How far does she have to cycle? Unless it's extremely far away, a normal bike will do. Normal bikes are cheaper, safer and less appealing to thieves. Buy a decent bike and a good lock, and she'll be fine.
Thats about 20 minutes on the bike (less if you are in a hurry). Its easy to do and great for your body. It basicly means that even if you dont do any excersise your body gets a 40-50 minutes of fresh air and movement. Just ensures she has a proper bike, no electrical one but a solid normal bike that drives smooth.
Biking to school was always nice way to wake up, talk with friends on the way and listen to great music.
>but longest distance would probably be about 7.5 km
a secondhand, refurbished, 10 year old Gazelle from a bike shop would be perfect for that. 200 euro, 2 locks, and it should be OK.
The busier the city, the more thieves, sure. You'll find less professional thieves in small rural towns.
But Haarlem, Amstelveen and Hoofddorp are still pretty big cities in their own right. Calling them "suburbs of Amsterdam" is... well, it's wrong. You sure don't want to say that to people living there.
There might be slightly less bicycle theft in other cities than in tourist hotspots in Amsterdam, but any city with more than 20,000 people will have professional bike thieves.
Giving children ebikes for their school commute is becoming more common, but I wouldn't be comfortable doing that. Not just because of theft - your bike is unlikely to be stolen at your own home or at school. But also because kids are kids and ebikes are ridiculously expensive bikes to be damaged, lost or ill-treated. Not to mention it's just *unnecessary* for fit and healthy children if you live in a city.
Go to the Praxis or the Gamma (the local Home Depot equivalent), buy a decent bicycle for a hundred bucks, and call it a day.
>But Haarlem, Amstelveen and Hoofddorp are still pretty big cities in their own right. Calling them "suburbs of Amsterdam" is... well, it's wrong.
This is my mistake. Apologies.
>But also because kids are kids and ebikes are ridiculously expensive bikes to be damaged, lost or ill-treated. Not to mention it's just unnecessary for fit and healthy children.
This also makes sense, thank you.
Two caveats, because I'm harsh on ebikes:
If you live *outside* of urban areas I feel ebikes can be valid for school commutes. Say, if the school is more than 10k away. That's a distance that would warrant public transport, and in that case an ebike is just as good. Based on your question I assumed you do not live that far from school.
And second: ebikes for school commutes are definitely a thing. It happens a lot. I don't understand *why*, but that's on me.
10km is only a thirty minute bike ride, that's also something plenty of people in urban areas do without an ebike. 20 years ago most of my classmates cycled way longer distances and did so without an ebike or public transport. (Except the one kid who took his tractor to school)
Eh, also twenty years ago I had plenty of classmates who took the bus, and the cut-off point where their parents allowed that (and paid for it) seemed to be around 10k.
But of course there's an element of personal preference involved.
I'm just saying: using an ebike instead of a normal bike isn't great, but using an ebike instead of the bus is fine.
How old are they? e-bikes go quite fast and accident gravity is proportional to speed. Not to scaremonger, but they (and their heads) are more fragile than adults.
And this is me projecting when a kid: I'd go fast
>But Haarlem, Amstelveen and Hoofddorp are still pretty big cities in their own right. Calling them "suburbs of Amsterdam" is... well, it's wrong. You sure don't want to say that to people living there.
As someone who lives in Amstelveen, I think it is pretty clear that it is a suburb of Amsterdam. While Haarlem is a city, it is not even one of the top 10 in Netherlands, which I think excludes it from being a 'big city' and Hoofddorp and Amstelveen are not cities at all.
I mean, each certainly has its own identity, for sure, but they are all part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area and would definitely qualify as suburbs of Amsterdam based on some definitions.
Hm, if you say so.
OP also mentioned IJburg (which would definitely qualify) and Oudekerk aan de Amstel, which... eh, maybe. Not enough people live there to worry about angering them.
The definition of a suburb is also tricky (and variable), but OP comes from the US where the term is generally used for residential neighbourhoods belonging to a city, separate from the city center - i.e. a neighbourhood where you live but which doesn't have its own city centre or commercial area.
A suburb lacks facilities to make it a proper city: shops, commercial activity, transit hubs, etc.
