Prices have gone up so living in the center is not that cheap anymore. Another thing: low-quality tourism has grown uncontrollably in the past few years due to lack of planning from the City, becoming a true nuisance for locals, especially in downtown. The city feels overcrowded and noisy, too much for its size and population--yes, it is a big village, not a buzzing city. Other than that, the weather is generally quite good, and although public transportation is bad, you can move around pretty easily. Not and "absolute gem" by any means (architecture is horrible other than in the center), but livable.
Pros and Cons of Living in Groningen Netherlands
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Pros of Living in Groningen
Very safe
Fast internet
Good air quality on average
Nomad List members liked going here a lot
Spacious and not crowded
Very easy to do business
High quality of education
Great hospitals
Roads are very safe
Great freedom of speech
Democratic
Everyone speaks English
Very safe for women
Very family friendly
Very friendly to LGBTQ+
Cons of Living in Groningen
Too expensive
Not much to do
Cold now
Gets cold in the winter
Very damp now
Not many Nomad List members go here
Very difficult to make friends
Many people smoke tobacco
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Great place to live. Not sure why 'Fun' and 'Nightlife' are classified as 'Okay' - it's actually great better than Amsterdam in my opinion. 60k students on a population of 200k. Dozens of bars and clubs in the same area, drinks are cheap, bars don't close until 4-6am. Expenses are lower than listed too.
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Groningen is easy going but very international. Due to it's kind of "remote" location (well Amsterdam is only 2 hrs. away) it's an island one its own with lots to do here: culture, nightlife (véry late!) but also a lot of beautiful quiet nature in the surroundings, You take a bike and you are in the middle of nowhere in just 15 minutes: lakes, woods in the south, or at the northside of the city: beautiful endless tyoical dutch landscapes with lots of famous black and white frisian cows, mills, canals, and even a real river, Reitdiep.
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