I feel like Amsterdam is a lot more focussed on tourism and I think that might even be part of the reason for some of the differences you mentioned. As a Dutch person who hasn't lived in either of them, but has visited both of them multiple times I really prefer Utrecht. I also feel Utrecht is a lot more walkable, and I find the city planning more intuitive, and as such I very much prefer Utrecht.
Any thoughts on how Delft , Den Haag, Eindhoven and Rotterdam compare to Utrechts city planning? Walkability is important to me too. But also places were I can run, bike and swim. And I've been looking into Almere too.
A'dam has really big problems not just planning. It is so unDutch. The tourists just dont realise this. Any other town would give a more Dutch experience but A'dam has the name unfortunately. I live in the town centre of Den Haag and prefer it a 10000 to A'dam which is a dump.
I just moved to Utrecht a month ago! Not the best time to do this in the middle of a pandemic, but until now it's been an amazing adventure. I had been several times to Amsterdam and I find it too packed of people, too much. To the point that I didn't enjoy my stay. But then you go to Utrecht and fall in love. Love biking these beautiful streets!
Thanks for being so nice and positive about the Netherlands. I think sometimes we Dutch tend to focus too much on the issues to see how nice the country actually is.
Thank you very much for making this video. I’m an American expat who’s been living and working in Amsterdam for the last 2 1/2 years, and I’m moving to Utrecht soon for a new job in Rotterdam. We’re really excited to be moving to Utrecht soon, and this video was definitely very informative and very reassuring.
That's it. I decided I want to permanently move to Utrecht. I'm narrowing down on my plans to escape North America. I started with wanting to move to Sweden, then Germany, then the Netherlands, then Amsterdam, Utrecht, or Groningen, and now to just Utrecht.
@@johnnybravo6225 no, it's more of a long term goal. First I need to get some work experience in the US before any Dutch employers will want to sponsor me. Either that or I need to build up an online income that I can take with me to the Netherlands to live off of.
Amsterdam also have a lot more tourists. It’s even becoming a problem as I understand. Personally I think Amsterdam is depressing. I prefer Utrecht, it has a more friendly atmosphere. And about staying expats. Students do the same. Years ago it was a real problem, only in Utrecht. There a lot of unemployed academics.
@Jannette Berends: Yes, the tourists have been a problem to Amsterdam for years now, by their numbers in certain places and by the behavior of some groups. We'll see how several developments work out.... I don't think that Amsterdam (or whatever city in the Netherlands) is depressing, but the atmosphere varies within cities with place and time. I wonder if the presence of students could explain positive developments, and then the "democratization" of studying at universities (keyword: 1968). Now anyone could study anything, leaving "corpsballen" a minority, and female students something common. Downtown Utrecht definitely has a positive vibe (not counting Hoog Catharijne), but in my memory for a few decades. I vaguely remember the quarter between the old railway station and the original Catharijnesingel - it's among my most depressing memories of a city, but then: it was about to make way. Wait! Traffic must have played an important role in the atmosphere of many Dutch cities (and likely abroad). Cars, cars, cars, parked and queueing - until through traffic got its ring roads and cars were discouraged from being downtown. (Tip: try the UA-cam channel of Not Just Bikes, but there are more.) This may well be a major difference between North-America and Northwest-Europe: the level of involvement of municipalities (or equivalent) in urban planning and renewal. The reconstruction of Hoog Catharijne and the Catharijnesingel was quite an effort. Some lessons seem learned.
Chris Laarman I remember the situation before Hoog Catharijne. It was the time of the speed addiction. All those speed freaks lived there. It was a scary place. i think students played a huge role in city development. I know the channel not just bikes. And bicycleDutch is also interesting, lot of videos about infrastructure and transformations of car roads to bicycle paths. People from other countries often comment on both channels that they would never succeed getting that infrastructure realized in their city. As if this just happened because our government was so bike friendly. Once in a while I can’t help reacting with our history to come to this result. Starting with Provo. Kabouters, ENWB and stop de kindermoord. Only the last one didn’t originate in universities.
Great video! I recently got accepted into both the University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University and this video helped me consider my options thoroughly.
I so much enjoy your vlogs, been here from the start. I am a Dutch native who lived all over the world for many years (incl NYC ;) and always love hearing new perspectives. I find your vlogs incredibly well scripted, well spoken, upbeat, perfectly edited and generally high quality. Now there would be two things I would LOVE to see on your vlog: 1) hear you do a vlog in Dutch :D 2) would love to see you interact with your girlfriend (yes I am nosy, I admit hahahahaha). I have been raised with that it never hurts to ask, what is the worst that can happen. Keep up the great work!!!
Well done! Thank you. If you would like to visit/see more beautiful cities/towns, I would recommend the Dutch Hanze (Hanseatic) Steden, i.e. Zutphen, Deventer, Zwolle and Kampen.
@@DutchAmericano Once Covid-19 is under control and events are allowed again I would recommend visiting Deventer (I am bias) for one of its events. Dickens festival, de Deventer boekenmarkt (the largest outdoor bookmarket of Europe) and Deventer op Stelten would be my suggestions. Though just a simple city walk (with or without a guide) can also be just as enjoyable.
Being born and raised in Amsterdam, I think I feel like a lot of 'Amsterdammers': We are loosing Amsterdam to foreigners. Now don't get me wrong, diversity in the city is a good thing. But Amsterdam has become so tourist and expat orientated that it has already lost some of its original charm. Even to us it feels less Dutch or Amsterdams if you will. So yeah, I can relate to you comment. And on top of that it says something about your willingness to be part of us.
Born in Amsterdam but live in Utrecht. Worked for quite some years in Amsterdam and I agree. Amsterdam, and especially the city center, feels like a huge tourist attraction. The streets are swarming with tourists. And that also reflects in the kind of shops in the center, the amount of hotels, etc. I believe Utrecht only has 2 souvenir shops in the entire city center.
I tear up when I walk on the Zeedijk nowadays... I miss the yellow trams. I miss the Amsterdam from back in the days. I feel like the city is hijacked by Expats and Tourists. I went to school there and lived 50m from Leidseplein. I live in Utrecht now and my girlfriend in Amsterdam, but still... I miss Amsterdam how it used to be.
Well, the greatest thing about the netherlands in general is that everybody speaks English . International expats have no trouble communicating and living in the netherlands. Most siginficantly, this aims for the country's prosperity and over all well-being
Utrecht doesn't have trams? I agree Utrecht doesn't have a metro, but I am pretty sure there is a regional tram service in the province of Utrecht including the city of Utrecht. Maybe it does not covers parts of the city where you want or have to go regularly?
True there are trams, but not real city trams, more like trams going to places like Nieuwegein and IJsselstein purely for commute from periphery towns to the city proper, whereas in Amstedam the trams are for transportation within the city
The trams in Utrecht are "sneltrams" and they are what other countries would call "light rail", a sort of lighter railroad system with more stops. In fact, even the normal (NS) railroad system would qualify as "light rail" in many other countries, certainly the "stoptrein".
Hi, I lived in Utrecht from 1990 through 2012... I'm a bit surprised to hear you say people don't use buses in Utrecht. Until the new tram line was finished, we probably had the busiest bus line in the country. Extremely long buses that ran every two minutes and still couldn't handle all the students going to the university area. But we don't use buses to get around in the center, we use them to get to the residential areas and the university area that are outside the center.
They are now substituted by a tram line (so yes, we actually do have trams). Also the buses are used a lot on other lines. There's actually also more business in Utrecht than in Amsterdam (Utrecht was the most successful economic region in the EU for a while). So it's a nice vlog but not everything is correct.
Ik ben enorm chauvinistisch over Utrecht, maar je hebt toch een paar dingen gevonden die in Amsterdam beter zijn: de trams en metro (ik heb een hekel aan bussen). En de schaal heeft ook voordelen: inderdaad, meer musea, culturele voorzieningen, te voet uren dwalen binnen de grachten en... Artis. Artis schiet me nu te binnen, maar mijn kinderen zijn opgegroeid in Amsterdam en dan is een jaarkaart een geweldig idee.
@Ad Lockhorst Als er ooit een vergelijking komt tussen Rotterdam en Amsterdam, zal ik nog eens denken aan je opmerking. Maar in de vergelijking tussen Utrecht en Amsterdam is Artis echt een pluspunt voor Amsterdam.
Hi Ava Ik kijk regelmatig naar je video's. Gewoon leuk om naar te kijken (lees dit als een compliment). Ik neem je serieus vandaar mijn reactie in het Nederlands. Wat mij opvalt is dat dit de eerste video is waaruit je kan afleiden dat Nederland groter is dan Amsterdam en Utrecht. Naarmate je verder van de Randstad vandaan bent, nemen de verschillen toe. Voorbeelden zijn de prijzen van huizen, de mentaliteit of de harde/zachte G, etc., etc. Ik zou het leuk vinden als je een keer aandacht zou hebben voor andere delen van Nederland. Ik ben namelijk benieuwd hoe jij als Amerikaan kijkt naar Nederland als geheel.
There is one tramline in Utrecht. Currently partly shut down because of repairs. Starting the 4th of July it will be totally shut down. It starts at Utrecht Central Station Jaarbeursplein. And has 2 end destinations. Ijsselstein (line 61) en Nieuwegein-zuid (line 60)
For me the biggest difference is that the old part of Utrecht is much smaller and heavily overcrowded (pre-Corona). Amsterdam off course is (or was/will be) as overcrowded as Utrecht, but because the old town is much bigger, you can find corners that are quieter. In Utrecht, the canals just go from north to south. The south end is more quiet. But you either go to the busy part or a bit more south. It's almost linear, whereas in Amsterdam you can move into different directions and sort of avoid the busy parts.
