Is 2000 euro a month ok for a family of 3(incl 4 yr kid) to live in Brussels, Belgium?

Question

Is 2000 Euro a month enough for a family of 3 including a 4 yr kid to live in Brussels (accomadation rent, school, food, transportation, bills, other expenses etc)

Answer 1

"Positive's" answer gives you most of what you need. A couple of things €2000 a month is a quite normal local salary. Not an international salary. Brussels is split into communes (like a series of villages) and each commune has its official language - French of Flemish (Dutch) which may make a difference for you. The local school system is good but, it means your child will work entirely in the local official language and learn the of the local language. If they start young enough the children learn the language really quickly - often out pacing their parents.

Belgium is an easy country to live in and Brussels is a very pleasant small city - half an hour from the centre you are in open country.

We thoroughly enjoy living here.

Answer 2

Yes, this amount is OK for a normal family of 3-4 people. Let me just point out that, unless you are sending your child to a local school, your salary will not cover the school fees which are pretty high for an international school. With a bit of luck, maybe your cie will pay them for you as is normally the case for expats.

Housing :

Rent : depends on where in Brussels you want to live. The South is more expensive than the Northern part. International schools and expatriate communities are mainly situated uptown Brussels and in its Southern communes ( Ixelles, Forest, Woluwé-Saint-Pierre, Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Uccle, Boitsfort, Stockel and then Waterloo,Tervueren, Overijse, Hoeilaart which are not part of Brussels but very near it.)

For real estate info, you could check out the for rent ads on

http://www.vlan.be  a site for real estate. It is in 3 languages (F-D-English)

Amenities :

>>>water, gas & electricity are not that expensive in Belgium.

Insurances :

>>>for home and car, insurances are compulsory in Belgium.

Food :

>>> there is a big choice of different categories of supermarkets & local weekly open markets where you can shop from and the prices range from quite cheap (Aldi, Liddle) to Colruyt and to Carrefour & Delhaize. The most expensive grocery store would be "Rob". You'll have to do your homework and see what suits your family best but you have a choice here.

Transportation :

>>>private car : petrol is expensive in Belgium, always has been and you need an insurance too.

>>>public transportation : although you always have people complaining, it is not that expensive especially if you buy weekly/monthly/quaterly or yearly passes. It is free for small children.

For restaurants, cafés & nightlife : a good thing about Brussels is that you do not have to spend a fortune to have an excellent meal but, in case you want higher end restaurants, your 2000 Euros won't- sadly enough - stretch that far.

To summarize :

you can have a comfortable life on that amount if you are not into brand names, poshy nightclubs and "in"going out places.

If you need any other info, post your questions and i'll keep my eyes peeled for them.

www.brussels.com

www.vlan.be

Hope this helps.

edit :

Ixelles, Forest, Woluwé-Saint-Lambert, Uccle & Boitsfort are French speaking areas (communes). You'll have a choice between French & Dutch for your official papers and for your child's schooling.

All the other "communes" and cities I mentioned are Dutch speaking which means that you'll get all your official papers in this language. No choice here, though. Schooling will have to be done in Dutch.

Answer 3

This is Turkish buddy on your tail.Yes it s enough and it s not a miracle.Some people does it even with less than 2000.

Ä° recommend Delhaize for kitchen shopping.And i recommend Jupiler and Stella artois in lunch and dinner.These beer are such great with meat potatoes and salad.

friends above gave good answers i agree with the positive ones.

Answer 4

Average Belgian net salary is 1500-2000€, so 2000€ for 3 is possible but you won't have a good lifestyle and won't live in one of the expat areas.  Most expats don't pay taxes in Belgium and have a net salary of 4000-5000€ while often housing and transport is paid for by the company.

Answer 5

I'm not exactly sure, but I think that's how much a single person needs to barely survive.  Could you make it with that many people on $3000, here?