Hi everyone, I am looking for some opinions on a move to Antwerp. We are a family with a toddler, and are currently living in Tervuren - but would like to move to Antwerp, it's a bit quiet for us here, and we would like to live in a city again. So I have a few questions I hope someone can help me with.

Is Antwerp a nice place, is there lots to do we are in our late 20's?

What are good areas to live in and where should we avoid - we would prefer to be in the centre - in a town house type of property?

Are there many expats - is it easy to make friends?

Any opinions on the Lycee as a school?

Many thanks for any replies, any advice is appreciated.

I lived there for a short while and found Antwerpen had enough things happening to keep me busy. Check the individual country forums (US, UK, Can etc) to see where the expats get together. There was an Irish pub in the city centre that was quite popular with British expats. For more info on the various areas within Antwerpen have a look at this site:
http://www.aviewoncities.com/antwerp/zurenborg.htm

Hopefully some of the others here with a little more experience in Antwerp will chip in with their thoughts.

Hey Timette. I’ve moved to Antwerp about 18 months ago. In my opinion, the stuff you do in this city will probably shape your opinion of it. To answer your qts specifically:

Is Antwerp a nice place, is there lots to do we are in our late 20's?

Depends on the stuff you’re interested in. You could get involved with theatre, dance (Antwerp has an awesome Tango scene, a few Salsa clubs), etc etc? You’d need to be more specific with your interests

What are good areas to live in and where should we avoid - we would prefer to be in the centre - in a town house type of property?

The south of Antwerp is a nice trendy neighborhood for young people to live in. The Zurenborg neighborhood is also very nice, though a little away from the center. The daageraadplaats square that’s close to Zurenborg is one of my favorite squares in Antwerp though. I live close to the center and love the easy access to entertainment options.

Are there many expats - is it easy to make friends?

When I initially moved here, the town was quite a nightmare to make friends. I made loads of acquaintances, but not a lot of people I could genuinely call mates. Hung out with a few older Brit expats. However, 18 months on, I think I have made a load of expat friends (and a few local ones too). You need to give this city time to adjust. And meet the right people in between. And don’t get disheartened by the depressing winter caus when spring and summer come along, this city turns around completely.

Cheers!

Hi,

We live in Antwerp (beginning 30's).

I love Antwerp, it has the plusses of a large city whiel still being 'understandable'.

't Eilandje (North part of the center) is a creative upcoming area... with beautiful views and you can still walk into the city center.

;-)

and how guys do you actually meet all those expats here?
just starting to talk to people in the irish pubs or something?:S
I'm 25 and but the only expat activities I found on the net so far are organised by smth like "international women organisation" or some crafting clubs and I'm not yet into gathering with 30 moms discussing their kids and family picnics (which is definitely a nice activity but I'll come to it in the next stage in my life, in 5-10 years I guess..).

So is there something for 20sm crowd in Antwerp?
Like I dunno, bar meetings, salsa, movie gatherings......