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moving abroad - this time it's more serious. [aka my life in Belgium]


J. van Deijck

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J. van Deijck

okay so you lovely people remember that I asked what to do while going to Belgium quite long ago. but it was only temporary. now I have the chance to move there for longer and possibly even settle here (which is my dream btw). now I have a question for those who have moved countries within EU. what am I supposed to do first? how long do I have to wait?

from what I got to know already, i need to get this job contract first. after I know for sure that I'm going to get this job, i should contact the embassy. I don't need any visa because both countries belong to the EU and my ID will be enough. after coming to Belgium, i have 8 days to confirm that I'm going to stay there for longer than 3 months.

any other helpful information?ย 

ย 

EDIT: after such a long time I think it's going to be my "diary" thread about my life in this odd little country :D

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Most countries run on identification numbers (for health insurance, to get your pay check etc.), so I'd say check out when/where you can apply for one. Usually it's best to do it asap. And hopefully Belgium won't throw you in a loop ;)

I know from some people who moved to Denmark that they had troubles to get the number, because they needed to show a contract, and for most contracts you need the number etc etc. (the joys of paperwork and bureaucracy :lol: ). But if you have a contract beforehand, it should work out fine.

So getting that out of the way should be one of the top priorities, together with notifying the embassy/municipality of you planning to stay there long term.

ย 

Also check out if you need to change your health/travel insurance. There is some overlap in healthcare between EU countries, but it's always good to know if you have the right insurances ;) - and it might be worth it to check if they have affordable language schools

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J. van Deijck

that's definitely the thing. I used to work for them for two months and they would like to keep me here for longer - the only serious demand they have is that I learn Dutch. so I guess it's affordable, i wanted to learn Dutch anyway because I'm in love with this language ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜ until I do it, I'm supposed to use English, so it's not bad. :D oh and I've heard something about this loop ๐Ÿ˜‚ is there any way to actually avoid it?

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  • 3 months later...
J. van Deijck

guys I succeeded. I did everything on my own with a big help from my Belgian friend. I am allowed to stay until 2023.

thanks a lot. dank je welย ๐Ÿ˜„

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J. van Deijck

yay yay โค๏ธ I even survived the police visit in our house (it's a normal part of the procedure in Belgium) because the policeman was extremely friendly. ๐Ÿ˜‚ I still have some paperwork to do, but it's all. so far I'm doing pretty well โค๏ธ

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J. van Deijck
Just now, Toads said:

Congrats๐Ÿ‘

dank je wel ๐Ÿ˜„

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J. van Deijck
3 minutes ago, ben8884 said:

Congrats! Where in Belgium are you?

Brugge, West Flanders ๐Ÿ’– so far my favourite place to be besides Middelkerke โค๏ธ

ย 

6 minutes ago, Just Dani said:

Congrats. ๐Ÿ˜Š

oh and thank you both! :3

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Excellent! I thought you would do well and be fine. It's so cool to see you being so happy about this move to your adopted home. :Dย 

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J. van Deijck
7 hours ago, Just Dani said:

You're welcome. ๐Ÿ˜Šย 

ย 

What's it like in Brugge, West Flanders? ๐Ÿ˜ƒ

well, this city's old town is on the UNESCO list, so you know ๐Ÿ˜„ โค๏ธ it's always a 'must see' place of every visitor.

in conclusion, the city is beautiful and I'm very happy to live here... but the old town is ALWAYS filled with tourists. not only in summer. ๐Ÿ˜‚

ย 

4 hours ago, daveb said:

Excellent! I thought you would do well and be fine. It's so cool to see you being so happy about this move to your adopted home. :Dย 

aww that's do sweet of you, thank you! โค๏ธ the only thing I need to do is to learn Dutch properly now ๐Ÿ˜‚

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18 hours ago, [noize:injekktion] said:

well, this city's old town is on the UNESCO list, so you know ๐Ÿ˜„ โค๏ธ it's always a 'must see' place of every visitor.

in conclusion, the city is beautiful and I'm very happy to live here... but the old town is ALWAYS filled with tourists. not only in summer. ๐Ÿ˜‚

