Small correction concerning free health care in Belgium, if you don't mind. The state automatically takes 17.5% of each working person't gross monhly income (which, I have been told, is higher than average for Europe) to fund the healthcare. So it's not entirely free. To give people a rough idea, if I go to my general practitioner for a simple check-up or your run of the mill flu shot, I expect to pay around 8 Euros. The state pays the doctor around 16 Euros in that case. Another example: my mother has Parkinson's. Three years ago, she had to spend a couple of weeks in a closed section of the hospital while the doctors rebalanced her medication for Parkinson's and for her blood pressure. This stay cost my parents around 300 Euros and change. The state paid for the other 13.300 Euros.
Hi @Youc Mal, thanks for the question. Long story short, I would say Belgium is better in terms of cost of living, mostly due to the house prices, that are cheaper in Belgium in comparison to The Netherlands, this based on 3 years living in NL and 4 years, living in Blegium. With that said, I believe there is another dimension to take into consideration while looking at life. That is quality of life and work life balance, where I would say that The NL are better. People tend to respect much more your family and private life. For more on Belgium and The Netherlands, take a look at some of my other videos :) and like and subscribe :) How much can you Earn in Belgium in 2023 th-cam.com/video/SGohdeB2P5s/w-d-xo.html How Much can you Earn in Belgium ? 🚀 | CRM th-cam.com/video/y0ki7B29gp8/w-d-xo.html Leaving Belgium : What I've learned! th-cam.com/video/rm0NnVUgTK4/w-d-xo.html Living in Belgium (Work & Live) th-cam.com/video/Ud_Losaoo4Y/w-d-xo.html Top 5 Reasons to move to the Netherlands : Working Abroad th-cam.com/video/eBjoYC92Nf8/w-d-xo.html How Much can you Earn in The Netherlands? 🚀 | CRM th-cam.com/video/Wuz0JPw0fXU/w-d-xo.html Pros & Cons : Leaving The Netherlands th-cam.com/video/zNgJV2IDVzI/w-d-xo.html Living in The Netherlands (Work & Live) th-cam.com/video/BZzjcXXWwuk/w-d-xo.html
@Arindam Ghosh , how are you? I saw your message, but for some reason I cannot reply to it. with regards to your question ""I want to move to Belgium. Can you please guide me." In order to help you, I would need to know what your professionan, skill sets, where are you looking to move towards, since Belgium is quite different from a language background. Happy to help, take care.
Hi @Grace Wangari, thanks for your question. I'm happy to help, in order to do so, I need you to share a few details, around background, education, professional experience, nationality. This will allow me to have a better understanding of how can I help. In between, please check a couple of videos: 1. Living in Belgium ( Work & Live) th-cam.com/video/Ud_Losaoo4Y/w-d-xo.html 2. How much can you earn in Belgium th-cam.com/video/y0ki7B29gp8/w-d-xo.html Take care and enjoy your day! ;)
Hi @Morabeatrice440, I'm happy to help, it will depend on your background and skills + plus your nationality. Yes nationality :) Meaning if you are from EU, it will be a different process if you are not. Plus it will depend of your background and skills looking to the Belgium Economy and needs. Take into consideration that there is a need of 350K people across different parts of the economy. For this please check this and more check the link totalent.eu/belgian-labour-market-predictions-for-2022-workforce-crisis-set-to-continue/#:~:text=Belgium%20will%20have%20350.000%20fewer,labour%20market%20is%20currently%20struggling.
Hi @francescakasanmoenadi5571, yes, the reason's are still quite valid. Although I left Belgium, and now living in Spain, I still keep a close to connection to it, Thanks
Which insurance company do you recommend and why? We went with Partena, and they are sending us letters in French to Flanders, which is odd. And maybe the offers of the other companies are better, but it was hard to get oriented among all of them.
Hi @Bird Secret, with regards to my advice, I believe you should go for AG Insurance and Christelijke Mutualiteit, it's very good. Belgium as a very good health system it's ranked 5th (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_Health_Consumer_Index) . I always had a very good experience throughout my 4 years, I'm not sure how long are you in Belgium, but Belgium can be seen almost as 2 countries or even 3 if you consider the German part into One. Reason why they still hold the record of the country without an elected government (589 days) . Why I'm making reference to this ? It's because that's how Belgium operates. It's not a bi-lingual country but a country split into different regions with different languages and almost different cultures. That could eventually explained why Partena is sending you the letters in French, maybe because that's how you filled the paper work, just because their parent company is French Speaking ( Union Nationale des Mutualités Libres). Take care and enjoy your day! And give a thumbs up :)
Hi @Autistic POV, it's true Belgium, does have loads of good stuff and a few challenges to tackle and it's indeed heavy around the Taxes, but you can see the return on most things, not on motorways for instance, but you can see on your day to day + Plus is one of the countries were you can make more money, even more than in the UK (personal experience). Belgium is indeed a Social Economy and you can tell, in cities such as Gent (beautiful Gent!! ) . Take care and enjoy your day!
@@GapsKnowledgeisPower yes that's true. Only i'm west flemish . Gent is not that pretty to me lol. It's only very difficult for minimum wage jobs. I'm doing fine myself.
