Martinique is one of the Windward Islands that are part of the Lesser Antilles, an archipelago in the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea. Having been settled by French colonists as early as 1635, the island has also seen its share of British occupation, but eventually became a French territory, as acknowledged through the 1946 vote of the French National Assembly that established Martinique as one of the Overseas Department of France, part and parcel of the French Republic. As such, its entire land area of 1,128 km2 is considered to be part of the European Union, with its official currency, the Euro, being used there.
Administratively, the island of Martinique, just like that of Guadeloupe, consists of only one department, further subdivided into four arrondissements. It is rather scarcely populated, a 2007 estimate indicating a total of about 403 thousand inhabitants, with an additional 260 thousand people believed to be living in continental France, concentrated mainly in and around Paris.
From a cultural point of view the island of Martinique is a very lively melting-pot that brings together people of several different ethnicities and even dialects, the consequence of its rather turbulent history, which included being used as a place of exile for French Huguenots, several stints of British occupation, and the application of the rather enlightened Black Code, a 1685 law that established certain limitations for slave-owners and certain rights for black people. To this day, most of the population of the island is composed of descendants of African populations brought here forcefully as slaves, with the white population accounting for only 5% of the total number.
Much like the neighbouring islands of St. Lucia, Barbados and Dominica, Martinique has a rather mountainous landscape, with its most impressive peaks concentrated mainly in the north. In fact, the island itself is the result of high volcanic activity that started over 400 thousand years ago. The highest altitude on the island is reached on Mont Pelée, an active volcano that last erupted catastrophically in 1902. While the north is dramatically mountainous and covered by lush rainforests, the south often attracts tourists with the lure of its white sand beaches, numerous facilities that allow visitors to try the local cuisine, as well as an overall ease of travel.
Europe Remove is specialised in Removals to France with door to door deliveries. We offer Storage and Removal Services at attractive prices and will ensure your moving will take place as a fast paced and secure operation.
We provide a cost effective and reliable service to you. Be it a small or a large number of boxes that needs moving, we can arrange collection of your belongings and relocation, as well as Storage, all only under the best conditions and with highly Qualified Professionals Removers.
You can even leave the Packing to us. We will make sure everything will be Packed Securely with only the best Packing Supplies available. If you’re not convinced just use our Free Quote service.
You can contact us for any questions you might have. +44 020 3150 2668
Author: Bartosz Wietrzyk
Removals to Italy20/02/2025 - 16:26
Moving to Martinique
Martinique is one of the Windward Islands that are part of the Lesser Antilles, an archipelago in the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea. Having been settled by French colonists as early as 1635, the island has also seen its share of British occupation, but eventually became a French territory, as acknowledged through the 1946 vote of the French National Assembly that established Martinique as one of the Overseas Department of France, part and parcel of the French Republic. As such, its entire land area of 1,128 km2 is considered to be part of the European Union, with its official currency, the Euro, being used there.
Administratively, the island of Martinique, just like that of Guadeloupe, consists of only one department, further subdivided into four arrondissements. It is rather scarcely populated, a 2007 estimate indicating a total of about 403 thousand inhabitants, with an additional 260 thousand people believed to be living in continental France, concentrated mainly in and around Paris.
From a cultural point of view the island of Martinique is a very lively melting-pot that brings together people of several different ethnicities and even dialects, the consequence of its rather turbulent history, which included being used as a place of exile for French Huguenots, several stints of British occupation, and the application of the rather enlightened Black Code, a 1685 law that established certain limitations for slave-owners and certain rights for black people. To this day, most of the population of the island is composed of descendants of African populations brought here forcefully as slaves, with the white population accounting for only 5% of the total number.
