Accomodation Oct. 2010- Feb. 2011

Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:15 pm

Hey everyone!

So, good luck for those selected and fingers crossed for people waiting.
I was wondering about accomodation. Do you think it is too early to start looking now?
And what would be a reasonable price for a stagiare's appartment? I mean something medium: no extreme luxury but also bearable circumastances.

Thanx for any answers

Tue Jun 29, 2010 3:10 pm

I think it's much too early. There are lists of accomodation recommended for stagiaries, it's good to search for them. I think the stagecommittee might be helpful. if you're member of the German interns group the lists of landlords can be found here:

http://de.groups.yahoo.com/group/praktbxl/files/Praktikantenunterkuenfte/

Prices vary from 350 to 550 for a room, you could find a reasonable accomodation for around 400.

Sat Jul 03, 2010 5:29 pm

Hi,

Is anyone interested in renting an appartment (shared appartment) from 30.09.2010? I'm looking for someone who would like to rent it with me...I don't have a flat yet but it's easier to search together rather than alone. Please send private messages at k_schonborn@hotmail.com
BTW I will be a trainee at DG EMPL, 26 year old girl:) non-problematic:)

Thu Jul 08, 2010 6:38 pm

Hello,

I'm also looking for renting a shared apartment. I'm 24 year old girl and am looking for a roommate to share the apartment in Bruxelles district. Please contact me at: monicamk555@gmail.com
thanks Smile

Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:21 pm

Hello everyone,

Just wondering, are there any people that want to live with 2+ people? So perhaps renting a house? Have no idea what accommodation will look like, so just waiting for the briefing from the Commission email.

Oh well, just thought I would put it out there, see if anyone is up for it, given that it is bound to be more fun with more than 2 people...

And oh yeah, i am 24 years old that will be working with DG Competition, email me at jfpantazis@gmail.com, if there are any people looking for 2+ accommodation.

Sun Jul 11, 2010 1:36 pm

Hi there julio - I might be interested in renting something together for sure, sounds a lot more sociable and fun than living in a place by yourself.. Getting a house/flat with multiple trainees seems like it would make for a great six months, and I think a lot of people would be interested. When do you reckon is the optimal time to start searching? (unfortunately I won't be in Bxl before September)

Sun Jul 11, 2010 4:14 pm

Hey there julio and epsofun, I'm pretty keen on sharing a place as well... I've look around a couple of the sites so far and there are some places that have the 1st September as their move in date. I'll prob be coming in from Geneva/London and was looking at maybe arriving in Brussels a week before the traineeship starts?

Let me know if you guys are still keen or if anyone else wants to share a place..

P.S. I'm 25 and will be with DG Relex. My email at the moment is victoria.chua.09@ucl.ac.uk.

Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:28 pm

cool, its a good thing to see so many people that are up for it sharing a house; as i said, i have no idea how this works, since i have never lived in brussels. so i guess waiting for the commission email should provide some more information and how feasible it is to actualy rent a house.

until then have a good summer guys wherever you are

Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:53 am

Hi Everyone!

Right now I have tentatively accepted a Traineeship at the DG-ER (transatlantic affairs). I am also interested in finding a roommate while I'm in Brussels - assuming the sending of all necessary paperwork goes off without hitch! haha Makes me so nervous!

Anyways, I'm 24 and pretty chill. In an apartment... I would definitely want a place with two bedrooms, full kitchen, but a shared bath is fine and something in the city. haha Preferably something within walking distance or near public transit. I have not even started looking since it's still early, so I have no idea what the housing market is like - at all. However, if anyone is interested let me know. Smile

I am fine living with a girl or a guy and it might even be fun to have another person. I'm definitely flexible!

Thu Jul 15, 2010 1:24 pm

Hi there!

I would also like to share an apartment with more people from the end of September. Right now I'm quite relaxed about it but I guess that I shouldn't leave it for the very last moment. If anyone is interested, you can contact me.

ps. I'm 24 and I'll be at DG INFSO.

Fri Jul 16, 2010 5:09 pm

http://www.stagecommittee.org/housing.html

Anyone know how to get into the passworded area? (The website says "New trainees can access the list of ads with the password provided to them by the Traineeships Office.") I tried using the username and password I got in the official offer e-mail from the Commission, but that doesn't seem to work. Seems like it could be useful, if you can make it in that is Smile

Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:09 pm

Oh that seems like it would be incredibly useful. I am still gathering my paperwork together to send off for the final official confirmation. Has anyone else had to do this? Seems pretty routine - hopefully it will be a quick turnaround. Smile

Fri Jul 16, 2010 6:52 pm

I would be also interested in sharing a house/appartment with other trainees. I think it could be the best fun and experience this way as I have a rich experience living in shared flats :-)
But I guess as most of you, I have no idea of how this 'house renting business' works.
Btw. I'm 24, from the Czech Republic and I will be at DG EAC.

