There is no doubt that life in The Hague is good. There is plenty to do, countless bars, music venues, shops, markets, museums, galleries and theatres. The public transport system is reliable, regular and affordable, and everyone speaks English. With many international schools in the city, including the ISH (International School of The Hague), the French school and the German schools in addition to the junior departments of the British School, you can wonder what makes many thousands of expatriates choose to live anywhere else. Yet the suburbs and villages that skirt The Hague remain popular.

Voorschoten
Take Voorschoten, for example, where I live. The trams do not stretch this far so you would expect this large village to only be the choice of those with children attending the senior department of the British School. Yet many pick Voorschoten because of its distance from The Hague, not despite it. And it's still well connected by train, bus, road and cycle path.

Voorschoten has a village atmosphere, yet from the 415-hectare Horsten park on its doorstep, you can still see the modern towers of the city of The Hague. Its cobbled Voorstraat buzzes with life, is home to the Friday market, several street-side restaurants and regular celebrations, such as the Geranium market, Queens' Day, live music and the precisely named Weekend Voorschoten each September. In July there is the famous Paardenmarkt (horse market) too, complete with carriage racing.

A sports club popular with the locals and expats is Stein Sports. It has well-tended squash courts, a huge gym, regular classes and a busy bar. At the weekends particularly, or the regular fundraising events, leagues and spinning marathons make this the place for the whole family.

Wassenaaar
Again, the American school is a big draw, bringing with it a huge range of sporting and other events that form this active and inclusive community of parents and children. Look closer and you find many other reasons for coming here, not least the Duinrell fun and water park and the beach, which is quieter than Scheveningen and yet still has the beach bars and the dunes.

Adriana Volenikova is Slovakian and chose Wassenaar despite having a child below school age. “Everyone knows each other here due to the fact that the children greet each other on the street and then the parents are ‘forced’ to talk to each other. We always meet someone either on the Langstraat or local eateries and supermarket,” she says.

Wassenaar is well known for its friendliness, largely because of its welcome basket scheme, whereby all those registering with the gemeente (municipality) are then visited by a resident and given a basket of local information.

Voorburg
Voorburg, like its neighbour Leidschendam, is often the choice for those who want a halfway house, still connected to the city's public transport network, but with a village atmosphere. Again, the old part of the town is the place to be, according to Swedish Ingela Seif.

“De Herenstraat has nice shops and restaurants,” she says. “On Saturdays there is a small local market there between the two parks. Many expats join the Westvliet sports club, which has an English section on its website and is planning a special event for newcoming expats in October.”

Leidschendam
Mega Suwito, Indonesian, lives in Leidschendam and, after many years here, is part of the Dutch, Indonesian and expat communities and thinks Leidschendam has a good community spirit. She has become involved with the Trinity Church there, which is very international. There is de Fluit sports centre, a village atmosphere and the large Leidsenhage shopping complex, so there is plenty to keep you busy in an environment that is somewhat greener than the city, yet very close to it.

“Public transport is excellent here with quick access to all the international schools and still with plenty of green spaces. It is quiet, peaceful, safe and friendly,” says Mega.

Rijswijk
And don't forget Rijswijk, home of the European Patent Office as well as one of Shell’s offices. Here, according to British Lisa Hall, the centre of the old town still retains a very Dutch atmosphere.

“The Saturday market and other local events remind me of the strong community spirit here. It is very friendly. I meet people when I am walking my dog and out with my son too. I have found many people here prefer to communicate in Dutch. I even take yoga in Dutch and am glad I have been taking lessons,” she says.

Delft
The town of Delft is well connected to The Hague, yet has its own identity, partly because of its university and its connections to art. It was the choice of Italian Barbara Reale because of its medieval charm. “I love the way the buildings reflect in the canals at twilight, the sound of the old church bell and spotting the horse-drawn tram,” she says.

It is clearly a lively place with plenty of culture and nightlife. Barbara particularly enjoys the Lumen filmhuis. “Many expats love to dance here and there is Scottish country dancing available here as well as an active dance school called Wesseling, that offers everything from salsa to street dancing,” she says.

The Delftians expat club, which has almost 200 members since it began two years ago, meets at 8pm every other Thursday in de Ruif and has a busy calendar of events. There is also an English church service every Sunday at noon in the Oude Kerk.

Will you choose medieval charm, open space, schools, shops or tram routes? The fact that such choice is available means that it is no surprise to me to learn that the Netherlands is constantly voted one of the best places in the world to live.

by Jo Parfitt
www.expatrollercoaster.com
 

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