Large-city dwellers move to the suburbs

People moving away from Amsterdam in 2004 showed a strong preference for the suburbs in neighbouring municipalities. The migration flows show a number of characteristic patterns. Many native Dutch people moved from Amsterdam to Haarlemmermeer, while people with a Surinamese background exchanged Amsterdam for Almere. In Rotterdam, native Dutch people were more likely to move to Barendrecht, while those with a foreign background found new homes in Capelle and Schiedam. 

Native Dutch more likely to leave the big cities

Thirty thousand people moved from Amsterdam to another Dutch municipality in 2004. 24 thousand people left Rotterdam. For both cities, 60 percent of the outflow consisted of native Dutch city dwellers, 30 percent were people with a non-western foreign background and 10 percent had a western foreign background.

Almere main destination from Amsterdam

People moving from Amsterdam in 2004 went mainly to Almere, Haarlemmermeer and Amstelveen. Native Dutch movers moved mainly to Haarlemmermeer, followed by Almere and Amstelveen. For people with a non-western foreign background, Almere was the most popular destination by far, followed by Haarlemmermeer and Zaanstad. For people with a western foreign background Amstelveen headed the list, followed by Haarlemmermeer and Almere.

Top three destinations for movers from Amsterdam, by ethnic origin, 2004

Relatively many Surinamese move to Almere

House moves from Amsterdam to Almere accounted for the largest internal migration flow in 2004. With one thousand movers, people with a Surinamese background accounted for one third of moves to Almere. A total 2 thousand people with non-western foreign  background, one thousand native Dutch people and a few hundred people with a western foreign background moved from Amsterdam to Almere. The popularity of Almere among people of Surinamese descent may be connected with the attraction of the large  Surinamese community now present in the municipality.

Rotterdam movers choose Capelle

People leaving Rotterdam mostly chose to live in Capelle aan den IJssel, Schiedam or Barendrecht in 2004. For native Dutch people, Barendrecht was the most popular new municipality, followed by Capelle aan den IJssel and Albrandswaard. Capelle aan den IJssel and Schiedam headed the list of new municipalities for movers with a non-western foreign background, with The Hague in third place. For people with a western foreign background, Capelle aan den IJssel was the first, The Hague the second and Schiedam the third most popular place to move to.

Many native Dutch people move to Barendrecht

Relatively many people with a Surinamese background (14 percent) moved to Capelle aan den IJssel. The migration from Rotterdam to Barendrecht consisted mainly of native Dutch people (72 percent). 

Top three destinations for movers from Rotterdam, by ethnic origin, 2004

Andries de Jong and Coen van Duin