Update 18 April 2021:

No quarantine required for (very) short stay in Belgium, say authorities

The Belgian Health Ministry confirmed to us informally that for short visits for e.g. house hunting, as long as a person stays less than 48 hours in Belgium, no quarantine is required. A negative PCR test (obtained less than 72 hours before your arrival in Belgium) is as always required under the current rules, but at least it is possible (according to the Belgian health authorities) to come over for a visit in the context of a relocation without having to quarantine.

It is then recommended to ensure that the flight tickets show that you will be less than 48 hours in Belgium, and to keep evidence also of your visits.

Other useful rules / tips in the context of relocation:

• Keep a face mask in your pocket or handbag: certain cities and municipalities require a face mask in busy shopping areas or in city centers, and a face mask is required in indoor shops. It’s useful then to always have a face mask in your pocket or handbag so that you can put it on where required.
• House or apartment visits: virtual visits have become more common, but in-person visits are still allowed and are still the norm. We take videos for our clients if they are unable to be present in person, but in-person is always better.
• Removal firms can still work, but they will likely require that you keep your distance and wear a face mask.
• Official website with current measures: https://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/faq/

It’s one thing to find a new house in Belgium and find out what you need to know about starting a new chapter in your life there. It may be another thing to deal with the departure from the city or area you are living it right now.

Ensure that your checklist for leaving the country includes the following:

• De-registration at the town hall and from tax/VAT authorities if relevant;
• Termination of your contracts linked to your old home: lease, insurance, utilities, maintenance;
• Negotiation of indemnities (ideally a waiver) in relation to termination of lease etc.;
• Organisation of your exit survey (lease departure walkthrough).

You also need to organise your move. Whether you have three boxes of clothes or a whole art collection, the choice of movers is crucial. Cost, insurance, quality and timing, you have to choose the best combination for you.

You will hear one key question: how much volume do you need? It’s important to know whether your things will take up one full truck or a smaller van.

If you are unsure, ask your relocation consultant to arrange for volume measurement. A representative will visit your home, make an inventory of the boxes and furniture to be moved, and calculate volume.

You can also prepare an inventory yourself. List the number of boxes and bags, the kinds of furniture, and calculate their dimensions. Some relocation consultants and removal companies have forms that calculate the total volume for you. Choose wisely, and the process becomes easy.

At E.R.B., we only work with reliable movers experienced in international removals. If you need departure assistance, we can use our network to assist you with local consultants.

As a rule, departure help is very important to most expats. After all, if the move goes well, you’ll be happier when you arrive.

Do you love your flat and you want it to be seen on television? You will also receive a dvd of the filming after the episode aired on television.

We are looking for a ground floor apartment outside Antwerp (monthly rent would be 1000 euro) – e.g. in Schilde, Brasschaat, Wommelgem, Schoten, ..
with 2 bedrooms for the House Hunters International episode shooting on March 2nd, 2017 in the afternoon.

House Hunters International is a television show that follows people as they move from 1 country to another and the show tells their house hunting journey. The show appears all over the World and in the United States it’s seen in over 95 million homes. Contact us if you are interested and we can answer any questions or concerns you may have.

If you recently became a mom or dad and you want to start working again as a mom or you want some free time, what are the possibilities of daycare in Antwerp/Flanders? In my experience, it’s very hard to find a good and affordable place for your child.

Many mothers in Flanders need to start working again full time when their baby is only 3 months old, as maternity leave only lasts 3 months in Belgium.
Group daycare (groepsopvang) is often mentioned as a possibility, but if you can, avoid group daycare!
The State-funded childcare and family care organization, Kind & Gezin, allows one person to take care of up to 9 babies. Yes, nine little babies, with only one carer. Because of high demand and low supply, daycare centers often push this to the limit. As a result, carers do not take the time – and can’t make time – for personal care and attention for your baby individually. Time is precious to carers, so if your baby doesn’t drink his/her milk fast enough, too bad, he/she won’t have enough food. If your baby has trouble falling asleep or wants a little attention, there is no time to help him feel more comfortable. Toddlers can manage more on their own, as they are more autonomous, but for newborns daycare with up to 8 other newborns can lead to neglect of their personal wellbeing. At that point, the only thing carers have time to do is changing diapers and trying to feed the babies.

My son went to daycare 3 days a week as from 6 months old. The first months of daycare, however, he was constantly sick with high temperature (almost certainly germs caught at daycare), so we cared for him at home – before sending him to daycare healthy and seeing him fall sick again a day or two later. According to the carers, though, most parents just send their child to daycare and don’t mention that he/she is sick; instead, they cover it up by giving the child painkillers or paracetamol to reduce the fever and hide the high temperature. In other words, expect your child to be sick – very often – if you send him/her to daycare in Belgium.

