	2
other	4
no answer/unknown	13
total	100

 

 

Three out of four expats like living in Amsterdam

Forty two percent of the respondents felt welcome and 10% felt unwelcome when they arrived in Amsterdam. Almost half of the respondents felt neither welcome nor unwelcome. Almost half of them (46%) often feel they are being treated as a tourist in Amsterdam. But overall, most respondents like living in Amsterdam (73%). 

While settling in Amsterdam most respondents contacted the foreign police, the town hall and housing agencies. The experiences with consulates, embassies and school registration were quite positive most of the time according to a majority of the respondents who contacted these organizations. The experiences with the foreign police and with the IND (Immigration and Naturalization Service) on the other hand, are rated much less positive.  

Expectations versus reality

The respondents expected Amsterdam to be a liberal, friendly, tolerant, open-minded and big city. Some of them expected it to be a relaxed and easygoing city, where it is easy to find a job, a house and make new friends. According to 72%, Amsterdam (in some ways) lived up to these expectations.  

Respondents according to whom Amsterdam didn’t live up to their expectations, say that the people in Amsterdam are not as tolerant and friendly as expected and that it’s hard to make friends with Dutch people. A lot of the respondents were surprised by the “very bad customer service” in Amsterdam. 

Most respondents have daily contact with colleagues (80%), other expats (52%) and shop staff (53%). Most respondents have contact with people on the street in Amsterdam (75%) and with neighbours (64%) at least once a month. According to the respondents, the attitude of colleagues and other expats is (very) friendly. The attitude of people on the streets, shop staff and civil servants is rated less positive. 

Expats like the architecture, museums and atmosphere of Amsterdam

The aspects respondents most like about living in Amsterdam are the atmosphere, museums and the architecture. The climate is the least appreciated aspect (see figure 2). 

What is your experience of  the following aspects of Amsterdam?




When asked to describe, in their own words, what they like and dislike about Amsterdam, the respondents mention comparable likes and dislikes. What they like about Amsterdam is the architecture, the canals, the culture and the size of the city (small). A lot of respondents also like riding their bikes and the nightlife of Amsterdam. They find Amsterdam to be relaxed and multicultural. 

What the respondents don’t like about Amsterdam is bad customer service, the rudeness of the inhabitants, the dog litter, bureaucracy, racism and the way people behave in traffic, like taxi drivers and bicyclists.

Amsterdam: a compact city of canals

Many respondents see Amsterdam as a city of canals, a compact, liveable and artistic city. About half of them think that city of events and of “sex, drugs and rock & roll” are descriptions applicable to Amsterdam. Not many respondents think Amsterdam is creative, a city of innovation or has a “spirit of commerce” (see figure 3). 
 

To what extent do you find the following descriptions applicable to Amsterdam?


Do you know the promotional campaign 'I Amsterdam'? 
Most respondents know the promotional campaign “I Amsterdam” (see figure 4). Three out of every ten respondents think the motto is very good. Almost a fourth part thinks the motto is not strong. Most respondents (61%) think the image of Amsterdam will not change because of “I Amsterdam”.  


  Could you please rate the prices of the following goods or services in Amsterdam? 

Most respondents in Amsterdam think goods and services are quite expensive in Amsterdam. Almost half of them rate housing in Amsterdam as extremely expensive.  
  
  
  Transportation

According to a majority of the respondents, foot, tram and bike are convenient types of transportation while in Amsterdam. Transportation by car or taxi is rated to be far less convenient. More than one third of the respondents don’t use a car for transportation in Amsterdam and 25% don’t use the bus. 

According to most respondents (76%) it is quite easy to find their way around in Amsterdam. Signposting in Amsterdam is good, according to 48%. On the other hand, 18% rate the signposting as bad and 5% think signposting in Amsterdam is extremely bad. Respondents who think signposting is good, find it more easy to find their way around in Amsterdam as compared to respondents who think signposting is not so good. 

Language and language problems

Almost all respondents speak English (95%) and a lot of them speak Dutch (47%). Some of them speak Spanish (22%), French (37%) or German (16%). Respondents who speak Chinese experience language problems most often: according to 20% of them, language nearly always is an obstruction and for 33% of the Chinese speaking respondents, language sometimes is a problem. Respondents who speak Dutch (logically) experience the least language problems.  

A majority of respondents don’t think that the municipality provides enough information in other languages than Dutch (64%). As expected, respondents who speak Dutch most often find that the municipality provides enough information in other languages than Dutch (31%). By contrast, none of the Chinese speaking respondents think that the municipality provides enough information in languages other than Dutch.