Thanks Meloncoli, great website should be useful.

Recently arrived in Delft and looking for anyone interested in Herbs and foraging for foodstuffs and medicines in the wild. I'm not an expert but belonged to a similar group in London and hoping to continue my interest over here. Would be grateful for any info regarding groups/meetups in Delft, Den Haag, Rotterdam area.

In our recent relocation to NL we used De Haan, a Dutch based company who were recommended by a Dutch Lady we met in London. Our previous moves have always been self drives and my husband and I don't like to pay for things we can do ourselves but we realised that this job might be a little too big for us. From start to finish De Haan were fantastic. In the first instance we filled in a quote application online and got a personalised email back with a price that didn't seem too daunting. They provide a wealth of information about their services along with all the small print so you can see up front exactly what you get for the price. De Haan offered us a flexible deal which allowed us to piggy back onto another job which saved us and them money. Other companies I spoke with would not entertain doing this when I suggested it but De Haan offered it up front. It meant that we could nominate the month in which the move took place but had to be flexible about the exact week in that month. The communication was excellent with emails and phone calls going back and forth throughout. We had opted for a December move as our new tenancy began on the 1st Dec, De Haan rang us in mid Nov to ask if they could collect our things in 5 days time as they had a drop off in the south of England and could come to London on thier way back to Harwich. It meant that we would have to put our furniture in storage for 10 days which they offered to do for us free of charge so we agreed. The eve before the collection I got a phone call from the driver of the truck asking if they could park up outside our house overnight to be ready for the next morning. When they arrived you could not meet two nicer guys, they both spoke excellent English and we insisted that they used the house to eat their food and freshen up after the long drive. The next morning they were on the doorstep at 8am sharp and ready to begin work, although I couldn't tempt them to a cooked breakfast i did manage to get a cup of coffee in them first! The house was cleared by 11am and my husband said it was the best £2k he'd ever spent and that means a lot coming from him! They even wrapped a few items for us we had forgotten about and were so quick and professional it was amazing to watch.

On the 3rd Dec, another crew of three this time arrived at our apartment in Delft with very narrow stairs and rooms on 3 floors again at 8am on the dot. After a quick survey of the premises an external lift was set up and everything came in through the window and was quickly carried off to the allocated rooms. Again the move was so quick and professionally done that it was over before we knew it, even when it started snowing they didn't stop whereas in the Uk that would have been cause for an extended tea break! I felt so sorry for them because we had nothing in the house having only just arrived the day before and didn't even have a kettle to make tea. My husband popped out and bought coffees but didn't get any pastries or biscuits for them but they seemed happy enough and just got on with it which is what you want.They left the apartment as they found it, the window was put back in without a scratch and our landlord was delighted and happy to leave them to it.

Two observations I have made about De Haan personnel. Firstly they are all extremely friendly and polite with a great sense of humour and wonderful charm, secondly on a lighter note (and this is probably only of interest to the ladies) the removal guys are very good looking compared with their UK counterparts. One guy who shall remain nameless was so ridiculously good looking that there was a five second time delay everytime he asked me a question because I was literally dazzled and my marriage is still in the honeymoon phase after 10 years! So I think it is fair to say that I had a very positive experience and am a very happy customer but I don't think it was a one off. You can tell when you are dealing with a company who are very good at what they do and are confident in the knowledge of their excellence. The rates are fair and good value for money, certainly not the cheapest, I would say in the middle range of quotes received but as a company we felt confident with them. So if you are looking for a removal firm to help with your relocation I highly recommend that you check them out.

Ok great so UPC sounds like the way to go for the full combo package. Does anyone out there know the answer to the Freeview question. Will my freeview boxes work over here in any capacity or should I give them away?

Hi Everyone

 

My husband has just a job with a company in Rotterdam so we will be joining you all in NL from 1st December, living in Delft.

 

Please can anyone give me the idiots guide break down on the following questions, I'm a desperate woman!

 

1- Do our UK freeview boxes work in NL and if so what channels do they pick up, UK or Dutch?

 

2- Is it true that Freesat is just a freeview box with a sat dish, so I could get a dish and use it with my free view box?

 

3- Is everyone agreed that UPC is the better cable provider ? I hear they have all the BBC channels and US shows but only in the evening not during the day, is that accurate?

 

Any clarification, tips, hints and moans about any of the above welcome.

 

Thanks