Amsterdam vs Liverpool for couples

Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, and Liverpool, in the United Kingdom, are about 540 km apart. Every figure below comes from the data behind our city pages: an estimated monthly cost for a couple, tax tier, annual climate, safety, healthcare, internet speed, language and residency rules. Amsterdam leads on safety, healthcare and internet speed.

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Side by side

FactorAmsterdamLiverpool
CountryNetherlandsUnited Kingdom
SizeMid-sized: 250,000 to 1 million peopleMid-sized: 250,000 to 1 million people
SettingCoastalCoastal
Est. cost for a couple€3,865 a month€3,841 a month
Tax tierHigh taxHigh tax
Average temperature11°C11°C
Rainfall907 mm a year780 mm a year
Safety72 / 10056 / 100
Healthcare80 / 10074 / 100
Internet (median fixed)~180 Mbps~110 Mbps
Main languagesDutch, EnglishEnglish
EnglishEnglish everywhereEnglish everywhere
Long-term residencyPossible, with conditionsPossible, with conditions
Self-funded income routeNone trackedNone tracked
Visa-free short visits93 of 198 passports35 of 198 passports

Source: the datasets behind our city pages. Cost is our model estimate (a country-level cost index scaled for city size); tax tiers are assigned by hand from each country's top marginal income tax rate and overall tax reputation; temperature from the Open-Meteo archive (2019 to 2023 averages); rainfall from TerraClimate (1991 to 2020 normals); safety and healthcare are our own country-level estimates; internet from the Ookla Speedtest Global Index; English from the EF English Proficiency Index; residency from our hand-reviewed residency dataset (not legal advice); short-stay entry from the passport-index dataset.

Factor by factor

Cost of living

Close on cost: we estimate about €3,865 a month for a couple living centrally in Amsterdam and €3,841 in Liverpool.

Taxes

A tie: the Netherlands and the United Kingdom both sit in our high tax tier.

Climate

Both average 11°C over the year. Liverpool is drier, with about 780 mm of rain a year against 907 mm in Amsterdam (14% less).

Safety

Amsterdam is the safer pick: the Netherlands scores 72 out of 100 on safety, 16 points above the United Kingdom (56).

Healthcare

Amsterdam has the stronger healthcare: the Netherlands scores 80 out of 100 on healthcare, 6 points above the United Kingdom (74).

Internet

Amsterdam has faster home internet: about 180 Mbps median fixed download against about 110 Mbps in Liverpool.

Language

Main languages: Dutch, English in Amsterdam; English in Liverpool. English proficiency is rated the same in both: English everywhere.

Residency and visas

Both are rated possible, with conditions for long-term residency. For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter the Netherlands visa-free and 35 can enter the United Kingdom.

Which one fits a couple

On the factors we measure, Amsterdam leads on safety (72 against 56 out of 100), healthcare (80 against 74 out of 100) and internet speed (180 Mbps against 110 Mbps), and Liverpool leads on none of them. What our data does not cover can still tip it toward Liverpool: jobs, family nearby, or simply which one each of you prefers after a visit.

OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Amsterdam, Liverpool and 913 other cities for both of you at once.

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