I like this.... I currently live in the middle of nowhere in Drenthe(which is also very beautiful), but I have lived in Utrecht for over 12 years, and it still feels like 'my' city. Amsterdam has more cultural events, but summer in Utrecht when there is no COVID-19 is planned full to the brim with different cultural festivals and lots to do. I am biased but I personally prefer Utrecht over Amaterdam, because it has much more small town feel than amsterdam, and also fewer tourists. The amount of tourists in Amsterdam is totally understandable but also kinda overwhelming (and depressing to me)
Amsterdam is the prettiest . I always felt so free there. The smell of the fresh water from the canals on a summer afternoon... sunlight dappling the leaves of the trees, the colours of a pride flag weaving up and down. All kinds of people and languages around and everybody just chilling. Found myself singing out loud while riding my bike, queen of the universe. Completely free and seeing beauty everywhere. Amsterdam is the perfect size compared to other capitals in Europe. Most of all, it's a city that is lived in by its people, it serves its people well. . Many capitals have the old part of the city where pedestrians rule. Not many have that same human friendly set up outside of the old center. I love the quirky statues , or Atari (Sega?) monsters on tiles , that are laid into the walls of the buildings (instead of a street name sign) along the Amstel. I love how you have houseboats with Buddha statues in front of the Headquarters of Phillips, I love the Mandarin streetname signs in the oldest harbour quarter (Chinese quarter) I love how those are probably more intelligible to foreigners than the Dutch name of those streets (Oudezijdse Achterburgwal). Amsterdam is unique in the universe. It has a bad arse, triple x, city coat of arms and an epic Motto/ Creed: " Heroic, Determined, Merciful ".
I'll agree about the fresh water smell _now_ but will say that the first time I visited A'dam [quite a few years ago now] the canals' smell was anything but fresh LOL.
@@frankhooper7871 lol, I knew someone would say something about that. Personally, in 10 years living there, I've only ever noticed the smell of the canals when it was especially sweet. You know what I mean? In hot weather. It's hard to put into words .
Visiting Utrecht right now and really think it is a great city. I am planning on moving to the Netherlands in a couple of years and so far, Utrecht is my number one choice of the handful of places I’ve visited.
So many cities are great in the Netherlands, like Groningen, Middelburg, Maastricht, Eindhoven and many more, but I do agree, Utrecht is really nicely centered in the country. I live in Hilversum myself. It is not a city, but basically a village, but it is larger than some cities, and has three train stations. It also has a bit of a city vibe. I like it here, and there are a lot of really cute small villages around it, with lots of woodland, and pancake restaurants, and there is a fresh market twice a week.
Loved the bit where you vlogged outside. It’s so much more dynamic and even more pleasant to watch :) I used to work in Utrecht (for the last 5 years), but I’ve never had the urge or desire to actually walk through the city. I think that vibe you mentioned is the one thing that puts me off. It’s such a small city, it’s ALWAYS under construction, the centre is way too crowded and cramped, it’s virtually impossible to navigate by motorcycle (I’m afraid I don’t really like public transport), the streets are even narrower than in Amsterdam and that horrible train station/shopping centre/chaos/food court... It just feels so designed and sculptured. Nope, not my kind of city. So, I’m happy my assignment in Utrecht ended and I can just stay in the Amsterdam area: wider streets, a more anonymous vibe, and I’m not really sure how to explain it, but I always feel you can just be part of the city without having to come too close and become all mushy and emotional about living there and calling it “your city”.
When I moved from Utrecht to Soesterberg, I realized that reaching the outdoors from the center and Utrecht is not really that quick... Oh, and I moved there because I couldn't afford a house in Utrecht. The city is still relatively expensive compared to most other place (but not compared to Amsterdam, of course).
Well, I may not know Utrecht outside of the city centre well enough to judge, but the thing about Amsterdam is, it is a lot more than its centre, there are many (often less touristic) 'villages' enclosed in the city, with their own atmosphere and character. Parts you would usually just pass by unnoticed when you go to your usual destinations, be it work or study. One of the great aspects of studying at the University of Amsterdam back when I did was that it has institutes throughout the city, sometimes in historical buildings, sometimes on the outskirts. I gather many of those have closed since, and have been more centralized. When I studied Medicine, there were two academic hospitals, the Binnengasthuis and the Wilhelmina Gasthuis, while lectures were given in the mathematics building (across from Kriterion... that's how it often was described. I always found that funny as the Kriterion cinema is a smallish old building, while the modern university building, and the huge chemistry lab behind it is much larger), and practical instructions amongst others in the Diamantslijperij (refering to its former use), or the Jan Swammerdam Instituut. These days it all moved to the AMC, far from the centre. *sigh* Showing my age, for sure :)
I'm Dutch and people will speak English to me in horeca in Amsterdam, don't worry about it haha. A'dam is sooo touristy. Probably the reason temporary expats live there is because if you are not here to stay it's easier to live in a more international community like A'dam.
As a born and raised Utrechter, i enjoy seeing you praising the city. It doesn't surrender anything in beauty to amsterdam but it's not as touristy, more compact and easier to get outside of. It's also great to see you venturing outside. You're ofcourse no longer a tourist, but what i'm used to from those is that they'll visit amsterdam, keukenhof and some windmills, and that's it. The country has so much more to offer beyond that tourist trap of a capital. We have castles, scenic countryside and forests, lakes, an impressive harbour and lots of civil engineering stuff. If you have an interest in civil engineering works, might i suggest the Maeslantkering at Hoek van Holland or the Oosterscheldekering in Zeeland? The latter one is often regarded as the centerpiece of the Deltawerken and took an enormous amount of time and effort to complete, while the former is one of the biggest movable structures in the world.
@@DutchAmericano nee hoor,Eva over het buitenleven gesproken, verlaat dan vooral de Randstad en ga naar echte natuur,zoals in Gelderland,Overijssel,Groningen,Zeeland of Limburg
Hi Eva, if I got it right....this is a really nice video, thank you so much. I wish to connect with you when I arrive at Utrecht, I'm coming in for my MBA in Utrecht including work stuff as an expat. And that accomodation insight is absolutely helpful. I look forward to seeing you in Netherlands.
You could say that Dutch 16t/17th century cities are basically the same, but they come in different sizes. Leiden is the small version, Utrecht is the medium size and Amsterdam is large. But in a way they are all alike.
Every city or town in the Netherlands has a different "vibe". Depends on what you're looking for. Rotterdam and Den Haag consider them as big cities, like Utrecht do and to Dutch standards they are. But these cities "feel" smaller than Amsterdam. Even though there's a rather big international community in those cities they still feel as a Dutch city. Go outside de Randstad away from the big cities to any town or city and you'll find a different Netherlands. I imagine this is the same in the US or any other country for that matter. Keep up the good work, love your videos..
Thank you for the observations, Eva! I think you're right. However: Vibe: I think that the "vibes" of Amsterdam and Utrecht are converging. My mother grew up in Utrecht, but kept disliking the "stijfheid" (formality?) of Utrecht all her life. Whereas she enjoyed the tolerance of Amsterdam (where I have always lived). Some difference like we Dutch used to feel with Germans. During the last three our four decades I have felt both differences vanish (from the general level to the individual level). Amsterdam has always been a place of international trade, with commerce being more important than religion (keyword: 1578). Utrecht had been more of a frontier town, going back to the Roman Empire. Its decay was stopped by the arrival of the railways (starting in 1843), and in 1852(?) it became the capital of the restored Roman-Catholic church province of the Netherlands - situated in the Protestant Bible Belt. Countryside: I don't agree with the idea of the time needed to leave Amsterdam by bicycle. The famous "Algemeen UitbreidingsPlan" (1935?) reserved "fingers of green" (often along waterways) in the rapid expansion of Amsterdam from that date. I admit that they are under pressure. Still, if you start at Amstelstation and ride to Ouderkerk along the Amstel, you are to see the farms in well under that half hour. And me, I live within a ten minutes' walk to the ferry to Central station, yet I'll cross the A10 (motorway ring) within an hour by foot - but the "finger" of the Noordhollands Kanaal even reaches to just opposite the Central station. Alright, you may have to count Vondelpark as a "finger" to accept my story.
Utrecht is definitely more Dutch than Amsterdam. Amsterdam feels like a foreign city to most Dutchies. One might say Amsterdam is more a "cosmopolitan" city, not a Dutch one.
Tommy hill figure, Nike, Matel, many companies call Amsterdam CEO headquarters. cosmopolitan, that sounds too 1950 to me, now we just say international i guess.
Hi Eva, I love your videos and how you talk about Dutch things. It makes me realize how happy I am to live here. I am not born here, and often I find myself thinking that other cultures are nicer for several reasons (social behaviour, food, music). Your videos take me back to reality that 'Holland' is pretty great. I am a little disappointed though, that you never speak about Rotterdam (my city, obviously). I really invite you to come here! It has great architecture, food, Cinneville cinemas en restaurants (although not everything is always available due to the forever changing Corona policy). Anyway, keep up the good work! I just recently discovered your channel and I am planning to watch all your posts "met terugwerkende kracht". Also, I expect a post about pindakaas, Klikbeet and kapsalon soon. :)
I think you are spot on. However there are about as many musea in utrecht as in amsterdam. Smaller ofcourse, but some are really worth visiting: spoorwegmuseum (railroad museum) and museum speelklok (a museum about history of organs, pianola's, musicboxes). Ok the latter sounds boring, but trust me, it is a must see.