@@nyftn hi thanks for your comment. Allow me to disagree 🙂 Gent is hidden gem. Most people across Europe, don't have a clue of such a city. It's beautiful, with its medieval culture and castle on the city centre. :)
Hi! Could you tell me whether I am eligible to move to Belgium or not - via masters path or work.. Anything. My profile:- 25 years old, Indian, done my BTech in IT from India with 7.22 cgpa but had 30 backlogs (arrears) which I cleared by the end of my graduation. Total tenure of graduation was 4.5 years (normally it's 4). I graduated in 2021 Jan, and have been working on improving my skills and also have 4 months of freelancing work ex in front-end development. I want to switch to data science. Am I eligible for masters or job in data science in Belgium? If none, any other way???
Hi @Akansha S, the quick answer to your question is "Yes, you can"! Tech area is on high demand. Please check all the info, below. Please don’t forget to give a thumbs up and consider subscribing if you fancy content like this (Work & Life, CRM & Tech Consuting) Check this website for the master programs www.masterstudies.com/Masters-Degree/Belgium/ For more check, this 2 extra videos on Belgium Living in Belgium (Work & Live) th-cam.com/video/Ud_Losaoo4Y/w-d-xo.html How Much can you Earn in Belgium ? 🚀 | CRM th-cam.com/video/y0ki7B29gp8/w-d-xo.html And please be mindful of the following: 1. Choose a Program (Master) Would you like to study in the Dutch or the French-speaking region of Belgium? Keep in mind that for both cases you will need to prove your linguistic competency in either Dutch or French if you are looking for undergraduate studies If you are going for a Master or for a Phd, you can find it in English, but knowing Dutch or French will give you a headstart. 2. Check the requirements Every program, depending on the level of education and location has different entry requirements. For some of them you will need to prove you speak French or Dutch at a higher level, while others will only need English language skills. Belgium is quite diverse, region by region, so you need to check case by case 3. Have your documentation ready to go After you decide what programs you want to apply for and also the region of studies, it is time to start gathering the necessary documents for your application. It would be good to contact your nearest Belgian Embassy or Consulate first, as they can guide you in your first steps and offer you translation services in either Dutch or French. - Proof of identification either with a personal ID or passport. - Upper secondary certificate if you apply for a Bachelor’s degree. - A copy of your Bachelor’s if you apply for a Master’s degree. - A copy of your Master’s degree if you apply for a Doctorate degree. - A filled-in application form downloaded from each university’s official website. - TOEFL or IELTS examination results if you intend to study in an English-taught program. - French (DELF or DALF) and Dutch (Dutch NT2-II) language competency test results if you plan to study in French or Dutch-taught programs respectively. - Proof of application fee, if applicable. - Motivation letter explaining why you want to study in Belgium. - Letters of recommendation, if applicable. 4. Application in some instances you might be asked to send the original documents by post in order to prove their authenticity. The original documents must be signed and stamped by the official authorities. After you submit your application, the university will evaluate it and let you know whether you need to pass an admission or aptitude test or not. 5. Student Visa Next step is to apply for your student visa/residence permit as soon as possible. Contact your closest Belgian Embassy or Consulate for additional queries. 6. Getting into Belgium After your Admission and your Visa, the only thing that is left to do is to book your tickets to Belgium and start searching for accommodation options. Decide whether you want to live in a student dormitory or with other students. Join online student forums or student groups on social media to get to know more about student life in the country and freshen up your foreign language skills. Hopefully it helped. Take care and Enjoy your day
With your profile it should be ne no problem at al to find a well paid job. Although the taxes are pretty high you will find out that you can do a lot with your money
@@GapsKnowledgeisPower thanks a lot for such an extensive reply! Lots of new info! Sorry for the delayed acknowledgement. Unfortunately or Fortunately I have decided to go to the UK for MSc in Applied Data Science and Statistics in University of Exeter. I'm excited for this new chapter in my life.
@@s0ulweaver Thanks for your feedback, appreciate it. Best of luck with your new chapter. Since I used to live in the UK, please feel free to check some of my videos on UK, hopefully it can help you to have softer landing and hit ground running ;) Take care and keep me posted on your evolution ; ) You never know my company is always looking for data science people. Top 5 Reasons to move to the United Kingdom🚀 : Working Abroad th-cam.com/video/zN0q7pfqvkk/w-d-xo.html Living in the United Kingdom (Work & Live) th-cam.com/video/7b1MGaPzNIY/w-d-xo.html How Much can You Earn in the United Kingdom? 🚀 | CRM th-cam.com/video/_0PRuHlrBM4/w-d-xo.html
Hi @Velebitsko, aside, from doing Mentoring and Attracting the best possible talent for my company 😀, I work on a Tech Consultancy, leading Teams and Project Implementations on CRM, Marketing Technology & Sales Technology and Strategic Implementations. What about yourself?
in total we pay 66% of ower income on taxes in Belgium, that is not taking into consideration the 21% tax on food or other things u buy in shops. as teacher myself i have to say that the education system is decreasing ALOT in quality becouse of the european demands on how education should be, Belgian education system is critized for being a old system.
