Eindhoven is the largest city in North Brabant and the fifth-largest city in the Netherlands. It is a city built on technology and design: Philips was founded here, Eindhoven University of Technology is here, and the old Philips factories are now places to live and work. Anyone moving here joins a city with many international workers and students, but also ordinary residential neighbourhoods, parks and weekly markets.
1. The city in plain words
Eindhoven lies in the south of the Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant, on the Dommel and the Gender rivers. At the start of 2025 the municipality had about 249,000 residents, making it the largest city outside the Randstad conurbation.
The town received city rights in 1232 from Duke Henry I of Brabant. For centuries it stayed small. In the nineteenth century textile and cigar factories arrived, and in 1891 Gerard Philips set up his light-bulb business here. Philips grew fast and drew in thousands of workers. Truck maker DAF followed later. In 1920 five surrounding municipalities were merged into Eindhoven: Woensel, Tongelre, Stratum, Gestel and Strijp, creating Groot-Eindhoven (Greater Eindhoven).
Eindhoven University of Technology followed in 1956, and later the Design Academy Eindhoven. Together with the companies on the High Tech Campus and in the surrounding Brainport region, they make Eindhoven a centre for technology, design and research. PSV, founded in 1913, plays at the Philips Stadion in the city. The nickname "City of Light" recalls the light bulbs it all began with.
2. Neighbourhoods
The municipality of Eindhoven has seven districts: Centrum, Woensel-Noord, Woensel-Zuid, Tongelre, Stratum, Gestel and Strijp. Each has its own character.
Centrum is the shopping and station area, with the Binnenstad and the small streets of De Bergen, home to small shops and places to eat. Strijp, in the west, is the old Philips area. In Strijp-S, former factories have been converted into lofts, studios and workplaces for designers and start-ups. Philipsdorp, also in Strijp, is a garden village of workers' houses from the early twentieth century.
Woensel-Zuid, just north of the centre, is mixed and international, including Woensel-West, known for its shops from many countries and its street art. Woensel-Noord is made up of larger post-war neighbourhoods with many flats and families. Stratum, in the south-east, has old Stratum, the Witte Dorp (White Village) with its white houses from 1939, and Stratumseind, the street with many cafés and restaurants. Gestel, in the south-west, is green, with the Genneper Parken as a large park area. Tongelre, in the east, is quiet and green, including a villa park. Meerhoven, in the west, is a new district from the late 1990s, with wide streets, modern family houses and plenty of green space, close to the airport and the High Tech Campus.
3. Housing types
The most common family home in Eindhoven is the rijtjeshuis, a terraced single-family house, usually with a garden. There are also many flats, especially in the centre and in Woensel-Noord, and detached houses and semi-detached houses (twee-onder-een-kap), including in Meerhoven and Tongelre.
Two housing types are typically Eindhoven's own. The first are the former Philips workers' houses in Philipsdorp and the Witte Dorp: small, uniform houses with gardens, built as garden villages for factory staff. The second are the lofts in converted factories in Strijp-S, with high ceilings and large windows. New building stands mainly in Meerhoven and in projects around the centre. Anyone buying a flat usually joins a Vereniging van Eigenaars (VvE), the owners' association that arranges the shared maintenance of the building.
4. Renting vs buying, in general terms
Renting in the Netherlands is done with a written rental contract. It states the rent, the service costs and the deposit (borg). For new contracts from 1 July 2023, the deposit may not exceed two months' basic rent, the rent without service costs. The landlord is responsible for major maintenance and structural repairs, such as the roof, heating and pipes. The tenant reports defects promptly and looks after small day-to-day upkeep. Since 2024, an open-ended contract is again the norm; fixed-term contracts are only possible in exceptional cases.
Buying is open to everyone in the Netherlands, regardless of nationality. Most buyers take out a mortgage (hypotheek) from a bank or through a mortgage adviser. The loan is as a rule limited to the value of the home; additional purchase costs are paid from the buyer's own funds. After an accepted offer, buyer and seller sign a purchase agreement (koopovereenkomst). The transfer takes place at the notary (notaris), who draws up the transfer deed (leveringsakte) and, where applicable, the mortgage deed, and registers the transfer with the Kadaster, the land registry. Only with that registration does the buyer legally become the owner. For owner-occupied homes there is the Nationale Hypotheek Garantie (NHG), a guarantee scheme within an applicable price limit. Always check a home's energy label.
No rent or purchase prices are given in this text, because prices vary greatly by home and by moment. This page does not verify listings, sellers or prices: it gives only general information about living in Eindhoven.
5. Food and daily life
Eindhoven eats internationally, like its population. On the Markt square in the centre there is a weekly market with fresh produce, cheese and street food. The Woenselse Markt in Woensel-Zuid has shops and food stalls from many countries. In the centre is the Down Town Gourmet Market, an indoor food hall with small restaurants, and in Strijp-S is Vershal Het Veem, a market hall with regional produce. Stratumseind and De Bergen are the streets for an evening out eating or drinking.
Dutch classics are everywhere: bitterballen, friet, cheese and stroopwafels. Alongside them are restaurants from the countries the international workers and students come from. Daily life runs largely by bicycle: Eindhoven is a cycling city, with cycle paths through every district. Supermarkets and neighbourhood shops exist in every district; the biggest shopping streets are in the centre.
6. Practical notes for a newcomer
Register with the municipality of Eindhoven at the address where you actually live: registration is compulsory in the Netherlands. View a home at different times of day, and walk the street around it too, not just the house itself. When renting, have the condition of the home recorded in writing at move-in, with photos, so there is no dispute about the deposit when you leave. Never pay cash, and never pay before you have seen the home.
For a flat, check the VvE documents; for an older house, check the state of the roof, pipes and heating. If in doubt about a contract, ask for an explanation in a language you understand; key documents are available in Dutch or English. Learning Dutch helps in daily life, although English is widely spoken in the technology companies and at the university. And do not count on a good home staying on the market for long: in Eindhoven good homes go quickly, so prepare your paperwork before you start searching.