What Language do you need to speak to live in Belgium?

To be honest, if you don't speak either Dutch (Flemish in the north) or French (Walloon in Brussels and the south) it will be very hard.

Here a few sites with info about Belgium and Brussels :

http://www.expatica.com/be/http://be.brussels/living-in-brussels/expats

and a few expat clubs:

http://www.expatica.com/be/out-and-abou … 00118.html

good luck!

topez wrote:

Is there a place in Belgium for English speaking  person?

I am not exactly sure what you mean, but Belgium isn't considered an English speaking country. 

It would be practical for you to learn to speak the language of the area in which you live in Belgium and not expect the people to speak in English.  French, Dutch, German............those are the languages of Belgium.

Before you learn any of the languages which are spoken in Belgium, its advisable to know where you're going to live.

General information: Flemish is not Dutch although its very similar.

Primadonna wrote:

Before you learn any of the languages which are spoken in Belgium, its advisable to know where you're going to live.

General information: Flemish is not Dutch although its very similar.

General information from someone living in Belgium and is a Belgian:

"Flemish" or Belgian Dutch is a dialect of Dutch.  It is Dutch indeed.  I liken the comparison to American English and British English.  Each are difference dialects of English, but they are nevertheless English. 

The Flemish living in East and West Flanders tend to use "Vlaams."  The Flemish in Limburg, where I live, use "Nederlands".

Nederlands=Dutch

Hasselt09 wrote:

Primadonna wrote:

Before you learn any of the languages which are spoken in Belgium, its advisable to know where you're going to live.

General information: Flemish is not Dutch although its very similar.

General information from someone living in Belgium and is a Belgian:

"Flemish" or Belgian Dutch is a dialect of Dutch.  It is Dutch indeed.  I liken the comparison to American English and British English.  Each are difference dialects of English, but they are nevertheless English. 

The Flemish living in East and West Flanders tend to use "Vlaams."  The Flemish in Limburg, where I live, use "Nederlands".

Thanks for the clearness. Not for me but for anyone else because I lived a big part of my live close at the border with Belgium. Flemish is never official recognized as a language but just a dialect of Dutch.

Thanks for your response.
Its it practical to move to Belgium when one is only able to speak fluent English.  Are there jobs to accommodate such a person.

With English only, MNC (multi national companies) with international client base are the only potential hiring organizations. For local jobs (those dealing with local client base), local language (pretty good conversational) skills are a must.

Agree with Anneshks.

If you are employed by an international company then maybe you could get by with just English, but what are you going to do outside work?  You still would have to speak the language in the area in which you were living.

Jobs requiring one to only speak English are scare here; they aren't found quick and easy. 

Why are you considering coming here to live/work?

I think there is an important point of expatriation that you have not considered. It's up to you to integrate yourself in the traditions of the country. This is not the country to adapt to you.

Therefore, if you come with an English mentality, you yourself create a ghetto around you.

Now if you are ready to learn the Flemish dialect, you'd better learn the classic Dutch. For the next city in the Flemish region where you live, there will be differences in spoken language.

And I know what I mean because when you put a person in the city of Ostend with someone from Tongeren, they understand only if they speak Dutch ...

It isn't practical to move to Belgium if you don't want to learn another language.  You won't get very far only speaking English here.  If you are English speaking and you are willing to learn another language to live and work here then I would say give it a go. 

Suppose a Belgian wanted to move to Jamaica to live and work.  Wouldn't you expect that person to learn English or the language that the locals speak, e.g. Jamaican Patois?

Learning the language is a must. Which  takes some time to do. What do you do in the mean time your learning. More or less, how long does it take to  learn.? Do I need to learn it first before coming??

Learning a foreign language is not a must but a window on the world. But like everything else, it takes effort. If you are not ready to do so as well stay at home.

The faster you will begin to learn the language, will be best. There are many free websites that will provide you the basics.

Moving to a foreign country without being willing to learn the language, this will give you the image of a person wanting to stay in her ivory tower ...