Hi @Haiko de Koster, thanks for your input. It's safe to say that Belgium has indeed the the highest tax rates of any of the countries that I lived at. It's one of the Countries with the highest taxes in Europe for sure if not in the world, but it's also,one with the strongest social economies out there, in nutshell you pay as a community, but you can benefit from that, with exception of motorways that are poor, you get a very low cost in terms of education, security, health, etc... . With regards to the Belgian education system, it's indeed quite old fashioned at my eyes, even more in comparison to Countries such as UK, Portugal or The Netherlands, with an infrastructure that needs to be updated as on the case of Gent University, where I study for different courses. Take care and Enjoy your day
Hi @ken Currier, I do understand where you coming from, there are a few ways to 'escape" the heavy taxes in Belgium, as the one that you are describing. You can also work as an expat, that I'll allow you to have access to some advantages as well....but as long taxes are on the benefit of the wider community, education, healthcare, I'm happy with that. Please feel free to share your thoughts;) take care and enjoy your day
I'm also entertaining a job with NATO--great opportunity but just not sure about Belgium to be honest I had a pretty good time living in Germany for 5 years but the weather forced me to leave.
Why did you move away if Belgium is one of the best places to live? One thing that I found when visiting Belgium was that there is still severe racism despite the cultural diversity within the capitol. One would think that such a developed country would have a social justice system in place to protect against discrimination, especially since it is considered the gateway to Europe! Yet all videos on TH-cam of expats moving there have been negative and all in the same issue of discrimination and racism within the education system and employment sector.
Hi @premier bosses, thanks for your sharing your points. Is Belgium one of the best places to live? Potentially yes. Does the country struggle with identity, nationalistic and racist topics? Yes it does. Is Belgium a tremendous country in terms of Social Economy ? Yes. Does Belgium has racist and nationalist problems at the educational level and job, yes it does. I felt it at work and my daughter at school, nationalist discrimination and racist discrimination, although less, but still quite present. Does that mean that you should not consider Belgium as a country to live and work? At the end it will depend on you, your values, believes and capacity to endure. ;) I'm just sharing my personal experience in Belgium. Take care and Enjoy your day!
Actually this mostly goes for people who try to push a different culture through our throat and refuse to accept our culture. Most of us are very accepting towards people who respect our culture and do effort to speak the local language, no matter what their skin color or religion is. People with a hijab might be more diifficult matter at first but as soon as they interact and we see they act like a regular Belgian then most of us treat them like everyone else. Please understand that Belgium has been occupied by so many countries and Flanders has a recent history of oppression from the French part Walloon, which had the bigger economy in the industrial age. So this past makes us very nationalistic about protecting our culture and everything that threatens it brings our oppressed past back up. Yes we would be first to say "No wonder it's a black guy or a muslim again" when one of them is being rude, violent or committing a crime. But if they act like a regular local then they are also accepted like one. We see what we see here, Flemish people can be antisocial dickheads and not at all that Holy, but many crimes are for the biggest part committed by immigrants or people of different origin and this makes us afraid at first. I can see this very clearly as a gay person. Most locals don't make a big deal out of it, or at worst case give a vile look towards us. But 9 out of ten times that someone is verbally or physically aggressive they're of a different origin, and I speak from personal experience. So sorry if we act scared because of stuff like this, it is just the way it is. And walking through a muslim neighborhood hand in hand as men is asking to get beaten up. If we can't feel safe in our country that has best lgbtq+ rights in the world because of this, then it shouldn't be denied that there is a severe problem with people who refuse to integrate and adapt and this explains for a part why locals are scared of most immigrants at first. But even though I have had many bad experiences with people from different origin discriminating me because their culture doesn't accept gay people existing, I will never judge someone before I spoke to them.
@@dennisengelen2517 thanks for your comment! I really appreciated, at the end culture plays a role on "our" perception of reality and for sure we cannot deny that all of us are "tainted" by that. Also thanks for sharing your thoughts, in such an open and polite way. It's appreciated. I do believe that all discrimination should be banned ; may that be Nationalism, Homophobic, Fascism, Racism, Machismo, among others. In order to proper tackle it, I believe it's important to connect to those that are different from us, so that we can be ONE at the end. It's important to tackle the different ways of discrimination, one by one, and mix it up, meaning, I'm not Gay, but I do have very close Friends that are, but even then I'm 100% sure I'll not be able to fully understand what they "potentially" speaking go trough. The same with Nationalism, if you are not coming from a "lower" and "Lazier" Nation, you will not be able to understand what others go trough, that I can reassure you, since I did had that experience several times in Belgium. At the end it's not about Race, Sexual Orientation, Countries, etc...It's about being some one valid or being criminal, that's it. Nothing else. We need to have the conversation about it, on our society, without being afraid of facing the challenges and look for the solutions. We are ONE! Take care and enjoy your day!
I've actually been watching a bunch of these videos, and saw little complaints on the subject. Moreover the 2011 OECD Social Indicators report ranked Belgium as the 15th most tolerant country of over 140 investigated countries. You'll find dozens more global rankings where the country continually scores among the top, like the annual Best Countries report, which identified Belgium as the 9th least racist country out of 78 included countries.
@jules placid Hi Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I was closing my studies on another certification -> fore more on how to go for Zero to Certified, check my video th-cam.com/video/aiCVD-6svqY/w-d-xo.html. Getting back to your post, I would have to disagree, my partner worked as a Freelancer and she done it , just fine. I would say that would depend on your area, what are you working on and the rules of demand. As an example, if you are working on Tech, Data, Civil Architecture or Sustainability you will be just fine, you can take my word for it. I never paid so much taxes on my life :) a month, but we were just fine, and at end we had capacity to save and invest. So once more I would say, that I'll question what you are saying. Based on my experience it's not related with the fact that you are a freelancer, but rather with the area that you working on.
