Being so centrally located to these other countries allowed Maastricht to thrive as a city and an economy because it has become a central point for the intersection of all of these cultures. It is wonderful for people who live here because they have the opportunity to do things like drive to Germany to fill up gas in their cars where the prices are cheaper. Residents also have the ability to take trains all over Europe, once again because of the central location of Maastricht to surrounding cities. Also, because Maastricht is at the southern-most part of the Netherlands, it is closer to the rest of Europe than cities such as Amsterdam, making it much easier for traveling within the European Union.
One of the major challenges of living in this environment is that residents are blocked on all sides; it is what is called "landlocked." The closest bodies of water are hours away up by Amsterdam and on the west end of Belgium. So this makes the availability of things like seafood very difficult. Also, Maastricht is a small city and has little room to grow because it is surrounded on all sides. This limits the potential to expand on many of the well-developed industries in the area.
The geography of the Netherlands is unusual in that about one-third of the country lies below sea level, with the lowest point being 22 feet (6.7 meters) below sea level. Meanwhile, the highest point is about a thousand feet above sea level near the tri-border area where the Netherlands meets Belgium and Germany. That gives you an idea of what the landscape of the Netherlands looks like--it’s almost completely flat!