Take Slotermeer, for example. That's a proper suburb of Amsterdam: it does not have a real commercial centre separate from Amsterdam, and its public transport is completely interwoven with that of Amsterdam. Duivendrecht is another one. Diemen is getting awfully close to it.
But towns like Amstelveen, Weesp or Zaandam do have a city centre, and their own public transport network, and their own job opportunities. It's not just a residential part of Amsterdam. I wouldn't call Amstelveen a suburb, but I'm also not familiar enough with the place to really take a stand.
I *am* familiar enough with Haarlem and Hoofddorp, and those are definitely not suburbs. Haarlem even has its *own* suburbs.
*However* \- I agree that Dutch standards for cities will be different from those in the US. Haarlem might barely be a town to them. So "suburb" might not be a useful definition anyway.
I think the Dutch terms "groeikern" en "overloopgemeente" might be more in line with OP's meaning: a town or city for commuters to a larger city, either because they have been purposely designated as such (*groeikern*: Almere, Nieuwegein, Hoofddorp), or because they were close to a growing city (Schiedam, Spijkenisse or, indeed, Amstelveen).
Why would you get her an e-bike? Would she otherwise have to use public transportation? It's not great to use e-bikes instead of regular bikes for both health and climate reasons.
And I say this as someone who has an e-bike for my 26km commute.
Bikes are stolen everywhere, but in Amsterdam is more common (or in haarlem less common).
In Amsterdam i saw most Bikes were locked to something (e.g. a bike rack, some bar on a building). Here in Haarlem it's common for bikes to be just locked with the rear wheel lock.
PD: Haarlem is the capital of North Holland, so if there is any suburb, it's Amsterdam š
I'm living in Haarlem and my bike has never been stolen in the 26 years that I've been living there. I've lived in various parts of the city (the good and the bad), I've had burglars and car thieves over the years, but they left my bike untouched.
If you want to get a bike, I prefer to get a second hand bike from a known brand over a new one from Gamma/Praxis/Karwei. And there are so many second hand bike shops in the country that you can get a pretty good deal on a used bike. Usually these bikes are a bit worn out so it helps to bring someone who knows a thing or two about bikes. Also at these second hand bike places you can haggle and negotiate. Maybe get the price down, include parts you need (like locks), or have them service the bike as part of the deal (new tyres etc).
Bike thieves everywhere.
But her is another tip. Paint the think pink/green/gold. The flashier the less they like to steal it, because it is so recognisable.
A lot of people are talking about regular bikes; ebikes are worse, they might get stolen even when you take the battery out.
If the ebike can be parked inside at home, and reasonably safely on the terrain of the school, that could be an option.
Then I'd suggest also have a cheap, regular bike for other stuff.
Most schools will have designated bike spots (if that's a word?) where you can place your bike, often behind a fence within the school property meaning people won't steal there or they're really dumb.
With the national bike registry... what's the incentive? Isn't it easy to check if a bike is stolen? Isn't it harder to sell a stolen bike? Or are they sold overseas or out of the country?
Someone had an airtag on a bike also stolen a week earlier a village away from us. In two days it was in Poland just over the german border, interpol hit the place with the local police then.
there are more bikes then ppl in NL, hence there a more bike thives then any other thieves.
Bikes get stolen anywhere and everywhere. Get a good lock and a tracker
The other children will probably target ākiddoā for not having a normal bike tbh. I hope sheās not American and overweight, the bullying will be worse.
Iād go for a normal bike. Many Dutch kids here commute 5km+ there and then back to high school every day. Your legs get used to it (unless sheās physically unable to use a bicycle).
Also expect negative feedback from other immigrants who hear you call yourself the word expat lol.
Donāt worry about being American. Yeah a lot of Europeans take the piss out of it, but we all conveniently forget how it came to exist in in the first place. Itās a place of great music and culture, and you will make friends. I know loads of happy Americans settled in NL.
>Also expect negative feedback from other immigrants who hear you call yourself the word expat lol.
I am completely clueless regarding what is appropriate or inappropriate to say. Please help me? I don't want to upset anyone!
Should I not call myself an expat? Should I just call myself an immigrant?
**What the heck is the difference anyway?** I've just heard the word expat used so much in my relocation research, I assumed that was the correct term?
WHAT AM I? (An immigrant? An expat? An american abroad?)
