Over the last 18 months we've been watching Chuck. Tonight we watched the last episode in it's 5 season lifespan. I know it's only a tv show but it's kind of sad that it's over, and it looks like I'm not the only one who feels sad that it's over according to the hundreds of comments on some of these pages. Now, what to watch next...
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
No more Chuck :(
Over the last 18 months we've been watching Chuck. Tonight we watched the last episode in it's 5 season lifespan. I know it's only a tv show but it's kind of sad that it's over, and it looks like I'm not the only one who feels sad that it's over according to the hundreds of comments on some of these pages. Now, what to watch next...
Monday, February 27, 2012
Apartment search completed?
Well, hopefully...
We had our meeting with the owner of our potential apartment and he seemed happy for us to rent his place. He was a bit apprehensive at first because this apartment has been in his family for quite a few years and this is the first time he has rented it out, but after he met us and talked to us (and we assured him that we were low maintenance tenants) he was more than happy.
All that is left to do is sign the contract, and transfer the deposit. And it is this small addendum that is the source of my slight apprehension. As I mentioned in a previous post the initial outlay for renting is 2 months rent as a deposit, 1 month rent up front and 1 month + 19% as the agent fee. We have the money, except it's in our Australian bank account, in Australian dollars. However, my bank requires that we have a security token on order to transfer money overseas- one of those keyring devices that spits out a number every 30 seconds that is unique to your account. We've ordered one, but it's not due to arrive for a few weeks, and this moeny needs to be transferred within 48 hours...
So after a late night spent skyping our families back in Australia, we've managed to sort it out (I think). International transfers have quite a few different fields to fill in compared to domestic transfers. But the money has disappeared from our account, so fingers crossed that it appears in agent's account soon enough.
We had our meeting with the owner of our potential apartment and he seemed happy for us to rent his place. He was a bit apprehensive at first because this apartment has been in his family for quite a few years and this is the first time he has rented it out, but after he met us and talked to us (and we assured him that we were low maintenance tenants) he was more than happy.
All that is left to do is sign the contract, and transfer the deposit. And it is this small addendum that is the source of my slight apprehension. As I mentioned in a previous post the initial outlay for renting is 2 months rent as a deposit, 1 month rent up front and 1 month + 19% as the agent fee. We have the money, except it's in our Australian bank account, in Australian dollars. However, my bank requires that we have a security token on order to transfer money overseas- one of those keyring devices that spits out a number every 30 seconds that is unique to your account. We've ordered one, but it's not due to arrive for a few weeks, and this moeny needs to be transferred within 48 hours...
So after a late night spent skyping our families back in Australia, we've managed to sort it out (I think). International transfers have quite a few different fields to fill in compared to domestic transfers. But the money has disappeared from our account, so fingers crossed that it appears in agent's account soon enough.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
First weekend as a local
This weekend is my first since going back to work- does that mean I'm not a tourist any more? We still did sight seeing though, and did some more exploring around the city. We started off with a short walk to the Hermitage museum which had a display featuring paintings from some famous Flemish artists from the 1600's. I'm not much of an art lover but I can still appreciate the history and value of these paintings.
After this we wandered through the southern canal belt through to he bloemenmarkt (flower markets) which are apparently floating on the water, but I didn't notice at the time. It had heaps of tulips and other types of flowers, living, dried, seeds and bulbs were all there. My personal favourite was the cactus shop, whil Sam loved the wooden tulips, so we'll be back again at some point to buy some decorations for our apartment whenever we get one.
After lunching on an Albert Heijn pastry while sitting on the edge of a canal, we walked home via Leidsplein, a very touristy area full of restaurants and pubs. It was absolutely packed, although I'm sure very few of them were locals.
On Sunday we spent the afternoon at the local Oosterpark with a Coffee Company coffee (not the greatest ever, and they made a big deal about the fact that they serve a 'flat white'). It was a lovely park with a lake and hundreds of ducks. I think this would be a good park to come back to after we get bikes so we can practice riding them- there was some nice wide tracks around the park and there wasn't too many people around.