ย 

It sounds incredible! ๐Ÿ˜ƒย 

ย 

*adds Brugge, West Flanders to list of places to visit* ๐Ÿ’œ

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  • 2 months later...
J. van Deijck

so, after 4 months of living here, I can say a little bit more about it.

not everything in Belgium is perfect. too many taxes, too muchย paperwork whenever you need to do any office thing, sometimes too much of waiting. but it's not bad. I love this country and I'm not going to move out from here. so happy that I am allowed to stay here for 5 years now, hoping to stay for longer. :3

ย 

now my main concern is if my contract at work is going to be extended. there is a possibility as I am one of the best known and appreciated workers here, so I keep my fingers crossed for that. we will see in May or June.

ย 

two days ago I have witnessed making a number plate for a car. (my mate has finally put his own name on the insurance so the car is fully his, but it requires changing the numbers since they are attached to a person, not to a vehicle). in Belgium, you only receive the rearย plate from the town hall. the front plate you have to obtain by yourself, thankfully there are several places that do it. so we went to one of these places and I could see how they do it, it took less than 15 minutes and we were both surprised. :D so now we have one, the official one will be received tomorrow.

ย 

it's basically different than in my home country where you can read the place of living from the car's number plate :D

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J. van Deijck

the rear number plate arrived today. we're both surprised that it took shorter than expected :D

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I know I'm late to the party, but congratulations!!! :D (Mostly on the moving part, but hey, why not, also on the license plate ;D)

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J. van Deijck
34 minutes ago, Dreamer23 said:

I know I'm late to the party, but congratulations!!! :D (Mostly on the moving part, but hey, why not, also on the license plate ;D)

hihi thank you! ๐Ÿ˜„ now everything goes alright :3 I think I really had it easier than average person changing countries.

ย 

also, all the paperwork is done and we are finally allowed to park the car next to our house without risking the ticket ๐Ÿ˜‚ย 

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J. van Deijck

(posted somewhere already, but it's okay. good to do this here)

ย 

I have been trying to take a picture of it for a long time now. I find it really polite, but a bit funny at the same time. :D anyways, I haven't seen it in any other country I've been to. maybe I didn't pay much attention :P

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tumblr_polnwfQ8rz1upic5ho1_1280.jpg

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I used to work for DeLijn in my country years ago and I don't have any nice memories from it because my team leader of that time did everything to make my stay unbearable. now while being in Belgium I'm occasionally being "borrowed" to work there to help in trams. they say I'm a brilliant worker.

ย 

it all depends on a person who is above you, it seems.

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J. van Deijck

also, what I love about Belgians: they don't care how other people look like.

I don't have any problems at work regarding to my piercings or hair colour. they pay attention to skills, not to appearance. that's how it should be everywhere.

even while being in town hall we noticed how many people working there had piercings or tattoos and were dressed less formal. nobody had a problem with it.

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user23974865
On 1/1/2019 at 9:14 PM, [noize:injekktion] said:

guys I succeeded. I did everything on my own with a big help from my Belgian friend. I am allowed to stay until 2023.

thanks a lot. dank je welย ๐Ÿ˜„

First, congrats!ย ๐Ÿ‘

ย 

I've been to Brugge. I saw more beer brands there than I can count, that much is for sure.ย ๐Ÿบย I don't remember much else though, I was only there very briefly. My clearest memory is from a ceremony at a war memorial, which, as it turns out... was actually in Ypres, not Brugge.ย :lol:ย I was staying at a friend's place in Ghent for a couple days (she's fine now, but she has told me horror stories about Belgian bureaucracy, so, again... congrats!ย Especially havingย managed it on your own! ^_^).

ย 

I hope it's okay if I ask: did you move to Belgium as a citizen of another EU/Schengenย member state? I'm asking because, if that's the case, then it's news to me that there would be any time limits onceย you're formally a resident in another EU/Schengen country, and this might affect me someday.

