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Useful gadgets/equipment in a new flat?
What useful gadgets/equipment would you recommend for a new flat? E.g. induction cooktop, oven with pyrolese, air purifier/humidifier, cordless vacuum cleaner (eg Dyson), LED lights?..
What is really nice and convenient to have, based on your experience? I'm a bit behind in the technological progress..
Wait for Batibouw. shop around a bit in the mean time.
> air purifier/humidifier
No way - if your health is at risk, move elsewhere.
You might like to buy a 5 meter strip of LED lights from Ali Express; costs about €20 for a strip of 5 metres.
Can leave on 24/7 and running costs are about €5 per year.
Handy for when one needs to get up in the night or is going out; it helps deter unwanted visitors and is OK for watching TV. Best to buy a spot light for reading.
Look at the website from Le Roy Merlin in Roncq, France.
http://www.leroymerlin.fr/tourcoing
Tin of paint and paint brushes are often a lot cheaper in Le Roy Merlin in Roncq, France.
For the same can of paint and the same quantity I required I was €50 better off buying in France, ditto for paint brushes and other items.
After noting what I needed and what my budget was I compared all the prices; if I purchased more than 3 items from France (including the car costs) I ended up without any losses.
It is very popular with Belgians, the Dutch, Germans, Luxembourgers and French who regularly shop their - you can see this when you park your car in their free car park and when you listen and talk to them inside the shops.
Stick to your financial budget and shop on the internet to compare prices with the shops. Just remember to include your car fuel costs.
Hi Borealis
Here is the website link for the LED strip of lights.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-ship-5m-300-LED-3528-SMD-12V-flexibl...
I purchased all my loft insulation and wallpaper in Le Roy Merlin in France (sometimes they offer free delivery to Belgium) and it was a lot cheaper.
Stuff you can control from your phone. Lights, heating, curtains, blinds.......
Paint, lights and most other things have always been cheaper outside of Belgium. At least as long as I was there. I renovated (actually, finished off) a 300 square meter house over three floors and it was worth getting a truck load from Luxembourg.
Going back 14 years I remember being told that Belgium was such a bargain basement country and I was mystified at the time, when I noticed a tin of quality paint was three times the UK price. I am totally sure they are out of date now. I have noticed that the non=stop efforts to persuade us that Belgium is a cheap place to live have finally ground to a halt.
Before we know it people will stop telling us that our furniture needs a permit to leave the Country or that there is a special department at the airport with the sole aim of making people miss their flight if they did not pay their (extortionate) electricity bill.
Whatever can be done about automating and remote controlling heating individually in different parts of the apartment.
If you are planning on living here for anytime, or indeed have or will have a Belgian partner (should you not be Belgian anyway - if you are then you don't need this advice so don't read on), then make sure that the fridge you buy has a large cold drawer in the bottom, or preferably two. You will be startled at how quickly it will fill up with Chicon/Witloof.
Visit Thegadget.reviews to find reviews home improvement devices, as it will help you to take the right decision wisely.
