Highly educated people prefer living to working in the North of the Netherlands

Retention and recruitment of highly educated people stimulates the labour market and economy of the North of the Netherlands. What makes this region attractive to highly educated people? Student of marketing Elisa van den Berg conducted research for the Economics and Business Science Shop into the attraction of the North of the Netherlands as working and living area to highly educated people.

Van den Berg made a survey of 450 highly educated people throughout the Netherlands. The quiet and spacious setting, good opportunities for career and income and affordable houses make the North attractive to highly educated people.

The respondents awarded the North of the Netherlands a mark of 6,3 for living (at a scale of 1 to 10) and a 5,1 for working. The differences in valuation between inhabitants and non-inhabitants of the northern region were large: inhabitants awarded their living area a 8,2 and non-inhabitants a 5,6. The northern region as working area was awarded a 6,0 by inhabitants and a 4,7 by non-inhabitants.

Moving house

Highly educated people are prepared to move from their current region to a place with more career and income opportunities, especially when there are friends and family in the prospective area. The respondents who had moved to the North for their jobs highlighted the affordable houses as a decisive factor in the decision.

Image: tough, honest and competent

Van den Berg also conducted research into the image of the region. The image of the North of the Netherlands is honest, competent and tough. The respondents who had moved to the North for their jobs, had the most positive view on the image of the North. The non-inhabitants’ view of the image of the North was mostly formed and coloured by their own experiences from a holiday or a daytrip. The attraction of the North as an area for living and working can partly be explained by the image of the North.

Information

- drs. Martijje Lubbers, coordinator Science Shop (Wetenschapswinkel) Economics and Business, Tel. (050) 363 8612, e-mail somar rug.nl
- Elisa van den Berg, ‘Liever wonen dan werken in Noord-Nederland’, EC 186, Groningen: Wetenschapswinkel Economie & Bedrijfskunde, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, 2008.