Hi! I'm going to be moving house soon. I've never moved within Amsterdam before, and I'm interested in the logistics.

I'm moving from a narrow street (one lane of traffic) to a slightly wider street (with one lane for traffic and a couple of parking spaces in front of the apartment). One apartment (second floor, 45m^2) to another apartment (third floor, similar size). I've accumulated furniture and belongings in my time here, so for sure the easiest way is to hire professionals to do it. But in good hands, it's not a huge job.

I figure the sanest way is for the company to use those little elevators and take things in and out of the front windows. I figure one, possibly both, streets will have to be blocked at some point for this to happen. Between movers, their time and equipment, and applying to close streets with the city, this all gets expensive quickly.

How do people typically go about an apartment move like this? Do people normally file the fees with the city, do they wing it, or do the movers fold it into their costs? There seems to be wild variation in the quotes from the moving companies; can anybody recommend consistently cost-effective movers? I'm familiar with the student verhuis service, but even they seem to estimate consistently high?