Living in Belgium
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Anonymous
| I'm a SAHM to a 6 month old and my husband has a job opportunity in Belgium. I teach yoga but my grasp on French is shaky at best (we'd be in Mons). So, is it crazy to leave our life in coastal California and commit to three years abroad? Does anyone here have experience doing something similar? Any knowledge on living in Belgium/ Western Europe? |
Anonymous
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Ask people in coastal California, honey. This is DC. How are we to know what your life in California is like?
God, I hate these posts. |
Anonymous
I'm looking for insight and experiences, but thank you! |
Anonymous
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She probbly asked since so many people in this area have lived iverseas with the fed govt.
As someone who has lived overseas for almost four years - 2 in Europe and the rest in the Middle East, I say definitely do it. It isn't easy, but is so enriching. Belgium is such a great location for exploring western Europe. When else will you be able to hop in your car and drive to Spain or wherever you want to explore? It will spoil you in the future. After having experienced a foreign country as you do living there, a two week vacation trying to cram everything in while spending tons of money will always dim in comparison to living there. |
Anonymous
| Are you Jewish? May not be the most friendly place for you. Will you be able to rent out your CA place so you won't lose it while gone? |
Anonymous
Then ask someone in CALIFORNIA. Thank you! |
Anonymous
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Belgium is very cloudy. How would you feel about not seeing the sun for months?
Mons, and many other places in Belgium and environs are very beautiful. Life there is quite different. Whether you enjoy the experience or not is more about you than about the place. |
Anonymous
| I would definitely go. Your child is very young so you don't have to worry about changing schools etc. You can travel and see so much in Europe - long weekends in Paris, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam. Your child will speak French as a native. We came to London for a 3-year assignment seven years ago and liked it so much that decided to stay permanently. |
Anonymous
I've lived in Brussels and the only negative about the experience was the weather. Think Seattle weather. Rainy and overcast. But it just gave us an excuse to visit sunny places a few times per year 
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Anonymous
| Mons is a great place for young one. There is a great kids water park there and lots of space to run around. I visited Mons as a tourist and found it rather dull just because there wasn't much to visit for tourists but I think it would be a different story living there. There were decent restaurants and friendly people, but almost NO ONE spoke english. Good luck!! |
Anonymous
| Agree with others, lived in Brussels and had a hard time with the Seattle weather. I say go and start brushing up on French. |
Anonymous
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I love Belgium -- lived in Antwerp. The people were wonderful, the food was great, you are so close to so much in Europe, there's wonderful art and history, and I'm a fan with the Seattle-like weather.
I would definitely go! |
Anonymous
| You don't need to speak french to live in Belgium (at least in big cities, English is enough). Belgium weather is different from California. But the nature is beautiful (very green, a lot of places to hike, run, etc.). Easy access to different countries (we could drive to Holland or Germany for a day trip). Weather you going to like it or not -- it is up to you. We did a similar thing (not in Belgium thought) when kids were older (6 and 10) -- we moved to another country for 3 years for the sole purpose to travel around. It was fun and we liked it! |
Anonymous
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OP,
Unless you really don't have a sense of adventure, go for it. You may not have a dishwasher or a large refrigerator, but you will have opportunities to travel that you can never have on a vacation. |