Moving to a new place

Here's how to approach it

A year ago I packed my bags to move for a new job. You know, the one at Amayzine. My condo is twenty minutes from the editorial office in a village where I knew no one, had never even heard of it, and that's where I went to live. But moving to such a place, you need tactics for that.

First: the closer you live to your work, the happier a person is. It even makes you happier than a good round of sex, they say. I zoom to the editorial office and back home in twenty pedal-to-the-metal minutes. You save time, so I hit the gym before I start typing and in the evening I have plenty of time to enjoy a little wine on the terrace.

Second: make sure you have a nice group of colleagues to hang out with. Those types who shuffle in at half past eight and start packing their bags five minutes before five, you won't end up at the bar with them. Choose your companions based on fun factor. That's why I'm never home before seven on Fridays and the upcoming party night is marked with an exclamation point in the agenda.

At three: make a list of terraces to check off. You'll need an insider for this, and I found one in the lovely Daphne from Coty. She lives around the corner from me and tipped me off about the favorites. To café de Punt for an outstanding steak, at Slangevegt you sink into lounge cushions, and I had to lunch in that one little street.

Four: live where you know people. Sometimes this is difficult, but live where you know people within half an hour's drive. You can just hop in the car for a cup of coffee and feel a bit more at home.

Fifthly: do as the locals do. My longest conversation with a local was at the greengrocer, who by the way is now bankrupt, I heard again at the baker. My love tore his ankle ligaments, I wouldn't recommend that, but thanks to the physio, he knows all the juicy gossip about our home base. Why that young couple has such a ridiculously cool houseboat in a prime location (and how they afford it), just to name something. But if you know people and know things, you settle in a bit easier.

At six: choose a nice house. If your house feels like home, everything is better.

Number seven: don't go to neighborhood drinks. Unless you want to join the seniors' club that wants to beautify the hall with framed paintings on a rail (true story). Just plan a beer with that nice guy from two houses down; it's wiser.

Eighth: drive around and look critically. Our criterion was: a maximum of half an hour from Amsterdam. Draw a circle on the map, get in the car, and start driving. For everything you see, ask yourself: do I see myself living here? And really, if in doubt: DON'T DO IT.

At nine: what do you want from that place? Is this old-and-happy material or an easy stopover? Does it need to be finished or do you want to renovate? If you're going to live somewhere where you know nothing and no one, your house must be what you need.