Management of natural damage

Well, I have to admit that I was pretty lucky when I woke up




Few roof tiles were missing too, but no big deal and nothing too serious^^
Hopefully! But it was nothing like the typhoons in Vietnam

What about you phipiemar?

Hello Alex,

Same for me, not a single bad surprise.

https://www.google.be/maps/place/Enclos … d5.5931009

But tell me, you don't have enough that the only thing that interests people on this forum is the management of their visas and work permits ...

9 times out of 10, when we offer them a topic for discussion, there is absolutely no answer ...

No bad surprise for me as well (Brussels-Evere region)

yeah you're right, it's getting a bit boring.
I'd be glad to talk about other topics or give other kind of advice or share information about other subject rather than visa and work permits

I have to admit it's more fun on other country's forum~

I live in an apartment so expected no damage to the living space. All I needed to do was to move my cars far away from trees and street lights.

But from where I come from, a tropical country, it shouldn't have been called a storm 

Posters on the Belgium forum, just seem to stick to asking the same question and posting on the same thread. A few years back it was quite lively and fun to read.

SimCityAT wrote:

Posters on the Belgium forum, just seem to stick to asking the same question and posting on the same thread. A few years back it was quite lively and fun to read.

Hello,

If this has already been posted before, I am not aware of it. If need be, give me the link.

For me, it was an opportunity to use a topical subject to start a discussion on something other than visas and other work permits ...

Because 95% of the discussions on this forum come from people who are not interested in anything about life in Belgium ...

I was not criticizing the post, its posts like this that need to get the forum flowing again as I said its just a couple of threads that members post asking the same question.

If I've understood correctly, you're a Belgian living in Africa, but you're complaining about others, Africans probably included, asking for advice on visas & work permit status in Belgium, on a forum dedicated to asking questions about Belgium.

Perhaps you're bored & just want to chat to others about anything & everything. Fair enough.

Perhaps they're deeply concerned about their immigration/work status & have no interest in chatting about anything & everything. Fair enough.

There's room for everyone.

cmabey wrote:

If I've understood correctly, you're a Belgian living in Africa, but you're complaining about others, Africans probably included, asking for advice on visas & work permit status in Belgium, on a forum dedicated to asking questions about Belgium.

Perhaps you're bored & just want to chat to others about anything & everything. Fair enough.

Perhaps they're deeply concerned about their immigration/work status & have no interest in chatting about anything & everything. Fair enough.

There's room for everyone.

Dear cmabey,

Yes, I am Belgian and I am one of the "professional expatriates" who regularly share their life between their country of origin where their family is located and the country where my employer sends me to do missions. Which brings me to be as comfortable with Belgian as with foreign themes.

Unlike you, I am not targeting any race or nationality, unlike you, which implies it.

As you say so well, we are on a forum for mutual help and sharing. But this forum should not become an annex to a law firm. Excluding this is what it is becoming for about two years ... Take the time to go through the different subjects, you will see that about 75% concern the issue of visa & work permit. 20% concern housing / school and job search problems. And barely 5% relate to various issues.

And this is what I find unfortunate and exhausting. Because there are so many things to discover in everyday life when you expatriate in a foreign country. And when I see that the majority of the questions asked by the moderators and the animators like me hardly meet any interest on behalf of the people, I push a rant ...

I don't know how long you've been in Belgium. But it would not interest you to know / share the good places where to have fun / eat / visit / ... Like to know for example the good procedures to for example manage the consequences of a damage to your accommodation or a buying a used car. There are so many things and subjects

On forums in other countries, there are meetings between expats in pubs that are being set up. Nothing on it. The last time it was tried, almost no one answered.

So my conclusion is "how to animate a forum that does not want to be?"

Hi P,
I see your problem & sympathise. It can't be easy. And I certainly didn't intend any inference on race or nationality.

I am of course interested in all of the more social topics you mention, as being an EU citizen until recently meant I didn't have any immigration hassle.
So I do occasionally look into forums on different sites, though finding the time to do so is not easy. I only saw this discussion because I'm abroad looking after an elderly relative, so have a bit of time on my hands.

I suspect that a separate section for immigration/visa questions might help at least to contain the subject in one place, as anyway the average Belgian or expat is not a legal specialist on this subject & so likely won't be able to answer those questions.

And as you must know one of your competitors (the Bulletin's site) has a Q&A section that very rarely seems to have these kind of questions.
Perhaps that's because they have an English language news section (& print magazine) & that attracts a different audience ?

Whatever, good luck, & perhaps if I ever find time I'll submit an article or 2 on the bits of Belgium that float my boat.

Cheers !

'So my conclusion is "how to animate a forum that does not want to be?"