Where to live near The Hague if the city does not have the home you need

• Train · 12–17 minDelft to Den Haag Centraaldirect · 8× per hour
• Bike · 52 minDelft to Den Haag Centraal10 km
• Car · 14 minDelft to Den Haag Centraal10 km

Look near Delft station, where Intercity and Sprinter trains call on the line to both of The Hague's main stations, and where tram 1 and tram 19 stop; tram 1 also serves Tanthof, so the southern districts reach The Hague without a train. Some Sprinter series do not run in the evening or on Sundays, so check late departures; night bus N5 also calls at the station. Very large bicycle storage at the station makes the last mile simple.

The historic centre mixes canal houses with flats in monumental buildings, so homes there tend to be compact. South of it, the postwar expansion produced the high-rise districts of Voorhof and Poptahof, followed by Buitenhof, described as less ambitious in design, and Tanthof, where Tanthof-West has more large single-family homes. Harnaschpolder, part of Voordijkshoorn, is a newer extension. Compared with The Hague's townhouse streets, expect more flats and student housing around the university and family houses further south.

CommutersStrong fit

Delft suits commuters to The Hague's ministries and courts: Intercity trains toward both of The Hague's main stations run alongside Sprinters, and the same line continues to Rotterdam, so two city job markets stay open. Tram 1 adds a slower second option from Tanthof and the station straight into The Hague and on to Scheveningen.

StudentsStrong fit

TU Delft and IHE Delft anchor the city, and the municipality names Duwo as the largest housing provider working with most Delft schools. Hogeschool InHolland and the Haagse Hogeschool also have buildings next to the TU campus. Rooms are in demand, so the municipality urges early applications and warns about rental scams.

FamiliesGood fit

Families tend to look at Tanthof, especially Tanthof-West with its larger single-family homes, or at the newer Harnaschpolder in Voordijkshoorn. Delftse Hout is among the city's green areas. Compared with The Hague, family housing sits mainly in the southern districts rather than around the centre, and tram 1 ties Tanthof to the station.

ExpatsGood fit

The Hague International Centre lists Delft among its partners and guides newcomers through living, working and studying in the region, so registration and orientation can run through one regional desk. TU Delft and the research institutes bring a knowledge-sector crowd to the city; confirm English-language services with the municipality.

Singles and couplesGood fit

Singles and couples get a walkable historic centre around the Markt and Oude Kerk, with a steady student presence. Posters on travel forums often call Delft charming but small and quiet for a longer stay, and those who prefer The Hague point to its wider evening options. Bigger nights out stay a short train or tram ride away.

• Train · 10–13 minRijswijk to Den Haag Centraaldirect · 6× per hour
• Bike · 34 minRijswijk to Den Haag Centraal6 km
• Car · 10 minRijswijk to Den Haag Centraal6 km

Look near Rijswijk station, which is underground and served only by Sprinters toward Den Haag HS, Delft and Rotterdam, with no Intercity stop. Some Sprinter series do not run after the evening peak or on Sundays, which thins late service. Tram 17 stops at Generaal Eisenhowerplein, city buses and night bus N4 call at the station, and guarded bicycle storage sits at the station entrances. The A4 and A13 motorways serve the area.

Rijswijk's older stock mixes early twentieth-century building on former country estates with a large postwar extension, so planned residential districts are more typical than The Hague's townhouse quarters. Steenvoorde is split into a north and a south district, while Sion, Parkrijk and Pasgeld form the new RijswijkBuiten between the centre and Delft, where family homes with gardens dominate, alongside apartments and studios in owner-occupied, social, mid-rent and free-sector rental form. A protected estate zone of historic parks lies within the town.

CommutersGood fit

Rijswijk keeps The Hague close without Intercity service: Sprinters run to Den Haag HS and on to Delft and Rotterdam, tram 17 serves the Generaal Eisenhowerplein stop and several bus lines call at the station. Late evening and Sunday trains are thinner on some Sprinter series, so shift workers should check timetables. The Plaspoelpolder employment area also offers jobs without leaving town.

FamiliesStrong fit

RijswijkBuiten is built around family homes with gardens, with green, water-focused public space and homes that use heat pumps and solar panels instead of a gas connection. The municipality's estate zone adds historic parks and nature as part of Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen, so children have open space close by while The Hague's schools and facilities stay within reach.

