Please bear with me as I am having minor anxiety attacks writing this.
I was accepted as a student at KABK in Den Haag, and I will be moving from Munich, Germany in about 4.5 months. The school does not have student housing, so I have an acount with DUWO to help with that. I'm slightly worried about housing, but even more so about how to make a bit of money so I'm not homeless and licking the insides of trash cans for sustenance.
I thought I could easily find a part-time job working in a cafe, as I have almost one year experience working in one in Munich. I even read there is a student subsidy where after working for 3 months, at 32 hours/month, I can recieve a small student grant of €250, plus a little bit more if I can prove need. I had planned on applying to Starbucks and asking if they would hire me just to make coffee and bus tables which requires little to no contact with customers, considering this would only be maybe once a week, I think it's pretty reasonable. I do plan on learning Dutch, but fluency will not happen in a year. However, from the places I have called, contacted and researched through the internet, all of them require a fluent level of Dutch (completely understandable, considering this is Holland).
This is where I'm starting to worry. How do international students live if they are not able to get an income? Do I apply for a financial loan from the government or bank to live off of for the next 4 years? Would I be able to pay my rent, maybe buy food (even if it is just canned tuna and beans) and on occasion, buy new socks for myself? Or is it all hopeless and I should prepare myself to live in my school's attic while surviving on scraps from the cafeteria?
I can try to save as much money as possible while working in Munich, but cost of living is just as expensive, sometimes more than Den Haag. Realistically, I can probably save just enough for a deposit and first months rent on an apartment in this short amount of time, but after I move, I will have absolutely no savings to live off of.
So I would greatly appreciate help, tips, links, etc.
Also, if anyone has or has the capacity to find the direct phone number to Starbucks in Centraal Station so I can give them a call would be greatly appreciated. I've been searching for their number for weeks, and I even contacted international headquarters office several times by email with absolutely no response. I even have an account with their job search, but they only post jobs in Amsterdam.
Thank you!!!
A) Renting a normal place here comes with a lot of strings, e.g. proof of employment, which you wouldn't have. i know you said your school doesn't provide student accommodation, but i recommend you contact your school anyway and ask them to advise you, or to link you to the student-rental agency they would normally use. You can't be the first international student registering at that school.
B) As to work, i couldn't find a telephone number for Starbucks in DH Centraal, but I guess this wouldn't be public information anyway. Try leaving a message on the Starbucks NL Facebook page? http://www.facebook.com/StarbucksNederland
Alternatively, go back to the school again and ask them to put you in contact with student-employment agencies. These are likely to be able to advise you on how many hours you can legally work, hourly rates, etc. And best case scenario, the agency might actually be able to place you in a job where you could have flexi-working hours and fluent Dutch wouldn't be required.
PS: If / when you run low on funds, ask your parents to send food by post ;) I did it when I was in university and it made for quite some decent savings :) Even now i'm working, my folks still send me a suitcase or a carton worth of dry goods at least twice a year!
Nomad said:
Also, if anyone has or has the capacity to find the direct phone number to Starbucks in Centraal Station so I can give them a call would be greatly appreciated. I've been searching for their number for weeks, and I even contacted international headquarters office several times by email with absolutely no response. I even have an account with their job search, but they only post jobs in Amsterdam.
Thank you!!!
It's possible that there isn't one, but I'd try calling the other ones if only to ask...
http://www.detelefoongids.nl/zoeken/plaats-amsterdam/w-starbucks
Thank you so much everyone for the very helpful responses! To Ariannie, from what I've found in room rentals targeted to students, whether through DUWO or privately owned, I haven't been asked for proof of employment, just proof that I will be a student. I think there are student stipends or a subsidy (could be wrong) to help with rent. But if I can find a cheap enough room where I can *maybe* save enough money to pre-pay several months, then I won't be as worried. It's only the strange desire to eat maybe 2-3x a day that worries me most. Although I do need to lose some weight, so maybe being a broke student will come with the perk of a smaller waistline? Thanks for the link to the Facebook page, I will definitely attempt to contact them. Same to you fortuner for the Amsterdam contact numbers. I will be calling them shortly!
Nomad said:
Please bear with me as I am having minor anxiety attacks writing this.
I'm slightly worried about housing, but even more so about how to make a bit of money so I'm not homeless and licking the insides of trash cans for sustenance.
You're an as-yet-unknown artist - I thought that diet was a lifestyle choice?! 
I think by trying so hard to contact Starbucks, you're fishing in a very small pond! You're probably going to have far more success with the Student Uitzendbureaus (google them) as they offer the non-career vacancies that you'll be looking for. You might possibly have more success by searching for work in Den Haag, as the 'Dam pulls in all the dreamers, stoners and ex-tourists who think it's going to be really easy and that the global recession didn't touch Holland, and really isn't going to hurt their chances despite them only speaking English......
The job market here is HARD at the moment, trust me. I'm working with people - mainly native Dutch youngsters, bilingual - who are extremely overqualified for what they are doing and 2 years ago would have had their choice of many jobs but now they're doing whatever it takes to get by. My own son has bar experience in the Netherlands and speaks reasonable Dutch - and he can't get anything in that field at the moment. His last employer (restaurant) went bust, as many are doing.
Important: what is your nationality? The student grants and loans scheme is there for EU passport holders who are, by the nature of the EU, subjected to the same conditions as native Dutch students... except if you didn't reside here for 5 years, then you need a job for 8 hours per week to qualify. Trust me, my son just ended his contract and as he's only lived here for 4.75 years, *BOOM* no more grant - and more importantly - the 'Student OV abonnement' (free weekday travel by public transport) ended at the same time. You receive around 70-80 euros as a grant, and you can top this up with extra (200+) if you are living away from home. I think the website can be found at IB-Groep or DUO.nl.
Please do note though: you will be required to take dutch health insurance (global student insurance isn't valid if you start work here) if you start working here. On the other hand, you can then apply for zorgtoeslag - so you'll get 70 euros per month from the taxman as you're a low-income earner. Excessive Bureaucracy? Welcome to Holland 
I have no idea how to proceed, but googling the following dutch words 'student kamer den haag' may produce some results you might not have found before (although - standard disclaimer - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!).
Also, seeking work in the Wassenaar area (many senior level management ENG-speaking expats live there) may pay off, if you're still struggling?
Finally, my boss lives in Scheveningen (learn to say it correctly! During the war, the natives used to make strangers say this name as German spies couldn't pronounce it - and it's part of Dutch humour vs. all foreigners) and claims it's very cheap to rent there. I would have thought it expensive as it's near a beach - but perhaps at this time of year, you can secure yourself a bargain?
