Cost of living in Brussels

Cost of living is always a relative thing - the last two cities I lived in were London and New York City, both of which are very expensive.  So Brussels seems incredibly cheap by comparison for most things (especially rent, it's unbelievable how nice apartments you can get for so little money.)

Water and electricity I'd say are about average.  Public transport is pretty reasonable (lots of people seem to not pay at all but I don't mind.)

The one thing that does seem to be a bit expensive is going out to eat in a restaurant.  Besides really cheap fare like gyro, frites, etc. there aren't very many inexpensive options.  Even cuisines that are usually quite reasonable elsewhere, like Indian or Chinese, are fairly expensive here.

mikelieberman wrote:

Cost of living is always a relative thing

I said that in the Antwerpen one where they posted this. It's incredibly up in the air, not something that can be so generalized like this. *shrugs*

mikelieberman wrote:

Public transport is pretty reasonable (lots of people seem to not pay at all but I don't mind.)

Are you sure they're not paying? Brussel doesn't use the same company as in the rest of Flanders, since it's its own area (it's also more expensive); but the way it works here, if you have a subscription you don't pay each time you go on (obviously) and therefore would appear as though you were not paying. You only need to show it to bus drivers, you never show it on the trams/metro.

Hello everyone on the forum,
Currently I am living in Mumbai, India and would like to relocate to Brussels (Seneffe in Hainaut). I have been given an offer of 50000 euros per year.
Can anyone help me to understand cost of living for a family of 4 people? What should be my net salary after tax deductions?The things need to be considered are as follows:

- What should be my net salary after tax deductions?
- accomodation (2 bedroom appartment in Seneffe, )
- water and electricity
- public transport (metro, bus or taxi)
- monthly household shopping
- average price for bread, butter, milk, eggs, kg of meat...
- medical insurance
- visit to the house doctor
- petrol
- Tax rules

Appreciate your help.

Thanks & regards,
Jaydeep

My personal estimates:

Rent - a house rent costs between € 1500 - 2000 (unfurnished). It could be more depending on the area, surface area etc.
Public transport - I buy 10 tickets for €12,50. I think it is cheaper if you have a monthly pass.
Electricity and gas - € 130 a month. I was wondering if water is included in this bill. I don't know who the service provider is, Vivacqua?
Weekly groceries - € 300 a week for 4 people
School - secondary education € 6000 a year, not sure about this
pls. check the website (European school)
Petrol - € 150 a month for short trips
Restaurant meal - between €25-30 per person in a full service restaurant.

I have not visited a house doctor as yet but a specialist will charge you € 50 (opthalmologist) - € 60 (orthodentist).

P.S. These costs are for Brussels.

brad12 wrote:

cost of accommodation is depend upon that particular area? some where is high and some where is low price.

I would just add size and furnished or not, condition of property and furniture.

I read an article a week ago about the price of real estate in Brussels. Maybe, this has something to do with the rents as well but I am not an expert on this. All I know is that "communes" which are near to the European institutions for instance are quite expensive. For example, Etterbeek, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.

We are an Indian family and are planning to move from Mumbai soon. A family of 2 adults and 2 children. I will be moving as an expat so cost of school, rent, medical, car etc will be taken care. I would like to know how much would be expense on the following :

1. Tax as % of the income.
2. water and electricity
3. Good area to live to have international schools closeby
4. Monthly household shopping (Groceries etc)
5. Avg monthly expense on bread, butter, milk, eggs, a kg of meat
6. Petrol per litre
7. Per person meal cost in an Indian resturant
8. Any area you suggest where I can find more Indians closeby

Are there any other expenses not covered which I am likely to incur beyond above, please highlight. Thanks for your help in this.

1. not sure but it's something like 35%??
2. water - $300+ for a year
electricity and gas are really expensive - we used to pay €109 a month and when the meter was read last June, we still owed Electrabel € 1800. in effect, our monthly is now at € 330.
3. wsp for me is good because my kids are at the eeb3.
4. still at €300 for my family if not €400/week.
5. see 4
6. expensive €1.6/liter for 98 or super
   €1.4/l for diesel
7. depends where you go. Porte des Indes on Avenue Louise is expensive at €30 per person the last time i was there. but the food is very good and authentic. you can also get a sandwich or roti for €6 in the snack bars.
8. no idea. sorry. i'm sure you'll see them around.

oh yeah, there is a tax for the chef de menage or head of hh for €89 or something.

insurances - house (against theft and fire), vehicles, road tax (mise en circulation), etc. advisable to take a protection juridique in case someone sues you etc. etc..

full risk insurance for a new car €2,000+ per year
older cars - €600-700.

