Netherlands: is EUR 53000 salary enough for a family of 4?

Question

Is an annaul salary of EUR 53000 (before tax) sufficient for a family to live in Eindhoven area? It is a family of four with two school-going kids under 12.

Assuming the case of not getting the benefit of 30% ruling (or all foreign workers get it?), considering not a lavish but sort of frugal lifestyle, expenses like initial rental deposit, 2 bedroom house rental, transportation, utilities, school fees (I heard English schools are very expensive!), insurance, local govt/municipal taxes if any, and any other mandatory expenses, would there be anything left to save?

Given all that and if the job contract is for a year or so, is it okay to move the family or better stay alone? Thank you.

Answer 1

Some numbers:

• The average Dutch salary in The Netherlands in 2014 is €35.000/yr (source)
• The modal Dutch salary in The Netherlands in 2015 is €35.500/yr (source)
• The modal Dutch salary in The Netherlands in 2016 is €36.500/yr (source)
• The average income per household for 2 adults + 2 kids under 18 in 2011 was €82,400 (source)

A lot of extra information can be found Googling for "Cost of living in The Netherlands"

Numbeo gives a detailed list of sample items (note: no research data, just user contributed info). They claim:

Cost of living in Netherlands is 1.82% higher than in United States (aggregate data for all cities, rent is not taken into account). Rent in Netherlands is 14.65% lower than in United States (average data for all cities).

Some remarks from ExpatArrivals:

Expats living in the Netherlands must purchase health insurance from a Dutch provider. Costs vary depending on the package chosen but can range from around 100 to 350 EUR and up.
Liability insurance, which is usually included in household insurance, is also a must. If a person, their child or their dog damages anybody else’s property they will be held responsible and will be expected to have this
Tuition at local schools is free, but international schools are expensive, and can easily cost 15,000 EUR per year.

In Eindhoven, there seems to be only one international school. This is what they say about their tuition:

• Primary school fees are only (a minimum of) €450. Formally speaking this is a voluntary contribution, but you can't really not pay this.
• Secondary schools are a different story: That's €6500 and not voluntary.

Expatistan has a 'Cost of living index' which shows you that you are 17% cheaper of in Eindhoven than in Amsterdam ;-)

Since many households live on one salary, and your kids are still in primary school, your number sounds 'doable'. I would hesitate if they were in secondary school.

But it's your decision (also based on non-financial arguments). Make a list of monthly expenses and decide based on that.