Hello friends! Over the last couple of weeks, we visited 2 potential apartments, which was all we had available to us that met our demands: fully furnished, 1-year lease, and within our budget. The first apartment was just north of Rotterdam, and the second in The Hague. The process is a bit different than in the US, in which we applied as interested to both, to move to the next step of being reviewed. In the end, we secured and signed a lease in The Hague! The apartment is in a beach town called Scheveningen (pronunciation here: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia…) which is a nice, quiet place in the winter, with lots of beach access, and close to other nature like dunes and wooded parks, yet is a quick tram/bus ride into the city center. It will definitely feel different when we get into warmer weather, as it’s a popular summer destination!

We’ve walked around a lot of Amsterdam in the meantime, and are looking forward to getting really settled in. Most of the relocation process really relies on having a permanent residence, so until now, we’ve felt a bit in limbo, as we’re not tourists, but not yet residents. After we signed our lease, our lawyer also scheduled a meeting for us in early December to meet with the government and get our resident number. With that, we can proceed with our visa application, get a bank account, and health insurance. That’s all to say that while we’ve had our work from the US to keep us afloat, we haven’t yet been able to begin working on the business or finding a local job for Diana. We also have had to wire transfer bills and keep paying international fees and such with every purchase, so we’re excited to have a Dutch bank account! Not very glamorous nuances to moving abroad, but they’ve certainly been stressors for us in this period.

That said, we are very happy to be here, and excited to be getting our own place again. Stay tuned as we continue our journey into Christmas (holiday markets, 2 days of Christmas, and of course, Sinterklaas), navigating our move and residency, and buying a bike!