hutpik:
ND,as it happens I live in ‘Swedish’ Lappland.Lappland covers Sweden,Finland and Norway,but it doesn’t matter.For anyone who is contemplating moving up to the Northern parts of Scandinavia there are a few points to be aware of.When I done my research before moving here I spent a lot of time going around the northern parts of N,SE,&Fin.Northern Finland is very insular & outside of the tourist areas very few speak English.Also there is not so much work if one wants a bit of part time the language is quite hard.Norway is good but is more bureaucratic due to not being in the EU.Northern Sweden has all the plus points,its EU,many people speak English &if you speak English,Dutch& maybe German you already have a good basic Swedish.The people are fantastic,a little old fashioned[which is only good].There is a fantastic amount of work,if you want it,full,part,weekends,etc.They really like and welcome English Dutch &Germans here as they seem to have the right mentality & work ethic.They are the major immigrant groups here.Thats not to say its overrun with them as there are few people anyway but the ones here really like it.
I speak English, Dutch, and a reasonable amount of German… Northern Sweden is sounding tempting… I like it here in Wales, but I dont like where Britain seems to be going…
@ Hutpik, youve been there a few years now, havent you, so entered when the UK was still in the EU?
I would think that Sweden is now harder to enter for 3rd country nationals than when you moved there, but if memory serves, ND has an EU passport??
Franglais:
@ Hutpik, youve been there a few years now, havent you, so entered when the UK was still in the EU?
I would think that Sweden is now harder to enter for 3rd country nationals than when you moved there, but if memory serves, ND has an EU passport??
Yeah, I have a Dutch passport. So I can still move around. And whilst I like it here in Wales (I’ve lived here for 30 years… ), I’m not sure it will be as nice to retire here. I’m looking into buying some land here, but anything remotely suitable for living on, is either way, waay to expensive, or planning regulations make it impossible to live somewhere “legally”.
And I really would like to move somewhere where theres few people around, and where those people are of a like mindset.
Swedish Lapland (sorry Hutpik… ) looks very tempting. I’ll certainly be investigating the possibilities further.
As you say Franglais,I came here from Holland when UK was still in EU,but as I had retained my English passport all the time I lived in Holland I was required to apply for a residence permit after UK left EU.For a European this is simpler as most EU countries have some sort of reciprocal agreements for their citizens.Basically you have to show that you have work and can\will work,or have sufficient income such as pension to be self sufficient.Sorry I should have said European countries not in the block such as UK,Norway,Switzerland & Iceland when I mentioned about reciprocal agreements.
ND,if you Google WWW.Hemnet.SE,then type Västerbotten,Norrbotten.Then click Villa,fritidboende,gård\skog.you get a good idea of what is for sale & price.Remember the further south,the more expensive & more people.
Carryfast:
You seem to have selectively missed all the rest of what it said.The best quality, hottest and cleanest burning, more expensive, domestic fire fuel.
So it takes a bit more paper and wood kindling and a bit longer to light an otherwise and in all other respects, better quality fuel.
Which is no problem if that’s mainly all the coal you’ve ever known and used ironically with the exception of the rubbish ovoids, in the event of anthracite non availability, proving the superiority of anthracite.
It’s not “superior” except in certain applications such as furnaces and steam boilers which require a fire to be run flat-out. It does not “slumber” and is therefore inferior in applications where this is required, such as on my stove.
Carryfast:
You seem to have selectively missed all the rest of what it said.The best quality, hottest and cleanest burning, more expensive, domestic fire fuel.
So it takes a bit more paper and wood kindling and a bit longer to light an otherwise and in all other respects, better quality fuel.
Which is no problem if that’s mainly all the coal you’ve ever known and used ironically with the exception of the rubbish ovoids, in the event of anthracite non availability, proving the superiority of anthracite.
It’s not “superior” except in certain applications such as furnaces and steam boilers which require a fire to be run flat-out. It does not “slumber” and is therefore inferior in applications where this is required, such as on my stove.
So go tell them that Harry.
I assume you missed ‘‘comparatively anthracite is a more expensive solid fuel but there is a marked performance increase when used as a domestic fuel’’ just as our coal supplier TD Axtell rightly told us during the 20+ years we used it from the 1960’s.
The only complaint which my father had was sometimes understandable supply issues caused by the resulting…demand for the stuff.
While that 20 years + experience, of living in a coal fired central heated home, in a smokeless zone for all of that time, also tells me that they are more than right and you just haven’t learnt by necessity, how to light an anthracite fuelled fire and how to keep it lit 24/7 from October to May.
Also no doubt they’d be happy to take more cash off you for coal than for anthracite.
Bearing in mind that I’ve never forgot the warmth of a house being heated by the stuff all through the winter 24/7.
Carryfast:
You seem to have selectively missed all the rest of what it said.The best quality, hottest and cleanest burning, more expensive, domestic fire fuel.
So it takes a bit more paper and wood kindling and a bit longer to light an otherwise and in all other respects, better quality fuel.
Which is no problem if that’s mainly all the coal you’ve ever known and used ironically with the exception of the rubbish ovoids, in the event of anthracite non availability, proving the superiority of anthracite.
It’s not “superior” except in certain applications such as furnaces and steam boilers which require a fire to be run flat-out. It does not “slumber” and is therefore inferior in applications where this is required, such as on my stove.
Yes, you need to be very careful with anthracite, because if you get it going in a small stove, such as a typical burner as used on boats and as room heaters in homes, you can damage, or even melt the stove…
the nodding donkey:
Yes, you need to be very careful with anthracite, because if you get it going in a small stove, such as a typical burner as used on boats and as room heaters in homes, you can damage, or even melt the stove…
It’s really that what you need on a narrowboat are coals that settle down to give an orange glow, and will stay like that for 10-12 hours. Anthracite doesn’t do this, it needs to burn fiercely or it won’t burn at all.
Like many, if not most narrowboaters I get my diesel and coal from a fuel boat such as the one below which will typically set off on its rounds carrying 10+ tonnes of briquettes, mainly Excel. It will be carrying some anthracite, but probably only about 250kg for the simple reason that no boater would buy it if a stove was their only method of heating. It will be bought by boaters who primarily use diesel for heating and who just want a coal fire running in the evening.
But of course, we have to accept that someone who has never set foot on a narrowboat is going to know more about it than the thousands of people who live on them all through the Winter.
the nodding donkey:
Yes, you need to be very careful with anthracite, because if you get it going in a small stove, such as a typical burner as used on boats and as room heaters in homes, you can damage, or even melt the stove…
Admittedly a Parkray stove and back boiler were built like the Forth Bridge.Having no experience of other types obviously not all stoves are made equal.
I can remember the heat regularly breaking the heat resistant glass strips which made up the glass fronted door which we kept a stock of spare ones of and the chimney brickwork which ran through my parents’ bedroom could get as warm or warmer than the central heating radiators.
But don’t remember any problem with letting it slumber on the low thermostat flap setting over night and during the day when we were all out.
I was usually home from school before them and just chucked some fresh coal in and turned up the stat to max or sometimes took off the lower grate cover to get it roaring again a bit quicker.Then shut it back down a bit creating a great blue coloured flame effect a lot of which was just the gas content burning well above the coal bed.
A cold house it wasn’t.
), I’m not sure it will be as nice to retire here. I’m looking into buying some land here, but anything remotely suitable for living on, is either way, waay to expensive, or planning regulations make it impossible to live somewhere “legally”.
) looks very tempting. I’ll certainly be investigating the possibilities further.