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House related whining
Jan. 17th, 2007 12:39 pmWell, its Wednesday. Life continues to be interesting, with more stuff going on than I can really keep track of, though C & I did have a conversation last night about houses.
Essentially, we’re rather disappointed about the houses we’ve seen (either in person or on t’interwarb) in Amsterdam & we’ve both toyed with the idea of moving to Hilversum; it’s cheaper, a nice enough place, about the distance of York is from Leeds (ie 45 – 50 minutes on the train for those of you who are not in the Leeds – York area) and its above sea level – by about 10 meters.
The downside is that it’s a middling sized town about 45 minutes train ride away from Amsterdam, and all that goes with that (ie there goes what little social circle we’ve made). Personally, I also have qualms in that I’ve been spoiled by having a gentle 15 minute stroll to & from work – having to get up at 7am to catch a series of trains is a daunting prospect & has connotations of being far too grown-up, to be honest.
However, it still seems to be a sensible plan – it’s a lot nicer than the alternative of living in Amstelveen in that its actually a proper town, rather than a faceless afterthought that’s been designed by committee; the properties are noticeably cheaper (about €50k less) and its not surrounded by stagnant water (no mosquitoes – hallelujah!). There would also be no overall extra travel costs in that Dutch tax law considers costs of getting to & from work as deductible from tax (so the company reimburses them directly at the end of the year – consider it a form of fixed saving). Aside from this, we’d be able to afford something we actually want – rather than something that’s only ok.
And, of course, its one of the few places in Holland that’s noticeably above sea-level - which is definitely a selling point as far as I’m concerned. Not that I expect Amsterdam to sink beneath the waves – more that I think that property prices here are going to become stagnant, due to fears of Hurricane Katrinas bigger sister & related taxes to protect same – so a house in Hilversum might keep its value a bit better. Maybe. Perhaps.
S
Essentially, we’re rather disappointed about the houses we’ve seen (either in person or on t’interwarb) in Amsterdam & we’ve both toyed with the idea of moving to Hilversum; it’s cheaper, a nice enough place, about the distance of York is from Leeds (ie 45 – 50 minutes on the train for those of you who are not in the Leeds – York area) and its above sea level – by about 10 meters.
The downside is that it’s a middling sized town about 45 minutes train ride away from Amsterdam, and all that goes with that (ie there goes what little social circle we’ve made). Personally, I also have qualms in that I’ve been spoiled by having a gentle 15 minute stroll to & from work – having to get up at 7am to catch a series of trains is a daunting prospect & has connotations of being far too grown-up, to be honest.
However, it still seems to be a sensible plan – it’s a lot nicer than the alternative of living in Amstelveen in that its actually a proper town, rather than a faceless afterthought that’s been designed by committee; the properties are noticeably cheaper (about €50k less) and its not surrounded by stagnant water (no mosquitoes – hallelujah!). There would also be no overall extra travel costs in that Dutch tax law considers costs of getting to & from work as deductible from tax (so the company reimburses them directly at the end of the year – consider it a form of fixed saving). Aside from this, we’d be able to afford something we actually want – rather than something that’s only ok.
And, of course, its one of the few places in Holland that’s noticeably above sea-level - which is definitely a selling point as far as I’m concerned. Not that I expect Amsterdam to sink beneath the waves – more that I think that property prices here are going to become stagnant, due to fears of Hurricane Katrinas bigger sister & related taxes to protect same – so a house in Hilversum might keep its value a bit better. Maybe. Perhaps.
S
