Cost of living
On this page you will find some sample figures for the cost of living in the Netherlands for a PhD fellow. On average around €900 to €1000 will cover your normal expenses. Note that these are estimates only. Depending on your own spending habits, they may well be higher or lower.
Visa & residence permits
Housing
Food
Telephone
Bicycle
Insurances
Entertainment
More information
Visa & residence permits
Around €435 in your first year and €188 for every application for an extension. If you take your partner and or children with you, similar costs will apply to them.
Housing
Anything between €300 and €700 a month would be considered cheap accommodation.
The exact amount will depend on the region you live (the Randstad area is often more expensive than the rest of the Netherlands), whether your housing is provided by your employer, whether utilities are included, and whether it is furnished.
If you bring your partner/ family, you will be probably be looking at more expensive accommodation. Keep in mind that most landlords or housing agencies will expect you to pay a one or two months' deposit, which they will return to you when you leave the accommodation in a good state. Commercial letting agencies may also charge a commission.Read more in our section on accommodation & housing.
Food
If you are not such a big spender, you can get by with €150-200 a month for one person. This figure assumes that you will eat home-cooked meals. If you live in a non-furnished house, you might have to buy some kitchen tools. They are not included in this figure.
Telephone
€45 a month (a rough estimate). This depends a lot on your own situation. Do you use a phone a lot? And if you want to call your friends and family back home, the cost of your bill will depend on the country where you are from and the kind of phone you use (landline, mobile, or internet phone). It is expensive to call abroad on a mobile phone from the Netherlands. A landline is much cheaper, especially if you use a budget international phone company (examples include Tele2 or OneTel). If you move into a house where you can share a landline with others, this will be a budget option. The monthly subscription price for a landline is about €20 depending on the package you buy.
Bicycle
€120 a year. Cycling is an ideal way to transport yourself. Everyone Dutch person has at least one bicycle and the road system has many bike lanes. However you will need to acquire a bike first. They often get stolen, so buy a (few) good bike lock(s). Once you have a bike, there are hardly any other costs. Make sure you have light on your bike, because the police are known to fine bikers not using lights in the dark.
Insurances
Entertainment
Some sample prices:
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A drink: €2 on average (more for liquors)
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A cheap meal out ("dish of the day"): €15
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Cinema ticket: €7-10 (excluding snacks/beverages)
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Travel costs: €65 a month (a rough estimate)
Although this depends on the amount of traveling you will, it is likely that you will easily spend about €65 a month. Public transport costs can add up. -
Sports card: €100 a year
Every university has a sports centre, where you can do any number of sports for very reasonable prices. This is a relatively cheap way to meet other people. You could also join a team sport. Normally a team starts in the beginning of September, but you can always ask to join during the rest of the year.
More information
More samples are available on several university websites. Although most are aimed towards students, they will have information on local costs of living:
InHolland University of Applied Sciences (several locations)
Numbeo (independent website)
Source: Nuffic
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