Moving to Eindhoven: a Practical Guide for Expats

Eindhoven is the Netherlands' technology capital. Once a Philips company town, it is now the heart of the Brainport region, one of Europe's densest concentrations of high-tech industry, anchored by ASML, NXP, the Eindhoven University of Technology and the High Tech Campus. With about 249,000 residents it is smaller than the Randstad cities, but it draws a large and fast-growing international workforce.

This guide covers what moving to Eindhoven actually involves: where people live, what housing costs, and how to choose a neighbourhood. It is written for people set on Eindhoven, many of them arriving for a job in tech, who want the practical picture rather than a tourist introduction.

What living in Eindhoven is like

Eindhoven is a working, modern city rather than a historic one. It was heavily rebuilt in the twentieth century, and its identity is industrial and forward-looking, expressed today through design: the Design Academy, Dutch Design Week and the redeveloped Strijp-S district are as central to the city as the technology campuses. About 31% of residents were born abroad, a share that keeps rising with the tech sector.

It sits in the southern province of Brabant, which brings a friendlier, more relaxed culture than the Randstad, and it is greener and more spread out than the big cities, at roughly 6,000 residents per square kilometre. Much of the international community is tied to the Brainport employers, which gives the city a strong, well-organised expat network.

Eindhoven's neighbourhoods, and how to choose one

Eindhoven is compact and spread across several districts rather than one dense core. You can compare every Eindhoven neighbourhood on our six expat profiles; here is the outline.

The centre and Strijp are the urban, creative heart. Strijp-S, the former Philips factory site, has become a hub of lofts, studios, festivals and food, popular with younger professionals and creatives. The centre itself is walkable and lively, with the Stratumseind nightlife strip at its edge.

To the west, Meerhoven is the modern, new-build district near the airport and close to ASML in neighbouring Veldhoven, which makes it a natural base for tech families, with home values around 533,000 euro and one of the higher international shares in the city. North of the centre, Woensel is the largest and most mixed part of Eindhoven, from post-war estates to quiet family streets.

The southern and eastern districts, such as Tongelre and Gestel, are more residential and settled, offering houses and greenery at more moderate prices. In general, families favour the newer western and outer districts, while professionals and creatives gather in and around the centre.

Housing, and what it costs

Eindhoven is more affordable than the big Randstad cities, with an average home value around 374,000 euro, but its market has been one of the fastest-rising in the country, driven by the growth of the tech sector. About 53% of homes are rented.

The pressure is real. The Brainport region attracts thousands of international workers a year, and housing supply has struggled to keep pace, so competition for good rentals near the campuses is stronger than the city's size suggests. Many employers help with relocation, and social housing makes up about 35% of the stock.

Getting settled: transit, work and daily life

Eindhoven is easy to cycle and has its own airport with European connections, though its rail links to the Randstad are longer than between the western cities, with Amsterdam about an hour and a half away. For most people who move here, work and daily life are firmly local, centred on the Brainport campuses.

The job market is dominated by technology, engineering, design and manufacturing, and English is the working language across much of it. Life is relaxed, green and practical, and the international community is large enough that finding English-speaking services and meeting people is more straightforward than in a city this size elsewhere.