Is European housing pet friendly? (crime, country, place, people)

[cooky01]

Has anyone moved from US to Europe w/ pets in tow?
If so, which country/city was it?



We want to move there (top choices are Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland), but our concern is if it's hard (or even possible) to be able to find rentals that allow five cats...


TIA

[HumbleMerchant]

5 cats? No sane landlord would want to rent to foreigners with a mini-zoo in tow, maybe except for extremely run-down apartments/houses.

But you never know, you might get lucky. I'd just try contacting some properties and just ask about animals and see how it goes from there.

[AmericanGroceriesBelgium]

Hi, I moved to Belgium from North Carolina in 2016. I brought my 15 year old dog with me and moved into my fiancee's rental apartment (with no problems). And then we rented a house a few months later. In Belgium, most places will rent to a person with a pet. I think it's actually not allowed to discriminate against people with pets. I have found that a LOT of people in Europe have dogs or cats, so I don't think you will have a problem finding a nice place. Many of my friends and customers are expats and almost all of them have dogs (I also dogsit sometimes); and they all live in nice houses or apartments.

[mshelen]

it might be not so easy, but you can negotiate or offer smth extra

[elnina]

He should closely research the pet import laws. The process is quite complicated. Some countries have stricter pet import rules than others.
There are vaccine and quarantine requirements too.

Not to mention the stress to the cats. I don't think the airlines will allow 5 cats in the cabin. Some cats experience tremendous stress when subjected to air travel. Many of them only allow a maximum of 2 pets in the cabin at once. Unless he wants to fly in a private jet. Oh, and usually each person is only allowed one pet as a carry on. By the way, expect to pay anywhere from half to nearly as much as your own tickets if you are going to send your pets via plane.

Renting could be very limited if not impossible. People usually have just 1-2 pets. Landlords usually allow only small animals like a hamster or so. With indoor cats there could be possible issue with the neighbors (noise).

https://www.wanderlustingk.com/trave...ional-with-cat

https://www.acatclinic.us/7-steps-in...l-travel-cats/

[HookTheBrotherUp]

If it were me, I'd choose a place based on tax rates, global wealth tax (or not), crime, opportunities than who'd accept my cats. 'Just saying. I've researched all of those countries, and spoke to a tax attorney in the Netherlands. My wife and kids are currently in Norway and I'll join them soon. Trust me, your last worry should be your pets.

All those are great countries, BTW, with the Netherlands being the most pet friendly, but the Dutch culture is something to consider as well, and the Germans, and the Swiss. You can't do any work outside on Sundays in Switzerland, for example, and good luck getting a decent bank if you are US citizens. And Germans follow all the rules, you'll get scolded for crossing the street if the Red Man is on! Good luck! Come back here and let us know where you chose to go, and why.

'So many threads have good questions, but people rarely come back to update the thread. Lots of people find these threads via Google when they have the same question.

One more thing... in the Netherlands, they have a global wealth tax, so they will tax you on any property, or taxable accounts in the US... and they have this bad idea that if you have X amount in accounts, that you are earning Y every year, so they automatically levy a tax on 'supposed gains', even if you lose money! Watch out for the Netherlands.