Utilities setup — the hidden admin marathon after you get the keys

Made a literal spreadsheet with every provider, account number and deadline. Sounds excessive, kept me sane through the whole marathon.

The local-bank-account-first dependency got me too — the whole chain was blocked on that one thing for days.

Prioritised internet first specifically, since everything else could wait a few extra days more comfortably than being offline could.

OP here — wish I’d made Viktor’s spreadsheet from day one instead of scrambling by week three.

Screenshotting this whole thread for my move next month.

Mild disagreement with trying to do it all at once — deliberately spacing it over two weeks was less stressful for me, even if technically slower overall.

Did anyone manage to get any of this done before actually having the keys, or is it strictly a post-move-in thing?

My internet provider let me pre-book an install slot for the day I got keys — saved a few days compared to starting the process afterward.

Oliver, this thread took me straight back to our first month, which I now refer to as the Month of Meters.

Our house had an electricity contract in the previous owner's name, a gas supply that turned out to be bottles delivered by a man called Rui who only answered his phone on Tuesdays, water through the local council, and internet from a company whose shop was in the next town. None of them talked to each other. Two wanted a local tax number before they'd even speak to me, and one wanted a local bank account, which I couldn't open until I had, you guessed it, a proof of address, which was a utility bill.

What finally worked:

• the previous owner came with us to transfer the electricity, which took ten minutes in person and had taken three weeks by email
• I photographed every meter on the day we got the keys, with the date visible
• Sue kept a notebook of every call, name and reference number, which saved us twice

Rui, by the way, is now a friend. He still only answers on Tuesdays.

Electricity took one evening online here. Internet took three weeks and two technicians.