Another great feature of Utrecht is the university, partly in the center, but mostly a short bus ride outside. And so all the students, who seem more noticeable in Utrecht. In Amsterdam the students just disappear into the crowds of people. Also not all the tourists in Amsterdam are nice, polite people (you know who I mean).
You are correct in Amsterdam being the cultural hub/center, most of the underrated stuff mentioned about Utrecht is because it is geographically centered in the Netherlands and you experienced Amsterdam from the center (pun intended), I also think Amsterdam is a more social/open city to expats, we dutch pride ourselves on speaking English, won't that as easy in Germany or France :-) Glad you love Utrecht so much, keep up in informing all the non-natives about the Netherlands being more than "just" Amsterdam. Have fun and tot de volgende keer (op UA-cam)
In Utrecht there are 179 nationalities and in Amsterdam 181 (according to Greg Shapiro, aka "The American Nederlander) so it is no wonder the Amsterdammers more quickly switch to English! ;-)
Living in Utrecht and working in Amsterdam for me the biggest thing you almost skipped over is the difference in bike infrastructure utrecht is way better and the gap is growing fast... bicycling in amsterdam is not bad but cities like Utrecht are taking it to a whole new level. And yes getting to nature is one of the elements.
Thank you for making this video!!!! I want to eventually move to Utrecht. I want to move to Amsterdam, but I do like a more quiet place so I feel like Utrecht is a bit of both worlds. I plan on moving there in 6 months (once the covid mess is a bit more chill) I plan on moving there & using DAFT though... but I wonder how that is now after covid. Could you plz make a video on that!? 💜💜💜💜🥰 love you!! I've been watching you since your first video ever, & seeing your growth not just in numbers but also in yourself is so amazing 🌞🌻 keep it up!
I'm dutch and I also live in Utrecht (historic centre). Even though Amsterdam is a 20-30 minute train ride, I never go to Amsterdam. It has been literally years maybe a decade ago since i've been in Amsterdam. And then it was only for a short afternoon. Being there, it drives me crazy. I don't like that big city vibe at all. Utrecht is a lot smaller. people are more friendly and the vibe for me is just spot on. Especially the centre where I live. It's like a village within a city
I come in both cities a lot and it's true what you say to a degree but I also feel many people exaggerate these differences in their heads. They've already decided Amsterdam is terrible so that's what you experience. In the end, if you walk in the Jordaan it feel just as much like 'a village', in fact, every Dutch city center has that vibe. Amsterdam just has many tourists (but many are gone now:)). Also Rotterdam is a notable exception of course.
We must be living close to each other. I'll say hi when I see you around the Singel or the Oude / Nieuwe Gracht. Good that you are happy here in Urecht!
You are NOT correct Utrecht has the Tram. I like Utrecht better, people are nicer and it has a friendly atmosphere.There are lots of fun cafe's and restaurants. I love biking everywhere in Utrecht, the flower market, the weekend market. etc, etc The city is centrally located for travel.
The main cause of many differences is that Amsterdam over the last centuries was an international harbour and capital while Utrecht was the local market and administrative city for the country side around it. There is a reason the city and the province have the same name: The ancient bishopric (Sticht) of Utrecht. Amsterdam is international, Utrecht is more provincial. Mind you, this used to be other way around when Utrecht was the main harbour connecting Roman (....) trade on the river Rijn to the North Sea and England when Amsterdam....wasn't :)
I am just back from a business trip to Utrecht. I really enjoyed it. Although it will be better once works on cathedral tower are finished. But I found the streets confusing - it was literally impossible to get to the Park Plaza Hotel! I ended up on a road but then the pavement ran out and it felt that it was going around hotel but no access - ended up having to go back to the other side of city centre to try a different route, was quite scary!
why you use that? Did you discover your local yogurt aisle, found any vla! Dutch stores have huge Yogurt sections, not needed for yogurt! Vla? why you need that?
Moving to Amsterdam is a dream. Moving to Utrecht is a... fact? I mean no foreigner has had a dream about living in Utrecht for some time. Makes all the difference in the world to the people it atracts.
Also noticed that dutch people in Amsterdam tend to talk to you in english, even if you start the conversation in dutch. I’m sure they try to be more welcoming to foreigners by doing this. I remember asking a guy on the street about a tram line in dutch. We actually had a full conversation where I was talking to him in dutch and he was responding in english 😂 from this day on, I started to tell people that I don’t speak any english, so i could practice my dutch 😌
@UChq13WSBrMDQLnKFoZmP7sA You own real estate or expat renting, For home owners, Amsterdam is cheap too, try London! Urecht is just a village, not on that level. Only Berlin is cheaper, who needs a place there? Absurd, try the bay area in San Francisco, down town Manhattan.
@@lucasrem Most of the real estate in those cities are a bubbles of course. With so many people now moving out the cities, the bubble may burst. Don't underestimate the housing prices in popular Dutch cities though. Many of those tall old buildings along the canals can easily set you back 1 to 3 million dollars, that even goes for Utrecht.
I find the vibe (as a person grown up in Utrecht) different. Amsterdam can be electrifying, more concentration of international talents in art and science. Even internationally it can compete with much larger cities like Paris or London when it comes to the quality of high culture. The Concertgebouw, the Stopera, Ballet, the theathres, the large Museums, the 200 art galeries, the artistic underground. They are all, when googled mentioned in many top 10 lists. Something that every Dutchman is I think proud. Even in most big cities in the USA you don't have such a massive concentration of quality of high culture. Utrecht is a bit overshine by this very bright star. It is much smaller, a province city, but with a very unique and special charm and character First of all, it is much older then Amsterdam and you feel that if you walk for example on a sunday morning on the Nieuwe Gracht along Pausdam, and you here the church Carillion of the majestic Dom Tower play. You feel the very old history of the city, you feel the centuries, all the epoches of European history that it has been a part of. It is magic. I just don't have that so strong in Amsterdam. The 17th century is so dominating in its history that other (also interesting parts) are overshine by it. Both cities are interesting but in many ways not really comparible.
Amsterdam is level 1: tourists and expats. Now ben je on level 2: onderweg naar heaven. Niveau 300 is Winterswijk: als je hier wordt geaccepteerd heb je het helemaal gemaakt!
Top musea in Utrecht zijn toch eerder het Spoorwegmuseum, Speelklok en Catherijneconvent?! En koop een museumjaarkaart...Betaal je 60 euro en kan je zo vaak je wilt een museum in. Dat heb je in 4 musea in Amsterdam er al uit.
I know a-dam ver well and especially the central districts are extremly touristic. At the outer skirts you find the more normal as in every city. As i havent been to Utrecht yet (always transpassing) i like this comparison video. Its a reason to stop by. Maybe some day one of those become my home in future as i loooooove the dutch
ideas for future vlogs: difference in driving (like the (wrong) place the trafficlights are in the US, all the roundabouts etc cars US vs the Netherlands (brands, size, prices etc) history (show us the castles ouside Utrecht and the old churches nice place to show is Dordrecht, (the oldest town of Holland) or Naarden (defence town in the 1500's)
Only if you are capable of warp speed. I have relatives in Amsterdam, in opposite directions from the central station, and it takes me 30 minutes in either direction by tram to get there, still well within the confines of the city, and that is without counting the waiting time.
@@TheSynecdoche Well, that's a very different thing. Amsterdam has 'finger'-like extensions. In between are green area's that reach into the city and are quite close to the center. So they are close by if you're on a bicycle. The flip side to that is that these 'fingers' are quite long. So moving out along one of them from the centre by public transport takes some time.
The major difference between A'dam and Utrecht is the university. The university in Utrecht dominates the city (it is really a town). You may not notice but towns like Utrecht, Leiden and Delft are university towns. Everything is geared to the student; eating places (not restaurants as they hardly exist) the cafes and generally most shops. Fashion is of little importance to Utrecht students dont have the money. For your age group Utrecht suits you far more than Amsterdam. You would find Delft and Leiden just the same. I worked in De Bilt for 30 years and travelled everyday from Den Haag to Utrecht and on to De Bilt. I knew Utrecht very well and often stopped off there on the way home. The cafe "The Stairs" was a favourite venue.
Utrecht is the most central and beautiful cities that you can immediately recognise due to the cellars footpath canels. However when visiting you should really try A Dutch farm holiday in places like Montfoort or Gouda I have stayed at both places and have appreciated Farmlife there compare to many other countries like Ireland, England or Australia. Ijsselsteine again is a typical looking Dutch town but places like Houton with it's minimalist post war building design and architecture are so Dutch also? Just try to travel more within the Netherlands from Alkmaar and Groningen in the north Middelburg and even the more tourist places like Kinder Dijk that we have visited many times in the south. I don't believe there are any part we have not enjoyed, truly one of the most enjoyable countries in Europe to visit and drive in, so much that we keep coming back just to find more places of interest. NSW in Oz
I lived in both cities. 1 thing that amazed me that in Utrecht you can find yourselves in a fiets-file. The other is that Utrecht is much less a unity in character and temperament, but more a collection of villages. Living here you may never come to Utrecht-Lunetten, or kanalen-eiland. Why would you?