As we sat on the park bench I realised that that was pretty much the reason that we moved to Amsterdam rather than just doing the 6 week holiday around Europe- the chance to spend time just sitting and relaxing, soaking up the atmosphere of this foreign country, without feeling rushed to get to the next attraction or city.
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| Fields of flowers in the courtyard of The Hermitage |
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| Even the lamp posts are meticulously decorated |
After this we wandered through the southern canal belt through to he bloemenmarkt (flower markets) which are apparently floating on the water, but I didn't notice at the time. It had heaps of tulips and other types of flowers, living, dried, seeds and bulbs were all there. My personal favourite was the cactus shop, whil Sam loved the wooden tulips, so we'll be back again at some point to buy some decorations for our apartment whenever we get one.
 |
| One of the many flower shops in the Bloemenmarkt |
After lunching on an Albert Heijn pastry while sitting on the edge of a canal, we walked home via Leidsplein, a very touristy area full of restaurants and pubs. It was absolutely packed, although I'm sure very few of them were locals.
 |
| Lunch on the Keizersgracht |
On Sunday we spent the afternoon at the local Oosterpark with a Coffee Company coffee (not the greatest ever, and they made a big deal about the fact that they serve a 'flat white'). It was a lovely park with a lake and hundreds of ducks. I think this would be a good park to come back to after we get bikes so we can practice riding them- there was some nice wide tracks around the park and there wasn't too many people around.
As we sat on the park bench I realised that that was pretty much the reason that we moved to Amsterdam rather than just doing the 6 week holiday around Europe- the chance to spend time just sitting and relaxing, soaking up the atmosphere of this foreign country, without feeling rushed to get to the next attraction or city.
Friday, February 24, 2012
One week down
So I made it through my first week of work in Amsterdam. The people are great, and the office is very multicultural- from my team only 1 is from the Netherlands, with others from South America, Australia, New Zealand, UK and other European countries. It makes for a great atmosphere and there is always great lunch time conversation to be found in the questions 'so where are you originally from', and 'how long have you been in the Netherlands'.
I've been catching the metro to work, with my building being close by the Amsterdam Zuid station, which is the main business centre for the city, and lots of international companies have offices here. There is a parking lot dedicated just to bikes- and it is always packed full. The train is quite inconsistent, sometimes empty enough that I get a seat, sometimes so full that you don't even need to hold on to anything when you stand up, because the crowd is squeezed so tightly into the carriage that you can't possibly fall over.
The weather is pretty awful though, it is constantly grey and it feels like I'm always walking into the wind, no matter which way I'm facing. It hasn't actually been raining as such, but it has been wet, as though you are constantly walking through a fine, cold mist. The walk to and from the train is not too long though, so it's not really a problem.
I've been catching the metro to work, with my building being close by the Amsterdam Zuid station, which is the main business centre for the city, and lots of international companies have offices here. There is a parking lot dedicated just to bikes- and it is always packed full. The train is quite inconsistent, sometimes empty enough that I get a seat, sometimes so full that you don't even need to hold on to anything when you stand up, because the crowd is squeezed so tightly into the carriage that you can't possibly fall over.
The weather is pretty awful though, it is constantly grey and it feels like I'm always walking into the wind, no matter which way I'm facing. It hasn't actually been raining as such, but it has been wet, as though you are constantly walking through a fine, cold mist. The walk to and from the train is not too long though, so it's not really a problem.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Apartment search continues
We might have found our new house! Sam has been in contact with an agency that deals specifically with helping expats find a place to live and getting set up. The business is called Expat Help, and Edward is keen to help, having even spent time on Skype with Sam talking about things like utilities and tax. We saw the place tonight and have officially registered our interest, and we have a meeting with the house owner on Monday.
The apartment is right on the limit of our budget (actually, on the wrong side at the moment...), but as long as Sam can find some work and my 30% tax ruling application is successful then we will be fine. It's in a perfect location, is newly renovated, and has plenty of room. The bathroom is a bit of a squeeze but there has to be compromise somewhere.
