Our time at SHAPE for 3 years 1970-1973 was our favorite of my Dad's 23 year Army assignments. I was only elementary school age while there. We lived in Green Park in Mons which at the time was all military housing for the different NATO countries, so we had Canadian neighbors on one side, Turkish on the other, English a few doors down, etc., all were so wonderful. We're actually having dinner next weekend with my Mom (Dad has passed) and another US Army neighbor from Green Park next weekend here in OH. You make such great bonds there that my parents stayed friends with and visited them and other SHAPE neighbors here in the US many times over the 50 years since leaving SHAPE. SHAPE was magical for our family with activities in Belgium, the Netherlands and other nearby countries just a drive away. It looks like Green Park is still there in Google Earth and what a treat to be able to go into that subdivision and look at our home in Street View. Enjoy your time there, make the most of it and you'll always remember it fondly! :)
this will be so helpful to newcomers, especially the timeline and different steps. well done Rachel! I would disagree about house size, on average the spaces are smaller and the kitchens, garages, laundry room (if available) are very small compared to the US. We left quite a bit back in storage in the US. Also, don’t bring heavy pictures bc the walls are brick and you won’t be able to properly hang stuff. You can buy command strips but those don’t always work.
I guess coming from the RV everything feels bigger, but this is genuinely the biggest house we've ever lived in! 😱😱 Our last base house in OKC was maybe 1600 Sq ft, before that in VA we had 1500. This house, despite being 3 floors so it's spread out, is 2000+. But the rv was 150 😅😅😅 True about command strips! They don't work on concrete, ask our broken signs 😬
Yea, we're getting ready to be there in late summer, so I have been doing my research. It's not our first time in Europe but will be our first in Belgium and I know it's pretty different than Germany.
Awesome video! Thank you for sharing all this information! I SO wish I had all this information when moving here almost four years ago! We are heading out soon but I hope this video is seen by many years to come!
@10:20 that's 100% accurate. I'm dealing with it now. Getting a Belgian bank account is a pain and complicated process. They only take payments through Belgian banks for rent and utilities, and they don't accept cash. SHAPE housing and finance advise against it and you need a receipt for everything. I still haven't paid my security deposit and monthly rent for my house. They said I can pay once I have a Belgian bank account 😅
Isn't that so crazy?! That would never fly in the States, for all the weird bureaucratic pieces of the puzzle, their laid back attitude on money is nice. We got accounts through Belfius, while it took 2 visits to get it done the gentleman was so helpful and remained so the entire 3 years. We also used local friends for transfers...we'd give them cash and they'd do the transfer for us. Especially when we hit the deposit limit for the month.
Thank you for this. Picked you up from the shape page :) we are British. Moving out there end of 2022. Going through your videos :) thanks for al the heads up. Xx
This was helpful. I'm coming as a NIC and have no idea what I'm going to do. Guess I'll live in the base for a while before getting a rent outside the base
Great video! Loved your comment about living in the middle of the 2 locations. Do you have recommendations in the middle to live to narrow down searching areas?
Jurbise, Lens, Brugelette, and areas around Route D'Ath (the main road between the 2 bases). All of those cities have little "communes" within them and all of them will be between the two.
Great question, I don't actually know. We're not a Marine family but they have all sorts of jobs in general-- administration, logistics, intel, security forces...it's not necessarily a job-specific base.
Hi Ma'am. Thanks for the video! I'm going to Belgium as a Soldier. So it's difficult to ship my POV. They need address in Belgium but my PCS order not have specific address. How did you figure it out? Thanks!
You should have a sponsor so get with your sponsor and ask them to assist you with getting the units address to ship your to or ask the shipping company to put in storage until you arrive.
For shipping they should be selecting Chievres as the delivery location if it is your first vehicle being shipped. My husband's was sent straight to base and he walked over and got it once we arrived. Who is asking for the address? Is it the military shippers or someone else?
