Moving to Brussels

[ToniKat]

I'm moving to Brussels in October and we are struggling to make a decision on housing. We want to enroll our son in a local nursery when he turns 2.5 but can't figure out how to locate them. I haven't had to look at this before and there do not seem to be many around. We are looking at Wezembeek-Oppem. I'm sure I'm just being an idiot but I'm hoping someone here can help me as I'm starting to get very stressed out. We need to choose a house but I want to be able to walk to a school. Or is a school 5km away from home going to limit the contact outside of school with other kids.
Please help!

Lots of people bike from Tervuren, Duisburg, Moorsel etc

OP Hope you find a school for your 2.5yr old. I don't mean to be negative but I just wanted to make you aware of what life can be like with little ones, especially if you're planning another. There's basically nothing to do with small children during the week because most children are in crèche from a few months old and then school. Baby groups are very few and far between but it does mean that most people gravitate towards the BCT. As well as their weekly playgroups, the Woluwe and Tervuren groups are quite active if you want an easy way to start meeting people.

In Brussels every day there are drop in groups at centres mainly in east of Brussels as well as bct daily groups. There are 3 part time creches in wsp, one parents can participate, it s from 1-3 years and in sainte alix area. Nothing in wezembeek like it or tervuren

Drop in playgroups and lots of other activities with parent and child on this map covering Brussels and vlaams brabant and Brabant wallon.

batchgeo.com/map/32932da25397780f821305c6f3e29e27

That is 62 parent and child classes including under 3s and 18 drop in playgroups.

And yet every parent with small children who I met in 2 years complains about the same thing. Especially on a wet day.

I'm sorry but I've seen all the posts on the BCT Facebook group etc and I've lived it with two tots and nothing is going to convince me that being a SAHP in Belgium provides anything like the quality of life you would get elsewhere. For most of the parents with little ones that I've met, Belgium is a complete shock and I think more people should be made aware so that they know what they're getting themselves in to.

There is a lot of good information coming from this thread.

I will be looking to continue swimming lessons for my ds and will probably join Gymboree as he loves that at the moment. Whilst I very much want to immerse myself in local life, I grew up in Asia in an expat community and can appreciate the value of having a network when you first move to a country. I am fortunate that my dh's colleagues have young children as well and have reached out to help us get settled. We will be part of the expat community and will be getting involved in the local community too.

Having relocated country numerous times both as an adult and as a child, I think it can take at least a year to get settled into a new life. Even when moving back to our home base we have found that. So as long as you manage your expectations, I think that you can make a content life. It's not easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. As much advice as anyone can give, every family is different. What works for one doesn't work for another. So thank you all for your advice and we will take what we can to help make the transition easier.

Cheapest parent and child swimming is either poseidon wsl pool pay per session or tiny imagine pool pay per term, pool is on floor above bct hq in wezembeek 2
3 stops along 39 tran at ter meeren, imagine does other pre school classes such as circus from age 3. Just plain swimming best and nearest public pool is Sportcity in saint alix in wsp, has baby pool and slide and family changing. Wezembeek residents get discounts.

Toni I'm not trying to be negative at all. We've made some excellent friends and can't say that we had a bad time in Belgium. It just wasn't at all what we expected. We're used to moving around, as are most of the people we mixed with, but with the exception of one couple, everybody's opinion was unanimous. I just wish somebody had told me that before the move so that we could be prepared.

As for Gymboree, I assume that as you're looking at schools, you'd be going to class so the weekend? I just ask because they're due to turn it into a crèche and will only be having classes at the weekend. Little Gym is an alternative across the road though.