I think we have to make a distinction between immigrants and true expats. Expats or expatriots are temporary guests in another country working for their original employer from their home country. In that sense Amsterdam is a true expat city because it hosts many foreign corporate branches. So it makes sense expats outnumber the true immigrants there. That and tourism also explains why English practiaclly became the most spoken language in the city. I'm Dutch and even I have to speak English often when I'm in Amsterdam. The thing is Dutch people generally don't mind. After centuries of immigration we've gotten used to adapting. Utrecht feels more Dutch because businesses are mostly Dutch. The university does bring an international vibe but that's not even close to the situation in Amsterdam.
A lot of Dutch people dont like Amsterdam because its just full of tourists or people who think the world ends outside of Amsterdam. Utrecht is much more gezellig and relaxed. Actually almost all the other Dutch cities are better than Amsterdam, if you want the ‘big city’ feeling go to Rotterdam, if you want the cosy-ness of Utrecht but a bit more posh: go to The Hague, and if you want nice cute cities go to Delft or Deventer, if you want hippyish go to Nijmegen, etc.
I lived as a expat in The Hague, Amsterdam and now Maastricht. I would say The Hague was the most Dutch city, Amsterdam still has a "Dutch look-and-feeling", but less indeed and in Maastricht you can easily forget is Dutch at all.
@@ikhls I had to think a moment about your question. It feels very "undutch".... I think is the huge amount of non-dutch speaking people in restaurants, pubs and shops, but you also have that in Amsterdam. Also over 50% of the students have a non-dutch background. I speak Dutch quite well, but a lot of locals speak a slang to each other that hardly sounds Dutch to me, more like the German-French mix they also speak in Luxembourg or Alsace. And the different food, things I did not see anywhere else in the Netherlands. Also not to forget: The architecture in the historical centre looks very different from any other Dutch city. Also: My local colleagues mostly are very polite, they are very careful with their opinions in meetings, nothing from the directness or strait-forwardness I got used to in The Hague or Amsterdam. It unexpectedly really felt like moving to another country again to me.
You are totally right. I live in Amsterdam and the first thing I ask if I accost someone, is "Do you speak Dutch?"(Spreekt u Nederlands?) You don't do that anywhere else in The Netherlands.
Hi Ava, thank you for this video, it was extremely helpful for us. My family and I are planning on moving to the Netherlands and we were debating between Utrecht, Amsterdam and the Hague. I think this video is a win for Utrecht. By the way, can you recommend realtors in Utrecht? Who did you use? Was the process ok? I hear it's hard to rent. Let me know and again thanks!
Hello! Reading your comment makes me think of me as I'm the same situation as we seriously considering moving to Utrecht in 2025. Did you finally find what you were looking for? The rental/real estate topic is the biggest challenge... Any tips to share would be more than welcome :=) thanks from France!
Dear Eva, The Netherlans is though a small country but it is far bigger then Amsterdam or Utrecht. The shops in Amsterdam are not nescessarely also in other big city's as The Hague or Rotterdam or Eindhoven and so on.
I don't think you ever mentioned Delft in one of your videos? I am a fan though! But I always hear Utrecht, Amsterdam and Leiden but I would suggest a visit to Delft as I used to study there and I think you would like it very much. Also when interested in Dutch and the Royal family history, Delft is quite an important city lol.
I wonder which other beautifull cities you know beside Amsterdam and Utrecht. Like: The Hague, Alkmaar, Enkhuizen, Hoorn. Or smaller places like Bergen (NH), Hindeloopen, Delft, Zierikzee, Veere, Kampen, Edam etc.
But Utrecht has Tivoli.Which seems to be build for the future, just one level up from paradiso/melkweg in amsterdam which are wrold-renowned podia in itself
We really enjoy your informative videos. We are currently looking to buy a house in Utrecht. We are avid cyclists and adventurers, where would you recommend living/neighborhoods in the Utrecht area?
Great video! There are a few inconsistencies, however. 7:12 "you can bike anywhere in 10 minute" Sorry this is not precisely true. Going from the center to the Uithof will take about 20 minutes. Going from Leidse Rijn to the Uithof will take you 40 minutes. That's all just within the city. Of course you can get anywhere in the center but that's not "the city" and in Amsterdam you can pretty much get anywhere in the center in 10-15 minutes with a bit of luck as well. Also there are 3 tramlines in Utrecht connecting parts of the Urban area to the central station but don't really have stops in the center indeed. Also realize for most Dutch people Utrecht is not seen as an average city either. It's pretty much the most expensive city to rent after Amsterdam and still somewhat 'yuppy' and international. Also The Hague is still pretty close to Utrecht, even for Dutch standards. Amsterdam is of course next door, only a 15-20 minutes train ride and you can switch to the Amsterdam metro. In fact, all the four big cities are part of the Randstad metropolitan area and very well connected and therefore often contrasted with the rest or "the province". If you go out of this area (which expats hardly ever do) you'll get a different experience of the Netherlands. I don't know if you've done it so far but I can really recommend to go to the more distant cities of Maastricht and especially Groningen. The latter is still somewhat international and big but very nice and more authentic than even Utrecht, in my opinion. It's about a 2-hour train ride but worth it.
I don't go to Amsterdam much, but more often than not, when I went to a restaurant in Amsterdam and tried to order something, the waiter would respond with "Sorry, I don't speak Dutch." That's never happened here in Utrecht.
I know both cities pretty well. Amsterdam looks cleaner and better maintained. Most Dutch people know that Utrecht has for instance the dirtiest station.
3 lines; line 60 (Utrecht CS - Nieuwegein), line 61 (Utrecht CS - IJsselstein) and the newest one; line 22 (Utrecht CS - Utrecht Sciencepark P+R). Lines 60 and 61 are currently being renovated for the new trams (which require low platforms instead of the high ones the old trams used), so those are temporary out of service.
@@sjoerd5629 They are the laughing stock of the city... line 22 took years longer than expected to be completed, and went way over budget. So you would think what can go wrong with the line 60/61 renovation? Well, technically it went almost to plan, but this time they forgot to get the right formal permission. So it still won't run for months to come, even while it is technically OK to run.
@Dutch Americano It was *literally* a breath of fresh air to see that small bit of you walking and vlogging outside. You should do that more often :-)
I feel like Amsterdam is a lot more focussed on tourism and I think that might even be part of the reason for some of the differences you mentioned. As a Dutch person who hasn't lived in either of them, but has visited both of them multiple times I really prefer Utrecht. I also feel Utrecht is a lot more walkable, and I find the city planning more intuitive, and as such I very much prefer Utrecht.
Amsterdam = crap
As a born and bred Utrechter I obviously prefer here.
Any thoughts on how Delft
, Den Haag, Eindhoven and Rotterdam compare to Utrechts city planning? Walkability is important to me too. But also places were I can run, bike and swim. And I've been looking into Almere too.
Amsterdam can’t help it’s so beautiful. It’s wasn’t ‘designed’ to attract tons of visitors.
A'dam has really big problems not just planning. It is so unDutch. The tourists just dont realise this. Any other town would give a more Dutch experience but A'dam has the name unfortunately. I live in the town centre of Den Haag and prefer it a 10000 to A'dam which is a dump.
I just moved to Utrecht a month ago! Not the best time to do this in the middle of a pandemic, but until now it's been an amazing adventure. I had been several times to Amsterdam and I find it too packed of people, too much. To the point that I didn't enjoy my stay. But then you go to Utrecht and fall in love. Love biking these beautiful streets!
Did anyone notice your bong ? LOL, also thanks for the video it's super informative
Thanks for being so nice and positive about the Netherlands. I think sometimes we Dutch tend to focus too much on the issues to see how nice the country actually is.
Thank you very much for making this video. I’m an American expat who’s been living and working in Amsterdam for the last 2 1/2 years, and I’m moving to Utrecht soon for a new job in Rotterdam. We’re really excited to be moving to Utrecht soon, and this video was definitely very informative and very reassuring.
That's it. I decided I want to permanently move to Utrecht. I'm narrowing down on my plans to escape North America. I started with wanting to move to Sweden, then Germany, then the Netherlands, then Amsterdam, Utrecht, or Groningen, and now to just Utrecht.
Have you moved there yet ?
@@johnnybravo6225 no, it's more of a long term goal. First I need to get some work experience in the US before any Dutch employers will want to sponsor me. Either that or I need to build up an online income that I can take with me to the Netherlands to live off of.
Amsterdam also have a lot more tourists. It’s even becoming a problem as I understand.
Personally I think Amsterdam is depressing. I prefer Utrecht, it has a more friendly atmosphere.
And about staying expats. Students do the same. Years ago it was a real problem, only in Utrecht. There a lot of unemployed academics.
@Jannette Berends: Yes, the tourists have been a problem to Amsterdam for years now, by their numbers in certain places and by the behavior of some groups. We'll see how several developments work out....
I don't think that Amsterdam (or whatever city in the Netherlands) is depressing, but the atmosphere varies within cities with place and time.
I wonder if the presence of students could explain positive developments, and then the "democratization" of studying at universities (keyword: 1968). Now anyone could study anything, leaving "corpsballen" a minority, and female students something common.
