Week 2 Things to do
Week 2
Things to do this year...
(haha, in times when even buying long life milk seems a bit optimistic)
Upgrade kids' area inside
Vegie garden again
Painting
More firewood
Security cameras (Cheryl could see who was at her front door - from all the way over here!)
...and I looked for some old boating blogs for a dear friend...and discovered that this is the 10th year of me doing this. It occupies a couple of hours on a Sunday morning, but it also means that I think about things during the preceding week - those "count your blessings" moments, or something unusual, or indeed something totally boring :-) as I often wonder how lucky I am that things turned out the way they did.
So, I'm thinking of making a summary like this...(it will probably take me the whole year to do) - not sure if it will be another blog or a Google Doc....
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/10/week-43.html
The beginning.
Explanation of our business
Preparing the Granny Flat for Janny’s parents
Hendrik and kids working
Winterising the boat
Rijksmuseum
Coffee break at our place – a walking club
Fire stairs removed
2015 week 44
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/11/week-44-getting-stuck-in-to-firewood.html
Firewood
New canal in Drachten (the old canal dug open again)
Boat maintenance
Turning 65
2015 Week 45
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/11/week-45.html
Client Rudi begins - builds own workplace
Lucas 7 years with us
Marijuana growing
Unbelievable car taxes
2015 Week 46
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/11/week-46.html
Tractor repairs
Weather, clients, building project
Wijnjewoude Energy Neutral (was supposed to be by 2025)
Day Activity first church order
2015 Week 47
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/11/week-47.html
Boat maintenance
Late winter
Boat first year in Heerenveen
Gas price €0.65 (2024 €1.49)
Talk of earthquakes due to gas extraction
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/11/week-49.html
Earthquakes, Birds
2015 Week 49
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/12/week-49.html
Bowel cancer test kit
Warmest November on record
Day Activity workers
2015 Week 50
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/12/week-50.html
Kangaroo meat
Tree-felling, building works
Kids at work
Walking on the heath
2015 Week 51
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/12/week-51.html
Clients leaving
Refugees coming into apartments
Kids at work
2015 Week 52
https://thisweekinwijnjewoude.blogspot.com/2015/12/week-52-not-much-to-report.html
Family Boxing Day at De Twa Buken
Ice sculpture at Zwolle
Traffic Jams
2025 again...
Little jobs...
It has been easy to stay inside and not do any work - too cold!
So, some little jobs to catch up on inside...
hanging curtains, mirrors, lighting...
Walking - around 0900hrs - the sun doesn't get much higher in the course of the day...
Energy Prices
From Iamexpat.nl
Dutch gas prices are among the highest in Europe, energy comparison platform Energievergelijk (energy compare) has reported based on the latest data from the Household Energy Price Index (HEPI).
The article explains that the high prices are due to the amount of tax - an artificial way of the Government trying to get households completely off gas...
"The problem is that the transition to a natural gas-free home is not an option for many households,” continued Kuijper saying that many households can't transition to using electricity because of how expensive the heat pump is, insufficient insulation of a house or the residents could be staying in a rental house and the decision is up to the landlord.
Ben in South Africa (Cape Town)
From NOS News (Ben is also a digital nomad (as well as his modelling) - but the story is about someone else).
Cape Town is expecting record numbers of visitors this summer. It’s not just tourists, there are also a growing number of ‘digital nomads’ – people who work remotely.
More and more Dutch people are choosing Cape Town to do this. But not everyone is happy with this development.
Nice weather and no time difference
A quick run in the sunshine along Cape Town’s Sea Point promenade, followed by a dip in the chilly Atlantic Ocean before opening your laptop in a coworking space overlooking Table Mountain. That’s the morning of Lucas Hermsen, who works remotely in South Africa for a Netherlands-based e-bike company.
It is the second time he has sought refuge in Cape Town during the Dutch winter. "It is summer here now. Moreover, the city has almost the same time zone as the Netherlands, which makes working remotely easier. I work quite a few hours, but at the same time I can go to the beach after work for a sunset and hike or surf in the weekend."
The Amsterdammer says he sees more and more Dutch digital nomads in the city. "Also a lot of Amsterdammers. It's probably because of social media, where people see it from each other. They infect each other."
The City of Cape Town launched the Choose Cape Town advertising campaign last year , and it is happening. Over 200 international flights arrive at the airport each week. Good for the economy and employment.
"It's especially busy here in January and February with people working remotely," says Dutch Emmelie Steentjes, who lives in Cape Town. She swings open the front door of her new guest house in the Gardens district. Thirty-somethings of different nationalities are sitting together at the kitchen table, working. "They can live and work here temporarily. I give them a soft landing in Cape Town."
Steentjes also organizes activities for the digital nomads, such as going to a concert together in the botanical gardens, a rugby match or a dinner. According to her, Cape Town also attracts a lot of people because it is cheap. "You can live a five-star life for a three-star budget. I think that everything except rent is about half the price of the Netherlands."
'At the same time, that is where the shoe pinches for the local population. Because for them, everything is becoming more expensive. "Rents are going up because there is so much demand and the foreigners have more money to spend than we do," says Querida Saal. She works as a researcher at DAG, an organization that advocates for more affordable housing in the center of Cape Town, and for a more inclusive city.
"The whole city sounds like a construction site: you can hear grinding wheels everywhere because so much is being built," says Saal. "And that is necessary because we have a major housing shortage. But what is being built now are expensive and small flats that are bought for short-term rental. They are put on Airbnb and that excludes us." Cape Town has more than 23,000 accommodations on the rental platform, much more than, for example, Barcelona.
Historical inequality
This fact is particularly sensitive in a city with historical inequality. Many South Africans of colour still live outside the city centre, while in the heart of the city, close to Table Mountain, mainly white South Africans reside. This is a legacy of the forced segregation during apartheid: black South Africans still earn much less on average than their white compatriots.
"We are not against digital nomads and we also see the economic advantage of it," says Saal. "But the action must come from the municipality, which must look more at developing social housing in the city."
Digital nomad Lucas Hermsen says he understands the criticism. "We see the same thing in Amsterdam, where I can't buy anything either, partly because of the expats who are there. So we're actually passing the buck a bit. Because now I'm coming here, where I can easily afford accommodation."
He understands the calls to restrict Airbnb in Cape Town. "I think that's a good idea. It might be harder for us, but it's more sustainable in the long run."
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