Moving to AMS: Advice on finding a quiet home office/apartment from abroad
Posted by Antique-Dig5367@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 7 comments
Hi everyone,
I’m planning to move to Amsterdam for around 3-4 months (ideally by June). I’m a 38-year-old producer in the advertising industry, single, no pets, non-smoker. I own my own house in Germany. I’m moving to build business relationships with local agencies and production companies, so I’m specifically looking for a quiet, well-maintained and fully furnished apartment / studio (approx. 50-60 square meters) that can serve as a reliable home office as I also do a lot of remote work.
My financial profile:
- Monthly income: \~€11,500 gross
- Liquid reserves: \~€200,000
- Budget: €2,250 - €2,500 incl. utilities (all-in)
- Flexibility: I’m open to paying several months of rent in advance if it helps secure a place.
My struggle:
Since I’m currently finalizing business in Germany, I’m trying to arrange everything from abroad. I’ve been asking for video viewings (WhatsApp/FaceTime), but I get the feeling that agencies are very reluctant to do them.
My questions to the community:
- How realistic are my chances of landing a high-quality apartment without being physically present for every viewing?
- Is the "video viewing“ request actually a dealbreaker for most legitimate landlords?
- Does offering several months of rent in advance actually help with professional agencies or is it ignored?
- How do you handle the first payment? It feels extremely risky to transfer \~€7,000 (first month + deposit) to someone I’ve only met on a video call. Is there a standard, safe way to do this (escrow, etc.)?
- How can I verify an agency is legit if they don't have a website but claim to be "Expat Services"?
I’d appreciate any insights or reality checks. Thanks in advance!
spoonOfhoney@reddit
Since you’re only looking for a 3-4 month rental and have a high income I’d say just book something on airbnb, as a regular rental will never rent for this short of a duration
netllama@reddit
AirBNBs cannot legally rent out for more than 30 days at a time.
sebastian_nowak@reddit
Not a big hassle to just move twice. You get to explore more neighborhoods.
netllama@reddit
Moving is one of life's most stressful, miserable experiences. You must have considerable wealth & privelege to think its not a big hassle.
sebastian_nowak@reddit
Man, he’s going there for 3 months, he’s not taking his all life belongings with him. He might have a few suitcases at most.
Key-Ease-4090@reddit
second the airbnb. don’t enter the housing market if you literally dont need to.
antizana@reddit
I think you’re going about it wrong. You’re trying to rent a place as if it were a long term rental but what you want is short term and furnished. You’d have the same problem doing it this way in Germany too. You should be looking at Airbnb or local equivalents where you can book rather than going on virtual tours. Netherlands has a housing crisis so anything virtual is likely to put you much farther down the list compared to someone already local.