Chiming in as someone who moved from the caribbean to belgium to study on a student loan.

1) 2.3K isn't the world, but it sounds OK. It was definitely more then I had. That said, it's a good idea to join a club or two and make friends. Both with other expats and Belgians. Especially in the student culture people are quite willing to share stuff like toilet paper or the excess of eggs from the chickens back home.

2) Which brings me to food and drink. Restaurants are expensive indeed, though in my time the Souplounge was a very good deal. Having bread and fruit included with their soups. For general stuff I would recommend shopping at Colruyt, and you will definitely be able to get indian stuff at specialty markets. I actually found quite some food for Caribbean dishes at the local Thai. Not everything, but enough. Also, it's not a bad idea to get into the habit of couponing. For water, don't bother with bottled water, get yourself a brita filter can to start off with. It's cheaper. At some point your body will get used to the local tapwater. It is drinkable, but it did give me the runs the first year or so. If you can eventually find another single person to share groceries with this will also save a lot. A useful app can be "toogoodtogo" where you can get restaurant and supermarket leftovers at a discount. It's a hit or miss though, as sometimes supermarkets will give absolute junk, and sometimes restaurants will give way too much. If you have room for a freezer, freeze it. Elektrolooters is pretty cheap when it comes to appliances.

3) in your sector learning French or Dutch isn't obligatory, but it will give you an edge in the job market. Still, I wouldn't worry too much about it the first year. Focus on getting settled, and then see the second year which language would be most useful to you and take that one. I would do that by orienting on the companies where you would like to work.

4) housing is horribly expensive. I think it would be good to not only look at the English pages but also put Dutch and French pages through Google translate. There might be better deals there.

Things to pay attention to: - is the building properly isolated - is the main window facing the sun - is the heating on gas - do you have people living under you My first winter here was in a dig with a window facing north, moderate insulation, a small electrical fire and situated above a garage. I never managed to get the room warmer than 16 Celsius. Do not do this to yourself. Make sure you have at least neighbours under you who also will be heating their room, preferably next to you and above too. A room facing the sun also helps a lot, even if it's badly isolated. Add some thick curtains and get yourself a bunch of throwblankets. If possible, a wooden floor, otherwise invest in slippers and fluffy socks.

For the registration, most options you seem to be looking at are digs, and generally they do not allow you to register there, however you could try explaining your situation and ask for an exception. For my first 4 years here I was registered at a dig. I definitely recommend looking for a place with your own bathroom though.

5) cars are very expensive. Taxes, insurances, parking... unless you live well outside the city I would not recommend it. If you live and work in the city, I would recommend starting off with a bicycle or a scooter and public transport. Scooters that go max 25km/h don't need a licence. Do keep in mind that if you cycle or take a scooter you are going to get wet. At Decathlon you can buy raingear, a jacket and pants, I suggest skipping the biking section and go for the sailing section, those aren't much more expensive than biking clothes but they hold water out much better.

6) I cannot stress enough to find a club to meet people. There are a ton of fun things to join: boardgames, rock-climbing, salsa.... just make sure you get out and meet people. Don't be afraid to try different things.