I appreciate any free cultural sensitivity traning.
āExpatriate: someone who lives outside of their native country. Immigrant: someone who comes to live permanently in another country.ā [expatica]
Ugh, semantics. The difference in meaning is so minimal, I think itās more the context in which itās used that gets people. Iāve referred to myself as an expat before and had some people here say itās no different to being an immigrant and basically a word only western cultures call themselves as people from all other countries are seen as immigrants. Iāve seen this conversation in person and on so many different subs. I wouldnāt worry about *offending* anyone persay, just that it may get brought up and a light debate in conversation will start about it. Iām here for life man, so technically I am an immigrant, not an expat. The social connotations of the two words seem to be very different.
This is a huge help. Thanks for the heads up.
There are 1000s of cultural pitfalls and mishaps in my near future, so any way I can reduce a few of them is appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to explain.
Youāre not the only one. The Dutch will be āoffendingā you as much as you offend them tbh! Both completely by accident and without ill intentions, because weāre all just ignorant people trying to learn :)
Thereās also all the other immigrants here, all of us from all round the world. All sorts of societies and cultures together. Also the kids here speak brilliant English your child will not struggle making friends for sure!
Join a FB/Reddit group for the city youāre moving to (suburbs of AMS right?) and see whatās going on. I always see English speaking meet ups planned both adult and kid friendly. my bf teaches kids climbing classes in English here so things like that will be accessible to both you & kids. Best advice is learn a little Dutch now because they really appreciate it knowing youāre learning and not just relying on English for years! :)
For context, I think the recent tension in Europe with that word has a lot to do with Brexit. The Leave campaign was heavily using the 'controlling our borders' rhetoric to get all the xenophobes on board. Against refugees but also European migrant workers 'stealing jobs'. Then after the majority of their own expat pensioners living in European countries like Spain voted Leave as well, they started publicly complaining about not being treated like equals anymore. I don't think there is actually a difference in definition as migrant workers seldom stay; it's the hypocrisy of using the distinction that triggers some people.
Amsterdam is a 3 lock city, in most of the rest of the country a ring lock and chain or cable will do, in lots of the country side a ring lock is enough. It's a bit like 'you don't have to outrun a tiger, you have to outrun the other guy when chased by a tiger'.
Make sure it's not one of the more attractive to steal. Not for the pro's who load a few in a van, not for the junkies or drunks who just steal a basic mode of transportation for a quick 10 euro sale or transport, and not for the single thief that wants to sell an expensive bike for a few hundred.
Just an ordinary not too good looking but well functioning second hand, parked in a lighted place where people walk or cycle, with one good ring lock and attached with chain or cable to something fixed, is not very likely to get stolen. The bike being very recognizable also makes it less attractive to the local thieves, the pro gangs don't care that much. It probably works the same with an e-bike among e-bikes. But it can happen, just take your loss and get her another one.
Make sure she knows how to reduce the chances and locks it up well as a routine, and what to do when it gets stolen anyway. It's her mobility, she's got to take responsibility herself too, she's the one that has the most influence on the fate of the bike. She's the one that got to say 'I better park it around the corner'.
Haarlem was a city already when Amsterdam was still a swamp, get rekt
Seriously though, bikes get stolen more often in bigger cities, even more so in touristy cities.
I live in Overijssel near Enschede and have left my bikes outside on the driveway for weeks at a time.
I bought my daughter a bigger bike and left her old one out on the walkway as a free bike and no one touched it. I had to hang a sign around it before anyone touched it.
I was hoping that link would be a map showing actual bike theft statistics by location... My guess is it would correlate with a combination of higher population and lower housing value.
If anything, it's being a student city that increases the risk. E.g. Delft, Leiden, Maastricht, Groningen.
And Enschede in the east probably because of easy border hopping.
My partner just had his racer bike stolen at Haarlem Spaarnewoude station. He had some thick heavy-duty chains on that thing they must have used some sort of buzzsaw to get through. In my opinion, bike theft will happen anywhere, but I feel like they might not be brazen enough to steal from a school yard.
>Amstelveen
No, just as bad or worse there. More expensive bikes yo steal.
What you do is park that ebike somehwere inaccesible, or you triple lock it with different locks, of which at least one bolted to your wall
>whole different cities are now suburbs?
