Apologies if this has been discussed before...

There is the potential of a possible job in Brussels. I have been told by the potential employer that as I only speak English, it would not a problem. I am interested to know if this is indeed the case. It's in a managerial/creative field. How difficult is it to go day to day in just English, as my French is a bit rusty and certainly not to a level that I can carry on a professional, technical-based conversation with. Plus, on a similar note, how do people find surviving in the city if you can only speak English? My daughter, who is presently doing French Immersion, would thrive – me on the other hand...

the answer is simple, it depends on your job content

If your employer is not worried then I wouldn't be. Presumably they know the work you will do and if it requires the language skills. You may find you have to make extra effort with colleagues to avoid the inevitable standing in a group while they all babble on about something you can't understand. However, when in a multicultural environment (e.g. in Brussels I have both French and Dutch speaking colleagues, amongst others), I have found that people are often using English anyway.

With a managerial role, the other thing to consider is how client-facing your role is and if the clients will be predominantly francophone, neelandophone or more internationally focused and happy to conduct their business in English.

In terms of living here, that's no problem at all as there are so many expats and if you are based in Brussels, English is no problem. For the bits of admin where language skills are required, just get a friend or nice colleague to help you out. Ideally, you'll try and brush up the French/Dutch (depending where you will be based) if you plan to stay here for a while, but I know plenty of consultants who have worked here for years and never bothered to learn a word of either.

From my personal experience (in IT), I worked for a large bank where English was the business language so I didn't have any issues at all for the work. However, I'm now working as a consultant and I have found that certain opportunities/projects are not open to me as I am not a Dutch speaker. So it really depends on the kind of work you will do and who with. Perhaps a question you could put to your potential employer.