Downtown Utrecht definitely has a positive vibe (not counting Hoog Catharijne), but in my memory for a few decades. I vaguely remember the quarter between the old railway station and the original Catharijnesingel - it's among my most depressing memories of a city, but then: it was about to make way. Wait! Traffic must have played an important role in the atmosphere of many Dutch cities (and likely abroad). Cars, cars, cars, parked and queueing - until through traffic got its ring roads and cars were discouraged from being downtown. (Tip: try the UA-cam channel of Not Just Bikes, but there are more.)
This may well be a major difference between North-America and Northwest-Europe: the level of involvement of municipalities (or equivalent) in urban planning and renewal. The reconstruction of Hoog Catharijne and the Catharijnesingel was quite an effort. Some lessons seem learned.
Chris Laarman I remember the situation before Hoog Catharijne. It was the time of the speed addiction. All those speed freaks lived there. It was a scary place.
i think students played a huge role in city development. I know the channel not just bikes. And bicycleDutch is also interesting, lot of videos about infrastructure and transformations of car roads to bicycle paths. People from other countries often comment on both channels that they would never succeed getting that infrastructure realized in their city. As if this just happened because our government was so bike friendly.
Once in a while I can’t help reacting with our history to come to this result. Starting with Provo. Kabouters, ENWB and stop de kindermoord. Only the last one didn’t originate in universities.
Great video! I recently got accepted into both the University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University and this video helped me consider my options thoroughly.
I so much enjoy your vlogs, been here from the start. I am a Dutch native who lived all over the world for many years (incl NYC ;) and always love hearing new perspectives. I find your vlogs incredibly well scripted, well spoken, upbeat, perfectly edited and generally high quality. Now there would be two things I would LOVE to see on your vlog: 1) hear you do a vlog in Dutch :D 2) would love to see you interact with your girlfriend (yes I am nosy, I admit hahahahaha). I have been raised with that it never hurts to ask, what is the worst that can happen. Keep up the great work!!!
Well done! Thank you.
If you would like to visit/see more beautiful cities/towns, I would recommend the Dutch Hanze (Hanseatic) Steden, i.e. Zutphen, Deventer, Zwolle and Kampen.
Thanks for the recommendation!
@@DutchAmericano You're welcome.
It's nice to hear your views on things that I have taken for granted all my life.
@@DutchAmericano Once Covid-19 is under control and events are allowed again I would recommend visiting Deventer (I am bias) for one of its events. Dickens festival, de Deventer boekenmarkt (the largest outdoor bookmarket of Europe) and Deventer op Stelten would be my suggestions. Though just a simple city walk (with or without a guide) can also be just as enjoyable.
Don't forget Harderwijk ;)
I've been to Utrecht many times, thanks for sharing the memory's with me. Outstanding job young lady. Keep it up and we'll be there for you.
Being born and raised in Amsterdam, I think I feel like a lot of 'Amsterdammers': We are loosing Amsterdam to foreigners. Now don't get me wrong, diversity in the city is a good thing. But Amsterdam has become so tourist and expat orientated that it has already lost some of its original charm. Even to us it feels less Dutch or Amsterdams if you will. So yeah, I can relate to you comment. And on top of that it says something about your willingness to be part of us.
Born in Amsterdam but live in Utrecht. Worked for quite some years in Amsterdam and I agree. Amsterdam, and especially the city center, feels like a huge tourist attraction. The streets are swarming with tourists. And that also reflects in the kind of shops in the center, the amount of hotels, etc.
I believe Utrecht only has 2 souvenir shops in the entire city center.
I tear up when I walk on the Zeedijk nowadays... I miss the yellow trams. I miss the Amsterdam from back in the days. I feel like the city is hijacked by Expats and Tourists. I went to school there and lived 50m from Leidseplein. I live in Utrecht now and my girlfriend in Amsterdam, but still... I miss Amsterdam how it used to be.
Well, the greatest thing about the netherlands in general is that everybody speaks English . International expats have no trouble communicating and living in the netherlands. Most siginficantly, this aims for the country's prosperity and over all well-being
Utrecht doesn't have trams?
I agree Utrecht doesn't have a metro, but I am pretty sure there is a regional tram service in the province of Utrecht including the city of Utrecht. Maybe it does not covers parts of the city where you want or have to go regularly?
Utrecht even got one of the most expensive tramline in the whole world haha
True there are trams, but not real city trams, more like trams going to places like Nieuwegein and IJsselstein purely for commute from periphery towns to the city proper, whereas in Amstedam the trams are for transportation within the city
The trams in Utrecht are "sneltrams" and they are what other countries would call "light rail", a sort of lighter railroad system with more stops.
In fact, even the normal (NS) railroad system would qualify as "light rail" in many other countries, certainly the "stoptrein".
We just got new tramlines to the uithof and to ijsselstein etc
Theyre not through the city centre but utrecht does have tram lines
i was in a tram there, they are trams, only they do have separate tracks, safety reasons.
Hi, I lived in Utrecht from 1990 through 2012... I'm a bit surprised to hear you say people don't use buses in Utrecht. Until the new tram line was finished, we probably had the busiest bus line in the country. Extremely long buses that ran every two minutes and still couldn't handle all the students going to the university area.
But we don't use buses to get around in the center, we use them to get to the residential areas and the university area that are outside the center.
They are now substituted by a tram line (so yes, we actually do have trams). Also the buses are used a lot on other lines. There's actually also more business in Utrecht than in Amsterdam (Utrecht was the most successful economic region in the EU for a while). So it's a nice vlog but not everything is correct.
Ik ben enorm chauvinistisch over Utrecht, maar je hebt toch een paar dingen gevonden die in Amsterdam beter zijn: de trams en metro (ik heb een hekel aan bussen). En de schaal heeft ook voordelen: inderdaad, meer musea, culturele voorzieningen, te voet uren dwalen binnen de grachten en... Artis. Artis schiet me nu te binnen, maar mijn kinderen zijn opgegroeid in Amsterdam en dan is een jaarkaart een geweldig idee.
@Ad Lockhorst Als er ooit een vergelijking komt tussen Rotterdam en Amsterdam, zal ik nog eens denken aan je opmerking. Maar in de vergelijking tussen Utrecht en Amsterdam is Artis echt een pluspunt voor Amsterdam.
Hi Ava Ik kijk regelmatig naar je video's. Gewoon leuk om naar te kijken (lees dit als een compliment). Ik neem je serieus vandaar mijn reactie in het Nederlands. Wat mij opvalt is dat dit de eerste video is waaruit je kan afleiden dat Nederland groter is dan Amsterdam en Utrecht. Naarmate je verder van de Randstad vandaan bent, nemen de verschillen toe. Voorbeelden zijn de prijzen van huizen, de mentaliteit of de harde/zachte G, etc., etc. Ik zou het leuk vinden als je een keer aandacht zou hebben voor andere delen van Nederland. Ik ben namelijk benieuwd hoe jij als Amerikaan kijkt naar Nederland als geheel.
There is one tramline in Utrecht. Currently partly shut down because of repairs. Starting the 4th of July it will be totally shut down. It starts at Utrecht Central Station Jaarbeursplein. And has 2 end destinations. Ijsselstein (line 61) en Nieuwegein-zuid (line 60)
For me the biggest difference is that the old part of Utrecht is much smaller and heavily overcrowded (pre-Corona). Amsterdam off course is (or was/will be) as overcrowded as Utrecht, but because the old town is much bigger, you can find corners that are quieter. In Utrecht, the canals just go from north to south. The south end is more quiet. But you either go to the busy part or a bit more south. It's almost linear, whereas in Amsterdam you can move into different directions and sort of avoid the busy parts.
I like this.... I currently live in the middle of nowhere in Drenthe(which is also very beautiful), but I have lived in Utrecht for over 12 years, and it still feels like 'my' city. Amsterdam has more cultural events, but summer in Utrecht when there is no COVID-19 is planned full to the brim with different cultural festivals and lots to do. I am biased but I personally prefer Utrecht over Amaterdam, because it has much more small town feel than amsterdam, and also fewer tourists. The amount of tourists in Amsterdam is totally understandable but also kinda overwhelming (and depressing to me)
That's why I love Leiden its a small Utrecht but with more canals
canals, i only know 3, singel, new and old canal...
I am not sure it is fair to compare other cities to the perfection that Leiden is :D
Amsterdam is the prettiest . I always felt so free there. The smell of the fresh water from the canals on a summer afternoon... sunlight dappling the leaves of the trees, the colours of a pride flag weaving up and down. All kinds of people and languages around and everybody just chilling. Found myself singing out loud while riding my bike, queen of the universe. Completely free and seeing beauty everywhere. Amsterdam is the perfect size compared to other capitals in Europe. Most of all, it's a city that is lived in by its people, it serves its people well. . Many capitals have the old part of the city where pedestrians rule. Not many have that same human friendly set up outside of the old center. I love the quirky statues , or Atari (Sega?) monsters on tiles , that are laid into the walls of the buildings (instead of a street name sign) along the Amstel. I love how you have houseboats with Buddha statues in front of the Headquarters of Phillips, I love the Mandarin streetname signs in the oldest harbour quarter (Chinese quarter) I love how those are probably more intelligible to foreigners than the Dutch name of those streets (Oudezijdse Achterburgwal). Amsterdam is unique in the universe. It has a bad arse, triple x, city coat of arms and an epic Motto/ Creed: " Heroic, Determined, Merciful ".