Sat Jul 17, 2010 12:26 pm

Hey there everyone!

I would also love to live in a sharing house/apartment with some other trainees. Sounds like a lot of fun:)

I'm polish, 25 years old and easy going.

See you all (very soon now) in Brussels

Sat Jul 17, 2010 12:33 pm

I'm 27, from Lithuania. and I'm in SANCO. I will start at 4th October in Madou. I would be also interested in sharing appartment with you, guys:) Anyone else?

Sat Jul 17, 2010 1:29 pm

Sounds great guys - does anyone know any of the current stagiaires (the march 2010 batch)? Maybe that'd be useful for finding good accommodation (by taking over the places of the people who are leaving Bxl after their traineeship)..

Sat Jul 17, 2010 2:49 pm

epsofun wrote:Sounds great guys - does anyone know any of the current stagiaires (the march 2010 batch)? Maybe that'd be useful for finding good accommodation (by taking over the places of the people who are leaving Bxl after their traineeship)..

The only problem is: traineeships only last 5 months so all current stagiaires will leave Brussels at the end of July. I have a few friends doing the traineeship right now and they all leave at the end of the month so their flats / apartments will not be free anymore in October...

Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:27 am

Count me in! I would also like to share apartment/house with other trainees. More people more fun Smile

I'm 25, SANCO, alumni of BEST ( http://www.best.eu.org/index.jsp ) so rahter outgoing and eager to socialize.

A friend of mine who lives currently in Brussels reccomended me those websites:

http://xpats.spotter.be/en/default.aspx - home shares

http://www.expatriates.com/classifieds/bru/ - housing

http://brussels.en.craigslist.org/ - housing

Maybe you will find them useful too Smile

Anyway, I would like to spend +/- 400 euro per month for accommodation, live rather close to work (F101 building) and be able to host from time to time some passing friends. If any of you have similar expectations, feel free to contact me directly Smile

Tue Jul 20, 2010 8:42 am

@ lalandia: Thanks a lot for these useful links!

When do you all think it is the best time to look for an accomodation?
The rooms offered now are mostly free from august, but i would prefer to rent from october on, so i'm wondering what is the best strategy... Neutral

Tue Jul 20, 2010 10:16 am

You can also try this link: www.appartager.be. There are many new offers every day and it seems to be used mainly by students and young proffesionals.

Tue Jul 20, 2010 5:19 pm

I've contacted a few people about their flats and I'm not quite sure some of them are entirely on the "up-and-up." Their rental applications ask for my religious affiliation and a picture. Hmm... to me that seems suspect.

There are a lot of people on here who seem to be willing to room together. What if we create a separate thread so we might be able to figure out who we'd like to live with? I know since I'm from the United States, there is no way that I would be able to tour an apartment before my arrival in late September. I also do not know Brussels at all, so as far as finding specific locations that would be more advantageous, I have zero knowledge!

Wed Jul 21, 2010 11:03 pm

hi guys!

I'm also coming to brussels for the winter traineeship (DG REGIO) and I'm looking for some place to live. I think it will be an asset to live with other trainees and sharing a flat sounds like the great idea! Smile

Unfortunately I can't come to brussels in advance so I guess I'll go for looking via Internet and if I don't manage to get any nice flat, I'll simply look for something in the first days of October when I'll be already there.
I'm 27 Pole, quite easy going! Wink

I would like to spend max 450 euro per month for accommodation and live rather close to work. I will also probably need to be able to host some visiting friends few times. If you're interested in looking for a flat together please feel free to mail me: zoe.zoe.099(at)gmail.com!

however, c u in brussels soon!

@ epsofun: the username and the password to the http://www.stagecommittee.org/housing.html is in the brochure on the Accommodation - in the e-mail with the offer there's a link to the Practical Information and then choose Accommodation and on the page 2 you'll find it. good luck Wink

Thu Jul 22, 2010 2:22 pm

Hi everyone!
I am also excited to be starting my internship in DG Regio in October!
I'm 24 yrs old, from Latvia, sociable, active in youth non-governmental organizations and nice to live with Smile

I would like to arrive in Brussels something like 1 week before the traineeship so I have some time to get acquainted to the city.. Do you think it is possible to rent the flat starting with end of September (I mean, not starting with the 1st day of the month)?
Of course, I'd like to share the apartment with other trainees or - even better - share a house with more trainees (even more fun!), but I have no idea about how the Brussels housing market works Sad

Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:14 pm

Hi guys!

