General
How to deal with rain?
To answer a question with another question, isn’t this article’s topic just an absurd question? In a way, it is, because there is nothing we can do about the rain. Well, not necessarily. Go forth and explore! Whenever I speak to newly arrived expats, I always say it is essential to have the right mindset when it comes to the weather in Brussels. We typically and make the best of our day. In other words, you should just do the things you want to do and go to the places you would like to visit. Obviously, you’re not going to go to a beach when it’s only 13 degrees and pouring. But if you had in mind to go shopping in Antwerp or making a little road trip through Wallonia, I suggest not to change your plans. Of course, nice weather is, well, better (duh), but the proble...
Time to sign up
A new year has begun. It’s not only time to think about new year’s resolutions, but also about the plans for Expat Club. Our international community is growing very fast. There are more events on the calendar than ever before, including local socialising events, lectures, workshops and walks. And there are more trips to increasingly more destinations. Most important, we have also more members hosting events. If you feel like becoming part of our members team, read this article. Also our online community is growing fast and especially for this aspect of Expat Club we have big plans. Some things will change on the website and our RSVP policy. Here are a few points: Every member will need a clear picture. No distant pics, no covered faces, no cats or any other item, just a neat pi...
We know Brussels
When I first arrived in Brussels in March 2010 to look for a house for me and my wife I explored the city like a first-time tourist in Paris. I must have walked a thousand miles and seen almost everything. I wanted to live close to Place Châtelain. Several friends told me that was a nice place and I had actually been there once before for some. So I put my car’s GPS literally on that square in Ixelles and drove and walked around to look for the black/orange “A LOUER” signs on the houses. Probably the farthest I went from Châtelain must have been 2km or so, not more than 5-6 minutes on my GPS. Have a look at the map of the area that I probably “covered” those days by car and foot. In fact, I had seen major parts of Ixelles, Saint-Gilles, Brussels, Etterbeek and Uccle. Actually I had e...
New Expat Club intern started
Expat Club is happy to welcome Antoine Demaria as our new intern. Coming from Paris, the 21-year old third year student of the European Business School (EBS) will work on digital marketing and social media. He started his internship on Monday 10 October and will stay here until end of February. After that he will move to Argentina for 5 months to continue his graduate business studies. Having one brother and two sisters, he loves travelling with his family or with friends. He played rugby for 4 years, boxed for a year and right before moving to Brussels he was keen on keeping himself in perfect condition with CrossFit. We’re lucky to have an energetic and international person on board! If you join one of our events over the next month there is a good chance Antoine will be there.You...
Lesson from the weather forecasts
Can I be honest with you? I’m totally fed up with the weather forecasts. Belgian weather does justify the question what we have done to deserve this? It’s too often grey and rain seems to fall continuously from the sky. As a professional event organiser you can imagine my top google searches includes the forecast for the next trip destination. Like anyone else I prefer to see a sunny icon, eventually with some light grey clouds, with a temperature between 22-25 degrees. The number that raises most concern is the chance of precipitation, which can range anywhere between 0% and 100%. But what does this actually mean? Lets say the chance of precipitation is 40%. This simply means there is a 40 percent chance that rain will occur at any given point in the area (city). This does NO...
Now available: Bancontact
As of this week it will be possible to also pay with Mr Cash / Bancontact. Belgium’s leading online payment system was already available on 80% of the Belgian webshops and now you can also use it through the Expat Club website. Our website currently offers 4 different ways of payments: Sofort Banking, Bancontact, Credit Card and PayPal. With SOFORT Banking you can pay fast and secure with virtually all Belgian banks, including ING, KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis, AXA Bank, Beobank, Belfius and bpost bank. This system is TüV-certified and market-leader in Germany for online payments. Using the Sofort system on www.expatclub.org is free of charge. Ever since 1989, Bancontact / Mr Cash has provided smooth and secure payment processing and today it is the Belgian market leader in electronic pay...
5000 Meetup members
On Easter Sunday our Meetup.com group reached a whopping 5000 members. Expat Club started as Expat Club Brussels on 31 March 2013. It quickly became Brussels largest and most active group with a wide variety of activities. After about one year the name changed to simply Expat Club, with the accompanying URL www.expatclub.org, due to the confusion of the name (some people called it Brussels Expat Club or Expats in Brussels Club). Although this is a great milestone, it was also quickly clear that Meetup.com as a platform is not powerful and service-oriented enough. Besides many technical glitches, it for instance doesn’t allow members to choose between various payment methods. From a practical perspective the system is often also difficult to work with as it doesn’t provide Meetu...
Where were you?
Where were you during the terrorist attacks on Tuesday 22 March, and what did you do immediately afterwards? Members are invited to first login, but anyone else is welcome to respond.
Become an Expat Club member
Becoming a member of Expat Club has many advantages. You will become part of an exclusive local network of international minds and can connect with other members, both online and offline. We welcome people from all over the world with a variety of backgrounds and surely you will fit right in. Besides you will get some special perks, such as a welcome discount code, a free e-book, and an invitation for a chocolate making demonstration. The online registration process takes just a few minutes. Don’t be alarmed by the number of pictures below. It is quite straightforward and quick, and works virtually the same as many other high quality online networks. In fact, you may just get started right away by clicking here. STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 6
Four questions about Expat Club
There are four questions people often ask me during the events and trips. When did you start Expat Club? Why did you start Expat Club? How do you come up with all ideas and destinations? And, you are organising so much, are you doing this on a full time basis? Let me answer these questions for you. When did you start Expat Club? I started the Meetup group Expat Club Brussels on 31 March 2013 as a birthday present to myself (one day later, not a joke). My first event was a drink at Roi des Belges. With 35-40 people it was a great turnout, although I have to admit that I handed out free drinks. I guess I was just happy that I had finally started something that had been in my head for such a long time. My second activity was a trip to the UNESCO-protected Kinderdijk windmill park and the Keu...
5 Insights about Expat life in Belgium
Expats moving to Belgium have a lot to look forward to, but settling in after a recent move can be challenging. In addition to cultural differences, you may face visa issues, experience language barriers, or having difficulty making new friends and connections at first. Thankfully, these five tidbits about living as an expat in Belgium are here to help: Understand Language Divisions It is necessary to note that Belgium is not like other European countries, many of which united by a main ethnic group or common language. Belgium is clearly divided into different language groups, and it can be easy to mildly offend someone simply by speaking the wrong language! Depending on where you will be living, you may want to focus on learning some of either French, Dutch (Flemish), or German. Immersing...
Two weekly coffee mornings
Good times happen over coffee! It’s a funny picture that we use for our coffee mornings on Monday at JAT’ Café. On a weekly basis we welcome between 10 and 25 people for some informal conversations and to start off the week in a positive way. Where else in Brussels can you find such a diverse mix of people from all over the world? We are frequented by a rare mix of entrepreneurs, trailing spouses, (doctoral) students, retired expats, writers and poets, expats in between jobs, lost travellers, and frequently by members with a regular job that just want to take a day off. So next time you are free on Monday, just hop in to that great bar on Rue de Namur (between Place Royal and Porte de Namur). In the past we also organised regular coffee mornings in the Natural Caffè on Rue Mont...
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