Menu
Expat.com
GrantTanya

GrantTanya

Member

South African expat in England

Forum

23 posts

Contacts

6

About me

South African

Lives in Hemel Hempstead, England

Speaks English, Afrikaans, German and basic Dutch

Registration: 24 May 2015

Activity

GrantTanya replied to a thread
8 years ago
Priscilla

Tips and advice to thrive in England by Priscilla

Hi, When living in a foreign country, you have to adapt to a new environment, various cultures and different social codes. How did you manage to adjust to England? How long does it take to feel at home? Would you say it is an easy ...

GrantTanya

"An open mind and taking one day at a time" has been our mantra and so-far-so-good. Like GeoffHunt, we are a little older and I find change more difficult (which is one of the reasons we decided to move ie to get out of our comfort ... Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
wheretonext

Opening a bank account by wheretonext

Hello, My husband and I will be moving our family to the Hague the first week of December this year. We are looking for any applicable advice or tips on the best and easiest way to open a bank account when we arrive. Ideally, we would like to ...

GrantTanya

Hi there, You can try contacting ABN Amro. They are one of the leading banks here in Holland and they open international accounts for foreigners outside of Holland. You get a savings and a current account together with a debit card. You can ... Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
Renier985

Cost for a South African to move to the Netherlands by Renier985

What will the costs be for me as a South African to move to the Netherlands? I am now talking about costs such as visas, one-way ticket to Netherlands, any administration costs and all other related costs that I will have before moving? I ...

GrantTanya

Another idea if you are seriously considering moving here is to book a session with an integration expert and pay for all the information which you require. Rachel is great and we can recommend her. Google: ExpattoInpat. She can tell you exactly ... Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
Renier985

Cost for a South African to move to the Netherlands by Renier985

What will the costs be for me as a South African to move to the Netherlands? I am now talking about costs such as visas, one-way ticket to Netherlands, any administration costs and all other related costs that I will have before moving? I ...

GrantTanya

It would definitely be ideal if you could find a job here from South Africa because then your employer would take care of your visa, BSN and bank account (at the very least). You would also qualify for the 30% tax ruling which would mean less tax ... Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
Renier985

Cost for a South African to move to the Netherlands by Renier985

What will the costs be for me as a South African to move to the Netherlands? I am now talking about costs such as visas, one-way ticket to Netherlands, any administration costs and all other related costs that I will have before moving? I ...

GrantTanya

Hi Renier, Firstly, you would be far better off learning Dutch before you get to the Netherlands. You may think that you understand Dutch but it is way more different to Afrikaans than you think. Without speaking Dutch, in your industry, you may ... Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
mooi30

Inburgering Exam by mooi30

Hi everyone! I am a Filipina, currently living in Cebu. I am on my Dutch lesson in preparation for my plan to take the Inburgering exam next year. Anyone who had just took the exam?Can you share your experience? I am hoping that i'll receive more ...

GrantTanya

Hi Masho, We are South African too and currently living in the Netherlands and although you may think that Dutch is similar to Afrikaans, you'd be wrong. Some of the vocab is the same but that's pretty much where the similarity ends. The ... Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
dannyre

first steps in the netherlands new adventure by dannyre

hi we are a couple in our early 50s starting our new adventure this september. we have a great difficulty finding a place to live as we have no work yet...we are attending expat fair on 4th october.. im a dutch citizen and my wife has a romanian ...

GrantTanya

We used websites like Funda and Expat Rentals. As for learning Dutch: we started with using a free website called Duolingo and now we are taking Dutch Skype lessons (google: DutchNow . co). Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
dannyre

first steps in the netherlands new adventure by dannyre

hi we are a couple in our early 50s starting our new adventure this september. we have a great difficulty finding a place to live as we have no work yet...we are attending expat fair on 4th october.. im a dutch citizen and my wife has a romanian ...

GrantTanya

Hello dannyre, We arrived in Amsterdam in end March 2015 and we stayed in the Easy Hotel for a week. It is a fairly cheap hotel and it is central enough but I am sure that there are cheaper places, we just did not know any of them. We then set ... Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
JillianWyoming

Apostille on New Jersey issued Birth Certificate by JillianWyoming

HI all, I need to quickly obtain an apostille on my birth certificate, issued in New Jersey, USA. I've been going in circles reading the government sites online and was wondering if any Americans here have experience in doing this from ...

GrantTanya

Hi Jillian, My pleasure! Please feel free to ask me anything and if I can help, I am more than happy to oblige. No waiver is required and anyone can get anyone else's document Apostille stamped because the Apostille stamp serves to verify the ... Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
JillianWyoming

Apostille on New Jersey issued Birth Certificate by JillianWyoming

HI all, I need to quickly obtain an apostille on my birth certificate, issued in New Jersey, USA. I've been going in circles reading the government sites online and was wondering if any Americans here have experience in doing this from ...

GrantTanya

Hi Jillian, I am not an American but what I can tell you is that you can only obtain an Apostille stamp in the country of the subject document's origin. I am also wary of posting important documents so the way I avoided that route was to ... Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
Julien

New members of the Netherlands forum, introduce yourself here – 3rd quarter of 2015 by Julien

Hi all, Newbie on the Netherlands forum? Don’t know how to start? This thread is for you ;) We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more ...

GrantTanya

Welcome back, Sjaak! We are happy to chat about your experiences if you're keen? Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
Julien

New members of the Netherlands forum, introduce yourself here – 3rd quarter of 2015 by Julien

Hi all, Newbie on the Netherlands forum? Don’t know how to start? This thread is for you ;) We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more ...

GrantTanya

If you'd like to know how we did it. Drop us a mail. Regards Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
razelihma

Help on making decision ASAP on choosing SG or Netherlands by razelihma

Hi, I'm from the Philippines and right now I work in Singapore as an Engineer in Semiconductor. Now, I have a job offer as a highly skilled worker in Nigmegen, Netherlands. Salaries between two countries are quite similar converted to peso ...

GrantTanya

Hi Justinsmom, I just read your post and thanks for painting such a nice picture of the Netherlands. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and confirms our reasons for moving here! Tanya Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
Julien

New members of the Netherlands forum, introduce yourself here – 2nd quarter of 2015 by Julien

Hi all, Newbie on the Netherlands forum? Don’t know how to start? This thread is for you ;) We invite you to introduce yourself on this topic, to share with us your expat story if you are already living in the country, or to tell us more ...

GrantTanya

Welcome and good luck! Read More

GrantTanya replied to a thread
9 years ago
Vianika

Questions by Vianika

Hei i had a plan to study abroad in utrecht, but im not trying to looking for any information yet. Mmm for me, the biggest problem to study abroad is about finance. And i need any information about living cost and any other costs

GrantTanya

Hi Vianika, There is a website: numbeo.com where you can compare the cost of living of various cities. It is quite accurate and can give you an idea of the costs here compared to where you are living now. Hope this helps? Regards Tanya Read More