Netherlands/Community Social Support

Community & Social Support

LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities

Although the Netherlands has a worldwide reputation of openness towards the LGBTQIA+ community, it is not in the top 10 of most LGBTQ+ friendly countries in Europe, and the situation doesn't seem to change for the better. This is documented by the ILGA.

The bigger cities (which by American standards are still small) will in general be quite open to trans people. But there will still be areas or neighborhoods you might want to avoid. Experiences in smaller villages, especially in the Dutch Bible Belt, may vary.

Trans-Friendly Cities

• Amsterdam - The obvious choice, it has by far the largest queer community of The Netherlands. Amsterdam also has a high safety index and over 20 queer bars, clubs, and community spaces can be found on Google Maps in the city. Queer neighborhoods in Amsterdam. Pride festivities in Amsterdam. This is a pretty comprehensive guide to LGBTQ+ establishments in Amsterdam.
• Utrecht - main big city in the middle of the Netherlands with a large queer community due to its central location. Queer bars: Bodytalk and Cafe Kalff. Queer bookstore (with community events/flyers): Savannah Bay. Several popular queer parties like PANN and Cruise Control; annual Utrecht Pride with a canal parade and Utrecht Queer Culture Festival with many events, including a walk of love.
• Rotterdam -
• Den Haag
• Leiden - A liberal university city in South Holland. It sits on the train route to Den Haag (The Hague), Amsterdam, Haarlem and Utrecht. It has a yearly pride event, a Rainbow Society and the university has it's own LGBT+ network.

Support Groups

• Transgender Netwerk Nederland (website mostly in Dutch) as a trans advocacy organization. They have a WhatsApp line for transgender people who have not been in the Netherlands for that long. Here everyone can inquire easily with questions about health care, discrimination, regulatory matters and meeting. You send an app to +31 20-2446558 and on working days you will receive an answer within 24 hours. You can ask your questions in Dutch, English, Spanish or French.
• Transvisie as a trans patient advocacy organization, including an English contact group for peer support
• COC Nederland as a generic queer aimed organization, with regional associations

Further resources

• This is a list of resources and service providers in The Netherlands
• Transgender wijzer