need help!

[pattilynn]

my husband and i are thinking of moving to Belgium with out three children,and need some info about different things there. for instance the schools,jobs,languge,housing,medications,etc... if there is anyone who can give me any info it would be greatly appreciated. by the way we would be moving form U.S....


thank you, patti

[Piron]

What would you like to know specifically?

As an American citizen it should be no problem for you to move to Belgium. Finding a job will not be to hard either, it's the education of the children that will present some trouble. They will need to learn Dutch of French (depends on the where you want to live), this can only be done by a private tutor or in a private school wich are both very costly. The level of education is what i call A+, in a country as ours we are brought up living with different races and filosofies (spelling?), we also need to learn two languages for national purposes and english and German or spanish to be able to profile ourselves on the international market.

I presume you are aware of the fact that we speak two different languages in Belgium, French and Dutch. In the dutchspeaking region you will find it easier to integrate for there has always been some resentment between the French and the Americans.

We do not have any problems with housing, you can rent, buy or build whatever you want as long as you have the money.
Appartments for rent cost around 350€ per month (standard).
Houses for rent cost around 500€ per month (standard).
It all depends on what you want off course, you can take it to whatever height you want.

Last but not least is the Belgian Healthcare system. We have one of the best healthcare systems in the world, almost all medical costs are refunded, from dental bills to checkups. Here in my city (100000 residents) we have around 5 Hospitals all equipped with the newest technologies and with very well educated personnel. If there is one thing you should not worry about when coming to Belgium it is your health.

I see you mentioned you have three kids.
Well, if you have three kids to support you do not have to pay any incometax wich means more funds for the education of the kids.


If you need anything else (phonenumbers, adresses, or whatever) you can always e-mail me at the following adress:
pe_pol1jp@hotmail.com

Hope to hear and see you soon
Peter

[Aviendha]

Think i'll add some info :

Our schools are truly of the best in the world. A university degree from a Belgian university is loved thoughout Europe and even the world.

Ofcourse this level of education ipso facto means that our teaching is stricter and more demanding than in most other countries. Which might ask for some adaptation by your children.



As to the languages, we actually have 3 national languages : flemish / french / german.
Flemish and french being used in larger parts of the country.

I might sound chauvinistic here, but if i can advise you, I would choose to live in the flemish part. Eductation, employment, standard of living - it's all better in Flanders

Cities like Antwerp, Gent, Brugges, they all have this timeless aura of history which even i personally find very appealing still.

As to healthcare and housing, only thing i can say is that they're decent, ofcourse i don't know where you live now, remember that we have a lot less space to live in with over 10 million people If you pay enough, you'll consider yourselves in the middle of nature, if you don't, you'll live in the city, which in the case of gent or antwerp is actually a very nice experience.


I hope i helped you with this