Why choose Belgium?

Vacature magazine recently published a wonderful article about why foreigners should come to Belgium to live and work. In this article '11x best of Belgium' the authors worked out 11 reasons why Belgium is so attractive. These reasons, however, also apply to young talent who wish to come to Belgium to study. We have selected 5 capital reasons from the Vacature article for you!

All the world at home in Belgium

Belgium being a small country, but with the presence of international institutions such as NATO and the European Commission, not to mention a whole series of international companies, it is also the home base of a large international community.

Admittedly, Belgium is not all that well known wherever you go but Brussels is a name that rings a bell with most people. The reason is simple: Brussels is the institutional capital of Europe and also plays host to NATO’s European headquarters. The reason for this international presence lies in Brussels’ specific advantages and, by extension, those of Belgium: namely its central location in Europe, the fact that it is a multilingual country, its pro-European legislation, the presence of different cultures and the population mix.

Living in Brussels, half as cheap as London

Rental and real estate prices in Belgium are low compared with other countries. Belgium is also one of the cheaper countries for buying real estate.

Brussels is a relatively cheap city for expats, such is the conclusion of a study conducted by ECA International consultants. Last year, the monthly rent for an 80m euro including taxes. Brussels ended up sharing 20th place with Helsinki in the list of Europe’s 36 most expensive cities compiled by ECA International. Worldwide, the capital came in at 48th out of 92. Brussels is therefore somewhere in the middle of the rankings. The average rental price in Europe, according to the study, is 1150 euro per month, 15% higher than in the Belgian capital. The most expensive city in Europe is London (2508 euro per month) followed by Moscow (2383 euro per month).approximately the same level, in terms of cost price for a rental apartment, as Zürich, Rotterdam, Barcelona and Frankfurt.

1 in 2 Belgians speak 3 ‘foreign’ languages

Belgians are proud of their language skills. Three quarters of the population speak at least one foreign language. A slightly smaller percentage can express themselves fluently in at least two foreign languages. Handy, if you are coming to Belgium to live and work.

As inhabitants of a small country with no fewer than three official state languages (Dutch, French and German), Belgians are driven by necessity to demonstrate better language skills than inhabitants of their larger neighbours. According to the Eurobarometer of February 2006 which included a survey of language skills of inhabitants of the European Union, 74% of the Belgian population speaks at least one ‘foreign’ language. The Europeanaverage is 56%. 67% of Belgians speak at least two foreign languages, which is the official objective of the European Union for every European inhabitant. In that regard, Belgium is in fifth place in Europe. 53% of Belgians even claim to speak three foreign languages.Note: these figures represent what the inhabitants themselves think about their language skills, which does not always correspond with reality.

To London, Paris and Amsterdam in no time

From Belgium, the rest of Europe is within easy reach. Belgium’s location is the country’s biggest single asset.

Belgium is located in one of the most densely populated and most commercial regions of the world. It is an integral part of the ‘Blue Banana’ megalopolis (also known as the‘Grande Région’), a multinational European metropolis of more than 85 million inhabitants constituting the centre of Europe in terms of economy, innovation and power. The region spans from Liverpool via London and Belgium across to the German Ruhr region and down to the north of Italy. The megalopolis represents two thirds of Europe’s GDP. The region contains four of the world’s ten largest airports (London Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle Paris, Frankfurt am Main and Amsterdam-(Schiphol).

Belgium is bubbling with culture

Belgium is a veritable Mecca for international culture fans. Its myriad of historical cities is home to an equally diverse array of top class dance, theatre, film and music.

Toon Berckmoes from CultuurNet Flanders: “Belgium’s main advantage is that there are many different large, historical cities within a short distance of each other. The cultural landscape in these cities is also highly attractive. For people interested in dance and theatre, Belgium is a virtual paradise. We are a world centre for dance and in the domain of fashion, lifestyle and shopping, Antwerp also enjoys prime of place.” That the international level of the performing arts is not just PR talk can be demonstrated on the basis of a few figures. A study conducted by the Flemish Theatre Institute in 2004 reveals that approximately one third (34%) of all performing arts productions toured internationally. And around half of all Flemish dance productions also included an international play list.