What to do when you start living on your own?

Moving out of your parents house is quite a change in your life. With the start of your studies and your arrival in a (sometimes completely new) city, you already have plenty of things to think about, so to make your life a bit easier, ASVA has listed some handy tips for you! This is how to get your time living independently off to a good start!

Registration in your municipality

It is compulsory to register in your new municipality within four weeks of moving. If you fail to do so, you risk a fine and may have consequences for benefits, among other things. How to register can be found on the website of your municipality.

Do you not have a permanent address? Then a postal address might be a solution for you. Check this site for Amsterdam or send an email to registration@asva.nl.

Check whether you have the right to any allowances

If you only study in the Netherlands, you probably cannot get a health care allowance. If you work next to your studies or get an internship compenstation, you might be able to get health care allowance.

To get rent allowance, you need to be a citizen of the EU, Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, or when you have a residence permit. There are some other requirements:

  • Your rent should for example not exceed € 808,06 when you are over 23 years old, or € 452,20 when you are under 23.
  • Your appartment needs to be independent: have its own front door.
  • Your capital cannot be higher than € 33.748
  • Your income cannot be too high: there are no hard limits on this, but you can do a trial calculation via this link to see whether you apply.

Arrange a household insurance

Contents insurance insures all your belongings in your home. This can be useful in case of water damage, fire or theft, among other things. A household insurance is available from almost every insurer and is often no more than a few euros a month.

Note! Do you live in a DUWO room? Then your household contents insurance is automatically included in your rent. Check your contract for more details.

Find a dentist and a GP

It is convenient to have a regular GP and dentist who are close to where you live.

GP: If you study at the UvA or HvA, you can use the student GP. This is located at Oude Turfmarkt 151, in the middle of the city, and at the Roeterseiland campus. Want another GP? Then take a look at zorgkaartnederland.nl, for example. Unfortunately, not every GP has space right away, so pay attention to this.

Dentist: Amsterdam also has plenty of dentists. On the Roeterseiland campus and in the city centre you will find Studentist. At this dentist, ASVA members get substantial discounts! You can easily find other dentists on tandartsregister.nl.

Invest in your safety

Despite that contents insurance, it is a good idea to invest in safety. See if your room has a fire or smoke alarm, a carbon monoxide meter, and things like a fire blanket or fire extinguishers.