Moving your family to a new city or country is a big undertaking, and sometimes, settling into your new community can seem an equally daunting challenge. Here at Amity Amsterdam, it is a top priority of ours to make sure the settling-in phase goes as smoothly as possible for all our new families, so that they can start to feel right at home in no time.

Not only do we have staff on hand to help you out, but we’re also very proud of our lovely community of Amity parents, called Friends of Amity (FOA), who kindly volunteer to help strengthen the connection between Amity, the existing parents, and the new parents, by organising regular social events for all to attend. These events can take the form of coffee mornings, bake sales, or summer barbeques, for example, and FOA also supports us each year through the organisation of cultural events such as Kings’ Day or Halloween.

Our volunteer FOA parents also make themselves available to new families who might have specific questions or just fancy a one-on-one chat, and we do our best to match new families with FOAs of a similar background (e.g. native language or home country) when requested.

At Amity, we are more than happy to help new families with what may seem like even the smallest details. For example, it can be very useful to have someone who can explain the local bus or tram connections, or recommend good child-friendly restaurants. Here are a few tips  we often share with  new parents :

• doctors/dentists in their neighbourhood
• where to buy black school shoes 
• dry cleaners and tailors estate agents, relocation agents and short term housing solutions
• local parks and facilities (e.g. amstel park, amsterdamse bos) depending on the neighbourhood
• reliable taxi services  (the transportation company that also transports our students)
• restaurants
• museums and the value ofa museumkaart
• after-school activities (useful websites: amstelveensport and kidsproof)
• Specific queries such as “Where can I find a Japanese supermarket?” (there is one in Gelderlandplein shopping centre!)

Thanks to our helpful staff and parents, and our useful partnerships with local businesses and service providers, we can pool and share our knowledge and experiences. We have created an invaluable support network which we can all benefit from, and we have an extensive directory of external contacts for almost any occasion!

We make sure to always have the time to help each family with their individual needs and questions, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like more information to help you get settled in your new city. And a warm welcome to Amsterdam!