ExpatsGood fit

The Hague International Centre lists Rijswijk among its partner logos, so newcomers can use the regional desk for orientation. The European Patent Office branch and corporate offices in Plaspoelpolder tend to draw international staff; confirm international schools and English-language municipal services directly with the town.

Singles and couplesLimited fit

Singles and couples find a quieter suburb with a theatre, a shopping centre and parks, but Rijswijk's own evening scene is modest and most nightlife means a Sprinter or tram ride into The Hague. Studios and apartments exist in RijswijkBuiten, yet its character is family-led rather than social.

• Train · 4 minVoorburg to Den Haag Centraaldirect · 3× per hour
• Bike · 22 minVoorburg to Den Haag Centraal3 km
• Car · 6 minVoorburg to Den Haag Centraal3 km

Metro line E, run by RET, calls at Voorburg 't Loo and Leidschendam-Voorburg on its way to Rotterdam, with trips continuing past midnight; tram 2 and tram 6 also run from Leidschendam to The Hague. Voorburg station on the Gouda line has Sprinter series split by day and time, so check the pattern for your shift. Bus 45 and bus 46 reach Leiden and Wassenaar from there, and the A4 and A12 are close.

West of the Vliet the municipality is fully built up, mixing older Voorburg streets with districts such as Voorburg Oud, Voorburg West and Essesteijn; east of the canal lies open peat meadow with the village of Stompwijk. Newer homes include a development on the former Statistics Netherlands site in Voorburg. Large office buildings ring Leidschendam's centre, and the Mall of the Netherlands sits near the Voorburg border, so expect a suburban patchwork rather than The Hague's continuous townhouse streets.

CommutersStrong fit

Commuters get three rail-bound routes: metro line E with stops at Voorburg 't Loo and Leidschendam-Voorburg, tram 2 and tram 6 from Leidschendam, and Sprinters from Voorburg. Line E also carries on to Rotterdam, which makes the area workable for a combined Hague and Rotterdam job search, and its evening service runs past midnight.

FamiliesGood fit

Families can pair suburban streets with the Vlietland recreation area and the Vogelplas Starrevaart, which lie partly in the municipality east of the Vliet, and with the open peat meadow around Stompwijk. A new development on the former Statistics Netherlands site added homes in Voorburg. School quality is not covered by the sources used here, so check each street's primary schools yourself.

ExpatsGood fit

Leidschendam-Voorburg is among the partner municipalities of The Hague International Centre, which offers newcomers regional information and events. Voorburg's Roman roots and Hofwijck, the Huygens house, give the town a historic setting; ask the municipality about English-language services and international schools, which these sources do not detail.

Singles and couplesLimited fit

Couples and singles get historic Voorburg, the Vliet waterside and the Mall of the Netherlands for shopping, with a quieter evening rhythm than The Hague. Anyone after nightlife or a wide cultural calendar will take metro line E or a tram into the city for it.

• Train · 12–13 minZoetermeer to Den Haag Centraaldirect · 3× per hour
• Bike · 64 minZoetermeer to Den Haag Centraal13 km
• Car · 13 minZoetermeer to Den Haag Centraal13 km

Three stations serve the town, Zoetermeer, Zoetermeer Oost and Lansingerland-Zoetermeer, all on the Gouda line and all served by Sprinters rather than Intercity trains. RandstadRail line 3 runs from Zoetermeer Centrum-West through Den Haag Centraal to Loosduinen, and the Driemanspolder stop connects to the station by a bridge. Motor traffic can park free near Zoetermeer station and free bicycle racks stand beside it. The A12 crosses the municipality.

Zoetermeer was built in stages, which shows in its housing. The sixties and seventies districts of Driemanspolder, Palenstein and Meerzicht hold many gallery flats, with Meerzicht high-rise on its east side and low-rise on its west, and Palenstein being redeveloped with low-rise homes. Later districts such as Seghwaert, Buytenwegh, De Leyens and Noordhove are mostly low-rise single-family homes, and Oosterheem is the newest large district. Compared with The Hague's dense streets, expect more family houses and more greenery.

CommutersGood fit

RandstadRail tram 3 and tram 4 run between Zoetermeer and The Hague, and Sprinters on the Gouda line offer a second route, mainly into Den Haag Centraal. Peak-hour and evening patterns differ by series, so people with irregular shifts should check them, and the A12 is the road alternative.

