Tervuren, Belgium - buying property

[malteserinbelgium]

we're looking to buy a property in Tervuren, Belgium but we never seem to be sure whether an area is decent or not.

does anyone have any tips on where we could get more 'real' advice?

Hmmm, will have to ask my sister-in-law as I know it was something else before that. Nopri maybe?

i had opened this thread some while ago ... we've finally found a property we liked in tervuren & will be signing the compromis de vente next week. fingers crossed we made the right choice about the area.

but i have a question re flemish ... do we need to speak flemish in order to live in Tervuren? i.e. will the authorities refuse our buying a house if we don't speak a word of Flemish?

are there any french speaking schools in Tervuren? (wishful thinking i guess)

also, what do kids do during school summer holidays? we have a 2yr old daughter & am kinda worried about summer

My god - the golden triangle behind the british school in front of the one way system.

My work is done.

uh? [buconfused]

oh I just responded to the op, a little late it seems

No local French schools in the Flemish provinces, with the exception of the "facility" communes, Wezembeek-Oppem and Kraainem for example, but you have to live in these communes to be eligible for the schools there. The nearest French schools are in Brussels, Joli-Bois, Stockel, Mater Dei and Sacré-Coeur de Stockel, but too late for enrolment for next school year at the latter 2, perhaps Stockel too. International Montessori do "bilingual" French/English and it is fee paying in Tervuren. Kleuterscholen in Tervuren are GBS Tervuren, Koninklijk Tervuren (think called Kattensprong), Mariaschool, all fairl close to the centre, otherwise Catholic one in Duisberg, gemeente ones in Moorsel and Vossem.

You need to ask Tervuren gemeente or your notaris regarding rules not speaking Flemish as people have been refused purchasing property in Flanders when deemed to have little "connection" with Flemish culture. However, Tervuren has a host of nationalities who own property there, I wouldn't be overly worried about a negative response.

Plenty of stages for the holidays, start at 2 years old, tends to be little more than child care at that age, too many to mention in French, nearest in W-O and WSP. In Dutch, ask at the Gemeentehuis or at a local school, or at the sports centre or swimming pool, there will be adverts up for them.

Our local commune runs a holiday club to cover all the school holidays at a cost of about 20 euros per week. As natation says, otherwise you are spoiled for choice - particularly for older children.

I think Tervuren is one of those more "militant" dutch speaking communes - like Zaventem, where the commune will only speak to you in Dutch - they advise taking someone with you if can't speak it.

Your nearest stages in French to Tervuren, held in the buildings of Ecole la Fermette Imagine community centre in Wezembeek-Oppem.

www.tobogganasbl.be/programmes/?vacancy=30&center=12&sort=age

dd has done 2 or 3 of the toboggan ones. Usually the last week of August when the commune one stops. I wouldn't want to be paying 120 euros per week for the whole summmer though ;-) I would think that when you find a school, she will be eligible for what they organise. In Brussels it is normally well covered.

Portoeufino, you are right about the commune being militant!! omg!! ... i phoned the commune to ask about the house plans and they refused to speak in English.!!! Can't really understand their mentality ...... as if i'm going to take their job or something!

oh and thanks natation for the info :)

"they refused to speak in English.!!!"

They do speak English -- they can say "this is how to apply for a Dutch language course".

It's bloody annoying - especially as they CAN speak English. They won't speak French either and that is a perfectly valid language in Belgium. Zaventem swimming pool once refused to take DH's money because he spoke in English. They just pointed at the sign. (Een volwassene, een kind alstublief )

This language thing is one of the reasons they can't form a government. it seems very childish and unnecessary to me.

I think it makes sense, not speaking English. The Flemish would go, disappear, like that, pouf! I don't mind them being protective and it just sounds like English spoken with funny accent anyway.