1. Tax as % of the income.
depends on if you are on an expat tax regime. Also depends on number of children and if spouse is working or non working.

2. water and electricity
our water cots around 300euro per year. Our gas and electricity costs around 2500 euro per year. Family of 6 in 4 bed house.

3. Good area to live to have international schools closeby
depends on how old your children are, there are less secondaries so if that age, you might want to live near them. ISB, BSB, St John's International Montessori and WIS have secondary sections. Primary only are BEPS, BISB, BJAB, St Paul's British, Montessori /House Belgium, European Montessori (up to 14). Google them to find their locations. Without knowing where you work though, I would not recommend any.

4. Monthly household shopping (Groceries etc)
160 euro per head

5. Avg monthly expense on bread, butter, milk, eggs, a kg of meat
no idea

6. Petrol per litre
no idea, don't have a car.

7. Per person meal cost in an Indian resturant
too expensive, go to the UK

8. Any area you suggest where I can find more Indians closeby
UK. Small amount of Indian restaurants in Etterbeek but no specific area for Indians.

Petrol in Gent is around 1 euro 55 a litre. Be warned car insureance is high

In deed they dosnt seem to be a whole lot of indian people here. However I am used to UK. However they are a lot of Turkish people

Dear Homemom, Schoolmum, hannahhadman

Thank you very much for your advice and comments. I shall be in touch with you if I need more details.

Cheers!

No problem x

Also I am not sure if anyone has mentiond health insureance on here so if they have sorry. I did skimm bk through but couldnt see it. I am not sure how much the insureance is its self. However a trip to the drs costs me around 24 euros and then I pay that upfront and then send the repecit to my insureance comapny to claim it back. I recived 17 euros 50 back. As for medtical products percribed I have a card and they give a discount on most items

Every Belgian resident who pays Belgian taxes must pay into a Mutuelle, it's a semi-private health insurance. It costs our family 9 euro a month for 6 us us. We pay 23 euro to visit a family doctor, the Mutuelle refunds us 18 euro, so we in effect pay 5 euro.

Our daughter broke her arm recently. The 2 hospital visits, after Mutuelle refund, came to 10 euro!!! Our children recently visited the dentist, the check-up was fully refunded by the mutuelle. The mutuelle refunds a set amount, no matter what the doctor or dentisit charges, so when the doctor or dentist charges more, you pay more. You just make sure you choose a doctor who charges under 25 euro an appointment!!!

The mutuelle basic insurance does not cover hospitalisation when you have long term overnight treatment. I get an additional insurance from my work, I am about to subscribe for the rest of the family, for less than 20 euro extra per month.

can anybody tell me how much Tax% does the Government charge from your salary, and what is the minimum wage in Brussels?

Ravindra Kumar wrote:

Dear Homemom, Schoolmum, hannahhadman

Thank you very much for your advice and comments. I shall be in touch with you if I need more details.

Cheers!

Hi Ravindra,

Did you move to Brussels ? Please share your experience, I am also planning to move to Brussels and have High School going kid. I am from Mumbai too.

Regards,
Kartikey

I am going to Brussels as far the kids you asked I know that Belgium gives special attention in topics are relative with kids.

Hi,
Can someone give me their opinion on a gross wage of 45000 euro, here's what i'd like:
- Decent (but not big) 1 bedroom apartment in good, central(ish) area of Brussels
- Travel each day to Sint Agathe Bercham (bus/tram/train?)
- Money for a few meals and drinks out each week, but not over the top
- Money for utilities

I am unsure if my employer will provide a car or not. I am just arming myself with data so i know if their initial offer is fair or not.

Thanks

I'm assuming your gross per month is 45000/12 = 3750??? You don't mention if the 45000 gross includes the 1.92 month extra salary you will eventually acrue? I am assuming you have no dependants? That will therefore give you a net before any offsetting on tax return of €2123 per month.

You should hopefully get a substantial proportion of public transport refunded by your employer, but an annual tram pass to Ste-Agathe-Berchem would be €478 per year and that includes unlimited STIB transport in and just outside Brussels.

