Where to live near Amersfoort when homes in the city are scarce

• Train · 12–19 minUtrecht Centraal to Amersfoort Centraaldirect · 6× per hour
• Bike · 103 minUtrecht Centraal to Amersfoort Centraal22 km
• Car · 33 minUtrecht Centraal to Amersfoort Centraal28 km

Utrecht's housing is layered differently from Amersfoort's: districts from the end of the nineteenth century such as Oudwijk, Wittevrouwen and Lombok ring the old core, interwar Tuindorp and Oog in Al follow, then post-war Overvecht and Kanaleneiland, and finally Leidsche Rijn in the west. Single-person households dominate, so smaller apartments and shared homes make up a large share of the supply, unlike Amersfoort, where a medieval centre is ringed by villa slopes and a newer growth district such as Vathorst.

• Train · 11–13 minHilversum to Amersfoort Centraaldirect · 6× per hour
• Bike · 77 minHilversum to Amersfoort Centraal18 km
• Car · 27 minHilversum to Amersfoort Centraal24 km

Hilversum calls itself a garden town: villa parks such as Trompenberg and Nimrodpark were laid out from the middle of the nineteenth century, and the green setting still defines much of the town. Later growth added post-war districts in the east and north, then Kerkelanden and the Hilversumse Meent, and Anna's Hoeve is being extended on the eastern side. Amersfoort's Vathorst and Kattenbroek read as planned growth-city districts, while Hilversum's streets tend to be older, leafier and more varied.

• Metro, tram or bus · 20–27 minHandelscentrum to Centraal Station Adirect · 4× per hour
• Bike · 50 minHandelscentrum to Centraal Station A11 km
• Car · 15 minHandelscentrum to Centraal Station A14 km

Amersfoort's recent growth shows in districts such as Vathorst; Zeist is older and leafier. Wealthy Utrecht families built country estates here in the nineteenth century and some of that land was later divided into building plots, so villa streets and wooded plots sit beside the historic Moravian houses and the protected Wilhelminapark townscape. Named neighbourhoods such as Couwenhoven, Vollenhove and Kerckebosch tend toward a more settled, green feel than Amersfoort's newer districts.

• Train · 23–24 minApeldoorn to Amersfoort Centraaldirect · 4× per hour
• Car · 42 minApeldoorn to Amersfoort Centraal46 km

Apeldoorn is known for its parks, and its housing is mostly low-rise, often detached or monumental, with relatively few towers. Berg en Bos in the west is a spacious villa district of winding avenues beside a nature park, De Parken is a protected historic townscape, and Zevenhuizen and De Maten are large districts built in the sixties and seventies. Compared with Amersfoort's newer growth districts, Apeldoorn tends to offer more older, detached housing and more room between buildings.