Much like the neighbouring islands of St. Lucia, Barbados and Dominica, Martinique has a rather mountainous landscape, with its most impressive peaks concentrated mainly in the north. In fact, the island itself is the result of high volcanic activity that started over 400 thousand years ago. The highest altitude on the island is reached on Mont Pelée, an active volcano that last erupted catastrophically in 1902. While the north is dramatically mountainous and covered by lush rainforests, the south often attracts tourists with the lure of its white sand beaches, numerous facilities that allow visitors to try the local cuisine, as well as an overall ease of travel.
We provide a cost effective and reliable service to you. Be it a small or a large number of boxes that needs moving, we can arrange collection of your belongings and relocation, as well as Storage, all only under the best conditions and with highly Qualified Professionals Removers.
You can even leave the Packing to us. We will make sure everything will be Packed Securely with only the best Packing Supplies available. If you’re not convinced just use our Free Quote service.
You can contact us for any questions you might have. +44 020 3150 2668
Author: Bartosz Wietrzyk
Trust the Professionals to Make Moving to Belgium a Breeze
If you’re thinking of moving to Belgium, you’re probably also thinking about the logistics. For many people the thought of all the organization involved can put a serious strain on what should be an enjoyable experience, and that’s why you need to be prepared to trust the experts.
It’s essential that you’re in touch with professionals at every step of the way. You need to be able to consult reputable estate agents while you’re searching for your new home, and you’ll also need to make sure you’ve got great solicitors on both sides of the channel. The process of house buying and selling is going to be different in Belgium than in the UK, so it’s important that you’ve got people you can trust to put your interests first.
Then you’ll need to sort out the legality of moving abroad in the first place, and getting a visa is sure to be at the top of the agenda. Again, you’ll need expert advice on your side so you know exactly what you have to do and the deadlines that everything has to be done by, as you don’t want to be moving to Belgium without everything being sorted.
Moving to Belgium will of course mean that you need to get your possessions over there with you in good time. There’s no way you’ll be able to move everything on your own, particularly if you’ve got a whole house-load to move, so you’ll need to consult professional removals services as well.
So, you really do need to trust the professionals when moving to Belgium. Doing so will make the whole process far easier, so come to us at European Removal Experts and let us take one thing off your mind.
A Year In Europe
Most British Universities offer degrees that require students to spend a year in a European country. Generally the degrees are either language or business based but either way moving to France, moving to Germany, or moving to Holland or whichever country is involved, can be a great adventure. Even with the best intentions of keeping the stuff you take when you are moving to Germany to a minimum you may find that you need to take more than you first thought.
Shipping personal belongings to another European country doesn’t have to break the bank, generally you can find a removals company, like us at European Removal Experts, who will have space for a part-load. This is when they move more than one person’s goods in the same vehicle and because the cost is divided it makes it cheaper when you are moving to France for your year’s experience. If you are moving with friends on the same course then you could get together to move everything in one load and split the costs.
Of course you are likely to find that even if you get there with very little you will pick up rather a lot of stuff in the year that you are there and we often find that we are called in to help people move all their accumulated things back to the UK, after all we do have removal vans going both ways. So you don’t have to give up all those wonderful things you bought you can bring them back to be treasured for a life time. When you are ready to make your move just get it all wrapped and boxed up and we can do the rest for you so you can concentrate on more important things like studying, or a night out in a great bar.
Stress Reduction Techniques
Why is moving house considered to be so stressful? Assuming we do accept that it is stressful, the question then becomes, “What can we possibly do to reduce this stress?” If we have already accepted that moving house is stressful, supposing we add an additional layer of complication by, for example, moving to Germany, or moving to France, or another continental Europe country such as Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands or Switzerland?
Planning your move carefully is vital to reducing the amount of stress you may experience. Every single step of the moving process can benefit from a bit of planning, although it is fair to acknowledge that some less critical aspects can be done on the hoof, if intricate planning is not your thing. As most of us will have limited experience in the moving process, effective planning will benefit greatly from some expert input. Taking the example of moving to Germany and we believe that, at European Removal Experts, we are the first choice experts to help with both the planning and execution of your move.
