Every year the Dutch government reviews the items that have to be included in the statutory basic healthcare package, and this means that regardless of your level of insurance, you are entitled to these healthcare items. For details of this list see: http://www.verzekeringssite.nl/
Dentistry is also changing and providers have to publish their charges up-front so that you can estimate how much a treatment will cost, and choose your provider accordingly. The idea is that if one dentist charges €1000 for a crown, and everyone else charges €500, you can see this immediately, and decide if the extra charge can be justified by a difference in the treatment you may receive.
Be very careful that you are correctly and adequately insured from day-one of your stay in NL as mistakes can be costly, and the government is cracking down on those who seek to avoid paying for insurance. You will also most likely find that international schemes are not valid, and cannot be used as an excuse for avoiding payment into these schemes!
Monday, 14 November 2011
Monday, 3 October 2011
Something for the kids
If you have small children and are stuck for something different to do that does not cost the earth then why not spend a days in the woods? The Amsterdamse Bos is fewer than 10km from the city centre and close to the A9.
There are lots of great things to there including walking and cycling, but my favourite place for kids is: http://www.geitenboerderij.nl/
There are lots of great things to there including walking and cycling, but my favourite place for kids is: http://www.geitenboerderij.nl/
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Expats Exhibition
For anyone who is in Amsterdam on 23rd October you should check out this exhibition as it is a great resource for ex-pats and those looking to settle here in the Netherlands: http://www.expatica.com/iamnotatourist/
Monday, 5 September 2011
Auto (re)loading public transport cards
Everyone in the Netherlands is used to using a single smartcard to pay for all their train, tram, and bus transport, and within the next year paper tickets will be gradually withdrawn from many stations, and will only be available from special outlets (and at a premium price).
Fortunately the OV chip-cards are easily obtained from vending machines and main stations. Most people opt for an anonymous card that requires constant monitoring and refilling, and this can be a pain. Fortunately it is very easy to get an auto-reloading photo card simply be applying at https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/. All that is required is a digital head-shot/passport style photo that you upload directly to the site and edit to achieve your desired look, and your bank details.
You will then receive the card by post within a few days. You then need to manually top it up once to activate it, and then you can enjoy carefree travel for the next five years.
Fortunately the OV chip-cards are easily obtained from vending machines and main stations. Most people opt for an anonymous card that requires constant monitoring and refilling, and this can be a pain. Fortunately it is very easy to get an auto-reloading photo card simply be applying at https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/. All that is required is a digital head-shot/passport style photo that you upload directly to the site and edit to achieve your desired look, and your bank details.
You will then receive the card by post within a few days. You then need to manually top it up once to activate it, and then you can enjoy carefree travel for the next five years.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
The cost of running a car in NL
Owning a car in the Netherlands can be a very expensive business due a mix of complex bureaucracy and heavy taxation. The best bet is to lease a car through your employer and then reclaim some of the running costs through expense claims.
If you do more than 500kms per year of private motoring then you have to pay a monthly tax that is based upon a percentage of the purchase price of the car when it was new. This rate normally starts at 14%, and is known as Bijtelling, although some low-emission vehicles are tax-free. If you wish to get a tax exemption because you do no private mileage then you have to apply personally to the Belastingdienst.
In order to reclaim your business travel you need to record the odometer settings at the start and end of each journey, and retain all your fuel (VAT) receipts.
If you buy a car you also have to get car insurance and pay another monthly TAX (wegenbalasting). As in Germany diesels are Each year your car has to be tested for road worthiness (APK) which is like the UK MOT.
You must always carry your driver's licence or passport when you drive, and keep the vehicle registration documents in the vehicle in case you are stopped by the police. Failure to produce your documents can result in a large on the spot fine!You should also carry a warning-triangle for use in case you breakdown.
If you do more than 500kms per year of private motoring then you have to pay a monthly tax that is based upon a percentage of the purchase price of the car when it was new. This rate normally starts at 14%, and is known as Bijtelling, although some low-emission vehicles are tax-free. If you wish to get a tax exemption because you do no private mileage then you have to apply personally to the Belastingdienst.
In order to reclaim your business travel you need to record the odometer settings at the start and end of each journey, and retain all your fuel (VAT) receipts.
If you buy a car you also have to get car insurance and pay another monthly TAX (wegenbalasting). As in Germany diesels are Each year your car has to be tested for road worthiness (APK) which is like the UK MOT.
You must always carry your driver's licence or passport when you drive, and keep the vehicle registration documents in the vehicle in case you are stopped by the police. Failure to produce your documents can result in a large on the spot fine!You should also carry a warning-triangle for use in case you breakdown.
Friday, 5 August 2011
Ziggo digital TV
I have finally fixed all my issues with this system. The box requires a lot of ventilation or it just overheats within an hour and you then have to power-off for several hours in order to cool it completely. The best solution is to have the box stood on a hard surface, and without anything else stacked above or below it. If you call Ziggo technical support they seem completely clueless about this kind of problem.
