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| *Travel Tips>>>Belgium Travel Tips |
Moving to belgium? |
Travel Info I was wondering how easy/hard would it be for someone to move to the nothern (flemish) parts of belgium without knowing the language at first, and get a job?? would i maybe find one easier in brussels? I am a book-keeper at present in England and speak English only... Travel Tips Hi, you would not be the only person living in Belgium and only speaking English. Impossible to find it is not, just harder. I think Antwerp would be a better option, not only because it's a nice small (half a million) town to live in, but at the same time it is very international and has one of the biggest european harbours. (and it's about 3 hours by car to Amsterdam, 5 to Paris, 1 hour flight to London) And for sure a lot more relaxed than Brussels.. Check following links: http://www.goinglobal.com/countries/belg... (You can make all kinds of selections on the right) http://www.thebulletin.be/ http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/pu... (download the .pdf in English (en)) http://www.vdab.be/english/ (VDAB is the official employment office, they have ALL info, these people only answer specific questions, so you have to be quiet precise and ask all details you can think of, they are helpfull, but they won't think for you, not asked, no answer, if you understand me..) Don't let yourself be demotivated by less lucky persons, don't expect everything will work out the first day (or in your first job), give it a chance. And not having a job after six years, whenever legal in Belgium and registered at the VDAB correctly, after a waiting time of (i might be wrong here, can be changed in last couple of years) about 18 months, people get a unemployment fee or in the worst case social care money. So why the complaint above? Belgium is in the top 3 of the best social security systems of the WORLD.. (You pay a lot of taxes for it, yep) Good luck. But anyway, once there, join a class to learn dutch. It's fun knowing other languages! Others The Flemish speak excellent English, generally speaking, because they study the language in school from an early age, and because a majority of the programs and movies on TV are in English with Dutch subtitles. Also, they seem to be much more adept at languages than the average culture (again, I'm generalizing), and it's not uncommon to encounter Flemish people that speak 3 or 4 languages quite fluently. It is difficult to get a job if you aren't at least bi-lingual, even in Brussels where English is quite common, but it's not impossible. In Brussels, though, the preferred language is French, although many employers here are searching for people that are tri-lingual-- French, Dutch, and English. There's a great website for jobseekers in Belgium that can help you with your search: http://www.stepstone.be/home_fs.cfm?lang... Try using the keyword "English" and see if you can find anything matching your skill set. It's a great place to live, especially if you appreciate beer, great food, and chocolate! Good luck with your search. I'm American and live in Brussels It is hard.You need to learn Dutch. A Job ?, well because you are a book-keeper you might have a little chance, in a English firm at Brussels. My husband is Irish and he can't find work here (6 years here!)they discriminating here the white who speak English, he learned even 3 years Dutch and understands the Dutch almost perfect. I would think twice to come over from England to Belgium if I was you, to find work here is no good and Belgium is corrupt all over. And if you don't believe of the correption it's on the news Worldwide! We are living here in Belgium!And this is the real life here. I would suggest moving to one of the major cities like Antwerp or Ghent and trying your luck there. Living there would be no problem at all if you only speak English. It would be advisable to try to learn a bit of Dutch tho but not absolutely necessary. As for a job I would suggest trying your luck in the Antwerp harbor area. Good luck! |
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