We are a London-based company. This puts us in the ideal geographic location for arranging moving from the UK to Germany or the continent. For different individuals and families, a move can represent very different things. For some it is simply a matter of a few items being despatched to a second residence or for others, a complete house move abroad. As a result, there is no one-size-fits-all moving technique. Our services include dedicated removal vehicles for complete house moves but it is also possible to share space within containers for cost effective lower volume removals.
Ensuring that your goods pass freely through customs and that your belongings are not held up through a misunderstanding of local or regional practices is achieved through the expert knowledge that many typical removal firms may not necessarily be able to offer.
Amsterdam-age
Apparently teenage dreams are hard to beat. It’s doubtful that your teenagers are dreaming of a move to Holland; uprooting and leaving their friends, schools and social life completely behind. But if a great move is on the cards for your family, here’s a little juicy information about Amsterdam to reassure your kids that moving to Holland doesn’t have to be all about clogs and tulips!
Getting Around
The Dutch love bicycles. Simply put, Holland is quite flat so cycling is easy. Cycle paths are numerous and well-used, vehicle drivers are polite, and bicycles are inexpensive. Similarly to Japan, cycling around both your hometown and cities is a common form of transport.
Language
Moving to Holland brings you and your family up against that whole language barrier issue, against which we Brits generally panic and behave like a little group of clucking hens (mostly through embarrassment) until someone speaks to us in English and is they become our new best and most trusted friend. The fact is that the lovely folk of Amsterdam, on the whole, speak some English. Signs, warnings etc are usually written in English too, so the kids aren’t going to feel like they stick out more than giant alien spiders on their adventures.
Exploring
Entertainment, clubs, music venues, shopping, street fairs, nice big parks to hang out in and moan about society – Amsterdam is very, very much a city for the young. Of course the standard museums etc (are actually anything but standard) exist for you too. Reassuring your teenagers that relocating to Holland is exciting is crucial to everyone’s happiness, so… pre-move trip to Amsterdam anyone?
Stress-free Swiss Bliss!
European Removal Experts is the discerning customer’s choice when moving to Switzerland. Our friendly staff have years of experience in the secure packing, removing and storing of fragile and valuable items, and in transporting your precious possessions safely over land to your newly-adopted Alpine homeland.
Moving to Switzerland is a brave but wise decision: the Swiss are a punctual, precise and professional people, with high levels of expertise in fields as diverse as watch-making, chocolate production, skiing and pocket-knife manufacturing. Switzerland is an innovative nation which embraces modern technology but is home of some of the most beautiful, ancient and dramatic scenery on Earth.
Whether you are relocating to Switzerland for personal or professional reasons, European Removal Experts can ensure that your removal needs are met professionally, discreetly and courteously, because we pride ourselves on the professionalism of our staff. We are acutely aware of the potential for panic and stress which seems unavoidable but we can guarantee that moving to Switzerland will be a pleasure rather than a chore. You will enjoy the journey as well as the destination when you engage the elite services of one of Europe’s greatest removals companies – European Removal Experts.
European Removal Experts also offers a part-load service whereby you can share a van’s storage capacity with other customers or a dedicated service where the entire van is solely used for your move. You are free to choose which service will best meet your requirements. We are confident that we are the best in the business and we can definitely offer you stress-free Swiss bliss!
Let the Experts Handle Your Move Abroad
Moving house is always a stressful occasion because of all the planning that has to go into the move. If you want it to go as smoothly as possible you will have placed smaller items in boxes which are marked with the contents, so when they arrive at the other end you know exactly what is in each box. This is fine with the smaller items in the house, but when you add in the physical aspect of the process – all that shifting and carrying of heavy furniture – and it becomes clear why people are using professionals to do the job for them.