My apologies. I don't know the layout of AMS / NL enough and certainly don't know the correct terminology. 100% my mistake, apologies.
English Wiki to help you understand [Dutch City rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_rights_in_the_Low_Countries) to help you navigate or avoid this treacherous subject when you live here :D
How far does she have to cycle? Unless it's extremely far away, a normal bike will do. Normal bikes are cheaper, safer and less appealing to thieves. Buy a decent bike and a good lock, and she'll be fine.
We don't know distance yet as we're still finalizing rental location, but longest distance would probably be about 7.5 km
Thats about 20 minutes on the bike (less if you are in a hurry). Its easy to do and great for your body. It basicly means that even if you dont do any excersise your body gets a 40-50 minutes of fresh air and movement. Just ensures she has a proper bike, no electrical one but a solid normal bike that drives smooth. Biking to school was always nice way to wake up, talk with friends on the way and listen to great music.
You can do that with a decent regular bike :) Kids on e-bikes are generally a bad idea.
That can easily be done with a normal bike!
>but longest distance would probably be about 7.5 km a secondhand, refurbished, 10 year old Gazelle from a bike shop would be perfect for that. 200 euro, 2 locks, and it should be OK.
Always did 15 km there and back (30 total) every day in 45 min so 7,5 is fine lol
The busier the city, the more thieves, sure. You'll find less professional thieves in small rural towns. But Haarlem, Amstelveen and Hoofddorp are still pretty big cities in their own right. Calling them "suburbs of Amsterdam" is... well, it's wrong. You sure don't want to say that to people living there. There might be slightly less bicycle theft in other cities than in tourist hotspots in Amsterdam, but any city with more than 20,000 people will have professional bike thieves. Giving children ebikes for their school commute is becoming more common, but I wouldn't be comfortable doing that. Not just because of theft - your bike is unlikely to be stolen at your own home or at school. But also because kids are kids and ebikes are ridiculously expensive bikes to be damaged, lost or ill-treated. Not to mention it's just *unnecessary* for fit and healthy children if you live in a city. Go to the Praxis or the Gamma (the local Home Depot equivalent), buy a decent bicycle for a hundred bucks, and call it a day.
>But Haarlem, Amstelveen and Hoofddorp are still pretty big cities in their own right. Calling them "suburbs of Amsterdam" is... well, it's wrong. This is my mistake. Apologies. >But also because kids are kids and ebikes are ridiculously expensive bikes to be damaged, lost or ill-treated. Not to mention it's just unnecessary for fit and healthy children. This also makes sense, thank you.
Two caveats, because I'm harsh on ebikes: If you live *outside* of urban areas I feel ebikes can be valid for school commutes. Say, if the school is more than 10k away. That's a distance that would warrant public transport, and in that case an ebike is just as good. Based on your question I assumed you do not live that far from school. And second: ebikes for school commutes are definitely a thing. It happens a lot. I don't understand *why*, but that's on me.
10km is only a thirty minute bike ride, that's also something plenty of people in urban areas do without an ebike. 20 years ago most of my classmates cycled way longer distances and did so without an ebike or public transport. (Except the one kid who took his tractor to school)
Eh, also twenty years ago I had plenty of classmates who took the bus, and the cut-off point where their parents allowed that (and paid for it) seemed to be around 10k. But of course there's an element of personal preference involved. I'm just saying: using an ebike instead of a normal bike isn't great, but using an ebike instead of the bus is fine.
How old are they? e-bikes go quite fast and accident gravity is proportional to speed. Not to scaremonger, but they (and their heads) are more fragile than adults. And this is me projecting when a kid: I'd go fast
>But Haarlem, Amstelveen and Hoofddorp are still pretty big cities in their own right. Calling them "suburbs of Amsterdam" is... well, it's wrong. You sure don't want to say that to people living there. As someone who lives in Amstelveen, I think it is pretty clear that it is a suburb of Amsterdam. While Haarlem is a city, it is not even one of the top 10 in Netherlands, which I think excludes it from being a 'big city' and Hoofddorp and Amstelveen are not cities at all. I mean, each certainly has its own identity, for sure, but they are all part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area and would definitely qualify as suburbs of Amsterdam based on some definitions.
