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Utrecht Arriving in Utrecht by train, you emerge into the country’s largest (but arguably, most unlovely) shopping mall, but don’t let that put you off. Utrecht is a beautiful city with a rich history and culture. With its unusual sunken canals and cellar bars, the medieval centre is a delightful place to live. “A pleasant mix of urban excitement and small-town charm,” according to local convention centre Jaarbeurs. The vibe gets particularly lively at night due to the huge (70,000) student population. Utrecht is an attractive destination for international companies and enterprise because it has the most highly-educated labour force in the Netherlands. However, house-hunting here can be even harder than in Amsterdam. To deal with the shortage, the city is in the midst of expansion projects such as in Leidsche Rijn, and around the railway station to the west. No changes will be made to the historic city centre, and the station area will form a natural extension of the central district, bringing together the areas to the east and west of the railway tracks. Transport links are excellent, particularly by train. Utrecht is HQ for NS (Dutch National Railways) and Utrecht Centraal is the biggest and busiest train station in the Netherlands. The centre is prime territory, particularly the museum quarter and Wilhelminapark with its well-maintained 1930s houses. It is an easy commute to Amsterdam (25 minutes by train) and the service is regular (five trains an hour). IJSSELSTEIN Twenty minutes down the motorway is the popular suburb of IJsselstein complete with a car-free medieval city centre and castle (now a museum). There are fast train connections to Utrecht and Nieuwegein and good cultural amenities. Nature lovers can enjoy the beautiful green heart of the Netherlands with bike trails through lovely countryside and along the river Lek.
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LEIDSCHE RIJN Officially part of the city of Utrecht, Leidsche Rijn consists of the two small villages of Vleuten and Meern, which were recently annexed and includes the entire agricultural area between those villages and Utrecht itself. Some 30,000 houses and new space for industry and companies are being built in Leidsche Rijn. In effect, this means that a medium-sized town, which will house 80,000 people, is being built out of nothing. Great effort is being made to create an environmentally friendly town with high quality housing. An underground motorway is the pride of the project. NIEUWEGEIN Lying 7 km south of Utrecht, Nieuwegein is a new town created in 1971 to cope with the expanding population of Utrecht. There are a variety of housing styles from classic Dutch brick homes to modern high-rises and, if you need to drive to work, easy access to nearby motorways (A2, A12 and A27). To the east is Houten, a fast-developing town, where a third of the population is under 20. Population: 307,081 (www.utrecht.nl) International residents: ‘Non-Western foreigners’: 20 percent ‘Western foreigners’: 10 percent International schools: Utrecht will start with international schooling in 2012. Links: www.utrecht.nl www.iwcu.nl
Havaa Apartments B.V. P.O. Box 467 • 3500AL Utrecht I. www.havaa-apartments.com E. info@havaa-apartments.com T. +31 (0)30 2317100
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