Possible Brexit leads to large influx of expats from London to Amsterdam

The approaching Brexit has already resulted in an influx of expats from London to Amsterdam. Early this year, the European Medicines Agency, EMA, moved into its temporary offices in the Dutch capital. Because of Brexit, the agency responsible for assessing the quality and functioning of medicines had to leave London, after which our capital rolled out the red carpet for highly educated people – not just for the EMA staff but also for many other companies. Why is Amsterdam so popular amongst this target group, what does this city offer, and what role can Engel & Völkers play in this? This blog explains it further. 

Amsterdam is very popular amongst expats

People who are sent by their employers to work in the Netherlands are now more enthusiastic than ever to adjust to the Dutch way of life. Whereas they would only stay in the Netherlands for a couple of months before, they may now easily live here for five years, as indicated in a report of Statistics Netherlands published in 2015. The Dutch capital remains unwaveringly popular and hugely attractive. This is also due to the fact that Amsterdam offers lots of opportunities for work and education. The city gets an even more international character and its growth is mainly caused by the influx of an international and highly educated population.

The popularity of De Zuidas in Amsterdam

The Netherlands is a particularly appealing option for companies in the financial sector, ICT, media and marketing, and biotechnology. Especially European headquarters are moving their offices increasingly often to De Zuidas in Amsterdam. Apart from EMA, these include, for example, NEX Group. MarketAxess and Tradweb, Jefferies, MUFG, and the Royal Bank of Scotland. De Zuidas currently houses over 700 companies with around 39,000 employees in total. Despite the rising real estate prices, life in Amsterdam is greatly appealing for international staff when it comes to housing and living, especially when compared to other European cities. The costs of living in London are exponentially higher than living and working in the Dutch capital, the Randstad area, and the other surrounding towns.

The real estate demand increases

Now that more international companies and organisations choose to relocate to Amsterdam, the demand for suitable housing increases as well. And even though not all employees move with the company, a large number does and, for this group, housing is essential. As an internationally operating real estate agency, Engel & Völkers has over 800 offices worldwide and offers loads of options for international companies of which employees are sent over to work and live in the Netherlands as well. This makes us the ideal partner for supporting expats in finding suitable housing. Our Heemstede office is perfectly located to offer our services in the region Kennemerland (Heemstede, Bloemendaal, Overveen, Haarlem, Aerdenhout, Zandvoort). Engel & Völkers mainly focuses on interesting, high-end expats who are relocating to the Netherlands and on international buyers.

With us, foreign employees and international buyers come to the right address when looking for a suitable house to rent or buy. Please contact our Engel & Völkers office in Heemstede and meet our enthusiastic team of professionals who will handle the consequences of the approaching Brexit excellently with a great real estate portfolio in the Amsterdam region for international house hunters.

Would you like to get more information about the relocation services that Engel & Völkers can offer? Then click on this link.