Accomadation/living costs in Brussels
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Accomadation/living costs in Brussels
Anybody got any idea of the general cost of living in Brussels? How would it compare with the UK(say London).
Also , how do housing costs compare with the South of England?(Renting or buying)
Thanks guys , any info gratefully received.
Also , how do housing costs compare with the South of England?(Renting or buying)
Thanks guys , any info gratefully received.
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Anybody with information? I would also be very interested in knowing.
Cost of renting? Locations to rent in? Standards of living? Price of food (grocery shopping), etc.
Thanks,
Will
Cost of renting? Locations to rent in? Standards of living? Price of food (grocery shopping), etc.
Thanks,
Will
Join Date: Oct 2000
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couldn't really advise you on locations to live. however the cost of living is much cheaper. houses are cheaper to rent, cigarettes are about half price, beer is about the same price, but much better. petrol is also much cheaper. public transport also 100x better than in the uk. the only real stinger for all that is that income tax and vat are higher (about 40% and 21% respectively)
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Echo what cortilla has said. Generally found that grocery shopping seemed much cheaper than the UK. Good choice of products and no problem finding favourites like English Mustard. The bacon is excellent.
B*mmer is that there is virtually no Sunday shopping out there for general grocery shopping.
Petrol is cheaper, found the driving OK generally - no worse or better that London. The Main city Ring Road can get very congested but not as badly as the M25.
I was paying around £600/month for a really smart appartment fairly close to the centre and on good transport links. Had to be at the Airport most days of the week at ridicously early hours of the morning. 'Phone was good value too despite being on a meter. You should make yourself fully aware of the strange legalities of being a tenant if you do rent - forget the exact details now, but worth fully investigating before you sign anything.
Public transport is good although the main rail station Brussels Midi can be fun with frequest last minute platform changes ; lots of people hurrying up and down escalators !! Quite entertaining but not when you miss the Airport Shuttle ! Good tram services and taxis are reasonably priced and efficient - they all use GPS nagivation and if you are a regular customer as I was they used caller ID to know where you lived.
Quite an interesting concept is the licensing hours - you can actuctually drink in some pubs all through the night Fri/Sat although I would not recommend it ! Tried it once and lost most of the weekend ! Avoid the very strong beers at all costs !!
Hope that is of some use.
B*mmer is that there is virtually no Sunday shopping out there for general grocery shopping.
Petrol is cheaper, found the driving OK generally - no worse or better that London. The Main city Ring Road can get very congested but not as badly as the M25.
I was paying around £600/month for a really smart appartment fairly close to the centre and on good transport links. Had to be at the Airport most days of the week at ridicously early hours of the morning. 'Phone was good value too despite being on a meter. You should make yourself fully aware of the strange legalities of being a tenant if you do rent - forget the exact details now, but worth fully investigating before you sign anything.
Public transport is good although the main rail station Brussels Midi can be fun with frequest last minute platform changes ; lots of people hurrying up and down escalators !! Quite entertaining but not when you miss the Airport Shuttle ! Good tram services and taxis are reasonably priced and efficient - they all use GPS nagivation and if you are a regular customer as I was they used caller ID to know where you lived.
Quite an interesting concept is the licensing hours - you can actuctually drink in some pubs all through the night Fri/Sat although I would not recommend it ! Tried it once and lost most of the weekend ! Avoid the very strong beers at all costs !!
Hope that is of some use.
Last edited by Lost_luggage34; 1st Nov 2002 at 17:22.
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Never lived in the UK so can't offer comparisons, just a few facts.
I'm living in a duplex in Zaventem, rather close to the airport. Everything was brand new when I moved in, apartment around 80 sq.M., non-furnished, and I'm paying around 500 Euros incl. electricity and heating. Mate of mine got a very nice duplex in downtown BRU, around 90 sq.M. furnished and she's paying almost 1000 Euros. It is a nice place though. But the traffice is murder in rush hours, and I just couldn't be asked to spend upwards of 2 hours every day going back and forth. As it is, I can bicycle in less than 10 minuts
It rains a lot.
Shopping is, in my opinion, very cheap. Beer is fantastic and do try the stronger variety to but you would be well advised to limit the numbers you are drinking.
Fuel is around 1 Euro / Liter.
Cars are cheap, a consequence of which is that there's a shyteload of em on the streets.
Public transport is excellent.
Tax is around 40%, VAT is 19 or 21%.
Public healthservice is excellent I've been told, not yet had any use of it.
Schools are good, you'll get at least tri-lingual kids if you bring any over. Private schooling is expensive though, most people I know send their kids to public schools and are quite happy with it. Kindergarten is free of charge from the age of around 3, in public schools.
It rains a lot.
Downtown BRU is nice, plenty of places to go for food and drinks. Food is excellent, in fact so good I gained 10 kgs in the first 3 months here. Maybe beer had an influence too
It rains a lot.
Belgium, as you probably know, is very conviently located in Europe, with fine motorways going in every possible direction. Amsterdam 2 hours, Paris in 3 driving. Take the hi-speed train to Paris Gare Du Nord from Brussels Midi, it's a 1:25 ride.
