Groningen
Groningen offers an Assen resident the big-city option on the same line: a university and student city with canals and nightlife, linked to Assen by direct Intercity and Sprinter trains.
- City feel
- Student friendly
- Easy commute
Groningen is the main city of the northern Netherlands and sits at the end of the Assen line, so living there while working or studying in Assen stays simple: Intercity and Sprinter trains run direct between the stations. In exchange for Assen's calm administrative rhythm you get a university, the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, a pedestrian-priority centre and a cultural and nightlife scene that serves the whole region. Renters who find Assen too quiet, or who study in Groningen but work in Assen, tend to weigh this move.
What works
- Direct Intercity and Sprinter trains to Assen
- University, Hanze and a large student life
- Compact centre with canals and nightlife
- More choice of neighbourhood styles
Trade-offs
- Busier streets and more student bustle
- Denser layout than Assen's planned districts
- Train · 17–20 minGroningen to Assendirect · 5× per hour
- Car · 27 minGroningen to Assen28 km
Housing in Groningen is more urban and more varied than Assen's planned postwar and newer districts: a medieval centre, late-nineteenth-century belts outside the old walls, early social-housing districts such as Oosterparkwijk, postwar areas and newer development at Meerstad. Students make up a large share of residents, so the rental pool is younger and turns over faster than in Assen, where it tends to lean towards working households.
- Quickest trip
- 17 mindirect
- Rent vs Assen
- €31/m²194% dearer
- Homes now
- 238