If you are moving to another place in the UK the day can be a bit of an ordeal, so imagine if you are moving to France or moving to Holland to start a new life? There are so many more obstacles to deal with when you are moving abroad, whether you are moving to France to retire to a new life in the country or moving to Holland with your job, so why not let the professionals take care of every aspect of this. All you have to do once your house is cleared is get in the car and make your own way to your new address, where you will meet the team who will then take care of unloading your furniture.
So if you are moving to France or moving to Holland – in fact just about any country in Europe – let the experts take care of the moving process for you.
Man and Van Services from European Removal Experts
Whether you’re moving to Germany, organising an office removal project or you simply need to transfer some of your belongings from one place to another, the job can seem daunting. The amount of legwork involved is enough to make you dread the task at hand, and undoubtedly force you to consider using a removal service to help you along the way.
However, the expense of such services and the time restrictions in which removal companies operate can often leave you with no choice but to organise your entire move solely around their availability. This has quite often proven to be extremely costly and inconvenient for many, particularly those moving to Germany or other European locations, which is precisely why European Removal Experts have made their competitive services all about the customer. We have made our services so diverse that even if you and your family or office are moving to France, we can provide an affordable removal service for you.
If you need your belongings moved to Scotland, Ireland or any major city in the UK, we at European Removal Experts offer “Man and Van” services to cater for a wide variety of specific removal needs. We specialise in household and office removals of any size, and our services operate during the day, evenings and weekends for a service that suits you.
All of our vans are fully insured and have a large 15 metre cubic capacity, making them suitable for even the largest-scale removal project. Our competitive prices start at one Man with Van costing as little as £250 for an entire 8-hour day of use.
European Removal Experts also offer assitance with removals all over Europe, so even if you’re moving to France or Germany, we can help you.
Moving to Germany Read this First
When times are tough due to recession and other factors over which we have no control, there is a tendency to look abroad for a country where we can start a new life. This is the case at the moment, and many British people are thinking of moving to Germany to find that new career and build a new life. We’ve been here before, of course. If you are of a certain age you will remember the television series Auf Weidersein Pet, the story of the bricklayers who left the north east to find work in Germany. This was based on real events when thousands of men in the construction industry were moving to Germany and moving to Holland to find work in the early eighties.
If you have the right qualifications and work in a field where your skills are in high demand, you’ll be more sure of finding the right job in Germany, which means you won’t have to live in such Spartan conditions. Although many German people speak perfect English, if you speak the language this will give you an even better chance of securing the job you want. So, if you are thinking of moving to Germany, the first thing to do is enrol on a language course which will enhance your prospects of finding the right job and building a new life for you and your family.
Reasons to Move Abroad
There probably aren’t many people these days who at some point in their lives haven’t considered packing up and moving on, branching out and settling down in another country. And in fairness, who could blame them. Our summers seem to get shorter every year and the rest if the time we have to settle with a mixture of cold, rain and cold rain.
But our terrible weather is not the only reason why more and more people are not just considering heading off to brighter skies, but actually putting those thoughts into action.
Quality of life in Britain is pretty much the worst in Europe. We die earlier, retire later, and in the meantime get less time off than most of our European cousins. Our diet is worse and many people look to the diets of those in other countries with a great sense of longing, the Mediterranean fare being much more appetising than our cholesterol-packed cuisines.
Moving to France, or even further afield can actually simply just make life much less stressful. The pace of life is usually much more relaxed abroad than it is in the UK, and with such beautiful scenery and of course that old weather being much better, moving abroad often improves people’s moods greatly.
Culture is also often a big reason for people to move to places such as France, whilst meeting new people and learning a new language also rate highly. Moving to Germany is always a great way to learn their language if you’ve always wanted to.
However, it is worth remembering that moving doesn’t mean you want to leave everything totally behind. Moving to some of our closest neighbours will make it much easier to get home and see relatives, whilst still enjoying all the benefits of a fresh start. When moving to France or moving to Germany the channel tunnel is so easy to access that you can be home whenever you want. And you may just find that the UK is a great place to visit, but you just wouldn’t want to live there.