Search Q&A
Advice needed on place to live outside Brussels
Hello,
I am relocating to Belgium and will be working in Brussels near Rogier metro station. I am looking for a place to rent, however I would not like to live in Brussels. Please advise on areas on the outskirts of Brussels or other towns which would be good places to live. My preferences are as follows.
1. Should be a safe area and welcoming to expats.
2. Should be convenient to travel to my workplace by public transport. I would like to spend a maximum of 20-30 mins on the train/bus/metro ride.
3. Should be a place where families live, due to proximity to schools, markets, stores, hospitals etc.
4. Should have a decent amount of greenery.
Appreciate your advice.
Thanks
Glen
Start learning Dutch
I fully recommend Zaventem city centre. You have train that brings you close to Rogier in less than 15 minutes, you have a nice lake & park, schools, hospital and airport close by. Very nice area to live!
Look on the public transport map and to achieve your commuting time, will really need to be northwards from Rogier.
Zaventem will work by train / tram.
Grimbergen.
Wemmel.
Some of Vilvoorde.
Families live everywhere, there are school everywhere as well as shops and hospitals, so not really going to help your search.
For greenery, look on google maps.
Also, it really depends on what you think of as Brussels, as Wemmel is nice and outside Brussels, yet Woluwe-St-Pierre is also nice and inside Brussels and easier to get to as well.
If you choose outside Brussels under 30 minutes, it's going to be Dutch speaking. If you were to choose a Brussels outer commune but still inside Brussels, then it's going to be French majority.
To the list so far I would add:
The Dutch-speaking town of Mechelen which is very pleasant and easily accessible by train from the Gare du Nord (very close to Rogier).
The outer Brussels suburban commune of Boitsfort-Watermael.
In broad terms, local schooling is going to be in Dutch outside the immediate Brussels region area and in French within it - although French schooling is available in a few "facility" communes outside Brussels and limited Dutch schooling within Brussels. This may well influence your choice of location. Local schooling in the sort of areas you are likely to be looking at will be good.
Use the website immoweb.be to start to get a feel for the affordability of house prices and/or rentals in the various areas, you can search by postal code, but note that many houses/appartments for rent are only advertised by window stickers. Make an effort to understand the Belgian procedures for purchase and/or rental and note in particular that once you make an offer for either, and it is accepted, it is binding on both parties.
Ukkel is also an upscale commune of Brussels that expats seem to like. Tervuren is home to a hive of expats not wanting to live in the city. Unlike most cities just outside Brussels, there is a tram that heads into the city.
I would reccomend Wezembeek/Sterrebeek/
Zaventem/Krainnem as places where all the things you mentioned are available. Strrebeek and Zaventem are Flemish only communes so if you do not speak Dutch it may be difficult for you. Wezembeek and Krainnem are dual language communes so either French of Dutch are fine (Wezembeek will even speak English if pushed). Schools are available in both French and Flemish in the latter 2. If you want to pay the high cost of international schooling then for English you need to look at Tervuren or Ukkel. If you want private German schools then look at Wezembeek/Sterrebeek.
To which school are you planning your kids to go to? Since you mentioned Jette and Ganshoren, maybe to the new Laeken European School?