Sunday, 31 July 2011
Public Transport Cards (OVC ChipCard)
The OV (Public Transport) card is now the standard way to access public-transport throughout the Netherlands, and by next year, will be the only way that you can pay for domestic travel.
The card works on both the trains and the buses, however be aware that if you fail to check-out at the end of your journey you will be charged €4 on the bus or tram, and €20 on the train, so it can be an expensive mistake to make. There is a way to claim this back from the www.ov.nl site, however I have never tried it, and suspect it may be difficult.
You should also note that before you can use your card to pay for train travel it must have a minimum of €20 credit on it and you have to go the ticket office at certain stations and they will enable the card.
If you are a heavy user of the card it is a good idea to go to the OV Chipcard site (http://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/) and order an auto-loading card with your photo on it. You start by ordering the forms and then you can upload a digital (passport-type) photo for use on the card. The card is linked to your NL bank account and payments are taken automatically every month, so you never have to worry about having insufficient credit.
The card works on both the trains and the buses, however be aware that if you fail to check-out at the end of your journey you will be charged €4 on the bus or tram, and €20 on the train, so it can be an expensive mistake to make. There is a way to claim this back from the www.ov.nl site, however I have never tried it, and suspect it may be difficult.
You should also note that before you can use your card to pay for train travel it must have a minimum of €20 credit on it and you have to go the ticket office at certain stations and they will enable the card.
If you are a heavy user of the card it is a good idea to go to the OV Chipcard site (http://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/) and order an auto-loading card with your photo on it. You start by ordering the forms and then you can upload a digital (passport-type) photo for use on the card. The card is linked to your NL bank account and payments are taken automatically every month, so you never have to worry about having insufficient credit.
Saturday, 16 July 2011
Ziggo digital TV
If you have a second TV in your house or apartment and want to be able use digital TV it is possible to go directly to shops such as Mediamarkt and buy your own decoder from as little as €70. They will then register the smartcard etc, for you (costs approx €30) and hey presto. The point is that this is far cheaper than going directly to Ziggo.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Digital TV
Most homes in The Netherlands receive their TV, Internet, and telephone via a single fibre connection provided by companies such as Ziggo and UPC. The selection and quality can vary widely, however they are all pushing their customers to convert from analogue TV to digital (similar to UK Freeview). The advantage is more choice and an EPG. The disadvantage is the extra cost and the need to have a digi-box for every TV.
You may also have to negotiate with your landord over the costs. The alternative is to see the number of channels and quality reducing every week!
You may also have to negotiate with your landord over the costs. The alternative is to see the number of channels and quality reducing every week!
Monday, 11 July 2011
Watching UK TV
I have recently installed OpenVPN from http://vpnuk.info/ on both Fedora Linux and Windows-7/64 and it works really well, far better than any proxy solution such as FoxyProxy. I can now use BBC iPlayer, Channel4-OD, Seesaw, etc.
The performance is most excellent although it can slow a little during peak periods.
The performance is most excellent although it can slow a little during peak periods.
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
PrePay Mobile phones
Hopefully I can warn at least one person about what is becoming a massive and expensive problem!
Smart phones running Operating Systems such as Android will constantly poll services such as" My Location" or "Gtalk" and each connection can cost up to 50 cents, even when you have no mail etc. This is also a massive problem with "assisted GPS" apps such has Google-maps, and data roaming.
All this means that a phone can eat 50 Euro of credit in a day without you making a single call or sending a text. There are some free applications in the Android Marketplace that will kill some of these apps, however every time you upgrade Android, or power cycle your phone, you need to remember that everything is disabled. Another useful way to prevent this is connect to your WiFi and all your data will then go through the Internet rather than 3g, which obviously only works whilst you are at home, and also greatly reduces your battery life.
There are some good SIM-only deals for services such as BEN and Simpel, however you must carefully check that data is included, and that your phone is unlocked.
Smart phones running Operating Systems such as Android will constantly poll services such as" My Location" or "Gtalk" and each connection can cost up to 50 cents, even when you have no mail etc. This is also a massive problem with "assisted GPS" apps such has Google-maps, and data roaming.
All this means that a phone can eat 50 Euro of credit in a day without you making a single call or sending a text. There are some free applications in the Android Marketplace that will kill some of these apps, however every time you upgrade Android, or power cycle your phone, you need to remember that everything is disabled. Another useful way to prevent this is connect to your WiFi and all your data will then go through the Internet rather than 3g, which obviously only works whilst you are at home, and also greatly reduces your battery life.
There are some good SIM-only deals for services such as BEN and Simpel, however you must carefully check that data is included, and that your phone is unlocked.
Parking in The Netherlands
If ever you park in a Dutch town you may notice a blue line on or around the space. Be aware that this means that parking is limited to two hours and you must display a cardboard clock behind your windscreen, indicating the time at which you arrived.
Some towns/councils can be very relaxed about this and only check every now and again, whereas others such as Amsterdam will police it vigorously and you can get a large fine, or even have your car towed.
Some towns/councils can be very relaxed about this and only check every now and again, whereas others such as Amsterdam will police it vigorously and you can get a large fine, or even have your car towed.
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