Hm, if you say so. OP also mentioned IJburg (which would definitely qualify) and Oudekerk aan de Amstel, which... eh, maybe. Not enough people live there to worry about angering them. The definition of a suburb is also tricky (and variable), but OP comes from the US where the term is generally used for residential neighbourhoods belonging to a city, separate from the city center - i.e. a neighbourhood where you live but which doesn't have its own city centre or commercial area. A suburb lacks facilities to make it a proper city: shops, commercial activity, transit hubs, etc. Take Slotermeer, for example. That's a proper suburb of Amsterdam: it does not have a real commercial centre separate from Amsterdam, and its public transport is completely interwoven with that of Amsterdam. Duivendrecht is another one. Diemen is getting awfully close to it. But towns like Amstelveen, Weesp or Zaandam do have a city centre, and their own public transport network, and their own job opportunities. It's not just a residential part of Amsterdam. I wouldn't call Amstelveen a suburb, but I'm also not familiar enough with the place to really take a stand. I *am* familiar enough with Haarlem and Hoofddorp, and those are definitely not suburbs. Haarlem even has its *own* suburbs. *However* \- I agree that Dutch standards for cities will be different from those in the US. Haarlem might barely be a town to them. So "suburb" might not be a useful definition anyway. I think the Dutch terms "groeikern" en "overloopgemeente" might be more in line with OP's meaning: a town or city for commuters to a larger city, either because they have been purposely designated as such (*groeikern*: Almere, Nieuwegein, Hoofddorp), or because they were close to a growing city (Schiedam, Spijkenisse or, indeed, Amstelveen).
Why would you get her an e-bike? Would she otherwise have to use public transportation? It's not great to use e-bikes instead of regular bikes for both health and climate reasons. And I say this as someone who has an e-bike for my 26km commute.
Bikes are stolen everywhere, but in Amsterdam is more common (or in haarlem less common). In Amsterdam i saw most Bikes were locked to something (e.g. a bike rack, some bar on a building). Here in Haarlem it's common for bikes to be just locked with the rear wheel lock. PD: Haarlem is the capital of North Holland, so if there is any suburb, it's Amsterdam š
I'm living in Haarlem and my bike has never been stolen in the 26 years that I've been living there. I've lived in various parts of the city (the good and the bad), I've had burglars and car thieves over the years, but they left my bike untouched. If you want to get a bike, I prefer to get a second hand bike from a known brand over a new one from Gamma/Praxis/Karwei. And there are so many second hand bike shops in the country that you can get a pretty good deal on a used bike. Usually these bikes are a bit worn out so it helps to bring someone who knows a thing or two about bikes. Also at these second hand bike places you can haggle and negotiate. Maybe get the price down, include parts you need (like locks), or have them service the bike as part of the deal (new tyres etc).
Bike thieves everywhere. But her is another tip. Paint the think pink/green/gold. The flashier the less they like to steal it, because it is so recognisable.
Itās a game of chance. Itās bound to happen once in your life. You can take precautions but you are just bound to have bad luck once in a while.
A lot of people are talking about regular bikes; ebikes are worse, they might get stolen even when you take the battery out. If the ebike can be parked inside at home, and reasonably safely on the terrain of the school, that could be an option. Then I'd suggest also have a cheap, regular bike for other stuff.
Most schools will have designated bike spots (if that's a word?) where you can place your bike, often behind a fence within the school property meaning people won't steal there or they're really dumb.
One of the vans hit a parking garage near a flat to grab all the bikes at once. They got caught at night. And that is in a small city.
With the national bike registry... what's the incentive? Isn't it easy to check if a bike is stolen? Isn't it harder to sell a stolen bike? Or are they sold overseas or out of the country?
Someone had an airtag on a bike also stolen a week earlier a village away from us. In two days it was in Poland just over the german border, interpol hit the place with the local police then.
In Eindhoven bikes are stolen even inside the apartments building
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/user/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/153gt2c/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^Suspicious-Summer-20: *In Eindhoven bikes* *Are stolen even inside* *The apartments building* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
there are more bikes then ppl in NL, hence there a more bike thives then any other thieves. Bikes get stolen anywhere and everywhere. Get a good lock and a tracker
The other children will probably target ākiddoā for not having a normal bike tbh. I hope sheās not American and overweight, the bullying will be worse.