Our experience was a real nightmare, but we had no choice as there aren’t a lot of possibilities for public daycare that are affordable. You can find places for public daycare on the following website: http://kinderopvang.digipolisweb.be/node/90756 – as you can see, there aren’t a lot of places, and certainly not part time!

Another possibility is daycare at a person’s home (gezinsopvang). The individual carer can also care for up to 9 children, but most try to have a mix of older children and babies to ensure that they can give more personal attention to the child who needs it. Individual carers are advantageous in terms of personal attention, but also more expensive, and the city of Antwerp doesn’t reimburse the extra cost that you have to pay. This makes it less of a possibility for people who can’t afford to pay the extra amount.

If you need occasional babysitting then I can certainly recommend the babysitting services organized by the ‘Gezinsbond’ (family association, https://www.kinderoppasdienst.be): they provide babysitting services for 4 Euro per hour (+ 1.5 Euro fee per babysitting), and the babysitter we have is delightful and friendly. (The people who babysit actually do this as volunteers for the Gezinsbond.)

If you need occasional babysitting, be aware that a lot of teenagers and young adults think that babysitting is just watching television while a baby sleeps, as one babysit once told me when I asked her to feed my son and give him a bath – apparently, feeding and a bath was a lot of work and she preferred to only come in the evening when she could put (and leave) him in his bed. I lost confidence in teenage babysitters then and there.

Because of all these difficulties, we have started looking for a private carer, but this is very expensive compared to Belgian wages. We hope that we have found someone who can help – time will tell.

If you are experiencing the same issues or other issues as a young mother, join my new group : Mothers of young children Antwerp.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/934367096698183/

For more information contact me.

If you are looking for a house in the surroundings of Antwerp (Kapellen, Brasschaat, etc…) and you want something special, Expat Relocation Belgium can help.

A first stage involves finding the right area.

Kapellen, Brasschaat and other areas in the North of Antwerp are residential suburbs of Antwerp that are both green and close to the city center as well as the harbor (where many companies are located). For instance, Kapellen borders a nature reserve (Kalmthoutse Heide) that extends to the border with the Netherlands, and has a train station with a direct line to the Antwerp Central Station. Brasschaat is also a green area, but Kapellen is the more affordable area of the two.

Among other affordable and green areas around Antwerp, Schoten deserves a mention. Many major stores are located in Schoten (Carrefour, Orchestra, Ava, MediaMarkt, Krefel, etc.), which makes it easy to find everything that you need. It is even located close to a cinema complex (Kinepolis), and many other stores are opening in the area (Decathlon, plans for IKEA, and so on).

In the harbor area, there is also the MAS (the Red Starline Museum, with various sorts of exhibitions running all year through), admired for its architecture. In a similar vein, the new headquarters of the harbor authorities, the Havenhuis, is considered to be a building worth seeing.

All in all, the North of Antwerp is particularly attractive for those who seek to live outside of a city and yet benefit from all the shopping and cultural advantages of the Antwerp as well as easy connections to business and harbor districts.

Once the area has been chosen, it is important to find the perfect house that ticks all the boxes. This requires knowledge of the area as well as knowledge of the market.

We recently helped a couple find a house in Kapellen that featured a garden, was dog-friendly and was located in a nice neighborhood.

Our clients wrote a recommendation for us in that respect.

As writes Emily Beltinck (the wife of an Exxonmobil expat):

Julie was extremely helpful in helping us find a house here in Belgium that we absolutely love, and feels just like home. She has gone above and beyond in helping us with various things while getting settled here. We are truly grateful to have her as a reliable resource.

Antwerp (Antwerpen in Dutch) is the largest city in the North of Belgium, with 510 000 inhabitants of almost 170 different nationalities.
It is a vibrant city that welcomes both multinationals and start-ups, one that caters to young professionals and family life alike.

The city is located close to the river called ‘de Schelde’ and features the second-largest port of Europe (Rotterdam being the largest). The Antwerp airport (Deurne Airport, www.antwerp-airport.be) is located only 7 km from the city center.
Antwerp is also famous for its important diamond business.

Antwerp is situated at a crossroads of motorways and prides itself on a modern railway network, which extends to the center of the city. The city also has an extensive network of tram and bus lines.

Antwerp is the capital of the state of Antwerp. The city center contains the districts of the Grote markt, Zuid, Eilandje, Ossenmarkt and Stadswaag. In addition the city has suburbs as Berchem, Borgerhout, Deurne, Ekeren, Hoboken, Merksem and Wilrijk. A little outside you also have suburbs as Braschaat, Kappellen, etc.
Many of these suburbs have increased in popularity over the past few years, as an increasing number of young professionals and young families have chosen to call them their home.

The official language is Dutch (Flemish), but thanks to their education and the influence of English-speaking culture, most Antwerp residents have a strong command of the English language.

International groups in Antwerp:
http://www.awcantwerp.org/