Amsterdam tops Dutch cities league

26 April 2004

AMSTERDAM — Amsterdam has knocked suburb Amstelveen from the top spot to reclaim the title as the most attractive city in the Netherlands to live in.

Amstelveen – home to thousands of well-to-do expats – has dropped to third place in the Altas voor Gemeenten rankings behind Amsterdam and Utrecht, it was announced Monday. The Altas for Municipalities, which has been printed every year since 1997, charts the pros and cons of living in the 50 biggest Dutch districts.

Heerlen, in south Limburg, received the lowest score and came in 50th place in the rankings.

The Altas awards points to cities and districts based on several criteria, including accessibility, cultural offerings, the availability of cafes and restaurants and public safety.

Amsterdam achieved the top spot in part due to its rich cultural life, such as museums and the most theatre shows in the Netherlands, NOS news reported.

A major black mark against the capital was criminality – averaging 175 crimes per 1,000 residents.

Maastricht, in the south, was judged the most culinary city in the country, while Leidschendam-Voorburg and Alphen aan de Rijn scored best in terms of accessibility, both during and outside rush hour.

Emmen was the poorest performer in terms of accessibility both during peak and off-peak traffic, while Rotterdam was said to have the highest poverty rate.

Delft scored well as the city with the most childcare facilities and Purmerend had the lowest jobless rate.

Subject: Dutch news