International Students’ Disproportionate Difficulties in Dutch Housing Market
Yuerong Chen, Signe Östblom and Siyu Yang
Abstract:
Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands and the location of top educational institutions, is attracting a sharply increased number of international students. However, international students, who are unfamiliar with the local situation and do not have competitive financial resources and power, are in a very vulnerable position in Amsterdam rental markets and struggling to find a place to live and study. This article aims to investigate how international students experience the disproportionate difficulties of finding housing in Amsterdam from the lens of Pierre Bourdieu's capital theory, depicting how particular capitals international students possess affect their status and interactions in Dutch housing markets. Qualitative research, including observations and semi-structured interviews, are conducted in this study. The results showed that international students' limited cultural, economic, and social capital make them face disproportionate difficulties in Amsterdam housing markets, limiting their housing options, lowering their social position in Dutch housing markets, and significantly affecting their psychological well-being. In light of these findings, the paper calls for further research on international students' housing issues from multidimensional levels.
