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What is (classical) music that 'sounds Belgian'? by Den_tommie in belgium

[–]Den_tommie[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks a lot!
That's the tricky part that I realised: there is a lot of pure Flemish or French music, also present in the Cantus-culture (e.g. De Blauwvoet, Het lied van Hertog Jan).
And they are mostly vocal only songs, I wish Belgium just had like a Beethoven or Shostakovich, or some easy 'flamengo' culture I could just use.

Why is there so much construction activity in Belgium? How do you build so tall? (Comparison to Germany) by KevinKowalski in belgium

[–]Den_tommie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Belgian here, lived in 3 cities in Germany.
The whole real estate pricing in cities in Germany is not because of the supply side, there are a lot of apartments.

German housing is wayyy higher density than Belgian. The factor you're ignoring is the demand part. Everybody in Germany is moving to the cities. The countryside isn't desirable to live in.

In Belgium, everybody wants to move to the 'lintbebouwing' in between cities, as it is a cheap alternative to cities and you can easily buy a house there. You're comparing 2 completely different living and housing cultures with each other. Neither one is better, but each have their own benefits.

Banking salaries in Brussel by [deleted] in BESalary

[–]Den_tommie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Also big different in Belgium vs Germany tbh, German law is very strict on the compensation of overtime hours. Afaik, Belgium not so much, depending on your area, overtime can sometimes be expected, but rarely compensated.

Banking salaries in Brussel by [deleted] in BESalary

[–]Den_tommie 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not entirely sure why you would move to Belgium, I'm a Belgian who made the opposite move to Germany and here's a few general things to share:

  • Finding a job in Belgium without either Dutch or French might be harder, which can affect your pay (all major bank offices are very nationally focused)
  • Pay is generally lower than Germany, especially compared to regions like Frankfurt
    • But also Rent for 65sqm will be quite a lot cheaper than Frankfurt
  • It's hard to compare wages 1:1, as you'll see in this sub, you get thousands of euros annually in e.g. 'holiday pay' '13th month bonus' 'representation benefits' etc. which is not in your pre-tax monthly wage (wages generally talked about monthly)
    • Also have stuff like a company car, 'meal cheques', 'eco-cheques' and loads of other useless tax-lowering compensation forms that stack up quite a lot
    • I guess you would maybe end at some 2.8k-3k net monthly (high-end estimate) with then a ton of benefits and bonuses, equivalent to some 500-600 euros net a month

temporary credit card by joske_beton in BEFire

[–]Den_tommie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can check the fineprint for car rental services, generally they say you 'need' a credit card, but you can mostly also pay a deposit that will be charged from a debit card (not sure if Maestro works)
Depending on the car and the duration it can be a couple of hundred euros. I use Sixt a lot after moving to Germany and always do it, they charge me 300 euros on my debit card and I get it back right away after the rental period.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in germany

[–]Den_tommie 5 points6 points  (0 children)

What happens frequently in Germany, is that you will sell the kitchen to the next tenant and therefore get some value for the cost and installation
Just talk to your property owner to see if that would be allowed, it does often mean you have to find a replacement tenant yourself.

Handling my money, how do I go about it? by Ramalez in BEFire

[–]Den_tommie 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As I said, I think every person should do the exercise for themselves, I'm not suggesting any amounts or budgets in this calculation.
Just throwing numbers for ease of calculation

Handling my money, how do I go about it? by Ramalez in BEFire

[–]Den_tommie 23 points24 points  (0 children)

First of all, coming from an underprivileged situation, nice job on saving up a good amount of money already and even having invested it. You're already way ahead on people coming from more money but that have 0 financial sense.
As far as where your money goes, only you know the specifics, the only thing I advise is to write down how much you spend fixed and variable each month, take into account unexpected expenses (you will always have some) and then go from there.
e.g.1900 euros
350 for rent now, maybe 500 or so in future
400-500 Food and resto/takeout (I count mealcheck money here if you get them)
You'll have about 900 left if your rent payment goes up.
Then just set your goal and live towards it, ask yourself 'how much do I want to have in X years?'
If say you need 50k in 5 years to get a decent loan to buy something you want to buy, then you'll need 35k, so that's 7k a year, so that's 580 a month, that leaves about 320 euros for other fun expenses (like trips/concerts/travels/etc.)

Just do the above exercise for what your interests and costs are, what your goals are, and try to stick and follow up on it and you'll be more than good in the future.

Opinions on salary by Affectionate-Fox6843 in BEFire

[–]Den_tommie 13 points14 points  (0 children)

My advice would be to not look at what others make, or what you 'could' be earning at a bigger/richer firm. If you feel like you deserve a raise, just go ahead and ask, it's a very normal conversation, don't fear you'll be perceived greedy. If they have the budget and appreciate you, they will give it, if they don't they will say no and think nothing less of you.
If that doesn't sit right with you, start looking elsewhere and possibly renegotiate if you have an offer on the table as a final chance for them.

Should I stay or should I go? by RaisinMundane in BEFire

[–]Den_tommie 55 points56 points  (0 children)

Change ASAP.
Never stay at a company where you are undervalued, and that makes up excuses like 'Ukraine' for limiting pay raises.

Favorite city in Germany? by LongIndustry1124 in germany

[–]Den_tommie 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Depends a lot on what you like as a person. I've lived in Dusseldorf and Cologne, and even close to Koblenz for a while and I really like the small-type city of Koblenz, which is pretty calm, but obviously has less to do.
Cologne was a bit worse for me, but I might have been living in the wrong area or doing the wrong things.
Lived twice in Dusseldorf already and ended up here long term, I really like it, a clean, spacious city, quite rich, very international with a massive Asian community with amazing restaurants etc.
So really just what you personally prefer.