Not true about the healthcare. The system is absolutely shit! You do not get fully covered like for example in Austria, and so many essential things are actually not covered at all, and you still have to pay a fee monthly for some nonsense benefits that you will never make use of. Very disappoining and I dont understand how people here can take it, having such high taxes and still not being covered. Also everything is so expensive. Basically you pay your own taxes, and then you go to the restaurant and pay the owner his taxes. Awesome. Other than this, I absolutely love living in Belgium. Edit: I actually do not like the public transport. It is not as good as in central Europe when it comes to practicaliy and modernity. You really need to have a car here.
Hi @Bird Secret, allow me to disagree :) I've had a very good experience in terms of healthcare, childbirth included :) also as mentioned you don't need to take my word for it, Belgium ranks 5th in terms of healthcare as shared on my previous reply. With regard to cost, living is cheap on my perspective, but the taxes are indeed hight, but you get a lot for your 💰! If you don't agree go and move to the UK and let me know :) take care and enjoy your day!
i think your view is a bit distorted because of your job. try living in Belgium on minimum wage. also many benefits for foreign people but for a true belgian it's not the same. it's possible through ocmw for us . but that's only for people in financial difficulty and mental problems etc. i've spoken about these issues with foreign people and even they agree . minimum wage is something like 1400 1600 euro a month . with rent being a minimum of 500 euro these days for a very small studio . or bigger house with huge heating bill. so cost for each month are easily 800 up to 1000 euro. food and drinks for a month will be something like 300 400 euro. not even started counting internet and phone bill or a car. driving to work (35km) is another 100-200 euro . when you are sick you only get 60% of the 1400-1600 euro . good luck
Hi@@nyftn , I'm not sure if France is better than Belgium, since I lived in Belgium and not in France. Although I did visit different parts of France around 10 times, but even then, I don't believe I have sufficient knowledge about it, a part from what's shared on the medias; and as everyone knows that is not = to True ;) Take care and enjoy your day
As a belgium. Don't come here we have highest tax rate in the world, are politics are beyond fucked and we don't have room for more people. Please go somewhere else.
Hi @Denis Merlevede, thanks for sharing your thoughts, I do understand where you are coming from, since I lived 4 years in Belgium. Looking at the People and Lack of talent, allow me to disagree with you, since Belgium is missing 350K people, there is a talent and workforce crisis. For more check the link - Belgian labour market predictions for 2022: 'Workforce crisis set to continue' bit.ly/3G6j6gS . With regards to the taxes, it's indeed high, but there is the flipside, as a social economy the access to heath, university, etc it's quite good in comparison to other countries where I used to live. With regards to the politics, It's a bit complicated indeed, but I cannot really go deeper with regards to this, since I don't know enough. Take care and Enjoy your day
@@julesplacid2378 can we swap? I am Stephanie and I am from Romania 🇷🇴 but I leave in Cyprus for 15 years. I married and have to children 😇😇. I work in supermarket (cashier) for 13 years. I have the same salary for 13 years €924 with out taxes, so after taxes I get about 800-830€. I work 7 days a week , no time with my kids (3 times a week for 4 hours) because we have to work for them future. So when can you get hire? I will be waiting 😁
@@julesplacid2378 Hi Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I was closing my studies on another certification -> fore more on how to go for Zero to Certified, check my video th-cam.com/video/aiCVD-6svqY/w-d-xo.html. Getting back to your post, I would have to disagree, my partner worked as a Freelancer and she done it , just fine. I would say that would depend on your area, what are you working on and the rules of demand. As an example, if you are working on Tech, Data, Civil Architecture or Sustainability you will be just fine, you can take my word for it. I never paid so much taxes on my life :) a month, but we were just fine, and at end we had capacity to save and invest. So once more I would say, that I'll question what you are saying. Based on my experience it's not related with the fact that you are a freelancer, but rather with the area that you working on.
Hi @Peter Wauters, thanks for sharing your thoughts, I do understand where you are coming from, since I lived 4 years in Belgium. Looking at the People and Lack of talent, allow me to question your perspective, since Belgium is missing 350K people, there is a talent and workforce crisis. For more check the link - Belgian labour market predictions for 2022: 'Workforce crisis set to continue' bit.ly/3G6j6gS . On the flipside you have all the good stuff that came out of Covid19 and that is remote and hybrid working, meaning you can work for Belgium, without the need to be there or at least you will not need to go to the office that often ;) Take care and Enjoy your day
Small correction concerning free health care in Belgium, if you don't mind. The state automatically takes 17.5% of each working person't gross monhly income (which, I have been told, is higher than average for Europe) to fund the healthcare. So it's not entirely free. To give people a rough idea, if I go to my general practitioner for a simple check-up or your run of the mill flu shot, I expect to pay around 8 Euros. The state pays the doctor around 16 Euros in that case.
Another example: my mother has Parkinson's. Three years ago, she had to spend a couple of weeks in a closed section of the hospital while the doctors rebalanced her medication for Parkinson's and for her blood pressure. This stay cost my parents around 300 Euros and change. The state paid for the other 13.300 Euros.
Hi @edh9999. Thanks for sharing, such a personal example. Correction accepted. Once more thanks for sharing and enjoy your day.
Excellent! Thank you!!
Hi @MizMundo , you are welcome. Take care and Enjoy your day!