@@FamilyInRealLife I realized that there is Mil POVs shipping company as well. So I put there and now good to go. I'm excited to new life over there Ma'am! Thanks for reply!!🙏🙏
Are you still there?? I have a nurse (civilian) who will be moving there-- what site should she start looking at for places? What is the average price??
It varies so much in price based on location, size, amenities, and electricity rating. Immoweb.be is one site to definitely check out, the housing office on SHAPE also has listings.
Did you bring cars from the states? Or is public transportation good enough like most of Europe? Also, does Amazon treat you like an APO or European address?
We brought 2 cars from the states, where we are it's pretty rural so we don't rely on the bus/train system (though people do, there is a bus stop in front of SHAPE and a shuttle to chievres from shape). But we do live close enough to bike in, my husband on an e-bike is about a 30 minute ride, in his car it's 10 minutes. Amazon US does deliver to our APO (free prime shipping no sales tax), we also use the EU Amazons to deliver to our home if we need it sooner than 7-10 days (sometimes longer).
@@FamilyInRealLife we're planning on bringing our two cars too, so this was very helpful. My wife heard that we would need a belgian drivers license though to pick up the one we have to pay for? That didn't seem right?
@@dux_bellorum Nope, we picked up my car (the one we paid to ship) without a Belgian license. I needed EU insurance before I could get it, and my shipping papers...maybe my passport for ID. I think my husband had gone in the office to process and pay, then I went and handed in the papers to the dock and drove home.
Our time at SHAPE for 3 years 1970-1973 was our favorite of my Dad's 23 year Army assignments. I was only elementary school age while there. We lived in Green Park in Mons which at the time was all military housing for the different NATO countries, so we had Canadian neighbors on one side, Turkish on the other, English a few doors down, etc., all were so wonderful. We're actually having dinner next weekend with my Mom (Dad has passed) and another US Army neighbor from Green Park next weekend here in OH. You make such great bonds there that my parents stayed friends with and visited them and other SHAPE neighbors here in the US many times over the 50 years since leaving SHAPE. SHAPE was magical for our family with activities in Belgium, the Netherlands and other nearby countries just a drive away. It looks like Green Park is still there in Google Earth and what a treat to be able to go into that subdivision and look at our home in Street View. Enjoy your time there, make the most of it and you'll always remember it fondly! :)
What an amazing experience!
this will be so helpful to newcomers, especially the timeline and different steps. well done Rachel! I would disagree about house size, on average the spaces are smaller and the kitchens, garages, laundry room (if available) are very small compared to the US. We left quite a bit back in storage in the US. Also, don’t bring heavy pictures bc the walls are brick and you won’t be able to properly hang stuff. You can buy command strips but those don’t always work.
I guess coming from the RV everything feels bigger, but this is genuinely the biggest house we've ever lived in! 😱😱 Our last base house in OKC was maybe 1600 Sq ft, before that in VA we had 1500. This house, despite being 3 floors so it's spread out, is 2000+. But the rv was 150 😅😅😅
True about command strips! They don't work on concrete, ask our broken signs 😬
Yea, we're getting ready to be there in late summer, so I have been doing my research. It's not our first time in Europe but will be our first in Belgium and I know it's pretty different than Germany.
Awesome video! Thank you for sharing all this information! I SO wish I had all this information when moving here almost four years ago! We are heading out soon but I hope this video is seen by many years to come!
Awwww, thanks ❤❤❤ And best wishes at your next stop!
@10:20 that's 100% accurate. I'm dealing with it now. Getting a Belgian bank account is a pain and complicated process. They only take payments through Belgian banks for rent and utilities, and they don't accept cash. SHAPE housing and finance advise against it and you need a receipt for everything. I still haven't paid my security deposit and monthly rent for my house. They said I can pay once I have a Belgian bank account 😅
Isn't that so crazy?! That would never fly in the States, for all the weird bureaucratic pieces of the puzzle, their laid back attitude on money is nice. We got accounts through Belfius, while it took 2 visits to get it done the gentleman was so helpful and remained so the entire 3 years. We also used local friends for transfers...we'd give them cash and they'd do the transfer for us. Especially when we hit the deposit limit for the month.
