At a risk of confusing my readers and Google algorithms and against all professional blogger advice, having posted several posts about happiness, I am going to switch to practicalities of my recent move, in case the tips I have learnt can come in handy for somebody else now or in future. This blog after all is about being in balance with the Universe (or happiness) as much as it is about being a modern nomad.

I have moved from the UK to the Netherlands, and one thing that hit me right away was the difference in shopping experience. Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means a shopping addict and I tend to take a thrifty, reuse and recycle, minimalist and environmentally conscious side on the subject. To make sure I have access to the necessities of running a household, I needed to find a 99 cent shop or equivalent, a retailer of environmentally friendly household products and a clothing shop similar to Primark, Next or Dorothy Perkins. 

After some research, I’ve narrowed it down to 3 most helpful posts (it’s my rule as of lately to stick to top 3 to not waste time on extensive googling 🙂 ). This blog gives a good low down on what to expect. This one has good tips and is amusing to read (more like a rant 🙂 ). This post provides a local perspective.

It looks like Dutch shop daily instead of weekly shops, which is fine with me as I also shop daily. They shop online much less than Brits (because Dutch can always jump on a bike and cycle wherever they have to?). And finally shopping does not seem to be a pastime here like in the UK. Of course, I have to caveat that I’ve only been here for a week and live in a village 🙂

My balance is partially restored – Amazon UK and Next deliver to the Netherlands, Big Green Smile has a local web presence and I found Bare Minerals skincare that I swear by on Feel Unique, another UK web site that also delivers to here. That should be me sorted in the short term, phew!