Den Haag

Hi guys, I’ve got a mundane pointless anouncement to make: I got admitted to the royal academy of arts in The Hague, Netherlands! Woohoo!

So, now I’m wondering, how’s the city? I guess it’s quite expensive? Is there anyone here who’ve lived in the city, knows about it’s cultural scene et cetera, willing to share a bit of their knowledge? Does it have a vibrant music-scene? Good bars? How’s renting there or a bit outside the city?

If anyone want something back for their information, I can trade knowledge about Oslo, Norway in general, and Genoa.

(Anyway, I hope I’ve posted this in the right forum, I guess I could have asked in General questions, but I’m asking more about opinions than facts…)

Congrats on getting in, well done! :slight_smile:

I currently live in Rotterdam and work in the Hague. The Hague is nice, though I don’t know it all that well. It’s not the most vibrant city, but being located in the Randstad it’s very close to Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Leiden and Delft. The Hague is a little more upmarket than the others, an expat town. The others have more exciting student communities. (I might be underestimating the Hague as a student town, it might just be a side I don’t know!)

As a student you probably want to rent a room in a student house? Here is an example. €350/month for a student room should be about right. Funda.nl might help for looking around, though it’s not really the right place for student housing. I’d ask the university about that.

Oh yeah, and the Hague is definitely cheaper than Oslo! Huzzah! :smiley:

Let me know anything specific I can help you with!

Well, Plumpudding, congratulations! I live and work in The Hague; PM me with your questions/requests/comments and I will gladly help you there :slight_smile:

Thanks for the replies!

There´s few places more expensive than Oslo, so I guess I’ll be fine. If I can’t find somewhere in the city, I could probably find somewhere a little outside? I have a friend that knows some people moving there from Groeningen, so I wont be all on my own. When it comes to living, I’m not really that picky. I could probably find a collective or something. 350 isn’t all that expensive. Here you pay more than double for ten square meters outside of the center.

I believe it’s quite international? That means I could probably find a part-time job after a while?

The reason I´m asking about the cultural side of the city is because I’d like to have some places close by to have gigs/exhibits at, or just to see others have fun. But if there are lots of cities nearby that wont be as important. Oslo has a really good underground scene, so I’m a bit spoiled. Genoa for example, while okay, didn’t even come close to what we have here.

Anyway, I’ll pop back in if I come up with some more questions.

You should be able to get way cheaper accomodation than 350, unless you are looking for an appartment all for yourself. It depends on where you want to live, areas like Laakwartier, Transvaal, Schildersbuurt will have cheaper accomodation… but also considered the “rough” part of town, even though it’s not that bad.

The city is very International, since it’s where the Government is and thus also all the Embassies. In addition to that it is the “legal capital” in the world and after New York and Geneva, the biggest “UN city”. Many international agencies and the like. So yes, there is quite an expat community and also a sizeable number of immigrants from Turkey and Morocco… and lately also Eastern Europe.

From your school, you are about a 5 minute walk from the newly reopened Mauritshuis if Dutch Masters are your thing and at a similar distance you have the Escher museum. A bit farther out (15 minute tram ride) you have the Gemeente museum with more modern art (especially Mondrian). Your school is about 3 minutes walk from Den Haag Centraal, from which you can get tom Amsterdam in about 45 minutes (if you want more art). In Rotterdam in 20 and Utrecht in 40; these are the 4 biggest cities in the country (I believe the Hague is the third biggest).

Music wise, the biggest podium in town is Het Paard, which is a 5 minute bike ride from your school. Get a bike btw, everything can be done by bike in The Hague. I’m not so sure about an underground scene, but The Hague has produced many of the nationally succesful rockbands. I’m sure there is some stuff there.

The hague is also the best place in Holland for Indonesian food;).