It feels like Belgium might just have one of the most bureaucratic and tricky systems of welcoming foreigners. Before you begin reading this intentionally light-hearted take on an otherwise frustrating start to my expat life in Belgium, let me just…
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Nico just wrapped up his intense exam period at uni (a whopping seven exams in less than three weeks), so we had planned a little weekend getaway to Luxembourg. Partially to celebrate him finishing his first semester and partially because…
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Well, 2020 was damn weird. We started out the year so optimistically, fresh off a most lovely Christmas holiday in California with my parents. It quickly wound up being the strangest year yet. COVID-19 had a major impact on our…
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While COVID-19 saw us have a very lowkey Christmas, spent at home in our new apartment in our pjs with gingerbread and Christmas movies, we decided to get away for a few days just before the end of the year.…
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Wallonia encompasses the southern region of Belgium and is home to the bulk of the population of French-speaking Belgians. It's well-known for being home to idyllic castles and towns, each providing a bit of magic and bringing what seems like…
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On our four-day roadtrip around the Wallonia region through southern Belgium, in an effort to see as many fairytale castles and quaint towns as possible, we stopped in at Villers Abbey to visit the ruins from when it was abandoned in 1796.…
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We absolutely adored Antwerp. Even though all Christmassy-related things were cancelled and the city was very quiet as we strolled through on a peaceful Sunday, we fell in love with the calmness, the exquisite architecture everywhere, the general sense of…
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Winter has well and truly arrived in Belgium! Crisp air and clouds forming around your mouth when you speak - it's the most delightful and frosty time of year. I spent the day in Liège - a great choice for a…
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As much as possible these days we're trying to take advantage of the good weather in Belgium when it happens and escaping Brussels on day trips to explore some of the surrounding towns and cities. We are in a COVID-19…
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I wrote in my last post how it seems to rain all the time in Belgium and much to my very pleasant surprise, there's been nothing but sunshine so far this November. I started my new job on Monday and watched the…
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Typically, it rains in Belgium. In fact, statistically speaking, it rains more than half a year with approximately 200 days of rain annually. Scientifically, it's the warm air, brought on the jet streams from the Pacific, that increases the air's…
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We arrived in Brussels nearly seven weeks ago - I can't believe how fast time has gone - and have spent the entirety of that time getting settled, sorting out logistics, moving into our new apartment, finding work and just…
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It’s been twenty months since I left Canada, the country I'd called home for twelve years. I flew from Vancouver on a one-way ticket to Sydney, Australia on January 6, 2019. At the time, I was loosely considering three months of…
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Back in February 2019, I booked a six-week trip to New Zealand from where I was at the time in Brisbane, Australia. The return date was originally set for March 30th so I could continue traveling in Australia. Those original…
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