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Five European Countries Where English is Widely Spoken
If you are thinking of moving house to Europe, one of the main things to consider is whether you need to master a new language. Hamiltons Removal have been helping people move to countries across the continent for more than a quarter of a century. Here, we look at the countries where English is among the most widely spoken languages.
The Netherlands
When considering domestic or commercial removals to the Netherlands, then you won’t need to worry about the language, as nine out of every 10 Dutch people over the age of 15 speak English well. Learning the language is compulsory at school, and pupils are required to pass an English test before they can graduate high school. Popular culture helps too – Dutch TV doesn’t dub English-language TV programmes into their native language, relying on subtitles for translation instead. This ensures people are fully exposed to the language.
And Holland has always been a trading nation – so the early entrepreneurs learned the language in order to compete on the global market. The Dutch also top the English Proficiency Index compiled by global language training company English First.
Denmark
This country is second in the English Proficiency Index, just pipping its near neighbours Sweden. The latest figures show more than 85% of all over-15s can speak the language fluently. As in the Netherlands, it is a compulsory subject at school, and the small class sizes help pupils master the subject quickly.
Finally, the English and Danish languages are both Germanic in origin (this applies to Swedish and Norwegian as well). This means they share many individual words, and rules of grammar such as sentence structure.
Sweden
More than eight out of every 10 Swedes can speak good English. As well as being encouraged to learn it at school, the country’s residents also have a taste for travel. The average Swede spends more than £1,000 a year on foreign holidays, which inevitably exposes them to different cultures, including English.
Malta
Nine out of ten residents of this Mediterranean island can speak English as well as Maltese. Prior to it being granted its independence in 1964, Malta used to belong to the British, and it is still part of the Commonwealth today. Both English and Maltese are official languages – the Government conducts its business in the two different tongues, and primary school pupils learn both alongside one another. However, English is usually spoken with an accent similar to Italian.
Cyprus
While the official languages of Cyprus are Greek and Turkish, more than seven out of ten people here speak English as well. This Mediterranean island, which became part of the EU in 2004, also used to be a British colony, and road signs, public notices and advertisements are all still written in English. The country also has a sizeable expat community from the UK who have retired to the island.
Removals to Europe with Hamiltons Removals
Hamiltons Removals are specialists in commercial and domestic removals to the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Malta and Cyprus. In fact, we can help if you are moving house to any part of Europe, including France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria.
We can provide you with a dedicated package, or a groupage service where your belongings form part of a larger consignment. Our friendly, professional staff will pack, load and transport your goods to their new destination, and we can deal with large or unusual items as well. If you would like to know more about our European removals services, follow this link or call us on 01379 855203.
Five Top UK Cities to Move to
In an average month, around 100,000 households will move into a new home somewhere in the UK, and three-quarters of these are relocating from one part of the country to another. UK house removals experts Hamiltons Removals have many years of experience in helping people relocate to all parts of the country and overseas. Here we look at five of the most popular cities people are choosing to move to.
Bristol
If high-tech is what you are after, then Bristol is a good place to live. It was recently named as the UK’s leading smart city by tech giant Huawei. It has a state-of-the-art operations centre with a digital traffic management system, ensuring there are very few traffic jams, plus integrated telecare services to look after vulnerable people. The mobile 4G coverage is excellent as well.
Bristol also has plenty of job opportunities, a high employment rate and there are plenty of other attractions too. The waterfront area is being developed with lots of high-end flats, restaurants and clubs, and it’s not far from the sandy beaches of North Cornwall, either.
Edinburgh
A recent study by Royal Mail rated the Scottish capital as the most attractive UK city, thanks to factors such as its excellent education service and its large number of green spaces, which make up more than a quarter of the city’s total area. There are also sound economic reasons for moving here, as it is one of the top places for business start-ups. Office space here costs around half of what it would in London.
The city has plenty of nooks and crannies to explore, as parts of it date back to the 17th century. History buffs will love looking round Edinburgh Castle (above) and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The city also has more restaurants per head than anywhere else in the UK, while the Edinburgh Fringe Arts Festival is famous the world over.
London
Yes, the cost of living here is high, but there are still plenty of good reasons why London is one of the best cities in the UK to move to. It has one of the most comprehensive public transport networks in the world, with almost half of all Londoners commuting to work by train, Tube, boat, bus or even cable car.
Removals to London would also mean all its famous landmarks are within easy reach – Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament to name just a few. Add in renowned restaurants serving all manner of food, fun-filled festivals and West End theatre productions, and you can see why London is still a big draw for many people. Figures show that for every 200,000 people who move from somewhere else in the UK to the capital, only 25,000 go the opposite way.
Oxford
This university city is a good place to move to for economic reasons and a good work-life balance, according to recent surveys from PwC and Demos. Getting around isn’t difficult, as it’s not the biggest of places, and most residents are more than happy to get on their bike – the city has one of the highest percentages of people cycling to work.
The city has more than 20 galleries and museums, including the Ashmolean and the University Museum of Natural History. You can relax by punting on either of the two rivers which flow through the city, the Cherwell and the Isis. And Oxford’s central location means all other parts of the country are within easy reach too.
Belfast
The Office for National Statistics has found that the Northern Irish are among the happiest people in the UK – and the people of Belfast are no exception. Northern Ireland’s capital is fast becoming a modern, metropolitan city.
Major tourist attractions include the Titanic Museum – the vessel was built in the city’s Harland and Wolff shipyard – and the Ulster Museum, which tells the story of the whole country. If you want to enjoy some great views across the city, as well as get some exercise, then climb up the nearby mountains in the heart of the Belfast Hills.
UK House Removals with Hamiltons
At Hamiltons Removals we can help you with UK house removals to all towns and cities, including Bristol, Oxford, London, Belfast and Edinburgh. As well as transporting your items to your new home, we can pack and unpack them for you, even if they include large, fragile or unusual items.
To give you an idea of how much the whole process will cost, we provide free online moving quotes, which you can access by following this link. One of our surveyors will then visit your home to find out more about your individual requirements to ensure that your move is as stress-free as possible. Follow the link above to learn more about our UK removals services.