Hi All,

I have got a position to work in Belgium. I have been looking at renting places around Zaventem but they are so expensive. To rent a house is about €1500. I am willing to travel about 40KMS to work but cannot find a place below €800. What are the extra costs that one has when renting a place (besides heating, water, electric)?

Living in the UK getting telephone flat rates with internet flat rates, is it the same in Belgium? How provides this service?

Things are looking quite complex, I may have to decline the offer if living in Belgium is too expensive.

Thanks for your help.

Art

Costs are always relative. Personally, I think Belgium is relatively cheap compared to UK, especially buying a house (but that depends on where you are from in UK). But rents depend heavily on location (no surprise really). You need to compare like for like. Also, perhaps your budget could be raised if other costs, e.g. travel, are less? I have seen some properties for under that limit, but not much. For a budget of 800 eur you would probably need to share a place, or be looking at a 1-2 bed flat.

Have a look at Belgacom and Proximus website to estimates you telephone and mobile costs.
www.belgacom.be
www.proximus.be
www.immoweb.be

Thanks Redbear.

well for the begining I will be renting a place and after some time buy a place. Is it true that renitng is a fixed contract for 3 years?

Is the cost of groceries cheaper than the UK? I am getting quite nervous about moving to Belgium.