Reykjavík vs The Hague for couples
Reykjavík, in Iceland, and The Hague, in the Netherlands, are about 2,015 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. Reykjavík leads on safety and internet speed; The Hague on cost and residency rules.
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Side by side
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
The Hague is cheaper: we estimate about €3,793 a month for a couple living centrally, against €4,180 in Reykjavík. That is €387 a month, or 9%, less.
Taxes
A tie: Iceland and the Netherlands both sit in our high tax tier.
Climate
The Hague is 6°C warmer on average over the year: 11°C against 5°C in Reykjavík. Rainfall is similar: about 961 mm a year in Reykjavík and 891 mm in The Hague.
Safety
Reykjavík is the safer pick: Iceland scores 90 out of 100 on safety, 18 points above the Netherlands (72).
Healthcare
Close: Iceland scores 82 out of 100 on healthcare and the Netherlands 80.
Internet
Reykjavík has faster home internet: about 230 Mbps median fixed download against about 180 Mbps in The Hague.
Language
Main languages: Icelandic, English in Reykjavík; Dutch, English in The Hague. English proficiency is rated the same in both: English everywhere.
Residency and visas
Long-term residency for people from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland is easier to obtain in the Netherlands (possible, with conditions) than in Iceland (hard to obtain). Citizens of the EU, EEA and Switzerland have freedom-of-movement or simplified residency rights in both. For short visits, 93 of 198 passports can enter Iceland visa-free and 93 can enter the Netherlands.
Which one fits a couple
If one of you puts safety (90 against 72 out of 100) and internet speed (230 Mbps against 180 Mbps) first, Reykjavík comes out ahead. If the other cares more about cost (€3,793 against €4,180 a month) and residency rules (possible, with conditions against hard to obtain), The Hague does.
Climate can pull the two of you apart too: a partner who wants warmth leans toward The Hague (11°C on average), while one who minds the heat leans toward Reykjavík (5°C).
Size differs too: Reykjavík is a smaller city (under 250,000 people) and The Hague a mid-sized one (250,000 to 1 million people).
OurNextCity has each partner answer 12 questions privately, then ranks Reykjavík, The Hague and 913 other cities for both of you at once.