Hi Ya, Yasmine here again, this time to talk about my
accommodation and its amenities here in Venlo.
I live in a large shared house in a complex of other large
shared houses the complex is called Greenfields. As it is a house, we do have
the luxury of our own garden area with a picnic bench and private bike storage.
Greenfields is located on the outer edge of town, towards the German border.
The house faces out onto a road, but a small pond separates the house from the
road, inviting birds and butterflies, which I find quite enjoyable. Across the
road is the nearest supermarket, less than a 3-minute walk, its open from 8
a.m. to 8 p.m. every day except Sunday
when it closes at 7 p.m. However, it only takes about 5-7 minutes to cycle into
the city centre should I need anything else. It takes me about 10-15 minutes to
cycle from Greenfields to the college. It is a quite location, which I like,
although it is a bit far from the main blocks of student accommodation so it
can be a little isolation by location alone.
My house has 15 bedrooms, but not all the rooms are
occupied. My room is on the 1st floor, it is a roomy enough single
room with a bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, table, chair, fridge, sink, small
counter space and four cupboards to store any non-clothing items you have.
There are two large windows, one that ones in two directions, there is also a
very handy sliding blind that allows me to keep the sun out without having to
close the currants completely. We have large wet room style bathrooms that we
share. At the most there was only four people sharing my bathroom, however two
have relocated so now I share it with just one other housemate.
As it is such a large house, we have two kitchen areas, with
sinks, stove tops and one oven…the oven is actually a luxury for students here
in the Netherlands – most student accommodation only provides a stove top and a
microwave. Naturally sharing with strangers can be a challenge when you’re a
chef, kitchen cleanliness is always something that seems to be an issue, but
the individual sinks in our bedrooms does alleviate some of that tension. The
only common area to speak of in the house is the dining room attached to the
kitchen areas, there are tables and chairs but no couches or T.V.’s. There is no laundry room located in the
house, however, there is a communal laundry room on the complex, I was disappointed
and a little annoyed to discover that there was no laundry room and that we
would have to download an app and pay for washing, but I quickly got over it.
I paid for all of my accommodation upfront, as I wanted to
be able to enjoy my time in Venlo, without the stress of rent payments. The
overall sum I paid to Greenfields (Brix Housing) was about €3000.00.
This included my rent for the 6 months, my deposit, as well as all of my other
living related expenses i.e. electric, water, gas, internet. I paid €65
for a bedding set, which included 1 pillow, 1 blanket, 1 mattress cover, 1
fitted sheet and 1 duvet cover, I’m hesitant to say it was worth the time
saved, as the quality isn’t very good and the fabric can be a little scratchy.
The only thing I have to pay for out of pocket is food, fun and travel. I
bought a bike as quickly as I could when I arrived to Venlo, €50
online, so travel has been relatively cheap. I have bought some things since
I’ve been here, like a hair dryer and a small coffee maker, both €15
each, but worth it. I would recommend bringing at least a 3 socket extension
cable with you and an adaptor with you, because trying to charge all your
devices with just one socket adaptor is a head melt.