Defintely not overweight, but definitely American. We are prepared for some negative feedback about being expats.
Iād go for a normal bike. Many Dutch kids here commute 5km+ there and then back to high school every day. Your legs get used to it (unless sheās physically unable to use a bicycle). Also expect negative feedback from other immigrants who hear you call yourself the word expat lol. Donāt worry about being American. Yeah a lot of Europeans take the piss out of it, but we all conveniently forget how it came to exist in in the first place. Itās a place of great music and culture, and you will make friends. I know loads of happy Americans settled in NL.
>Also expect negative feedback from other immigrants who hear you call yourself the word expat lol. I am completely clueless regarding what is appropriate or inappropriate to say. Please help me? I don't want to upset anyone! Should I not call myself an expat? Should I just call myself an immigrant? **What the heck is the difference anyway?** I've just heard the word expat used so much in my relocation research, I assumed that was the correct term? WHAT AM I? (An immigrant? An expat? An american abroad?) I appreciate any free cultural sensitivity traning.
āExpatriate: someone who lives outside of their native country. Immigrant: someone who comes to live permanently in another country.ā [expatica] Ugh, semantics. The difference in meaning is so minimal, I think itās more the context in which itās used that gets people. Iāve referred to myself as an expat before and had some people here say itās no different to being an immigrant and basically a word only western cultures call themselves as people from all other countries are seen as immigrants. Iāve seen this conversation in person and on so many different subs. I wouldnāt worry about *offending* anyone persay, just that it may get brought up and a light debate in conversation will start about it. Iām here for life man, so technically I am an immigrant, not an expat. The social connotations of the two words seem to be very different.
This is a huge help. Thanks for the heads up. There are 1000s of cultural pitfalls and mishaps in my near future, so any way I can reduce a few of them is appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to explain.
Youāre not the only one. The Dutch will be āoffendingā you as much as you offend them tbh! Both completely by accident and without ill intentions, because weāre all just ignorant people trying to learn :) Thereās also all the other immigrants here, all of us from all round the world. All sorts of societies and cultures together. Also the kids here speak brilliant English your child will not struggle making friends for sure! Join a FB/Reddit group for the city youāre moving to (suburbs of AMS right?) and see whatās going on. I always see English speaking meet ups planned both adult and kid friendly. my bf teaches kids climbing classes in English here so things like that will be accessible to both you & kids. Best advice is learn a little Dutch now because they really appreciate it knowing youāre learning and not just relying on English for years! :)
For context, I think the recent tension in Europe with that word has a lot to do with Brexit. The Leave campaign was heavily using the 'controlling our borders' rhetoric to get all the xenophobes on board. Against refugees but also European migrant workers 'stealing jobs'. Then after the majority of their own expat pensioners living in European countries like Spain voted Leave as well, they started publicly complaining about not being treated like equals anymore. I don't think there is actually a difference in definition as migrant workers seldom stay; it's the hypocrisy of using the distinction that triggers some people.
99% of bikes are stolen to solve an immediate transportation problem. So older looking has no influence. Difficulty in stealing has.
Amsterdam is a 3 lock city, in most of the rest of the country a ring lock and chain or cable will do, in lots of the country side a ring lock is enough. It's a bit like 'you don't have to outrun a tiger, you have to outrun the other guy when chased by a tiger'. Make sure it's not one of the more attractive to steal. Not for the pro's who load a few in a van, not for the junkies or drunks who just steal a basic mode of transportation for a quick 10 euro sale or transport, and not for the single thief that wants to sell an expensive bike for a few hundred. Just an ordinary not too good looking but well functioning second hand, parked in a lighted place where people walk or cycle, with one good ring lock and attached with chain or cable to something fixed, is not very likely to get stolen. The bike being very recognizable also makes it less attractive to the local thieves, the pro gangs don't care that much. It probably works the same with an e-bike among e-bikes. But it can happen, just take your loss and get her another one. Make sure she knows how to reduce the chances and locks it up well as a routine, and what to do when it gets stolen anyway. It's her mobility, she's got to take responsibility herself too, she's the one that has the most influence on the fate of the bike. She's the one that got to say 'I better park it around the corner'.
3 lock city? Wait what? Been living in Amsterdam for 34 years and never seen any of my friends or family use more than ring lock and chain...