But you must understand what it must be like for those who live in Tervuren. Dutch is the language of the community, it might seem political, yes it is, but imagine living in an English speaking country and the neighbourhood is inundated with people who do not speak English and that new community expects that people should speak in their language, not in the language of the wider community. I really sympathise with those in Tervuren, as there are so many people there who do not speak Dutch. It's the very reason I would not live there, my Dutch is not too good and I feel uncomfortable and why should those Tervuren residents have to adapt to me and speak to me in English? Whenever I am in Tervuren, I always start in Dutch and say my Dutch is terrible and that I speak French and English. I have never yet had anyone turn around and refuse to speak to me in French or English there, I have given them the choice to continue communicating in my crap Dutch or to change to French or English, has worked every time and usually quite a good ice breaker. I don't think I could do this so easily if I were brought up in Belgium, our kids are brought up here, so they speak Dutch in a Dutch area.

I did live there, about eight or nine years ago. I learned Dutch, it isn't that hard, one of my children learned Dutch off the telly, and once you've made an effort to speak in Dutch they were pretty good about switching to English. Don't like it, don't live there, that's my view. As you've decided!

It works both ways. I always give french speakers the choice of flemish or english, and most of them cannot speak anything but french.

Flemish is in no danger of disappearing, it is the strongest language in Belgium, with a very strong culture.

Flemish is not an especially difficult language to learn, the pronunciation and grammar are relatively straightforward. The vast majority of foreigners I know make an effort to take flemish lessons. It is only polite, after all, to try and speak the language of where you live.

I fully understand the need to integrate and learn the language. The flemish community is very good at providing courses etc. It is the simple fact that staff working on the "foreigners" desk at the commune refuse on principal to use any language other than Dutch that annoys me. Zaventem is home to many, many International companies and a large airport. I would expect it to be a little more outward looking. I appreciate that Tervuren is different and is probably overrun with expats.

I do make the effort with french and dutch all the time, but I think if you are just moving to an area, and have to go through all the officialdom, that people on the Vreemdelingen desk could be more helpful. If they didn't speak other languages then fair enough. But they DO! Even if they insist on a course of lessons in return for your ID card....

It's actually very difficult to fully integrate into the flemish culture even if you do speak the langauge. They are very closed people and have a strong sense of their own identity and it is very difficult to be accepted as 'one of them', you will always be seen as a foreigner.

It think it's like that because it's overrun by expats, no? Protectiveness is understandable. You can't integrate if you're there for, whatever, three years, but you can make the effort. I think they want the effort and if they weren't so strict I don't think they'd get it.

I always start at the Gemeente in Flemish and then when I've mangled it enough, they switch to English for me. I have tried Cornish on them, but they didn't understand it!

Malteser, if you email them your question in English, they tend to reply in English....

Gooseberry, I've lived in Belgium for 26 years, speak fluent French and pretty good Dutch. Something happened 8 years ago which made me realise that I would always be an outsider to the Belgians.

DS2's best friend in primary, who was his best friend from the age of 3, used to come to our house four times a week after school until 7pm because his parents work and this from the age of 5 to 12. (This was unpaid by the way.) Anyway, although I'm not a churchgoer, when the time came for N to have his "grande communion" at the age of 12, I really hoped to be invited as it felt like he was almost part of our family. I wasn't invited and from the conversations I had with his parents about the preparations it obviously didn't occur to them to invite me even though I saw more of N than all his relatives. They are actually really lovely people and we do socialise with them (even now that the DSs are 20). They are just very family orientated and as belgo says (whose dh is Belgian) it is very difficult to truly integrate.

I had to go to the maison communale today for my carte de résidence and they were all watching the wedding! When she realised I was English, the lady dealing with me wanted to know why I wasn't at home watching!!

Last year we had a party and invited work colleagues and friends and neighbours. It was 5 years married, 4 years in Belgium, 2 years in our house sort of thing. My work colleagues studiously said NOTHING. Though actually a couple of them turned up on the night. DH had slightly more luck. The neighbours though, they came en masse, bearing presents! And devoured the nibbles.....It was a fanstastic do.

I used to live in Tervuren. I remember the commune sending round a "helpful" letter to all foreign residents of Tervuren, on how to deal with the commune. It was all in Dutch. Apparently 25% of the residents were foreigners. I learned Dutch - it was pretty easy, and both of the DDs picked up a large amount from the telly while they were living there. I do remember the nice lady at the commune telling me she was happy to speak English to me, and that they had the "Dutch only" rule for the French speaking Belgians...

I can't blame them. They must feel overrun, even though the economic contribution is so high. They're just being protective.