Relocating to Tervuren, Belgium

[Appyfizz86]

Dear all,

I am relocating to Belgium with my family. We have always lived in India and this will be our first relocation. The reason for the move is that I got a good work opportunity and wish to move for improved quality of life, for my two kids and husband. I also wish for my husband to afford a break from non -stop working in stress environment for last 14 years. I wished if some of my queries related to living in Belgium could be answered in the forum. We are going to leave behind a settled life that we worked hard to build in India, along with our self owned home. Will also be giving up on high salary of my partner and for some time, I will be the sole earning member supporting the family on an international Secondary school teacher's salary.

Tervuren is nice! What questions do you have? There are some good Facebook groups, too, which might be worth joining. facebook.com/groups/365571260276668/ is a start and there are probably Tervuren-specific groups, too!

Tervuren is nice. Will you be working at a school in Tervuren? There are several different places within the Tervuren area - Vossem, Duisburg, Moorsel and Tervuren. Tervuren also borders some other areas such as Wezembeek, Kraainem, Zaventem, Leefdaal and Overijse. Housing in Tervuren can be expensive near the Park and the British School but cheaper areas are not too far though traffic in the mornings can be bad so it is worth thinking about your journey and the options - walk/ bike/ public transport/ car.

Would recommend Leefdaal; easy transport to Leuven, shop, bakers, pizzeria and vet right in the village (and if the Frituur is relocated, that was ace). I lived in Tervuren, Duisburg and Leefdaal, and Leefdaal was by far and away my favourite of the three.

Thanks for your response.

The thing is what I will earn each month in Belgium equals what we together save currently. And this adds a dimension of financial uncertainty. My partner will be looking for English speaking jobs after taking some time off, and in helping all of us settle in the new place. On the other hand, the quality of life would be better, we will have new experiences and kids will get great schooling.

I wanted to know if it's fine if we don't save anything till the time my partner is not working. I will be paying for the retirement from my salary plus employer adds another 10%.

Also, if one leaves belgium, say in next 5 -6 years, can they withdraw their contributions from the social security fund?

Yes, will be working at a school and looking for houses near school only, at least till we understand the place and get a hang of things around. Plus there are two small kids commuting with me each day, so okay to pay extra for a property that's just walking distance from the school.

If you want to get an idea of property prices and what you get for certain amounts look at Immoweb.be with Tervuren/ 3080 (Tervuren post code) as your filter. Immoweb can be slower than agents own website so local ones include ifac, Home Consult, Immo Vermast, Christophe, Latour et Petit.

If it's BSB, you might pay through the nose to live within walking distance. St Pauluslaan and the roads off there are OK, but depending on the size of the house, most of decent properties were around the €1800+ range in 2019, and that was not within walking distance.

I don't believe you can withdraw from the social security fund after you leave, might be useful to check how this works with Indian social security: www.socialsecurity.be/CMS/en/coming_to_belgium/convention/FODSZ_Convention_-India
Lots of Facebook groups that might be helpful on Tervuren - the iMums Tervuren one for example - and Brussels (English Speaking Mums.) Feel free to get in touch with any questions on Tervuren.