Which is the better city to live in, London or Amsterdam?

The question of if it is better to live in London or Amsterdam has been around for a year or so and to get an up to date answer of this.

It would be beneficial to have someone in their early days to answer this question who has lived in both London and Amsterdam. The person to answer this question is Max Lang-Orsini.

Max Lang-Orsini

Max Lang-Orsini, ages 25, currently lives in Amsterdam and for a living he has dedicated his profession as an artist building up his portfolio whilst being a self employed server. Having lived in various parts of the world such as Canada, Germany, Ireland and the UK we thought Max was a perfect candidate to ask this question to.

This is Max’s response to the question.

European cities

I’ve lived in both cities for quite some time and the quality of living is quite the same. Both are in Europe with London being the largest city compared to Amsterdam. In my experience, they are both great cities and both are worth visiting. There are some differences however that are worth mentioning when considering to live.

Cost

London is high cost when it comes to accommodation and public transport. For those who have a work life balance and travel to work, you will find that London is substantially a lot more expensive to live in although your salary would typically be the same.

In fact, a one-bedroom apartment in the city centre with public transport per month and food is about £500 / 550 euros cheaper living in Amsterdam compared to living in London. That is a substantial difference and can affect your quality of life.

Cultural scenes

In terms of Geographical location and weather conditions, they are both alike and there is not much difference. With the money that you save however, you can travel a lot more and see more places in Amsterdam than you could compared to living in London. The culture is very similar with Amsterdam being a little less diverse but still living up to your cuisine standard, after all, food is life.

As a matter of fact, you could book a holiday to visit London, be a tourist that you are and go on the London Eye and walk around and take a few pictures of the Tower of London and be back home a week later and still have money left over. That is money well spent and worth in my opinion.

There is a lot more outdoor space in Amsterdam and you can physically cycle everywhere in Amsterdam and more freely. London is vast, and is a big city to explore, but it comes at a cost which is why I consider staying in Amsterdam as I have just as many opportunities as I have had in London. Therefore, I am still able to get inspiration for my Art due to being able to explore more freely and visit sites like the Van Gogh Museum.

Improve your experience

Are you wanting to live peacefully in a neighbourhood which is near a beach or are you looking to partying and shopping? If you’re about the peaceful life then Amsterdam is for you, but if you have a lot of energy to burn then London would be the better diversion.