Everything points to Maastricht Region

The fault line between the Germanic and Latin cultures runs from the North Sea until far into the Alps. It takes in Brussels, Maastricht, Lille, Aachen, Trier, Strasbourg, Basle, Bern and Bolzano. Seduced by the natural course of the Meuse and Rhine, it links a variety of historic towns and cities, places that have been polished by the centuries of friction between the Germanic and Latin cultures until they sparkle like rare diamonds. These towns and regions have accumulated a rich variety of experiences, traditions and transitions, all of which have made them incredibly resilient and dynamic.

What binds them to one another is the splendid balance they have achieved between working and living, utility and frivolousness, tradition and future. Each in its own way is deeply concerned about the quality of life, the balance between nature and towns, buildings and people, relationships and achievements, products and art.

This ideal “work/life balance” is also typical of the Maastricht Region. At a time when unbridled economic and population growth is leading to friction, we are unique in holding fast to our concern for quality and social cohesion. At the same time, our innovativeness, career opportunities and lively cultural scene produce a climate in which sustainable investment in “people, planet & profit” can flourish.

The Maastricht Region offers a flawless work/life balance. For two thousand years, it has been a pivotal location in Europe, the crossroads of East and West, North and South.

600,000 inhabitants

The Maastricht Region is a complete city surrounded by splendid countryside. Some 600,000 people live in an area divided into three countries and four “districts”, each one unique: Maastricht, Parkstad, Sittard-Geleen and the Heuvelland area, a national landscape.

Parkstad

Parkstad, with the town of Heerlen at its centre, is a traditional residential area: appealing, spacious and green. Former factories are now creative incubators, the scene of a typically sophisticated culture that welcomes young people and rock music. Parkstad has large shopping malls, a home furnishings complex and many tourist attractions on its periphery.

Sittard-Geleen

Sittard-Geleen is at the heart of a suburban environment where the housing market is made up of young families in new housing developments. It is also well known for its excellent sports facilities. The industrial heart of the region – Chemelot – is located in Sittard-Geleen.

Maastricht

Maastricht is an historic city with many churches, a medieval town centre, and a huge variety of shops, cultural venues and restaurants. It also has neighbourhoods featuring outstanding modern architecture. Maastricht is home to the university and a wide range of arts education programmes.

Heuvelland

The fourth zone, the Heuvelland area, forms a stark contrast to the three built-up districts. Here is where people go for the peace and quiet of the countryside, with sleepy villages dotted here and there along the streams that have carved deep valleys into the hilly landscape. The Heuvelland area appeals to hikers, cyclists, and anyone who loves the great outdoors or wants to relax. It also has an excellent range of wellness facilities, with the classic “spa” of Valkenburg as its most famous example.

Innovation

The Maastricht Region is more than the sum of its four “districts”. It is a complete city surrounded by splendid countryside. A city with a wide variety of jobs and employment activity. The three technology campuses are pioneers in innovation. Avantis (Parkstad) specialises in developing and producing high-tech new energy facilities. The R&D Campus (Sittard-Geleen) is a global leader in high-tech performance and biomaterials. This is the birthplace of Dyneema, the strongest and lightest fibre in the world. Finally, Campus Randwyck (Maastricht) delivers outstanding scientific and technological innovations in healthcare. Heavy industry and automobile manufacturing are located on and near the 800-hectare Chemelot industrial estate, located between Maastricht and Sittard-Geleen. Business tourism (conferences) and leisure in the broadest sense of the word (hospitality, recreation and wellness) are important economic drivers for the region.

Universities

Economic growth is generated in close collaboration with Maastricht University, Maastricht University Medical Centre and the technical universities of Aachen (20 kilometres away), Eindhoven and Leuven. The medical and care centres in Heerlen (Atrium MC), Sittard-Geleen (Orbis) and Maastricht (MUMC+) use concepts in healthcare regarded as innovative worldwide.

Multinationals

The Maastricht Region is home to the headquarters of various multinationals such as DSM, Sabic, Vodafone and ABP (with invested assets of EUR 210 billion, one of the largest financial institutions in the world) and the worldwide call centres of DHL and Mercedes-Benz.

Accessibility

The Maastricht Region is easy to get to by car, boat, and plane and has a well-developed public transport network. Traffic jams are almost nonexistent. There are four trains an hour between the four “districts”, and efforts are being made to increase the speed and frequency of service. The region has its own airport and is only an hour’s travel from the international airports of Brussels, Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn. High-speed trains take passengers from Maastricht to Brussels in about an hour, Amsterdam in 2.5 hours, Paris in under three hours and London in about four hours.

Work/life balance

The Maastricht Region is rapidly becoming a technological, medical and industrial leader in North-western Europe. It is has everything, and that is its unique selling point: it is a place where a dynamic economy and career opportunities go hand-in-hand with an excellent quality of life. And by that, we mean spacious and affordable housing, a lovely landscape, a wide range of cultural and artistic facilities, schools that rank among the top ten in the Netherlands, social stability, and safe and secure surroundings. In other words, nowhere in Western Europe is there a region with such an excellent “work/life balance", with quality and solidarity as the glue.

Maastricht Region. To work. To live. To love. Everything points to it.