More details to come if our application is successful...
The apartment is right on the limit of our budget (actually, on the wrong side at the moment...), but as long as Sam can find some work and my 30% tax ruling application is successful then we will be fine. It's in a perfect location, is newly renovated, and has plenty of room. The bathroom is a bit of a squeeze but there has to be compromise somewhere.
More details to come if our application is successful...
Sunday, February 19, 2012
New gloves
Got some new gloves.
+2 Warmth
-1 Dexterity
But they match my jacket, so there's a +2 style bonus for matching set.
Yes I am a nerd. But it pays the bills.
+2 Warmth
-1 Dexterity
But they match my jacket, so there's a +2 style bonus for matching set.
Yes I am a nerd. But it pays the bills.
Search for an apartment
We started seriously looking for an apartment to live today. We have 6 weeks left in the place provided by my work, and the sooner we can find our own place the better. The process is proving to be a bit more complicated than looking for a place in Australia, and significantly more expensive. In Australia the apartment search can basically all be done via the internet- log onto realestate.com.au or domain.com.au, look for places you like, schedule inspections via email and wait until you find something suitable.
In the Netherlands, real estate searching is done via an agent (makelaar, literally 'broker'). It seems the most reliable way is to sign up with one or two of these agents, give them your requirements, and they look after the search for you. This sounds great but like in any field there is a chance of getting a dodgy agent, or one that pushes their own agenda rather than looking for the place that suits the client best. Finding an agent that has good reviews from friends or on the internet is important.
Also the initial cost is high- the agents charge 1 month rent + 19% tax (only if they fund you a place of course), and the bond is normally 2 months rent. Even though this bond is refunded at the completion of the tenancy, this still adds up to a fairly sizable outlay.
There are a few websites (e.g. www.funda.nl) but these seem to be listings mostly as fronts to the agents, and also some private listing sites which might agent fees to be avoided (e.g. www.marktplaats.nl) but there often seems to be a reason that the landlord has cut out the middleman. We are finding that the concept of Registration (''inschrijving") is quite important. Whenever you move to a different address, you must register with the local council e.g. for tax and electoral purposes. A number of these private listings have said that that they do not allow the tenant to register at the address, which is illegal and often for some sort of tax dodge. While the rent price might look good, it is not worth the problems that may arise.
A website with lots of good information for this is expatica nl, and in particular this renter's guide was useful.
We haven't made much progress yet, but have contacted a few agents. I'll be continuing to post updates on the progress of our house search, and will give a review of the makelaars that we use (in case someone else is looking for a good agent).
In the Netherlands, real estate searching is done via an agent (makelaar, literally 'broker'). It seems the most reliable way is to sign up with one or two of these agents, give them your requirements, and they look after the search for you. This sounds great but like in any field there is a chance of getting a dodgy agent, or one that pushes their own agenda rather than looking for the place that suits the client best. Finding an agent that has good reviews from friends or on the internet is important.
Also the initial cost is high- the agents charge 1 month rent + 19% tax (only if they fund you a place of course), and the bond is normally 2 months rent. Even though this bond is refunded at the completion of the tenancy, this still adds up to a fairly sizable outlay.
There are a few websites (e.g. www.funda.nl) but these seem to be listings mostly as fronts to the agents, and also some private listing sites which might agent fees to be avoided (e.g. www.marktplaats.nl) but there often seems to be a reason that the landlord has cut out the middleman. We are finding that the concept of Registration (''inschrijving") is quite important. Whenever you move to a different address, you must register with the local council e.g. for tax and electoral purposes. A number of these private listings have said that that they do not allow the tenant to register at the address, which is illegal and often for some sort of tax dodge. While the rent price might look good, it is not worth the problems that may arise.
A website with lots of good information for this is expatica nl, and in particular this renter's guide was useful.
We haven't made much progress yet, but have contacted a few agents. I'll be continuing to post updates on the progress of our house search, and will give a review of the makelaars that we use (in case someone else is looking for a good agent).
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