Unrelated. Who did your poster? That artwork is amazing
Hi Houjous, thanks for your comment! It's my doing, not sure if it's amazing :) but I believe it worked well ;) thanks and enjoy your day
Thank you for all your input. Question, between Netherlands and Belgium which would you say is better for a family in terms of cost of life?
Hi @Youc Mal, thanks for the question. Long story short, I would say Belgium is better in terms of cost of living, mostly due to the house prices, that are cheaper in Belgium in comparison to The Netherlands, this based on 3 years living in NL and 4 years, living in Blegium. With that said, I believe there is another dimension to take into consideration while looking at life. That is quality of life and work life balance, where I would say that The NL are better. People tend to respect much more your family and private life. For more on Belgium and The Netherlands, take a look at some of my other videos :) and like and subscribe :)
How much can you Earn in Belgium in 2023
th-cam.com/video/SGohdeB2P5s/w-d-xo.html
How Much can you Earn in Belgium ? 🚀 | CRM
th-cam.com/video/y0ki7B29gp8/w-d-xo.html
Leaving Belgium : What I've learned!
th-cam.com/video/rm0NnVUgTK4/w-d-xo.html
Living in Belgium (Work & Live)
th-cam.com/video/Ud_Losaoo4Y/w-d-xo.html
Top 5 Reasons to move to the Netherlands : Working Abroad
th-cam.com/video/eBjoYC92Nf8/w-d-xo.html
How Much can you Earn in The Netherlands? 🚀 | CRM
th-cam.com/video/Wuz0JPw0fXU/w-d-xo.html
Pros & Cons : Leaving The Netherlands
th-cam.com/video/zNgJV2IDVzI/w-d-xo.html
Living in The Netherlands (Work & Live)
th-cam.com/video/BZzjcXXWwuk/w-d-xo.html
@@GapsKnowledgeisPower thank you so much for sharing your experience. Love all your content already :)
@@youcmal6580 Hi thanks for sharing. It's appreciated ;) Happy Friday
nice video
@Arindam Ghosh , how are you? I saw your message, but for some reason I cannot reply to it. with regards to your question ""I want to move to Belgium. Can you please guide me." In order to help you, I would need to know what your professionan, skill sets, where are you looking to move towards, since Belgium is quite different from a language background.
Happy to help, take care.
I would really like to move Belgium but I don't know where to begin.kindly guide me,thanks
Hi @Grace Wangari, thanks for your question. I'm happy to help, in order to do so, I need you to share a few details, around background, education, professional experience, nationality. This will allow me to have a better understanding of how can I help.
In between, please check a couple of videos:
1. Living in Belgium ( Work & Live)
th-cam.com/video/Ud_Losaoo4Y/w-d-xo.html
2. How much can you earn in Belgium
th-cam.com/video/y0ki7B29gp8/w-d-xo.html
Take care and enjoy your day! ;)
I have been willing to come to Belgium but I even don't know where to start from , will you help me if you won't mind ? Just a request please....
Hi @Morabeatrice440, I'm happy to help, it will depend on your background and skills + plus your nationality. Yes nationality :) Meaning if you are from EU, it will be a different process if you are not. Plus it will depend of your background and skills looking to the Belgium Economy and needs. Take into consideration that there is a need of 350K people across different parts of the economy. For this please check this and more check the link totalent.eu/belgian-labour-market-predictions-for-2022-workforce-crisis-set-to-continue/#:~:text=Belgium%20will%20have%20350.000%20fewer,labour%20market%20is%20currently%20struggling.
Is these reasons still valid if you want to migrate to Belgium this year?
Hi @francescakasanmoenadi5571, yes, the reason's are still quite valid. Although I left Belgium, and now living in Spain, I still keep a close to connection to it,
Thanks
Which insurance company do you recommend and why? We went with Partena, and they are sending us letters in French to Flanders, which is odd. And maybe the offers of the other companies are better, but it was hard to get oriented among all of them.
Hi @Bird Secret, with regards to my advice, I believe you should go for AG Insurance and Christelijke Mutualiteit, it's very good. Belgium as a very good health system it's ranked 5th (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_Health_Consumer_Index) . I always had a very good experience throughout my 4 years,
I'm not sure how long are you in Belgium, but Belgium can be seen almost as 2 countries or even 3 if you consider the German part into One. Reason why they still hold the record of the country without an elected government (589 days) . Why I'm making reference to this ? It's because that's how Belgium operates. It's not a bi-lingual country but a country split into different regions with different languages and almost different cultures. That could eventually explained why Partena is sending you the letters in French, maybe because that's how you filled the paper work, just because their parent company is French Speaking ( Union Nationale des Mutualités Libres).
Take care and enjoy your day! And give a thumbs up :)
i'm belgian yes many things are better here . but damn we pay enough for it
i'm pro multicultural society. (indeed i'm glad you corrected yourself and said belgian fries)
i know wich cafe you've been to in bruges l
Hi @Autistic POV, it's true Belgium, does have loads of good stuff and a few challenges to tackle and it's indeed heavy around the Taxes, but you can see the return on most things, not on motorways for instance, but you can see on your day to day + Plus is one of the countries were you can make more money, even more than in the UK (personal experience). Belgium is indeed a Social Economy and you can tell, in cities such as Gent (beautiful Gent!! ) . Take care and enjoy your day!