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J. van Deijck
On 9/9/2018 at 4:58 PM, SpaceDustbin said:

they๏ปฟ had troubles to get the number, because they needed๏ปฟ to show a contract, and for most contracts you need the number๏ปฟ ๏ปฟetc๏ปฟ etc.๏ปฟ๏ปฟ๏ปฟ

okay so I can tell you that I managed to avoid this loop and I can tell you how. :D it's just that my workplace requested a temporary number for me once I signed my contract. later I had some troubles with paperwork and all that jazz when I got a real number, but it's been fixed anyway :D

ย 

8 hours ago, burobu said:

. I saw๏ปฟ๏ปฟ๏ปฟ more beer brands there than I can count, that much is for ๏ปฟsure.๏ปฟย ๐Ÿบ

hahaha that's completely true :D and ffor this reason I decided to buy a set of 12 different beers for my dad as a Christmas gift - all of them were brewed in Brugge. my dad said most of them was awful ๐Ÿ˜‚

we have lots of bridges here (hence the city name - brug means bridge in Dutch, so there it is). at morning and afternoon hours the traffic is terrible, not only we go/come back from work or school or whatever, but also bridges are open because boats move, too. it's not funny when you're in hurry ๐Ÿ˜‚

I live basically in old town, so we pay quite much for a rather tiny apartment, but it's okay. it's set pretty close to our workplace, so it's even better. :3

ย 

8 hours ago, burobu said:

but๏ปฟ๏ปฟ she has told me horror stories about Belgian bureaucracy

she's right. the amount of paperwork you need to do before you obtain something is just incredible and some things take months to complete. ๐Ÿ˜‚ btw, Belgium is basically no different from my home country when it comes to paperwork, taxes, even weather, so it's easy to feel like home :P

ย 

8 hours ago, burobu said:

so๏ปฟ, again... congrats!ย Especially havingย managed it on yo๏ปฟu๏ปฟr own! ^_^).

thanks! ^_^ I must say I have had it much easier than any other person moving abroad - I basically got everything straight into my hands. for example, I didn't need any work agency - and this is very good. agencies can be tricky and you usually earn a lot less than "normal" workers. I got a contract that is the same as my Belgian workmates have and I earn the same money as they do. I worked here before, just because my previous workplace sent me there to help, so I could see it from the inside before I decided to stay. and since I have friends here, other things were easier. for example, I didn't have to look for accommodation - I already had it.

ย 

8 hours ago, burobu said:

ย 

I hope๏ปฟ it's okay if I ask:๏ปฟ๏ปฟ๏ปฟ๏ปฟ did you move to Belgium as a citizen of another EU/Schengenย member state? I'm asking because, if that's the case, then it's news to me that there would be any time๏ปฟ limits onceย you're formally a resident in another EU/๏ปฟ๏ปฟSchengen country, and this might affect me someday๏ปฟ.๏ปฟ

are you in a country different than your own? I am from a country that is a member of EU, so things went smoothly, and from what I know, the amount of years I am allowed to stay by now is just an expiry date of my ID, so it can be extended once it expires. that's probably it :3

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J. van Deijck

what I also love about my workplace is that except for salaries, they also give us an amount of 140โ‚ฌ on a meal ticket. it looks like a credit card, and you can pay using it in shops or some restaurants. like McDonald's for example :D so in case we have no money, we use our meal tickets and everything's fine.

ย 

I also know Pizza Hut doesn't accept them. which is sad, because every Tuesday they sell pizza for half price and we go there a lot.

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I didn't understand that one could just move around within the EU to whatever country you choose to live in, without too much fuss.ย  Good for You!

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J. van Deijck
26 minutes ago, Muledeer said:

I didn't understand that one could just move around within the EU to whatever country you choose to live in, without too much fuss.ย  Good for You!

there is always some fuss. after all, it's a different country with a different culture, language etc. etc. :D but indeed, being the EU citizen makes things more smooth. no visa, no anything like that.