For those of you who wonder where all the good "living" places of Brussels are, here is a post I found on this forum by someone who did the October 2009 traineeship ("Bibi") - I agree with most of what she said (I presume Bibi is a she) so you should heed her advice:

Bibi wrote:Otherwise, in terms of areas, the city center (= stations Rogier, De Brouckère and Bourse) is not the best place I think. I don't mean that you shouldn't live there - it might be nice actually -, but that there are other nice places.

- For example, place Flagey (in the quarter of Ixelles) is a nice area, lots going on, a lot of students...but not very near the metro station. The nearest is station Porte de Namur and you need to take a bus for 5 min. But around Porte de Namur is quite nice actually and you would have to change only once to go to Beaulieu. Porte de Namur is also where the African quarter ("Matonge") is, so nice and cheap food! And there are plenty of shops and a cinema.
- Near station Ste Catherine should be quite cool too.
- In general, try and avoid living near Gare du Midi and Gare du Nord.
- The quarter of St Gilles is cool too (except when you get close to Gare du midi), near station Porte de Hal and Hotel des Monnaies. Lots of restaurants and bars... St Gilles is quite young too, even more relaxed than Ixelles maybe.
- Station Louise is not bad either, might be a bit more expensive though.

I live near the main Commission building already (station Schuman). It's quite a quiet area, though Place Jourdan nearby is nice (Best frites in Brussels supposedly but I don't agree...) and you are near a lot of things: Place Flagey (10 min), metro Schuman, Parc Cinquantenaire to go for a picnic or a run, etc.

I would also add the Place du Châtelain area in Ixelles - a very nice neighbourhood (but not so cheap)
Good luck to all accommodation hunters!

Mon Aug 02, 2010 2:07 pm

Hello everybody!
i am beginning the 1st of October in the DG-ENV and i am also looking for people to live with in Brussels, I am a 27 Spanish girl, as it is easier to look for an apartment with more people, is anybody interested in sharing???

Mon Aug 02, 2010 4:06 pm

Just don't forget that if you want to rent a bigger place first of all usually it will be not furnished, secondly the contract will be for at least 1 year, 3 years is standard in Brussels. If you want an appartment for 4 people it would be 100% for 3 years and not furnished.

But there are many many houses where you can rent a room and most stagiaires live like that.

Mon Aug 02, 2010 7:14 pm

Aneena wrote:Just don't forget that if you want to rent a bigger place first of all usually it will be not furnished, secondly the contract will be for at least 1 year, 3 years is standard in Brussels. If you want an appartment for 4 people it would be 100% for 3 years and not furnished.

But there are many many houses where you can rent a room and most stagiaires live like that.

I don't think that the contract length is that much of a problem - my contract is supposed to last for 9 years on the paper, but I negotiated a special clause with my landlord saying that I can leave whenever I want (2 months notice of course) provided I find a new tenant to "take over" my contract. It is a pretty common provision in Brussels.
So you can always sign a 1 year contract and leave after 5 months if you find your own replacement - that is placing the ads and organising the visits yourself. It's not that difficult to find someone else as Brussels is always crawling with stagiaires coming and going.
Actually, you should not trust special contracts for stagiaires that last for 5 or 6 months because the rent is higher - my advice would be to always go for 1-year or 3-year contracts and to negotiate.
But this is just my personal opinion of course!

Wed Aug 04, 2010 2:27 am

If one want's to live alone in a private apartment or studio it seems very expensive. I found one in Shaarbeak where I can rent for 6 months. 540 euro all included. 35 m2, great location, furnished and so forth. I think I might go for it. What would you suggest? Should I hold out for something cheaper? I just takes so much time and effort to look for accomodation.....sigh

Wed Aug 04, 2010 9:31 am

Where in Schaarbeek? Some areas there are so dangerous that you will not be able to leave the house after dark and in winter time it's dark all the time.

Wed Aug 04, 2010 11:10 am

I agree with Aneena. I lived in Schaerbeek for a year at Place Dailly (which I thought was good because it's close to Schuman) but the area was simply horrible - big avenue with lots of circulation and noise, dirty streets with trash bags lying everywhere, and shady people roaming the streets after 22pm.
From what I've heard and seen, the only good place with a nice neighbourhood in Schaerbeek is near Parc Josaphat - but it's a bit cut off from public transport and far from everything.
So my advice would be, simply put: STAY AWAY FROM SCHAERBEEK!! Smile

And if you live there, you can surely find something MUCH cheaper than 540euros (I paid 450 for my place at place Dailly for example, which was already a rip-off IMHO)

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