move to rotterdam

Hi all,

Im currently in the process of finalising a job offer to work for company based just north of Rotterdam based near Rozenburg. Living in Holland seems a daunting prospect and the forums I looking at don’t seem to answer the questions that I have so I thought I would join and ask them myself.

The move if it happens will be September October time of this year. I will be moving over with my partner and we are looking for a two bedroom apartment.

This is my first hurdle. I can only seem to find one rentals site that will let me look at properties without paying a monthly subscription fee; this is pararius.com, don’t get me wrong this is a good site, but I would like to have a look at others.

It is also very hard to compare locations of different apartments as I have no idea where is nice and where is not.
Ideally the apartment needs to be near the Rotterdam city centre or with good transports links to centre, shops etc. we are a couple in are early 20's so are looking for an area with a lot going on. I need to be able to reach the rozenburg area within half hour 40mins. CAN ANYONE SUGGEST A PARTICULAR AREA OR AT LEAST SUGGEST NO GO AREAS? ANY INPUT WOULD BE HELPFUL.

The next thing is cost of living. I read that there is compulsory health insurance of around a 100euroes a month pp?

What would I expect water gas and electricity bills to cost?

What is the other living costs/tax that I would be liable for and how much typically are they?

What are the foods prices like compared to England? Is it hard to obtain English ingredients?

How would I get English football on TV? Is it possibly to get many English channels? Is so with what sort of service (cable, satellite?) and how much does it cost?

What are internet providers like? Do they do phone internet TV packages? Is so can anyone recommends any or refer me to English written sites?

Honestly how hard is the language to learn?

Would it be essential for my girlfriend to learn the language to obtain a job in architecture? (obviously this is a very specific question so don’t expect an answer but an answer reflecting on the prospect of a non Dutch speaking university graduate finding a job quickly?

I understand there are a lot of questions there but any information would be helpful especicaly about which area to look for appartmens in or other sites.