Should I pay for a removal firm or hire a van myself?

We’re moving from our first-floor two-bed flat to a three-bed semi with a young baby

Every week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it’s up to you to help him or her out – a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday’s paper.

We’re moving two miles from our first-floor two-bed flat to a three-bed semi with our young baby. I can hire a large van and get some mates to help out, or I can go with a removal firm for about £450. My wife thinks it’s mad to do it ourselves, but we’re broke at the moment. Is she right?

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TuutZT
via IFTTT

Tim Dowling: who has been bothering the garden centre fish? Not us

There’s a wall of CCTV stills of men. The youngest one looks at me, eyes wide. ‘What the hell did they do?’

It’s haircut day, that quarterly standing appointment when the hairdressing twins Kelly and Hayley come to our kitchen to do my wife’s highlights, and as many additional haircuts as there are heads. My wife still has a long morning ahead of sitting around in a foil helmet talking to Kelly and Hayley about coronavirus, but my hair is already cut and I’ve got places to be.

“When I successfully replaced that rotten trellis last week,” I begin.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2VTgVci
via IFTTT

Tim Dowling: who has been bothering the garden centre fish? Not us

There’s a wall of CCTV stills of men. The youngest one looks at me, eyes wide. ‘What the hell did they do?’

It’s haircut day, that quarterly standing appointment when the hairdressing twins Kelly and Hayley come to our kitchen to do my wife’s highlights, and as many additional haircuts as there are heads. My wife still has a long morning ahead of sitting around in a foil helmet talking to Kelly and Hayley about coronavirus, but my hair is already cut and I’ve got places to be.

“When I successfully replaced that rotten trellis last week,” I begin.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2VTgVci
via IFTTT

Is it cheaper to rent or buy a home? Nottingham Estate Agents

The Money Advice Service looks at whether buying a home costs less than renting.

The post Is it cheaper to rent or buy a home? appeared first on OnTheMarket.com blog.

from OnTheMarket.com blog https://ift.tt/1MKj5Rh
via IFTTT

Let’s move to Rotterdam: Eurovision’s new home

The city is cool, with a vast music and design scene, and an under-the-radar swagger

What’s going for it? Yes, Rotterdam. Were you expecting somewhere hot? Perhaps more glam, more city break, less drizzly. Some kool neighbourhood in Lisbon or Helsinki.

Hear me out. I’m being practical. You might dream of relocating somewhere more superficially romantic, but Rotterdam is affordable (for northern Europe), prosperous, progressive and fantastically well-connected. The Dutch speak English better than me. The Netherlands consistently scores high in happiness and progressiveness indices. Rotterdam is big, alive, city-ish, but the big skies of the vast harbour and copious parks make it breathable. And for those still in mourning, Rotterdam is gloriously EUropean. It’s even hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in May. It feels possible to move to Rotterdam, have a nice life and not lose touch with family and friends, while not being a slave to low-budget airlines. It’s also cool, with a vast music and design scene, and an under-the-radar swagger. And don’t get me going about the bitterballen.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cvapy6
via IFTTT

Let’s move to Rotterdam: Eurovision’s new home

The city is cool, with a vast music and design scene, and an under-the-radar swagger

What’s going for it? Yes, Rotterdam. Were you expecting somewhere hot? Perhaps more glam, more city break, less drizzly. Some kool neighbourhood in Lisbon or Helsinki.

Hear me out. I’m being practical. You might dream of relocating somewhere more superficially romantic, but Rotterdam is affordable (for northern Europe), prosperous, progressive and fantastically well-connected. The Dutch speak English better than me. The Netherlands consistently scores high in happiness and progressiveness indices. Rotterdam is big, alive, city-ish, but the big skies of the vast harbour and copious parks make it breathable. And for those still in mourning, Rotterdam is gloriously EUropean. It’s even hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in May. It feels possible to move to Rotterdam, have a nice life and not lose touch with family and friends, while not being a slave to low-budget airlines. It’s also cool, with a vast music and design scene, and an under-the-radar swagger. And don’t get me going about the bitterballen.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3cvapy6
via IFTTT

Explore hidden hideouts and rural retreats

Want to escape to the country?

from Property blog https://ift.tt/39wWu94
via IFTTT