Well salam to yall, my family and I lived in the US for more than 12 years and now comes the time to try Europe, so we decided to move to Brussels, Belgium because of the job of my hubby.
So I need your feedback if any of your did the same move from the US to Europe or if you live in Belgium. Please try to give me as much examples as you can in terms of the differences, advantages or even if you guys have any warnings????
Thank you very much in advance

Wow 12 poeple saw my add and NO answer, come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Salam Sunny


I have lived in belgium for four years but i was single and i guess it is not the same.. it is always delicate to give advices to someone who's has a different situation.

First of all, there is a huge moroccan community in Brussels which means that if you are looking for persil, coriander or even mssamen you won't find any difficulty in finding them, i hope you get what i mean.. the same thing as a nice place to drink minth tea or, more important, a Mosque.. But, Moroccans in Belgium as any other expatriated community suffer a lot from prejudices, the latter are being fed by desastrous problems from which suffer the younger generations .. this is another issue

What else, in Brussels, you are at 3 hours range from morocco at very interseting rates and you can visit also any place in Europe whenever you would like to(Amesterdam 2 hrs, Paris 1hr25....etc)


The weather is not really nice, it is generally gloomy, and it is honeslty difficult to get used to but you can live with it ...

As compared to the Amercicas, people say that Belgians and Europeans in general, compared to americans are less open, but i guess it is relatively a subjective issue..

Well, this is all what comes to my mind right now, if you have any more questions, don't hesitate..

Salam

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wa imman wa imman, gan igharrassen Menna...

Hi Sunny,

Brussels is a small town compared to other european capitals. As Hicham said, the moroccan community is very present, you'll find anything you need here, some areas of Brussels are even more moroccan than belgian.
The side effect of that massive presence is a palpable racism, notably from Flemish.
Other than that, the city is nice, not too big, not too small, boring as hell if you're used to a fast pace.
One last thing, get ready to get seriously robbed by the state, half of your pay check vanishes in taxes, welcome to
a welfare state



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/2008 11:07PM by chelhman.

Thank you Hicham and Chelhman, man you scared me...
Any bright stuff besides the Mint tea and the moroccan stuff???

Hi Sunny,

There are "bright stuff", like the fact that Brussels is a hub, you can fly cheaply to anywhere in Europe from here, a weekend in Paris, Barcelona, Venice or London is soooo easy.
Welfare state means also excellent and cheap healthcare, coming from the US, that must mean something to you.
We have the most dense network of highways in Europe and they're free, contrary to other european countries.
It's a cosmopolitan city, but then again, which european capital isn't these days ?!

And that's pretty much it, I can't think of anything else.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2008 01:52PM by chelhman.

Thank you Chelhman for your positive feedback, Healthcare is a plus in europe but isn't the company you'll be working for will pay for it?

Hi Sunny,

No, your company does not pay for your healthcare expenses here, in Belgium it's a hybrid system, you have a choice of mutual organisations to join and they handle the reimbursements. Check this site for further information :

[www.inami.fgov.be]

Thank you Chelhman, How about the job market, since I'll be looking for a job once there? I've heard about a lots of discrimination in France though but I've o idea about Belgium?

Sunny, there is discrimination of course but ultimately the market sets the trend. If your skills are needed, you'll get hired on the spot regardless of your origins. But there are strict laws against any sort of discrimination and they do get applied.
Your english will help you a lot here if you're the service sector.

Belgium has large North African population too just as France or Holland; this is a plus and a minus at the same time. Why can’t you go there on holiday to have a feel of the city during the summer and perhaps during the winter too when everything is dead, you will be able to judge things yourself by then.

Good luck with whatever you do

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Taibi, Taibi taibti al Galb wa ryia

Thanks adds, My hubby has been to Belgium last 2 months(related with his work) he said he likes it, so as you might know here in the US we dont have that much vaccation time so the time we have off we take it to visit our coiuntries since my huby and I are from different nationalities. So that is why I posted on this forum to get as much input as possible besides what you learn from the locals is more useful and informative than what you'll experience in as a tourist....

Hi Sunny,

This is the national employment agency, specifically the one for Brussels, it might give you an idea on the job market :

[www.actiris.be]

Here's also some links to private sites :

[www.optioncarriere.be]
[www.references.be]
[www.stepstone.be]
[ww w.vlanemploi.be]

I apreciate it chelhman you're great!!!