CGN in 2.5 hours, HAM in 5, BER in 6. Austrian alps can be reached in 6 hours if your enthusiastic about it, or 8 hours at a more leisurely pace.
With the demise of Sabena flight connections leaves some to be desired, but all major airports in Europe are served by SN Brussels Airline and/or other national carriers. SN has very reasonable fares for monkey class travel. Quite often cheaper than Virgin Express. RyanAir operates out of Charleroi, a 40 minute drive from BRU.
It rains a lot.
Lot's of history here, especially war history if you're interested in that sort of thing. Quite a few decent airshows on the calender too.
In short I like it here, but please fix the weather.
Just a quick edit to ask "English mustard"? Why, when there's an abundance of Dijon available. Will second the bacon though. Food, as previously said, of very high standard. Diaries also very nice. Beers too
I'm living in a duplex in Zaventem, rather close to the airport. Everything was brand new when I moved in, apartment around 80 sq.M., non-furnished, and I'm paying around 500 Euros incl. electricity and heating. Mate of mine got a very nice duplex in downtown BRU, around 90 sq.M. furnished and she's paying almost 1000 Euros. It is a nice place though. But the traffice is murder in rush hours, and I just couldn't be asked to spend upwards of 2 hours every day going back and forth. As it is, I can bicycle in less than 10 minuts
It rains a lot.
Shopping is, in my opinion, very cheap. Beer is fantastic and do try the stronger variety to but you would be well advised to limit the numbers you are drinking.
Fuel is around 1 Euro / Liter.
Cars are cheap, a consequence of which is that there's a shyteload of em on the streets.
Public transport is excellent.
Tax is around 40%, VAT is 19 or 21%.
Public healthservice is excellent I've been told, not yet had any use of it.
Schools are good, you'll get at least tri-lingual kids if you bring any over. Private schooling is expensive though, most people I know send their kids to public schools and are quite happy with it. Kindergarten is free of charge from the age of around 3, in public schools.
It rains a lot.
Downtown BRU is nice, plenty of places to go for food and drinks. Food is excellent, in fact so good I gained 10 kgs in the first 3 months here. Maybe beer had an influence too
It rains a lot.
Belgium, as you probably know, is very conviently located in Europe, with fine motorways going in every possible direction. Amsterdam 2 hours, Paris in 3 driving. Take the hi-speed train to Paris Gare Du Nord from Brussels Midi, it's a 1:25 ride.
CGN in 2.5 hours, HAM in 5, BER in 6. Austrian alps can be reached in 6 hours if your enthusiastic about it, or 8 hours at a more leisurely pace.
With the demise of Sabena flight connections leaves some to be desired, but all major airports in Europe are served by SN Brussels Airline and/or other national carriers. SN has very reasonable fares for monkey class travel. Quite often cheaper than Virgin Express. RyanAir operates out of Charleroi, a 40 minute drive from BRU.
It rains a lot.
Lot's of history here, especially war history if you're interested in that sort of thing. Quite a few decent airshows on the calender too.
In short I like it here, but please fix the weather.
Just a quick edit to ask "English mustard"? Why, when there's an abundance of Dijon available. Will second the bacon though. Food, as previously said, of very high standard. Diaries also very nice. Beers too
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Living in Brussels
I lived in Brussels. I am an American and joined the American Club of Brussels. Anyone, of any nationality, can join. They were a great source of information on all aspects of living in Brussels. They also gave very good cocktail parties where I met many people who were able to give me assistance. Brussels is the European headquarters of many international companies so there is no shortage of English speakers. Whatever your interest you can find an English-speaking group.
The Bulletin is an English speaking magazine geared toward ex-pats with ads for apartment rentals. Some of the apartments in this magaizine are more expensive, but the landlords are used to dealing with English speakers and they can help you work around all of the weird rental laws. There is no shortage of rental housing.
There is an English-speaking Anglican church with a pub in the basement for "communing" with other members. Unfortunately I cannot remember its name. However, it is the only one so it would be easy to look up. I met several pilots there and they have great outings and social events that are not too religiously oriented.
I always say that Brussels is a great place to live, but you wouldn't want to visit there.
Just remember, their revered national monument is a little-boy-peeing fountain that they dress up for various holidays and their motto is...if you can't see the tower of the city hall then it is raining, if you can see it then it is going to rain!
The Bulletin is an English speaking magazine geared toward ex-pats with ads for apartment rentals. Some of the apartments in this magaizine are more expensive, but the landlords are used to dealing with English speakers and they can help you work around all of the weird rental laws. There is no shortage of rental housing.
There is an English-speaking Anglican church with a pub in the basement for "communing" with other members. Unfortunately I cannot remember its name. However, it is the only one so it would be easy to look up. I met several pilots there and they have great outings and social events that are not too religiously oriented.
I always say that Brussels is a great place to live, but you wouldn't want to visit there.
Just remember, their revered national monument is a little-boy-peeing fountain that they dress up for various holidays and their motto is...if you can't see the tower of the city hall then it is raining, if you can see it then it is going to rain!