Some of Ste-Agathe-Berchem is very nice, have you not considered living there, it should be cheaper than the centre of Brussels?

A 1 bed apartment could be as little as €500 a month, depends on commune, square metres and quality. You should try and keep your rent at a maximum of 1/3 of monthly income, so on your income, I woudl not go above €700 a month.

Utilities depend on where you live, often included in apartment charges in part. Our 200m2 house costs €170 a month in electricity, gas and water, a 1 bed 70m2 apartment should be at least half the cost of our house, but it depends on how much heat you like and also on insulation - avoid single glazing for example or old boilers which you cannot control the temperature of.

I'm aiming for 45k over 12 months. Please can you explain the 1.92 rule to me?
I made 50k euro in dublin last year, but I get the impression rents and transport are much lower in brussels. Bearing in mind it's 6-8 euro for a beer in dublin these days, how does that compare to your theory on 'expensive eating/drinking out'?
also, can I easily request my employer to state me as an expat-meaning I pay less tax? Would I therefore be taxed back home?
please feel free to suggest nice, safe, vibrant areas of brussels that are well connected to sint agathe.

Thank you for your help.

You get an extra month and .92 month on a Belgian salary after working a whole year, you also build up right to annual leave over the whole first year. December is 2* salary month, May/June is 1 + .92 salary month, after working a full year.

I have no idea of the cost of beer in Brussels as I don't drink.

I don't know about the expat tax regime either, I am an ordinary tax paying Belgian resident.

I would suggest Berchem Ste Agathe as a nice safe place to live, but it's quiet. Take a look at the STIB map to decide where to live if you don't want to live in the commune, Berchem Ste Agathe has tram connections so look particularly along the tram routes.

Rents can be low or high in Brussels, depending on where you want to live. Ixelles for example is currently very trendy to live, with that comes the lack of parking and higher rents!

45k gross is a pretty above average salary for a single person - we support 6 people on a lot less than twice that gross salary, so unless you like to spend a lot of money, you will be quite comfortable on that salary.

Ok a quick look at the STIB map and it seems St Gilles would be a more lively place to live for Berchem Ste Agathe, given that the 82 tram runs between the 2 areas. The commune is on the up, not quite as trendy as Ixelles but much cheaper and public transport connections better.

Thank you for your help.
Am i correct in thinking I should divide my annual gross salary by 14 to get my monthly gross?


45000 annual / 14 months (12 + 1.92) = 3214 euro

No gg7aph, you will have to ask potential employers when quoting salaries if they are factoring in the 13.92 months or whether the quote is for 12 months. You have to earn the 1.92 months, you accrue it over the year, same as annual leave.

gg7aph, I confirm what Schoolmum wrote.

Having lived in the ROI, I would say that 45K/yr will not stretch as far as it will in Dublin, unless you pay the tax as an Expat. Having said that, to be considered an Expat for tax purpose, you must have a termed contract, not a permanent one, and you must prove that your primary interest is outside of Belgium. One way to do the last is show you have property in another country. Usually that is the case for executives, which 45K does not sound like salary for an executive.

From my experience, if you are told 45K/yr, that wouldn't include the 13th salary and the 0.92% holiday pay. The latter, to receive it, you must've worked in BE for a year.

50K/yr in Dublin stretches far more than even if you take 50K in Brussels.

homemom wrote:

My personal estimates:

Rent - a house rent costs between € 1500 - 2000 (unfurnished). It could be more depending on the area, surface area etc.
Public transport - I buy 10 tickets for €12,50. I think it is cheaper if you have a monthly pass.
Electricity and gas - € 130 a month. I was wondering if water is included in this bill. I don't know who the service provider is, Vivacqua?
Weekly groceries - € 300 a week for 4 people
School - secondary education € 6000 a year, not sure about this
pls. check the website (European school)
Petrol - € 150 a month for short trips
Restaurant meal - between €25-30 per person in a full service restaurant.

I have not visited a house doctor as yet but a specialist will charge you € 50 (opthalmologist) - € 60 (orthodentist).

P.S. These costs are for Brussels.

€ 2000 for an unfurnished apartement????????????????