StudentsLimited fit

The town's only higher-education institution is the Faculty of IT & Design of De Haagse Hogeschool at the Dutch Innovation Park, plus vocational sites of MBO Rijnland. University students in The Hague or Leiden would travel in; Zoetermeer is a family-oriented base rather than a student city.

FamiliesStrong fit

Seghwaert, Buytenwegh, De Leyens and Noordhove are mostly low-rise single-family districts. The municipality describes De Leyens as peaceful, green and watery and Noordhove as quiet and green, both near the Noord Aa recreation area around the Zoetermeerse Plas. Westerpark is the largest park, and the tram link keeps The Hague's schools and services reachable.

Singles and couplesLimited fit

The municipality calls the Stadscentrum the place where shopping, entertainment and living come together, with a City Theatre, a cinema and a library, while SnowWorld and the SilverDome add sport and events. It is a convenient mid-sized scene rather than a nightlife hub, so bigger evenings out often mean a tram ride to The Hague.

• Train · 11–18 minLeiden Centraal to Den Haag Centraaldirect · 8× per hour
• Bike · 78 minLeiden Centraal to Den Haag Centraal17 km
• Car · 22 minLeiden Centraal to Den Haag Centraal17 km

Look near Leiden Centraal for the widest choice: Intercity trains toward Den Haag Centraal and Den Haag HS, with the same lines continuing to Schiphol, Amsterdam and Utrecht, plus late-night trains toward Schiphol on certain nights. A free guarded bicycle shelter on the sea side and a second one on the centre side help with the last mile, and the bus station has EBS bus 43 and bus 45 to The Hague. Stevenshof residents can use the smaller De Vink station and the A44.

The centre is a protected cityscape of canals and tree-lined quays, so older, compact homes and student rooms are typical there, unlike The Hague's broad residential streets. Merenwijk in the north, started in the early seventies, has car-free lanes and mostly terraced family homes, with some gallery flats and villas. Stevenshof in the west was built from the early eighties on former peat polder, between the Oude Rijn, the railway to The Hague and the A44, and suits families who want ordinary suburban streets.

CommutersStrong fit

Leiden Centraal is a hub: Intercity trains run to Den Haag Centraal and Den Haag HS and on to Schiphol, Amsterdam and Utrecht, bus 43 and bus 45 also reach The Hague, and the A4 and A44 serve drivers. With so many lines passing through, the city works well for couples whose jobs sit in different Randstad cities.

StudentsStrong fit

Leiden University has no central campus: its faculties are spread across Leiden and The Hague, and students rent through housing organisations and landlords. The university says rooms are scarce, short-stay students get priority for its own housing, and everyone else should register early and keep a backup plan. Studying in The Hague while living here is practical by Intercity.

FamiliesGood fit

Merenwijk offers terraced family homes on car-free lanes, a covered shopping centre and a children's farm in its park, while Stevenshof has three primary schools, a shopping centre, a library, a park and a direct A44 link toward Wassenaar and The Hague. Both lie beside open land or lakes, though the sources used here do not rate school quality.

Singles and couplesStrong fit

Singles and couples get a canal-ring city with the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Naturalis and the Lakenhal, plus the Singelpark walking route. Forum posters weighing up Dutch base towns often describe Leiden as lively yet neither too big nor too small, though bars can feel geared to students in term time. Bigger nights out are a short Intercity ride away.

• Train · 22–30 minRotterdam Centraal to Den Haag Centraaldirect · 8× per hour
• Bike · 105 minRotterdam Centraal to Den Haag Centraal24 km
• Car · 22 minRotterdam Centraal to Den Haag Centraal22 km

Metro line E, run by RET, runs through Pijnacker, Berkel and Rodenrijs, carries on south of the station to Beurs, Zuidplein and Slinge, and keeps running past midnight. Intercity and Sprinter trains also link the cities; one Intercity series does not run late in the evening and some Sprinters stop after the peak or on Sundays. A night-time train service connects the station with Den Haag HS, Schiphol and Amsterdam, and check-in gates apply at the station.

