A study in 2025 revealed that in more than half of the U.S., a family of four would need to make over $100,000 to live comfortably.
And that’s adorable.
Because this year, a study by the Urban Institute shows that those families would need $145,000 a year to be economically secure. Between food, clothing, housing, healthcare, and half a dozen other factors, Americans are feeling the pinch from ever-rising prices and ever-disappearing financial supports.
Back in September, we met the Joneses — an imaginary family living on a combined income of $100,000 — and discovered how much they could save by moving to Portugal. So it might be time to check in with their imaginary neighbors, the Smiths, to see how far that $145,000 might go if they packed it up and brought it to the Netherlands.
Meet the Smiths of Sherman, Illinois.
Meet the Smith family of Sherman, Illinois. Parents Christopher and Amanda work from home (well, Chris is hybrid). Daughter Sophia, 15, is in high school, and other daughter Emma is in her first year at Western Illinois University, living in the dorms. (Fun fact: The Smiths met the Joneses at orientation, and now they’re Facebook friends.)
Combined annual income: $145,000
With help from the Economic Policy Institute, we can assume their expenses look something like this:
Housing: $2,000/month for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment
Groceries: $1,400/month
Healthcare: $2,400/month
Taxes: $1,900/month
College: $12,800/semester
Without including other expenses — car payments, Netflix, Sophia’s cello lessons, Chris’s cooking problem — their total annual expenses as outlined above come to $118,000.
If they live in Illinois.
Meet the Smiths of Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
When Chris, Amanda, Emma, and Sophia move to Rotterdam, what might their expenses look like?
Housing: $1,670/month
Their three-bedroom Rotterdam apartment (which once again includes Sophia, who’s happy she can live at home and bike to class) costs €1,450/month.
Groceries: $580/month
With both girls at home, the Smiths are paying about €500/month for groceries for the four of them. Chris was happy to realize that many of his favorite imported cheeses are now local cheeses, and he can snag a loaf of fresh bread, a pound of good beef, a pound of gouda, and a decent bottle of wine for under €20.
Healthcare: $350/month
The Netherlands has a universal healthcare system based on mandatory private insurance, so the Smiths pay around €300/month.
Taxes: $5,000/month
Exceptional infrastructure, education, healthcare, and social welfare don’t come for free — Chris and Amanda will be paying about €4,300/month on their combined $145,000 (around €125,800) income. (This isn’t taking into account the Dutch 30% facility for expat taxes, which would offer substantial savings on their taxes but is beyond the scope of this post.)
College: $15,560/year
As a newcomer to the Netherlands, Emma is paying the full rate of €13,500/year at Erasmus University. Once the family has been there for five years, though, and gain permanent residency, Sophia will be able to wrap up her time at Erasmus at the local rate of €8,300, or about $9,500, per year
Total: $106,760
In their first year in the Netherlands, the Smith family will save $11,240 over their Sherman, Illinois, lifestyle. And over time, as the kids grow and move up and Chris and Amanda start enjoying their empty nest, they’ll celebrate the 10th anniversary of their move with an extra $72,660 to remind them how glad they are they moved to the Netherlands.
It just so happens that the Netherlands is our County of the Month for March 2026. If you find yourself curious about what your life might look like — and cost — in the Netherlands, you can get free webinars and expert advice, and even plan a scouting trip, at our Country of the Month page.