I'll agree about the fresh water smell _now_ but will say that the first time I visited A'dam [quite a few years ago now] the canals' smell was anything but fresh LOL.
@@frankhooper7871 lol, I knew someone would say something about that. Personally, in 10 years living there, I've only ever noticed the smell of the canals when it was especially sweet. You know what I mean? In hot weather. It's hard to put into words .
@@frankhooper7871 De grachten van Amsterdam worden elke dag twee maal ververst. De grachten zijn nog nooit zo schoon geweest.
The Utrecht botanical garden is one of the most beautiful I have visited I really recommend it
Visiting Utrecht right now and really think it is a great city. I am planning on moving to the Netherlands in a couple of years and so far, Utrecht is my number one choice of the handful of places I’ve visited.
So many cities are great in the Netherlands, like Groningen, Middelburg, Maastricht, Eindhoven and many more, but I do agree, Utrecht is really nicely centered in the country. I live in Hilversum myself. It is not a city, but basically a village, but it is larger than some cities, and has three train stations. It also has a bit of a city vibe. I like it here, and there are a lot of really cute small villages around it, with lots of woodland, and pancake restaurants, and there is a fresh market twice a week.
Loved the bit where you vlogged outside. It’s so much more dynamic and even more pleasant to watch :)
I used to work in Utrecht (for the last 5 years), but I’ve never had the urge or desire to actually walk through the city. I think that vibe you mentioned is the one thing that puts me off. It’s such a small city, it’s ALWAYS under construction, the centre is way too crowded and cramped, it’s virtually impossible to navigate by motorcycle (I’m afraid I don’t really like public transport), the streets are even narrower than in Amsterdam and that horrible train station/shopping centre/chaos/food court... It just feels so designed and sculptured. Nope, not my kind of city.
So, I’m happy my assignment in Utrecht ended and I can just stay in the Amsterdam area: wider streets, a more anonymous vibe, and I’m not really sure how to explain it, but I always feel you can just be part of the city without having to come too close and become all mushy and emotional about living there and calling it “your city”.
I mostly agree. But what many expats fail to see is that Dutch cities are a bit more than just that tiny 1000-years old center.
When I moved from Utrecht to Soesterberg, I realized that reaching the outdoors from the center and Utrecht is not really that quick... Oh, and I moved there because I couldn't afford a house in Utrecht. The city is still relatively expensive compared to most other place (but not compared to Amsterdam, of course).
Well, I may not know Utrecht outside of the city centre well enough to judge, but the thing about Amsterdam is, it is a lot more than its centre, there are many (often less touristic) 'villages' enclosed in the city, with their own atmosphere and character. Parts you would usually just pass by unnoticed when you go to your usual destinations, be it work or study.
One of the great aspects of studying at the University of Amsterdam back when I did was that it has institutes throughout the city, sometimes in historical buildings, sometimes on the outskirts. I gather many of those have closed since, and have been more centralized.
When I studied Medicine, there were two academic hospitals, the Binnengasthuis and the Wilhelmina Gasthuis, while lectures were given in the mathematics building (across from Kriterion... that's how it often was described. I always found that funny as the Kriterion cinema is a smallish old building, while the modern university building, and the huge chemistry lab behind it is much larger), and practical instructions amongst others in the Diamantslijperij (refering to its former use), or the Jan Swammerdam Instituut.
These days it all moved to the AMC, far from the centre.
*sigh* Showing my age, for sure :)
I'm Dutch and people will speak English to me in horeca in Amsterdam, don't worry about it haha. A'dam is sooo touristy. Probably the reason temporary expats live there is because if you are not here to stay it's easier to live in a more international community like A'dam.
As a born and raised Utrechter, i enjoy seeing you praising the city. It doesn't surrender anything in beauty to amsterdam but it's not as touristy, more compact and easier to get outside of. It's also great to see you venturing outside. You're ofcourse no longer a tourist, but what i'm used to from those is that they'll visit amsterdam, keukenhof and some windmills, and that's it. The country has so much more to offer beyond that tourist trap of a capital. We have castles, scenic countryside and forests, lakes, an impressive harbour and lots of civil engineering stuff. If you have an interest in civil engineering works, might i suggest the Maeslantkering at Hoek van Holland or the Oosterscheldekering in Zeeland? The latter one is often regarded as the centerpiece of the Deltawerken and took an enormous amount of time and effort to complete, while the former is one of the biggest movable structures in the world.
I have always wondered why you still pronounce Amsterdam in an American way " Emsterdem" , but pronounce Utrecht in a Dutch way.
Oh, interesting! I think to me when I say "Amsterdam" the Dutch way, I feel like I'm pretending to be "fancy".
I don't know how you do it or what,but these episodes are so charming 😍! And the fox returns!
@@DutchAmericano nee hoor,Eva over het buitenleven gesproken, verlaat dan vooral de Randstad en ga naar echte natuur,zoals in Gelderland,Overijssel,Groningen,Zeeland of Limburg
@@DutchAmericano Not to me. It would show how ingeburgerd you are. Emsterdem sounds very American.
More people in Amsterdam say Emsterdem than people in Utrecht say Joetrech.
Museums you might want to visit if quirky is a thing: Museum Speelklok, Musiom, Museum voor het Kruideniersbedrijf and a few others.
I loved Speelklok when I was young. Also the Train Museum is awesome.
museums are for boomers, who needs museums when you have
*MEMES*
Also try to visit Sint Eloyen Gasthuis at Mariaplaats. Only open 1 day a year, but it is special!
The Speelklok museum was really wonderful and surprising, Much better than I'd expected, especially all the musical automata. Worth a trip.
Hi Eva, if I got it right....this is a really nice video, thank you so much. I wish to connect with you when I arrive at Utrecht, I'm coming in for my MBA in Utrecht including work stuff as an expat. And that accomodation insight is absolutely helpful. I look forward to seeing you in Netherlands.
You could say that Dutch 16t/17th century cities are basically the same, but they come in different sizes. Leiden is the small version, Utrecht is the medium size and Amsterdam is large. But in a way they are all alike.
Every city or town in the Netherlands has a different "vibe". Depends on what you're looking for. Rotterdam and Den Haag consider them as big cities, like Utrecht do and to Dutch standards they are. But these cities "feel" smaller than Amsterdam. Even though there's a rather big international community in those cities they still feel as a Dutch city. Go outside de Randstad away from the big cities to any town or city and you'll find a different Netherlands. I imagine this is the same in the US or any other country for that matter. Keep up the good work, love your videos..
Perfect uitgelegd Ewout. Dank. Het is vaak appels en peren vergelijken.
Thank you for the observations, Eva! I think you're right. However:
Vibe: I think that the "vibes" of Amsterdam and Utrecht are converging. My mother grew up in Utrecht, but kept disliking the "stijfheid" (formality?) of Utrecht all her life. Whereas she enjoyed the tolerance of Amsterdam (where I have always lived). Some difference like we Dutch used to feel with Germans. During the last three our four decades I have felt both differences vanish (from the general level to the individual level). Amsterdam has always been a place of international trade, with commerce being more important than religion (keyword: 1578). Utrecht had been more of a frontier town, going back to the Roman Empire. Its decay was stopped by the arrival of the railways (starting in 1843), and in 1852(?) it became the capital of the restored Roman-Catholic church province of the Netherlands - situated in the Protestant Bible Belt.
Countryside: I don't agree with the idea of the time needed to leave Amsterdam by bicycle. The famous "Algemeen UitbreidingsPlan" (1935?) reserved "fingers of green" (often along waterways) in the rapid expansion of Amsterdam from that date. I admit that they are under pressure.
Still, if you start at Amstelstation and ride to Ouderkerk along the Amstel, you are to see the farms in well under that half hour. And me, I live within a ten minutes' walk to the ferry to Central station, yet I'll cross the A10 (motorway ring) within an hour by foot - but the "finger" of the Noordhollands Kanaal even reaches to just opposite the Central station. Alright, you may have to count Vondelpark as a "finger" to accept my story.
Utrecht is definitely more Dutch than Amsterdam. Amsterdam feels like a foreign city to most Dutchies.
One might say Amsterdam is more a "cosmopolitan" city, not a Dutch one.
Speak for yourself, please.
I think you hit the nail on the head, there.
Tommy hill figure, Nike, Matel, many companies call Amsterdam CEO headquarters.
cosmopolitan, that sounds too 1950 to me, now we just say international i guess.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful video 👍 I hope to visit this place one day and admire its beauty with my own eyes 😊 See you next video
Hi Eva, I love your videos and how you talk about Dutch things. It makes me realize how happy I am to live here. I am not born here, and often I find myself thinking that other cultures are nicer for several reasons (social behaviour, food, music). Your videos take me back to reality that 'Holland' is pretty great. I am a little disappointed though, that you never speak about Rotterdam (my city, obviously). I really invite you to come here! It has great architecture, food, Cinneville cinemas en restaurants (although not everything is always available due to the forever changing Corona policy). Anyway, keep up the good work! I just recently discovered your channel and I am planning to watch all your posts "met terugwerkende kracht". Also, I expect a post about pindakaas, Klikbeet and kapsalon soon. :)
City center of Amsterdam is now so much geared towards tourists, that even I am addressed to in English.