After wartime bombing destroyed most of the old centre, Rotterdam was rebuilt on a new plan, so housing leans modern: flat-heavy postwar districts such as Pendrecht, Zuidwijk, Lombardijen and Zevenkamp, high-rise on the Kop van Zuid since the nineties, and the car-free Lijnbaan. Pre-war pockets survive, as Delfshaven largely escaped the bombing, and Kralingen and the Scheepvaartkwartier are described as the city's most upscale areas. Expect many more flats and towers than in The Hague's low-rise neighbourhoods.

CommutersGood fit

Rotterdam works for a Hague commute because metro line E and Intercity trains both tie the city centres together, and Rotterdam Centraal also feeds trams and the metro. The weak spot is late hours: one Intercity series skips the late evening and some Sprinters skip Sundays, though line E and a night train help. The same links work in reverse for a Hague resident with a Rotterdam job.

StudentsStrong fit

Erasmus University's Woudestein campus has several buildings where students live, and Hogeschool Rotterdam spreads over sites such as Museumpark, Wijnhaven, Kralingse Zoom and Blaak. A student whose course is in The Hague can still live here and take line E or the train, though student housing tends to be in demand, so look at options near the campus early.

FamiliesLimited fit

Central Rotterdam is flat-heavy and high-rise, so families usually look further out; Hillegersberg is one area the International Center names as popular with internationals. Nothing used here rates schools or play space, so compare family housing street by street against The Hague's suburbs.

ExpatsStrong fit

The Rotterdam International Center runs a one-stop shop for municipal registration, residence-permit appointments and opening a bank account, and advises on housing, healthcare and schooling. It names Kralingen, Hillegersberg, Rotterdam Noord and the centre as popular expat areas, with the south bank drawing more internationals, and mentions several international schools and English-taught education at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences.

Singles and couplesStrong fit

Singles and couples get a big-city scene: the high-rise skyline of the Kop van Zuid and Wilhelminapier, the car-free Lijnbaan and the older corners of Delfshaven and Kralingen. Forum posters often describe Rotterdam as younger, more diverse and modern than The Hague, though not postcard-pretty, and the International Center describes an open urban culture of many nationalities.

• Metro, tram or bus · 17–51 minVan Oldenbarneveltweg to Centraal Station/Schedeldoekshavendirect · 9× per hour
• Bike · 45 minVan Oldenbarneveltweg to Centraal Station/Schedeldoekshaven10 km
• Car · 14 minVan Oldenbarneveltweg to Centraal Station/Schedeldoekshaven10 km

Wassenaar has no railway station: the railway closed decades ago and the tram followed. Buses are the link; EBS bus 46 runs between Voorburg station and Wassenaar and Duinrell, and EBS also operates bus 43 and bus 45 between Leiden Centraal and The Hague, so check which routes pass the district you like. The A44 skirts the municipality for drivers. Plan on a bicycle or car for the last mile and for evenings.

Villas and country houses define Wassenaar, many first built as summer residences for wealthy townspeople, and some estates now serve as consulates or company seats. Besides the village itself there are the districts Oud Wassenaar, Nieuw Wassenaar, De Kieviet and Kerkehout, the hamlet Maaldrift and the settlements Rijksdorp and Den Deijl, set among woods. Compared with The Hague's long streets of townhouses and postwar flats, expect villas and country houses to set the tone, with small flats rarer.

CommutersLimited fit

Without a station, commuting from Wassenaar means bus, bicycle or car. Bus 46 links the village with Voorburg station on the Gouda line, EBS buses run between Leiden and The Hague, and the A44 runs near the municipality. People with a fixed office in central The Hague can manage; shift workers should test the last bus before signing a lease.

FamiliesGood fit

Families get dunes, woods, the Duinrell leisure park and the beach close by, plus two international schools: the American School of The Hague, whose main campus and early childhood centre are in Wassenaar, and International School Wassenaar. Oud Wassenaar and De Kieviet are among the municipality's districts; Dutch-language schools are not rated in the sources behind this text.

ExpatsStrong fit

Wassenaar is the municipality most closely tied to the diplomatic community: several ambassadors' residences are here, and the American School of The Hague and International School Wassenaar serve expatriate families. Partners of The Hague International Centre include Wassenaar, which gives relocation and orientation information for the region.

Singles and couplesLimited fit

Singles and couples get coast, woodland, Museum Voorlinden and the Duindigt grass race track, but a village-scale evening life; most nightlife and city culture mean going into The Hague by bus, bicycle or car. Couples who work from home and want space in a villa-style area may accept that trade-off.