Moving to Brussels as a student- some advice please?

Last activity 21 August 2015 by nailpainter

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Irina13Member21 August 2015 09:13:27

Hello everyone,

In September I will be moving to Brussels together with my partner to do our Masters degree. We already have the accommodation sorted out in St Josse-ten-Noode at the Foyer Europeen.
-I have been reading online about Brussels being unsafe, is it really that bad around the City Centre and the aforementioned commune?
-Could you suggest a good bank for expats, a good phone provider( we are both medium users in terms of texts, minutes and data) and maybe another sim provider for making calls abroad, specifically to the UK.
-Also the university suggests around 300-400 euros a month per person( apart from rent), which we both find really expensive compared to the UK student life. Does living in Brussels require that much money for food and other expenses or is it down to personal ability to spend money?
- Lastly, we were wondering if anyone knows a good place that offers french language lessons for expats, obviously at an affordable price.

Thanks a lot.

anujkmishraMember21 August 2015 12:52:21

Hello Irina,

First of welcome to Brussels. Although I am fairly new to Belgium, been here since last 2 yrs, but I will reply based on my experience.

>I think it is safe around City Center or St Josse-ten-Noode, its central Brussels and quite safe. Of course you have to be careful in Brussels.
>For Bank Accounts, you have options like bpost bank, bnpp, ING or argenta bank. All are same except bpost is in dutch and BNPP offers net banking in english so for not dutch; that is quite helpful.
>For phone calls, Lycamobile is good option to make calls abroad, also it offers free lyca to lyca calls. But you can see other alternatives that suits well to your requirement.
>If you go out very often, eat outside and travel then its expensive. If you cook food at home more often, then its really up to the person, cost can be lower per month.
>There are many options to learn french, alliance francaise is one of them, there are many commune schools that are less expensive.

Finally good luck and best wishes. welcome to Brussels:)

Thanks ,
Anuj

nailpainterActive member21 August 2015 16:19:04

I can only speak for the budget - 325 to 350 Euros is typical student budget here. I think financially anything lesser would be practically shoe string budget and lots of ramen noodles for food

It would help you a lot to find a part time job. In this way you can enjoy your stay and life here a bit more than just struggling to survive, in terms of money I mean.

Hope you enjoy your stay!

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