The Dutch Definition of "Semi-Furnished"
Apparently student housing can be hard to find in Eindhoven, and rooms with individual kitchen and bath are particularly hard to find. Someone told me recently that "you're lucky if you share a bathroom with fewer than five others." After 1.5 years of having my own 1 bedroom apartment, and then 2.5 years of having my own 2 bedroom apartment, I definitely wasn't ready to go to dorm living. Especially since the dorm living in the Netherlands would be a step backwards from my college's dorm, with its dining halls that cook and feed you and do your dishes, and housekeeping for shared bathrooms and common areas.
So I was really lucky to get allocated a studio apartment with its own kitchen and bathroom. At the leasing office, I was told that the apartment would be "semi-furnished," which the staff explained meant "something on the floor and curtains." Okay, that was an improvement vs. "unfurnished," which I learned in the Netherlands means lacking even curtains. I got the keys to the apartment, and took note of the "something on the floor" (short pile carpet) and the striped curtains.
Notice something missing in the galley kitchen? A refrigerator! Apparently it isn't standard to have a fridge come with the semi-furnished apartment. There aren't any closets either, and the building also lacks either a laundry room or in-room washing machine. I was lucky in that the previous tenant left behind the bare lightbulbs in three of the five ceiling lights. Otherwise, I'd have to buy all of my own ceiling lights myself as well.
So for others moving to the Netherlands, here's where I learned were the best places to buy the missing items:
- Furniture: Ikea. I looked at some other furniture stores, but they were frankly quite Middle America in taste. Keep that in mind next time you're buying something that touts "European design."
- Appliances and computer equipment: Media Markt and BCC. These both offer delivery and installation service for a flat rate per shipment (not per item or per weight).
- Small household items like trash cans and stationery: HEMA. These are everywhere, and 99% of their stuff are HEMA-label products.
I used the delivery service from Ikea and BCC, and they were both quite convenient, but you should block out the entire day just in case. On the same day or the day before your delivery, you check up online to find out your 2 hour delivery window. The Ikea delivery came within the window, and the BCC delivery came early with the delivery people calling me in advance to check that I'd be home.
Oh yeah, and no one hung around waiting for a tip. As soon as they were done they were out the door.