Ja dat kan best behoorlijk irritant zijn
I think you are spot on. However there are about as many musea in utrecht as in amsterdam. Smaller ofcourse, but some are really worth visiting: spoorwegmuseum (railroad museum) and museum speelklok (a museum about history of organs, pianola's, musicboxes). Ok the latter sounds boring, but trust me, it is a must see.
87 Musea in Amsterdam en 17 musea in Utrecht. And you call that as many... oké dan.
If you like visiting museums, I can really recommend the National Military Museum in Soesterberg. It's a nice bike ride from Utrecht :-)
Rhenen op de Zuid-Veluwe is nog geen uur bij je vandaan en de nabijgelegen Veluwezoom is 110M NAP
Another great feature of Utrecht is the university, partly in the center, but mostly a short bus ride outside. And so all the students, who seem more noticeable in Utrecht. In Amsterdam the students just disappear into the crowds of people. Also not all the tourists in Amsterdam are nice, polite people (you know who I mean).
You are correct in Amsterdam being the cultural hub/center, most of the underrated stuff mentioned about Utrecht is because it is geographically centered in the Netherlands and you experienced Amsterdam from the center (pun intended), I also think Amsterdam is a more social/open city to expats, we dutch pride ourselves on speaking English, won't that as easy in Germany or France :-) Glad you love Utrecht so much, keep up in informing all the non-natives about the Netherlands being more than "just" Amsterdam. Have fun and tot de volgende keer (op UA-cam)
I’m Dutch and I only had it in Amsterdam where in a shop they spoke English to me, never had that in any other city
I've had that happen to me in Rotterdam as well
In Utrecht there are 179 nationalities and in Amsterdam 181 (according to Greg Shapiro, aka "The American Nederlander) so it is no wonder the Amsterdammers more quickly switch to English! ;-)
Living in Utrecht and working in Amsterdam for me the biggest thing you almost skipped over is the difference in bike infrastructure utrecht is way better and the gap is growing fast... bicycling in amsterdam is not bad but cities like Utrecht are taking it to a whole new level. And yes getting to nature is one of the elements.
Thank you for making this video!!!! I want to eventually move to Utrecht. I want to move to Amsterdam, but I do like a more quiet place so I feel like Utrecht is a bit of both worlds. I plan on moving there in 6 months (once the covid mess is a bit more chill) I plan on moving there & using DAFT though... but I wonder how that is now after covid. Could you plz make a video on that!? 💜💜💜💜🥰 love you!! I've been watching you since your first video ever, & seeing your growth not just in numbers but also in yourself is so amazing 🌞🌻 keep it up!
Also maybe make a video on cost of living at Utrecht & just the whole process of becoming an expat as an American. Thank you!
I'm dutch and I also live in Utrecht (historic centre). Even though Amsterdam is a 20-30 minute train ride, I never go to Amsterdam. It has been literally years maybe a decade ago since i've been in Amsterdam. And then it was only for a short afternoon. Being there, it drives me crazy. I don't like that big city vibe at all. Utrecht is a lot smaller. people are more friendly and the vibe for me is just spot on. Especially the centre where I live. It's like a village within a city
I come in both cities a lot and it's true what you say to a degree but I also feel many people exaggerate these differences in their heads. They've already decided Amsterdam is terrible so that's what you experience. In the end, if you walk in the Jordaan it feel just as much like 'a village', in fact, every Dutch city center has that vibe. Amsterdam just has many tourists (but many are gone now:)). Also Rotterdam is a notable exception of course.
So in that short afternoon in Amsterdam a decade or so you noticed the people where not that friendly... oké dan... apart.
Eva, thank you for these videos.
❤️
Yay, I am so happy top see Lowieke de Vos is back :P
We must be living close to each other. I'll say hi when I see you around the Singel or the Oude / Nieuwe Gracht. Good that you are happy here in Urecht!
You are NOT correct Utrecht has the Tram. I like Utrecht better, people are nicer and it has a friendly atmosphere.There are lots of fun cafe's and restaurants. I love biking everywhere in Utrecht, the flower market, the weekend market. etc, etc The city is centrally located for travel.
At 5.7K subscribers this Dutch guy had underestimated your channel and felt it was underrated. Turned that into action.
The main cause of many differences is that Amsterdam over the last centuries was an international harbour and capital while Utrecht was the local market and administrative city for the country side around it. There is a reason the city and the province have the same name: The ancient bishopric (Sticht) of Utrecht. Amsterdam is international, Utrecht is more provincial.
Mind you, this used to be other way around when Utrecht was the main harbour connecting Roman (....) trade on the river Rijn to the North Sea and England when Amsterdam....wasn't :)
The old Rhein, the Utrecht Bishop needed to canalize the area all the way to Amsterdam, collecting taxes...
I am just back from a business trip to Utrecht. I really enjoyed it. Although it will be better once works on cathedral tower are finished. But I found the streets confusing - it was literally impossible to get to the Park Plaza Hotel! I ended up on a road but then the pavement ran out and it felt that it was going around hotel but no access - ended up having to go back to the other side of city centre to try a different route, was quite scary!
Hey Eva, I have to say I'm really enjoying your videos.
I'm also living in Utrecht for a year. Nice video
People don't panic!
You can buy flessenlikkers everywhere!
But Utrecht has the worlds biggest record fair!
...and the world’s biggest bike garage!
why you use that?
Did you discover your local yogurt aisle, found any vla!
Dutch stores have huge Yogurt sections, not needed for yogurt! Vla? why you need that?
Nice video again
Communication talent ..
hope you explore themes !
Wish you lots of succes
Moving to Amsterdam is a dream. Moving to Utrecht is a... fact? I mean no foreigner has had a dream about living in Utrecht for some time. Makes all the difference in the world to the people it atracts.
Very nice cabinet haha.. Nice video also ofcourse
Haha, thank you!
In Utrecht there are 2 trams. One from Utrecht to IJsselstein and the other one is from Utrecht to Nieuwegein
Also noticed that dutch people in Amsterdam tend to talk to you in english, even if you start the conversation in dutch. I’m sure they try to be more welcoming to foreigners by doing this. I remember asking a guy on the street about a tram line in dutch. We actually had a full conversation where I was talking to him in dutch and he was responding in english 😂 from this day on, I started to tell people that I don’t speak any english, so i could practice my dutch 😌
Great video. Very entertaining. It is goed to live in the Netherlands.
Thank you so much for this video:) im planning to move to Utrecht in couple months and im beyond excited:)
btw. you're gorgeous
Houses in Utrecht are very, very expensive.
Amsterdam is just absurd.
@UChq13WSBrMDQLnKFoZmP7sA
You own real estate or expat renting, For home owners, Amsterdam is cheap too, try London! Urecht is just a village, not on that level.
Only Berlin is cheaper, who needs a place there?
Absurd, try the bay area in San Francisco, down town Manhattan.
@@lucasrem Most of the real estate in those cities are a bubbles of course. With so many people now moving out the cities, the bubble may burst. Don't underestimate the housing prices in popular Dutch cities though. Many of those tall old buildings along the canals can easily set you back 1 to 3 million dollars, that even goes for Utrecht.
@@dojadog4223 “even Utrecht”? Utrecht is the second highest priced city in the Netherlands.
@@JasperJanssen More or less true but I was putting it in perspective to Amsterdam and London.
I find the vibe (as a person grown up in Utrecht) different. Amsterdam can be electrifying, more concentration of international talents in art and science. Even internationally it can compete with much larger cities like Paris or London when it comes to the quality of high culture. The Concertgebouw, the Stopera, Ballet, the theathres, the large Museums, the 200 art galeries, the artistic underground. They are all, when googled mentioned in many top 10 lists. Something that every Dutchman is I think proud. Even in most big cities in the USA you don't have such a massive concentration of quality of high culture. Utrecht is a bit overshine by this very bright star. It is much smaller, a province city, but with a very unique and special charm and character First of all, it is much older then Amsterdam and you feel that if you walk for example on a sunday morning on the Nieuwe Gracht along Pausdam, and you here the church Carillion of the majestic Dom Tower play. You feel the very old history of the city, you feel the centuries, all the epoches of European history that it has been a part of. It is magic. I just don't have that so strong in Amsterdam. The 17th century is so dominating in its history that other (also interesting parts) are overshine by it. Both cities are interesting but in many ways not really comparible.
Amsterdam is level 1: tourists and expats. Now ben je on level 2: onderweg naar heaven. Niveau 300 is Winterswijk: als je hier wordt geaccepteerd heb je het helemaal gemaakt!
Top musea in Utrecht zijn toch eerder het Spoorwegmuseum, Speelklok en Catherijneconvent?! En koop een museumjaarkaart...Betaal je 60 euro en kan je zo vaak je wilt een museum in. Dat heb je in 4 musea in Amsterdam er al uit.
I know a-dam ver well and especially the central districts are extremly touristic. At the outer skirts you find the more normal as in every city. As i havent been to Utrecht yet (always transpassing) i like this comparison video. Its a reason to stop by. Maybe some day one of those become my home in future as i loooooove the dutch
Jippieieieie the mouse is back, and i like the mouse it's "gezellig" . Thank you Eva.
ideas for future vlogs:
difference in driving (like the (wrong) place the trafficlights are in the US, all the roundabouts etc
cars US vs the Netherlands (brands, size, prices etc)
history (show us the castles ouside Utrecht and the old churches nice place to show is Dordrecht, (the oldest town of Holland) or Naarden (defence town in the 1500's)
The urban design of Amsterdam makes it very easy to be 'out' on the bicycle in 5 minutes in almost every direction.