@@GapsKnowledgeisPower yes that's true. Only i'm west flemish . Gent is not that pretty to me lol. It's only very difficult for minimum wage jobs. I'm doing fine myself.
@@nyftn hi thanks for your comment. Allow me to disagree 🙂 Gent is hidden gem. Most people across Europe, don't have a clue of such a city. It's beautiful, with its medieval culture and castle on the city centre. :)
Hi! Could you tell me whether I am eligible to move to Belgium or not - via masters path or work.. Anything.
My profile:-
25 years old, Indian, done my BTech in IT from India with 7.22 cgpa but had 30 backlogs (arrears) which I cleared by the end of my graduation. Total tenure of graduation was 4.5 years (normally it's 4). I graduated in 2021 Jan, and have been working on improving my skills and also have 4 months of freelancing work ex in front-end development.
I want to switch to data science. Am I eligible for masters or job in data science in Belgium? If none, any other way???
Hi @Akansha S, the quick answer to your question is "Yes, you can"! Tech area is on high demand. Please check all the info, below. Please don’t forget to give a thumbs up and consider subscribing if you fancy content like this (Work & Life, CRM & Tech Consuting)
Check this website for the master programs www.masterstudies.com/Masters-Degree/Belgium/
For more check, this 2 extra videos on Belgium
Living in Belgium (Work & Live)
th-cam.com/video/Ud_Losaoo4Y/w-d-xo.html
How Much can you Earn in Belgium ? 🚀 | CRM
th-cam.com/video/y0ki7B29gp8/w-d-xo.html
And please be mindful of the following:
1. Choose a Program (Master)
Would you like to study in the Dutch or the French-speaking region of Belgium?
Keep in mind that for both cases you will need to prove your linguistic competency in either Dutch or French if you are looking for undergraduate studies
If you are going for a Master or for a Phd, you can find it in English, but knowing Dutch or French will give you a headstart.
2. Check the requirements
Every program, depending on the level of education and location has different entry requirements. For some of them you will need to prove you speak French or Dutch at a higher level, while others will only need English language skills. Belgium is quite diverse, region by region, so you need to check case by case
3. Have your documentation ready to go
After you decide what programs you want to apply for and also the region of studies, it is time to start gathering the necessary documents for your application. It would be good to contact your nearest Belgian Embassy or Consulate first, as they can guide you in your first steps and offer you translation services in either Dutch or French.
- Proof of identification either with a personal ID or passport.
- Upper secondary certificate if you apply for a Bachelor’s degree.
- A copy of your Bachelor’s if you apply for a Master’s degree.
- A copy of your Master’s degree if you apply for a Doctorate degree.
- A filled-in application form downloaded from each university’s official website.
- TOEFL or IELTS examination results if you intend to study in an English-taught program.
- French (DELF or DALF) and Dutch (Dutch NT2-II) language competency test results if you plan to study in French or Dutch-taught programs respectively.
- Proof of application fee, if applicable.
- Motivation letter explaining why you want to study in Belgium.
- Letters of recommendation, if applicable.
4. Application
in some instances you might be asked to send the original documents by post in order to prove their authenticity.
The original documents must be signed and stamped by the official authorities. After you submit your application, the university will evaluate it and let you know whether you need to pass an admission or aptitude test or not.
5. Student Visa
Next step is to apply for your student visa/residence permit as soon as possible. Contact your closest Belgian Embassy or Consulate for additional queries.
6. Getting into Belgium
After your Admission and your Visa, the only thing that is left to do is to book your tickets to Belgium and start searching for accommodation options. Decide whether you want to live in a student dormitory or with other students. Join online student forums or student groups on social media to get to know more about student life in the country and freshen up your foreign language skills.
Hopefully it helped. Take care and Enjoy your day
With your profile it should be ne no problem at al to find a well paid job. Although the taxes are pretty high you will find out that you can do a lot with your money
@@GapsKnowledgeisPower thanks a lot for such an extensive reply! Lots of new info! Sorry for the delayed acknowledgement.
Unfortunately or Fortunately I have decided to go to the UK for MSc in Applied Data Science and Statistics in University of Exeter. I'm excited for this new chapter in my life.
@@davdb1 Thanks for your reply, I could not agree more ;) Thanks and take care!
@@s0ulweaver Thanks for your feedback, appreciate it. Best of luck with your new chapter. Since I used to live in the UK, please feel free to check some of my videos on UK, hopefully it can help you to have softer landing and hit ground running ;) Take care and keep me posted on your evolution ; ) You never know my company is always looking for data science people.
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Hi @Velebitsko, aside, from doing Mentoring and Attracting the best possible talent for my company 😀, I work on a Tech Consultancy, leading Teams and Project Implementations on CRM, Marketing Technology & Sales Technology and Strategic Implementations. What about yourself?
in total we pay 66% of ower income on taxes in Belgium, that is not taking into consideration the 21% tax on food or other things u buy in shops. as teacher myself i have to say that the education system is decreasing ALOT in quality becouse of the european demands on how education should be, Belgian education system is critized for being a old system.
