Suburbia in the US and the Netherlands
Tags:amstelveen amsterdam differences between the united states and the netherlands richmond study abroad suburbia suburbs the netherlandsI’ve recently been amazed by the incredible differences between urban sprawl outside of Richmond, VA (i.e. in suburbs like those I am from) and outside of Amsterdam. Compare these two maps, both about 10km away from the downtowns of their respective cities:
10km south of Amsterdam, in Amstelveen
10km north of Richmond in what is still called the City of Richmond (click “View Larger Map” and check out Street View for a real look at the area)
These areas are of what I assume are comparable income levels*, but as you can tell, the housing and environment are way different. The Dutch neighborhood is extremely typical of what I’ve seen in Amstelveen — tall buildings of apartments for families, short, connected houses with connected but fenced yards, and farmland. All right next to each other. Fast public transport is a few minutes walk away, there are nearby (walking- or biking-distance) shops, and families don’t have much space of their own. Tons more stuff is within biking distance, including a sports park.
*Richmond data: $250,000 median house price, with 50% of people renting, and a $37,000 median salary according to http://www.city-data.com/zips/23227.html
The US is covered in suburbs like the one shown above. The nearest bus stop to get into Richmond city from that American neighborhood is a 4km walk south along a road with no sidewalk, so a car is mandatory. It’s practically impossible to walk to anything interesting. Each house has its own yard, and there are absolutely no housing skyscrapers anywhere close until you get to the heart of the city. And there is zero farm land, even though most of the land is probably arable… Anything “undeveloped” is left as fallow woodland. You’d have to drive at least a dozen kilometers in the right direction to find some small farms. Most of those — at least near where I’m from — are being bought up and developed into offices or shopping malls.
I find it amazing that people live so close together here in the Netherlands. It doesn’t really affect me as a student — my rent here (260EUR or something per month with utilities; I don’t pay it since I’m studying through ISEP) is way cheaper than typical Richmond rent ($450+ without utilities and with roommates, maybe somewhat cheaper if you share a room with a roommate in a dorm, but not cheaper in the single-room dorms). Of course, the rooms in the US are generally bigger, but for there being so many of them and so few rooms in Amsterdam, I would think rent would be more comparable. But, on the other hand, I would never live this far away from the center of Richmond or any “college town,” since I would likely need a car — 45 minute commutes on a bicycle are no fun when there isn’t a bike lane nor room of a bicycle. Suburbia is just yet another interesting difference between the US and the Netherlands.
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