Thank you for this. Picked you up from the shape page :) we are British. Moving out there end of 2022. Going through your videos :) thanks for al the heads up. Xx
My pleasure!!! Let me know if you have any more questions :)
@@FamilyInRealLife so many questions … :) but hoping it’s all covered n the family pack. :)
Great real life experiences to gleen from!
❤❤❤
This was helpful. I'm coming as a NIC and have no idea what I'm going to do. Guess I'll live in the base for a while before getting a rent outside the base
Best wishes!!
We are outside of Brussels. Our house is HUGE too. Get this, the owner doesn't even know how big it is, haha. (And he built it!)
That is hilarious!!! Even our landlord was a little unsure of all the specific numbers, maybe they care less here?! idk 🤣
Great video! Loved your comment about living in the middle of the 2 locations. Do you have recommendations in the middle to live to narrow down searching areas?
Jurbise, Lens, Brugelette, and areas around Route D'Ath (the main road between the 2 bases). All of those cities have little "communes" within them and all of them will be between the two.
Great video! Thank you for the information!
My pleasure!
Is there a specific MOS thats a guaranteed duty station in Chievres near Belgium??
Great question, I don't actually know. We're not a Marine family but they have all sorts of jobs in general-- administration, logistics, intel, security forces...it's not necessarily a job-specific base.
You say like so many times, but it is a great video.
can you believe I even edited some out?! 🤣🤣🤣🤦♀️🤦♀️
Hi Ma'am. Thanks for the video! I'm going to Belgium as a Soldier. So it's difficult to ship my POV. They need address in Belgium but my PCS order not have specific address. How did you figure it out? Thanks!
You should have a sponsor so get with your sponsor and ask them to assist you with getting the units address to ship your to or ask the shipping company to put in storage until you arrive.
@@pep9803 Thanks Ma'am. Appreciate it!🙏🙏
For shipping they should be selecting Chievres as the delivery location if it is your first vehicle being shipped. My husband's was sent straight to base and he walked over and got it once we arrived. Who is asking for the address? Is it the military shippers or someone else?
@@FamilyInRealLife I realized that there is Mil POVs shipping company as well. So I put there and now good to go.
I'm excited to new life over there Ma'am! Thanks for reply!!🙏🙏
@@cuchara7087 my pleasure, I'm glad your car all got worked out!
Are you still there?? I have a nurse (civilian) who will be moving there-- what site should she start looking at for places? What is the average price??
It varies so much in price based on location, size, amenities, and electricity rating. Immoweb.be is one site to definitely check out, the housing office on SHAPE also has listings.
Did you bring cars from the states? Or is public transportation good enough like most of Europe? Also, does Amazon treat you like an APO or European address?
We brought 2 cars from the states, where we are it's pretty rural so we don't rely on the bus/train system (though people do, there is a bus stop in front of SHAPE and a shuttle to chievres from shape). But we do live close enough to bike in, my husband on an e-bike is about a 30 minute ride, in his car it's 10 minutes. Amazon US does deliver to our APO (free prime shipping no sales tax), we also use the EU Amazons to deliver to our home if we need it sooner than 7-10 days (sometimes longer).
@@FamilyInRealLife did you have to pay out of pocket for one of the cars?
@@dux_bellorum Yes. We paid for port to port shipping, it was around $1200 total. We dropped it at Galveston and picked it up in Zeebrugge.
@@FamilyInRealLife we're planning on bringing our two cars too, so this was very helpful. My wife heard that we would need a belgian drivers license though to pick up the one we have to pay for? That didn't seem right?
@@dux_bellorum Nope, we picked up my car (the one we paid to ship) without a Belgian license. I needed EU insurance before I could get it, and my shipping papers...maybe my passport for ID. I think my husband had gone in the office to process and pay, then I went and handed in the papers to the dock and drove home.