Past week was a busy week with two days Amsterdam and 2 days in London. On Thursday evening I enjoyed a business seminar and dinner with former PM David Cameron of the UK. 
In the meantime Mrs Dividendcake has been packing boxes all week long. So past wednesday there was no time for a midweek blog post. Only packing boxes before leaving to London next day. Sorry gents, I am sure you understand. Here’s a quick update on our reasons why and some practical tips to make the move smoothly.
Why did we decide to move ?
As new assembled family, our decision to find a new family home was taken several months ago. However the search for a new place wasn’t easy. Most homes in Belgium have three bedrooms and the family homes with 4 bedrooms are scarce on the rental market. We also evaluated a buy decision but homes with 4 bedrooms come with a price tag of 500K Euro if you want something decent, unless you buy a house that needs renovation.
Our reasons for moving house can be summarized in two simple reasons.
- As the three kids are now teenagers, and the two boys were sleeping on the same room, privacy was needed for the two boys. Teenager boys have more and more testosteron and want to push through their way of thinking. This leads to conflict and it was better to find a place where the two boys could have their own privacy and space to organize their things.
- Second reason is to have a new start as a family. A new house means a new start where Mrs Dividendcake can organize the interior how she likes and give the family house a female touch of love and “coming home”.
We did find a house closer to the school of the kids. Kids can go with the bicycle to the school now and the bus also stops in front of the house. The garden is bigger and we have also a great view on the grassfields with cows and the windmills close to the highway.
Practical tips to make your move smoothly
When you move, you have to think of a lot of practical matters. Below you find a handy checklist :
- If you are a tenant, you must inform the owner in good time about your relocation plans. You will find details about the possible cancellation period in your rental agreement . Also don’t forget to make a place description before you leave.
- Contact the water, gas and electricity company to close the counters or to transfer them to the new owner or tenant. I take a picture of each meter.
- Have the fixed telephone line closed and, if you wish, subscribe to the new address. If you continue to live within the same telephone zone, you can keep your old number. Also have your cable and / or internet subscription transferred to your new address.
- Stop by the post office: via ‘DoMyMove’ of Belgian Bpost you can let your service providers (mobile, electricity, etc.) know about your move and have your mail forwarded to your new address.
- Don’t forget to have your home insurance changed and insure your new home.
- Delete your name on the bell and the mailbox.
- Choose a mover if necessary. For this, contact a recognized mover; the list can be found on the website of the Belgian Chamber of Movers .
- If you intend to be responsible for the relocation yourself , reserve the necessary trailer (s) or delivery van (s) in time.
- If necessary, contact the municipality to have a parking space available on the day of the move.
- Take out a relocation insurance depending on the value of the goods you are relocating. For this you can go to an insurer or a recognized mover.
- If you need to change your family doctor due to the move, ask to have your medical file (and that of your family members) transferred to your new doctor.
- Inform the central animal database of your address change if you have a dog or cat with an electronic chip.
Final words
So let me go back to unpacking boxes. The advantage of moving house is that you find tresors in closets that you didn’t know that you owned this stuff. Secondly we have a great opportunity to trash stuff or resell valuable things that we don’t want or can’t use anymore. We identified some great opportunities to write several blog posts about those ideas. Stay tuned !
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