I'm Tony Vangelabbeek, born in Lanaken, Belgium and lived in Louvain, Belgium till June 2008. I have been very busy with my own prepress company from 1984 onwards. In 2005 I started my own company in Gurgaon, India. Midth 2008 my wife and I left for India permanently where we ran our own typesetting and prepress company. We have four kids, youngest son is 23 and still studying. They all are fairly independent and thanks to modern communication it's easy to keep contact. After having sold our company in India end of 2011, we relocated in 2013 to Kostandenets in Bulgaria, where we have built a farmhouse and where we will try some sustainable living. Being city-dwellers, I give ourselves 10 years to build-up our goal to live in a more sustainable way. Apart from this personal project, I am looking to setup a IT services company in Bulgaria. My wife is setting up a French Bulldog kennel, as we arrive with our 5 French Bulldogs in our new home in March 2013.
I joined expat.com on 04 April 2009.
After having lived in India, my wife and I decided to not go back to Belgium as a permanent residence. So we sold everything, bought a big plot and two old barns, and constructed a house. Currently we are looking to build up some business from here.
everything, before judging on anything or anyone, one needs to feel the heart of the country. This takes time. In the case of Bulgaria, one needs to invest 2-3 years to learn the language.
too early to tell
Manager of GenesisTextware, a fully owned prepress company
I loved the experience of living in a completely different culture. It was an eye-opener for me.
The extreme poverty and the basic assumption/acceptance in the culture that people are NOT equal. India sure is a pack full of surprises for anyone interested in other cultures. Having lived there was for me one of the biggest lessons in life that I ever experienced. Without India I would never have ended up in Bulgaria, our new location to live.
Leuven is a university city. After our studies we stayed there, got our four kids, raised them. From 1986 on we established our typesetting and prepress business. From 2005 we invested heavily in India and now my wife and I are even living there.
student city, small but lively city
Very nice small city to live and work in