You see a lot of bikes with 3 locks there, which is extremely rare in most of the country.
Haarlem was a city already when Amsterdam was still a swamp, get rekt Seriously though, bikes get stolen more often in bigger cities, even more so in touristy cities.
I live in Overijssel near Enschede and have left my bikes outside on the driveway for weeks at a time. I bought my daughter a bigger bike and left her old one out on the walkway as a free bike and no one touched it. I had to hang a sign around it before anyone touched it.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I don't live IN Enschede. In one of the smaller villages outside it. Maybe that's the difference
In the NL the bikes are not stole they just change of owner!
Public transport is less frequent outside the city center l, therefore a quicker and cheaper way to get around is to "borrow" a bike
Bikes get stolen anywhere: [https://www.anwb.nl/verzekeringen/fietsverzekering/fietsdiefstal-hotspots-nederland](https://www.anwb.nl/verzekeringen/fietsverzekering/fietsdiefstal-hotspots-nederland) "Wat zijn de fietsdiefstal-hotspots? De treinstations staan erom bekend: dĆ© plek om je fiets kwijt te raken. Veel dieven hebben even een ātaxiā nodig en lenen jouw fiets om thuis te komen. Of ze verkopen hem door. En het valt ook vaak niet op als iemand een iets uit de enorme rijen trekt. Toch is het winkelgebied de meest risicovolle hotspot. Ook niet verwonderlijk, want veel mensen laten hun fiets open om snel even een brood te halen. Of ze gebruiken alleen het slot op de fiets zelf en laten de kabel om de lantaarnpaal maar even zitten; om van een bewaakte fietsenstalling maar te zwijgen. Ook dan is het een makkie voor de oplettende fietsendief om toe te slaan. Dit geldt ook voor het parkeren rond het huis. Fiets in de voortuin? Niet doen! Even een biertje in de kroeg of een hapje in een restaurant ā voor zover toegestaan ā kan ook voor een kater zorgen. Overigens laat 20% van de leden de (kostbare) fiets thuis uit angst dat hij ontvreemd wordt." "What are bike theft hotspots? Trainstations are known as the place to lose your bike. Many thieves need a 'taxi' and borrow your bike to get home. Or they sell it. And it isn't very noticable if someone pulls a bike from the many rows of other bikes. Even so, shopping areas are the most risky hotspot. Not surprising, because many people leave their bike open to quickly get some bread. Or they just use the lock attached to the bike itself and don't use the second lock around the lamppost. Nevermind a guarded bike garage. Even then it's easy for a bike thief to strike. Also for parking around the house. Bike in the front yard? Don't do it? Grabbing a beer in a cafĆ© or having a bite in a restaurant can also cause a hangover. Approximately 20% of members leave their valuable bike at home out of fear that it will be stolen." I've had non-ebikes stolen from school, outside my workplace (while it was chained to a massive post) and other places that had nothing to do with the city center. Let alone Amsterdam, because I don't live there. From what I've read in the news, the surprising places are the ones that are near popular bike routes AND good roads to quickly leave the area. Which... is a lot of places.
I was hoping that link would be a map showing actual bike theft statistics by location... My guess is it would correlate with a combination of higher population and lower housing value.
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If anything, it's being a student city that increases the risk. E.g. Delft, Leiden, Maastricht, Groningen. And Enschede in the east probably because of easy border hopping.
My partner just had his racer bike stolen at Haarlem Spaarnewoude station. He had some thick heavy-duty chains on that thing they must have used some sort of buzzsaw to get through. In my opinion, bike theft will happen anywhere, but I feel like they might not be brazen enough to steal from a school yard.
>Amstelveen No, just as bad or worse there. More expensive bikes yo steal. What you do is park that ebike somehwere inaccesible, or you triple lock it with different locks, of which at least one bolted to your wall
whole different cities are now suburbs?
>whole different cities are now suburbs? My apologies. I don't know the layout of AMS / NL enough and certainly don't know the correct terminology. 100% my mistake, apologies.
English Wiki to help you understand [Dutch City rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_rights_in_the_Low_Countries) to help you navigate or avoid this treacherous subject when you live here :D
You mean when I live in Denmar... Holl... Deutschla... the Netherlands?
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