Only if you are capable of warp speed. I have relatives in Amsterdam, in opposite directions from the central station, and it takes me 30 minutes in either direction by tram to get there, still well within the confines of the city, and that is without counting the waiting time.
@@TheSynecdoche Well, that's a very different thing. Amsterdam has 'finger'-like extensions. In between are green area's that reach into the city and are quite close to the center. So they are close by if you're on a bicycle. The flip side to that is that these 'fingers' are quite long. So moving out along one of them from the centre by public transport takes some time.
Ah! Good to see the sad dead fox is back :)
even I get the English treatment as well, despite being Dutch. That's usually only in Centrum. Outside of centrum near De Pijp area it's very Dutch.
The major difference between A'dam and Utrecht is the university. The university in Utrecht dominates the city (it is really a town). You may not notice but towns like Utrecht, Leiden and Delft are university towns. Everything is geared to the student; eating places (not restaurants as they hardly exist) the cafes and generally most shops. Fashion is of little importance to Utrecht students dont have the money. For your age group Utrecht suits you far more than Amsterdam. You would find Delft and Leiden just the same. I worked in De Bilt for 30 years and travelled everyday from Den Haag to Utrecht and on to De Bilt. I knew Utrecht very well and often stopped off there on the way home. The cafe "The Stairs" was a favourite venue.
Utrecht is the most central and beautiful cities that you can immediately recognise due to the cellars footpath canels. However when visiting you should really try A Dutch farm holiday in places like Montfoort or Gouda I have stayed at both places and have appreciated Farmlife there compare to many other countries like Ireland, England or Australia. Ijsselsteine again is a typical looking Dutch town but places like Houton with it's minimalist post war building design and architecture are so Dutch also? Just try to travel more within the Netherlands from Alkmaar and Groningen in the north Middelburg and even the more tourist places like Kinder Dijk that we have visited many times in the south. I don't believe there are any part we have not enjoyed, truly one of the most enjoyable countries in Europe to visit and drive in, so much that we keep coming back just to find more places of interest. NSW in Oz
I lived in both cities. 1 thing that amazed me that in Utrecht you can find yourselves in a fiets-file. The other is that Utrecht is much less a unity in character and temperament, but more a collection of villages. Living here you may never come to Utrecht-Lunetten, or kanalen-eiland. Why would you?
Great observations. Again!
I think we have to make a distinction between immigrants and true expats. Expats or expatriots are temporary guests in another country working for their original employer from their home country. In that sense Amsterdam is a true expat city because it hosts many foreign corporate branches. So it makes sense expats outnumber the true immigrants there. That and tourism also explains why English practiaclly became the most spoken language in the city. I'm Dutch and even I have to speak English often when I'm in Amsterdam. The thing is Dutch people generally don't mind. After centuries of immigration we've gotten used to adapting.
Utrecht feels more Dutch because businesses are mostly Dutch. The university does bring an international vibe but that's not even close to the situation in Amsterdam.
Great comment Mola.
A lot of Dutch people dont like Amsterdam because its just full of tourists or people who think the world ends outside of Amsterdam.
Utrecht is much more gezellig and relaxed.
Actually almost all the other Dutch cities are better than Amsterdam, if you want the ‘big city’ feeling go to Rotterdam, if you want the cosy-ness of Utrecht but a bit more posh: go to The Hague, and if you want nice cute cities go to Delft or Deventer, if you want hippyish go to Nijmegen, etc.
I live between both cities and I would rather live in Utrecht and visit Amsterdam than the other way around.
I lived as a expat in The Hague, Amsterdam and now Maastricht. I would say The Hague was the most Dutch city, Amsterdam still has a "Dutch look-and-feeling", but less indeed and in Maastricht you can easily forget is Dutch at all.
And why is that in Maastricht?
@@ikhls I had to think a moment about your question. It feels very "undutch".... I think is the huge amount of non-dutch speaking people in restaurants, pubs and shops, but you also have that in Amsterdam. Also over 50% of the students have a non-dutch background. I speak Dutch quite well, but a lot of locals speak a slang to each other that hardly sounds Dutch to me, more like the German-French mix they also speak in Luxembourg or Alsace. And the different food, things I did not see anywhere else in the Netherlands. Also not to forget: The architecture in the historical centre looks very different from any other Dutch city. Also: My local colleagues mostly are very polite, they are very careful with their opinions in meetings, nothing from the directness or strait-forwardness I got used to in The Hague or Amsterdam. It unexpectedly really felt like moving to another country again to me.
You are totally right. I live in Amsterdam and the first thing I ask if I accost someone, is "Do you speak Dutch?"(Spreekt u Nederlands?) You don't do that anywhere else in The Netherlands.
Hi Ava, thank you for this video, it was extremely helpful for us. My family and I are planning on moving to the Netherlands and we were debating between Utrecht, Amsterdam and the Hague. I think this video is a win for Utrecht. By the way, can you recommend realtors in Utrecht? Who did you use? Was the process ok? I hear it's hard to rent. Let me know and again thanks!
Hello! Reading your comment makes me think of me as I'm the same situation as we seriously considering moving to Utrecht in 2025.
Did you finally find what you were looking for? The rental/real estate topic is the biggest challenge... Any tips to share would be more than welcome :=) thanks from France!
Dear Eva, The Netherlans is though a small country but it is far bigger then Amsterdam or Utrecht.
The shops in Amsterdam are not nescessarely also in other big city's as The Hague or Rotterdam or Eindhoven and so on.
Don’t you think she already knows that. En doe wat aan je Engels: “are not necessarily also”...?
I don't think you ever mentioned Delft in one of your videos? I am a fan though! But I always hear Utrecht, Amsterdam and Leiden but I would suggest a visit to Delft as I used to study there and I think you would like it very much. Also when interested in Dutch and the Royal family history, Delft is quite an important city lol.
utrecht has a tram to and from ijsselstein en nieuwegein en sinds kort naar de uithof
I wonder which other beautifull cities you know beside Amsterdam and Utrecht. Like: The Hague, Alkmaar, Enkhuizen, Hoorn. Or smaller places like Bergen (NH), Hindeloopen, Delft, Zierikzee, Veere, Kampen, Edam etc.
The Netherlands is the greatest country in the world.
Well, keep the Netherlands sovereign then and don't sell out to the EU.
But Utrecht has Tivoli.Which seems to be build for the future, just one level up from paradiso/melkweg in amsterdam which are wrold-renowned podia in itself
Your videos are always so much fun to watch. I always enjoy them a lot. I wonder how you rate Den Haag compared to Amsterdam en Utrecht?
We really enjoy your informative videos. We are currently looking to buy a house in Utrecht. We are avid cyclists and adventurers, where would you recommend living/neighborhoods in the Utrecht area?
Great video! There are a few inconsistencies, however. 7:12 "you can bike anywhere in 10 minute" Sorry this is not precisely true. Going from the center to the Uithof will take about 20 minutes. Going from Leidse Rijn to the Uithof will take you 40 minutes. That's all just within the city. Of course you can get anywhere in the center but that's not "the city" and in Amsterdam you can pretty much get anywhere in the center in 10-15 minutes with a bit of luck as well. Also there are 3 tramlines in Utrecht connecting parts of the Urban area to the central station but don't really have stops in the center indeed.
Also realize for most Dutch people Utrecht is not seen as an average city either. It's pretty much the most expensive city to rent after Amsterdam and still somewhat 'yuppy' and international. Also The Hague is still pretty close to Utrecht, even for Dutch standards. Amsterdam is of course next door, only a 15-20 minutes train ride and you can switch to the Amsterdam metro. In fact, all the four big cities are part of the Randstad metropolitan area and very well connected and therefore often contrasted with the rest or "the province". If you go out of this area (which expats hardly ever do) you'll get a different experience of the Netherlands. I don't know if you've done it so far but I can really recommend to go to the more distant cities of Maastricht and especially Groningen. The latter is still somewhat international and big but very nice and more authentic than even Utrecht, in my opinion. It's about a 2-hour train ride but worth it.
Uh, no. De Uithof is not in the city. Neither is Leidsche Rijn.
I don't go to Amsterdam much, but more often than not, when I went to a restaurant in Amsterdam and tried to order something, the waiter would respond with "Sorry, I don't speak Dutch."
That's never happened here in Utrecht.
That's pretty sad.
Maybe you could look at living out side the randstad where standard of living is more on a higher level
I know both cities pretty well. Amsterdam looks cleaner and better maintained. Most Dutch people know that Utrecht has for instance the dirtiest station.
Dirtiest station 😂😂😂 ua-cam.com/video/1E2gPzoDKE0/v-deo.html
I think Utrecht does have a tram. Not as many, but at least 1 line.
3 lines; line 60 (Utrecht CS - Nieuwegein), line 61 (Utrecht CS - IJsselstein) and the newest one; line 22 (Utrecht CS - Utrecht Sciencepark P+R). Lines 60 and 61 are currently being renovated for the new trams (which require low platforms instead of the high ones the old trams used), so those are temporary out of service.
@@sjoerd5629 They are the laughing stock of the city... line 22 took years longer than expected to be completed, and went way over budget.
So you would think what can go wrong with the line 60/61 renovation? Well, technically it went almost to plan, but this time they forgot to get the right formal permission. So it still won't run for months to come, even while it is technically OK to run.