:-0

Homemum lives a different lifestyle to us in a very nice area of Brussels. We have a big house and pay nowhere near as much as 2000 euro per month. We pay about 300 euro PER year for books and photocopying for local secondary, nothing like the 6000 euro per year quoted. We pay 5 euro to see a general family doctor, not 50 euro (that's after mutuelle refund). Dental treatment for children is free, not orthodontic work. We also spend maximum 40 euro per week on groceries per family member, half what homemum quoted for groceries.

[Moderated: Off topic]

Racist and ignorant comments are not welcome here thank you.

Hello everyone,

I'm about to move to Brussels as an expat with my wife and 1 baby, it would be great to have this information updated

- accomodation (2 beds apartment in Ixelles or Etterbeek)
- water, electricity and heating (for a house of 90/100 m2)
- monthly household shopping
- average price for bread, butter, milk, eggs, kg of meat...
- school fees (private)

Thank you very much for your participation!

- accomodation (2 beds apartment in Ixelles or Etterbeek)
why there? Much cheaper places to live. You pay for size, location and quality, so you might pay as little as €600 for a 2 bed 60m2 or as much as €3000 for a luxurious 150m2 apartment. 100m2 is quite big for 2 beds.

- water, electricity and heating (for a house of 90/100 m2)

Again it depends on how high you turn the heat up and how often you have it on, then also if double glazing, new boiler. Expect at least €200 a month, more likely more.

- monthly household shopping
What do you want to buy?

- average price for bread, butter, milk, eggs, kg of meat...
Depends on if cheapest bread at €0.80 or expensive at €2.50.

- school fees (private)
Why? The king's grandchildren, the richest people in Belgium send their children to public schools, so why are you going private?  Several private schools are quite inferior in terms of standards to the public ones. Private starts at 7k full time, up to over 30k full time.




Ixelles is a very very bad choice, in terms of public schooling and arriving this time of year in Ixelles. Ixelles has only 1 private school, personally wouldn't go anywhere near it. Public schooling in WSL and WSP is excellent, so are children's facilities compared to Ixelles. Etterbeek is better but you'll find an even better quality of life further east, for where you're working.

I help many people relocate and strongly advise you to look elsewhere. I've had many people ignore advice, move to areas I said I thought were unsuitable, many have regretted their decisions not to listen.

Try this website as it gives cost of living etc for many countries and cities around the world.  www.numbeo.com

Thank you very much, I'm searching in WSL.

I have seen nice2 beds apartments (85-125 m2) with a monthly rent amount of 1200-1300 (including charges). are there convenience stores at a walking distance?

Thank you stumpy!!  that's exactly what I was looking for!!

BEWARE of charges, some will include heating, electricity, water. Some charges will include cleaning and maintenance of communal areas. You need a clear breakdown in charges to be able to compare costs.

If you get less than €10 per 1m2 in an area out east or south, then you're doing fine. To compare m2, you should remove storage and corridors, it should include only living space. We live in one of the most expensice communes overall, we pay 1500 for 150m2 4 bed house with garden, 100m2 of storage and garage.

WSL is a pretty good place to look, south Schaerbeek 1030 too is little different, 1040 Etterbeek is little different in the north either. Do look at public transport and location of schools before committing to a property.

BEWARE of all private schools under 15k per year, with the exception of the lycée Francais, German school. Many have unqualified teachers, many are not particularly well run, many offer standards lower than public schools. The lower cost ones can be a good stop-gap for a year, if you cannot get a place in a  local school.

There are convenience stores everywhere.

s2w wrote:

homemom wrote:

My personal estimates:

Rent - a house rent costs between € 1500 - 2000 (unfurnished). It could be more depending on the area, surface area etc.
Public transport - I buy 10 tickets for €12,50. I think it is cheaper if you have a monthly pass.
Electricity and gas - € 130 a month. I was wondering if water is included in this bill. I don't know who the service provider is, Vivacqua?
Weekly groceries - € 300 a week for 4 people
School - secondary education € 6000 a year, not sure about this
pls. check the website (European school)
Petrol - € 150 a month for short trips
Restaurant meal - between €25-30 per person in a full service restaurant.

I have not visited a house doctor as yet but a specialist will charge you € 50 (opthalmologist) - € 60 (orthodentist).

P.S. These costs are for Brussels.

€ 2000 for an unfurnished apartement????????????????

:-0

Yes to both a house and an apartment. You only have to check the dailies to see the going rates. Montgomery or Schuman area flats are even pricier. The farther you are from Brussels, the lower your rent becomes.