No one pays 66%tax in Belgium the max you can pay tax in Belgium is 30.% in your income ok f als je meer dan 45000 euro verdien betalen je 50%
Hi @Haiko de Koster, thanks for your input. It's safe to say that Belgium has indeed the the highest tax rates of any of the countries that I lived at. It's one of the Countries with the highest taxes in Europe for sure if not in the world, but it's also,one with the strongest social economies out there, in nutshell you pay as a community, but you can benefit from that, with exception of motorways that are poor, you get a very low cost in terms of education, security, health, etc... . With regards to the Belgian education system, it's indeed quite old fashioned at my eyes, even more in comparison to Countries such as UK, Portugal or The Netherlands, with an infrastructure that needs to be updated as on the case of Gent University, where I study for different courses. Take care and Enjoy your day
the music between different sections is too loud...
Hi @jd hao, thanks . I'm working on it and improving on it everyday ;) Thanks & Enjoy your day
Thankfully the position i am looking at is with NATO and is tax exempt. Im in canada right now and even for me... Belgian taxes are high
Hi @ken Currier, I do understand where you coming from, there are a few ways to 'escape" the heavy taxes in Belgium, as the one that you are describing. You can also work as an expat, that I'll allow you to have access to some advantages as well....but as long taxes are on the benefit of the wider community, education, healthcare, I'm happy with that. Please feel free to share your thoughts;) take care and enjoy your day
I'm also entertaining a job with NATO--great opportunity but just not sure about Belgium to be honest I had a pretty good time living in Germany for 5 years but the weather forced me to leave.
Why did you move away if Belgium is one of the best places to live? One thing that I found when visiting Belgium was that there is still severe racism despite the cultural diversity within the capitol. One would think that such a developed country would have a social justice system in place to protect against discrimination, especially since it is considered the gateway to Europe! Yet all videos on TH-cam of expats moving there have been negative and all in the same issue of discrimination and racism within the education system and employment sector.
Hi @premier bosses, thanks for your sharing your points. Is Belgium one of the best places to live? Potentially yes. Does the country struggle with identity, nationalistic and racist topics? Yes it does. Is Belgium a tremendous country in terms of Social Economy ? Yes. Does Belgium has racist and nationalist problems at the educational level and job, yes it does. I felt it at work and my daughter at school, nationalist discrimination and racist discrimination, although less, but still quite present. Does that mean that you should not consider Belgium as a country to live and work? At the end it will depend on you, your values, believes and capacity to endure. ;) I'm just sharing my personal experience in Belgium. Take care and Enjoy your day!
Actually this mostly goes for people who try to push a different culture through our throat and refuse to accept our culture. Most of us are very accepting towards people who respect our culture and do effort to speak the local language, no matter what their skin color or religion is. People with a hijab might be more diifficult matter at first but as soon as they interact and we see they act like a regular Belgian then most of us treat them like everyone else.
Please understand that Belgium has been occupied by so many countries and Flanders has a recent history of oppression from the French part Walloon, which had the bigger economy in the industrial age. So this past makes us very nationalistic about protecting our culture and everything that threatens it brings our oppressed past back up.
Yes we would be first to say "No wonder it's a black guy or a muslim again" when one of them is being rude, violent or committing a crime. But if they act like a regular local then they are also accepted like one. We see what we see here, Flemish people can be antisocial dickheads and not at all that Holy, but many crimes are for the biggest part committed by immigrants or people of different origin and this makes us afraid at first.
I can see this very clearly as a gay person. Most locals don't make a big deal out of it, or at worst case give a vile look towards us. But 9 out of ten times that someone is verbally or physically aggressive they're of a different origin, and I speak from personal experience. So sorry if we act scared because of stuff like this, it is just the way it is.
And walking through a muslim neighborhood hand in hand as men is asking to get beaten up. If we can't feel safe in our country that has best lgbtq+ rights in the world because of this, then it shouldn't be denied that there is a severe problem with people who refuse to integrate and adapt and this explains for a part why locals are scared of most immigrants at first.
But even though I have had many bad experiences with people from different origin discriminating me because their culture doesn't accept gay people existing, I will never judge someone before I spoke to them.
@@dennisengelen2517 thanks for your comment! I really appreciated, at the end culture plays a role on "our" perception of reality and for sure we cannot deny that all of us are "tainted" by that.
Also thanks for sharing your thoughts, in such an open and polite way. It's appreciated. I do believe that all discrimination should be banned ; may that be Nationalism, Homophobic, Fascism, Racism, Machismo, among others.
In order to proper tackle it, I believe it's important to connect to those that are different from us, so that we can be ONE at the end. It's important to tackle the different ways of discrimination, one by one, and mix it up, meaning, I'm not Gay, but I do have very close Friends that are, but even then I'm 100% sure I'll not be able to fully understand what they "potentially" speaking go trough. The same with Nationalism, if you are not coming from a "lower" and "Lazier" Nation, you will not be able to understand what others go trough, that I can reassure you, since I did had that experience several times in Belgium.
At the end it's not about Race, Sexual Orientation, Countries, etc...It's about being some one valid or being criminal, that's it. Nothing else.
We need to have the conversation about it, on our society, without being afraid of facing the challenges and look for the solutions. We are ONE!
Take care and enjoy your day!
Dennis Engelen p
I've actually been watching a bunch of these videos, and saw little complaints on the subject. Moreover the 2011 OECD Social Indicators report ranked Belgium as the 15th most tolerant country of over 140 investigated countries. You'll find dozens more global rankings where the country continually scores among the top, like the annual Best Countries report, which identified Belgium as the 9th least racist country out of 78 included countries.