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user23974865
2 hours ago, [noize:injekktion] said:

hahaha that's completely true :D and ffor this reason I decided to buy a set of 12 different beers for my dad as a Christmas gift - all of them were brewed in Brugge. my dad said most of them was awful ๐Ÿ˜‚

Haha I had some Trappist beer at the place where they make it.ย It was good, but it wasย notย worth the price they were charging for it in the city!ย ๐Ÿ˜ฑ

ย 

2 hours ago, [noize:injekktion] said:

we have lots of bridges here (hence the city name - brug means bridge in Dutch, so there it is).

Hm,ย makes sense! Now that you mention it, I remember seeing loud groups of drunk men singing in gondolas...ย Is that a typical thing there?

ย 

2 hours ago, [noize:injekktion] said:

even weather

My condolences.ย :lol:ย Belgium is pretty neat in several ways, but weather is not one of them. I used to take for granted the mild and sunny weather of the place I come from, I've learned to be thankful for it after talking to people from other countries and being abroad myself.

ย 

2 hours ago, [noize:injekktion] said:

I am from a country that is a member of EU, so things went smoothly, and from what I know, the amount of years I am allowed to stay by now is just an expiry date of my ID, so it can be extended once it expires. that's probably it :3๏ปฟ

Oh okay so that's probably it then. My guess is it's really just the expirationย date of the card itself, and then it's probably just a matter of getting a new one,ย which will probably be much easier than the first one. Though I don't know what kinds of policies they might have when it comes to employment. I just know that "you're supposed to be able to support yourself" when you move to another EU country, but I don't know if any country is allowed to kick you out if you happen to be unemployed later on. I think they're not allowed to do that (though I think they usually doย require you to have been living in your current country for a certain timeย before you can claim any government benefits, which makes sense).

ย 

2 hours ago, [noize:injekktion] said:

are you in a country different than your own?

I'm not from Europe, and I'm not currently living in Europe, but I'm a dual citizen thanks to ancestry.ย I actually had to go to Europe to get my second citizenship though, because the local consulate here is just awful, and there's hundreds of thousands of people in the waiting line (it's kinda comical that there are severalย specifically South American parties for a European country, because of the number of voters abroad). The waiting time after you apply is literally longer than ten years. Then I found out that you can get a special "waiting for citizenship" type of visa in my other country and get it done there on your own with the local authorities at the place where you register as a resident.

ย 

Managing to get registered as a resident is not simple though... So many little devils in the details, though work wasn't a problem for me because I work online. The police officer who visited me just asked me what was my occupation and then wrote it down and that was it (technically I think I wasn't even allowed to be working back then anyway, sort of a gray area).ย I was lucky.ย The whole thing was stressful, but it was relatively quick.ย In the end I didn't even need my visa ID card,ย and I got my regular ID card two days before a little EU vacation of mineย that I had planned.ย :)

ย 

It's kinda ridiculous how many countries I could theoretically move to without a visa or even a passport, because most of South America also works pretty much like the EU in that regard. So it's almost two entire continents. At one point I even considered the possibility of living in Easter Island (awesomeย place!), which is halfway to New Zealand but is technically Chile. Way too expensive though (understandably -- I mean... it isย halfway to New Zealandย after allย :lol:). I think chances are I'll end up in Uruguay someday. Pretty chill place, apparently very uncomplicated to move to.

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  • 2 weeks later...
J. van Deijck

so our HR lady committed suicide and I haven't been to the funeral, which I feel guilty about. I feel I should have said goodbye and "thank you for everythingย 

"to her, but I also know I would totally collapse if I went there. I'm still very sad about it, she was the person who gave me the contract, she was always nice and friendly and definitely one of my favourite people. now nothing will be the same :( butbut also I know life goes on. it's still heartbreaking, though :(

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J. van Deijck

for other things, my life is going really well, except that I'm not going to have an Easter holiday. none of us will have. at least we will have one month holiday in summer. that is something :oย I'm saving money for holiday trips.ย 

my workmates are crazy, at least three of them have confessed love to me, and I appear to be liked. which makes me happy, and I know their stupid jokes are a sign of appreciation.

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J. van Deijck

I swear my workplace is not a good place for people who are sex repulsed. sex relating jokes are a part of a daily life here. thankfully, they don't bother me.

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