What is the international student community like in the Netherlands in 2026?

Amsterdam and Utrecht combine large universities with city nightlife, then scatter students across expensive housing markets: Living in Amsterdam and Living in Utrecht. Groningen is a classic northern student city with a young street scene: Living in Groningen. Delft and Eindhoven pull engineering and design cohorts; Maastricht and Leiden add international bachelor and research layers: Living in Delft and Living in Maastricht.

ESN local sections, study associations, and university buddy programmes create the first-month calendar. English-taught programmes make classroom entry easy; landlord Dutch still appears in housing: English in the Netherlands.

Start ROOM or university housing tracks early; private kamers fill fast: Student housing. Friendships form through repeating association nights more than one-off tourist pubs: Making friends. Indian, Chinese, and other nationality cohorts often overlap with student cities: Where Indian expats live and Chinese expat communities.