@jules placid Hi Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I was closing my studies on another certification -> fore more on how to go for Zero to Certified, check my video th-cam.com/video/aiCVD-6svqY/w-d-xo.html. Getting back to your post, I would have to disagree, my partner worked as a Freelancer and she done it , just fine. I would say that would depend on your area, what are you working on and the rules of demand. As an example, if you are working on Tech, Data, Civil Architecture or Sustainability you will be just fine, you can take my word for it. I never paid so much taxes on my life :) a month, but we were just fine, and at end we had capacity to save and invest. So once more I would say, that I'll question what you are saying. Based on my experience it's not related with the fact that you are a freelancer, but rather with the area that you working on.
Not true about the healthcare. The system is absolutely shit! You do not get fully covered like for example in Austria, and so many essential things are actually not covered at all, and you still have to pay a fee monthly for some nonsense benefits that you will never make use of. Very disappoining and I dont understand how people here can take it, having such high taxes and still not being covered. Also everything is so expensive. Basically you pay your own taxes, and then you go to the restaurant and pay the owner his taxes. Awesome. Other than this, I absolutely love living in Belgium.
Edit: I actually do not like the public transport. It is not as good as in central Europe when it comes to practicaliy and modernity. You really need to have a car here.
Hi @Bird Secret, allow me to disagree :) I've had a very good experience in terms of healthcare, childbirth included :) also as mentioned you don't need to take my word for it, Belgium ranks 5th in terms of healthcare as shared on my previous reply. With regard to cost, living is cheap on my perspective, but the taxes are indeed hight, but you get a lot for your 💰! If you don't agree go and move to the UK and let me know :) take care and enjoy your day!
france is much better than belgium , it's not bad here . but many things can make the bill grow insanely fast.
i think your view is a bit distorted because of your job. try living in Belgium on minimum wage. also many benefits for foreign people but for a true belgian it's not the same. it's possible through ocmw for us . but that's only for people in financial difficulty and mental problems etc. i've spoken about these issues with foreign people and even they agree . minimum wage is something like 1400 1600 euro a month . with rent being a minimum of 500 euro these days for a very small studio . or bigger house with huge heating bill. so cost for each month are easily 800 up to 1000 euro. food and drinks for a month will be something like 300 400 euro. not even started counting internet and phone bill or a car. driving to work (35km) is another 100-200 euro . when you are sick you only get 60% of the 1400-1600 euro . good luck
don't get me wrong i don't want to see foreign people get less benefits . i want everyone to get the same benefits
Hi@@nyftn , I'm not sure if France is better than Belgium, since I lived in Belgium and not in France. Although I did visit different parts of France around 10 times, but even then, I don't believe I have sufficient knowledge about it, a part from what's shared on the medias; and as everyone knows that is not = to True ;) Take care and enjoy your day
As a belgium. Don't come here we have highest tax rate in the world, are politics are beyond fucked and we don't have room for more people. Please go somewhere else.
Hi @Denis Merlevede, thanks for sharing your thoughts, I do understand where you are coming from, since I lived 4 years in Belgium. Looking at the People and Lack of talent, allow me to disagree with you, since Belgium is missing 350K people, there is a talent and workforce crisis. For more check the link - Belgian labour market predictions for 2022: 'Workforce crisis set to continue' bit.ly/3G6j6gS . With regards to the taxes, it's indeed high, but there is the flipside, as a social economy the access to heath, university, etc it's quite good in comparison to other countries where I used to live. With regards to the politics, It's a bit complicated indeed, but I cannot really go deeper with regards to this, since I don't know enough. Take care and Enjoy your day
@@julesplacid2378 can we swap? I am Stephanie and I am from Romania 🇷🇴 but I leave in Cyprus for 15 years. I married and have to children 😇😇. I work in supermarket (cashier) for 13 years. I have the same salary for 13 years €924 with out taxes, so after taxes I get about 800-830€. I work 7 days a week , no time with my kids (3 times a week for 4 hours) because we have to work for them future. So when can you get hire? I will be waiting 😁
@@julesplacid2378 Hi Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I was closing my studies on another certification -> fore more on how to go for Zero to Certified, check my video th-cam.com/video/aiCVD-6svqY/w-d-xo.html. Getting back to your post, I would have to disagree, my partner worked as a Freelancer and she done it , just fine. I would say that would depend on your area, what are you working on and the rules of demand. As an example, if you are working on Tech, Data, Civil Architecture or Sustainability you will be just fine, you can take my word for it. I never paid so much taxes on my life :) a month, but we were just fine, and at end we had capacity to save and invest. So once more I would say, that I'll question what you are saying. Based on my experience it's not related with the fact that you are a freelancer, but rather with the area that you working on.
I'll give you one reason not to come
Too much people in one small place is already causing many problems
STAY AWAY seriously
Hi @Peter Wauters, thanks for sharing your thoughts, I do understand where you are coming from, since I lived 4 years in Belgium. Looking at the People and Lack of talent, allow me to question your perspective, since Belgium is missing 350K people, there is a talent and workforce crisis. For more check the link - Belgian labour market predictions for 2022: 'Workforce crisis set to continue' bit.ly/3G6j6gS . On the flipside you have all the good stuff that came out of Covid19 and that is remote and hybrid working, meaning you can work for Belgium, without the need to be there or at least you will not need to go to the office that often ;)
Take care and Enjoy your day