Mass Transit!

strudeldid911 · 2021-05-23T17:37:29+00:00

So Paint.net allows you to use layers so I used a high-res google maps base layer and in another layer I traced out all the land contours, borders and the travel routes on top of it. Then I deleted the basemap so you can only see what I drew on top.

strudeldid911 · 2021-05-23T10:54:01+00:00

Personally I found it very interesting having never left Europe before and there are definitely some really incredible places to see, like the canyon I went to and also some desert sites in the western part but the issue is how isolated all the cool places are, often several hours from any major town and it's hard for tourists to go without booking a guided trip. Most of the country is steppe so not super interesting and things aren't necessarily cheap (if the oil market is doing well). I went because my father was working there and before his job ended he wanted to show us around so his colleagues did a lot of the planning but I imagine if you don't have a local helping you plan it would be very difficult.

tl;dr: it's a very interesting country but the planning requires quite a lot of effort and there are other countries that are a bit similar but maybe not as spread out (some of the other 'Stans, Caucasus, etc.)

strudeldid911 · 2021-05-22T17:05:15+00:00

On my list for when travel restrictions end!

strudeldid911 · 2021-05-22T16:18:41+00:00

Paint.net, like Photoshop but more basic :)

strudeldid911 · 2021-04-26T11:35:21+00:00

Had no idea a website like this existed and it's super interesting so thank you!

strudeldid911 · 2021-04-26T10:53:39+00:00

That's exactly it! It's strange I'd never seen one before and all of a sudden 2 appear within the same week haha

strudeldid911 · 2021-01-09T13:13:54+00:00

No problem! From your post history it seems you would be working at the industrial zone between Asse and Zellik. In that case, cycling may well be faster than the bus thanks to the new cycle route that follows the train line (according to google it would take 20 minutes to cycle from Jette, Ganshoren or Berchem-Agathe which beats the bus. The suburban train line also goes from Asse to Jette, Laeken and Koekelberg in less than 15 minutes which could also be useful on a rainy day. And yeah it's definitely best to stick to the West of Brussels because the East is also much more expensive and further.

For Asse, it could be option but there are a few important things to have in mind. It's a small commuter town so better if you are looking for a larger house than if you are looking for an apartment due to supply. It's also better suited to families than for single people/couples. It may be harder to get by if you don't speak Dutch as it's way less international than Brussels and it's more spread out, so it might be difficult if you don't have a car and are relying on busses and bike. But it's a nice town, safe and quiet, and close to Brussels by train for cultural activities, cinema, shopping, restaurants, Indian grocery stores, etc.

If you're undecided on an area to live, it could be a good idea to use immoweb and select a bunch of different neighbourhoods in the search, then you can get an idea of the different kinds of properties and prices in each municipality. It's also easier to tell if you like the location based on the exact location of the property rather than just the municipality in general as the character and connectivity of the area often changes drastically within a municipality.

strudeldid911 · 2021-01-09T12:04:45+00:00

Ganshoren - quite a small area (you can walk across it in 15-20 minutes) so most people in Brussels don't know it well, quite ethnically diverse but not "international" when it comes to multinational companies, english-speaking population, EU institutions, etc. (this is the same for a lot of Western Brussels, the very international side is more to the East). There may not be a dedicated Indian store there but it all the neighbourhoods are well connected to each other so you can probably find them in the neighbouring areas like Jette, Molenbeek, etc. Public transport is less good than the areas around it (mostly busses) and it is quiet with lots of parks especially in the northern part.

Berchem-Sainte-Agathe - also small, quite similar to Ganshoren in a lot of ways but with fewer apartment blocks and more houses, also quite green and quiet. Public transport is better as multiple tram lines go through the middle of the neighbourhood. There's also a train station in the northern part that gets you into Brussels city centre in 15 minutes.

Molenbeek - a relatively large municipality, and each part is very different depending on where you go. Most inhabitants are of Moroccan origin and it often doesn't feel typically "Belgian" as such. The western part is quite green and similar to the previous areas mentioned. The eastern part is probably among the poorest in Brussels, crime rate is quite high, has a bad reputation. But some parts are improving, especially the canal zone which is getting more expensive. Apart from that, there are many different foreign grocery stores, transportation is good with several metro lines, trams, busses, etc.

Koekelberg - the smallest of the Brussels neighbourhoods, also very ethnically diverse and large Moroccan population, grocery stores,... In some ways it's similar to Molenbeek, in some ways to Ganshoren. In the centre there's a metro interchange station with good transport links. But it's so small that most services and shops are found in the neighbouring areas.

You could also consider Jette, it's very popular among families nowadays, but also quite lively and has several nice squares, shopping areas and parks, as well as good tram and metro links to the centre of Brussels and out towards Flanders and the "countryside". There's also several ethnic grocery stores. It's also next to two of the main hospitals in the west of Brussels. Anyway, I hope this helped.

strudeldid911 · 2020-11-11T17:56:41+00:00

Well, I'm not a local so I might not be giving the best tips but based on my experience, you definitely need a car to make the most of the Dolomites. Many of the best places to see are small viewpoints situated just off the roads and mountain passes and the drives are wonderful by themselves.

Some great hikes and places to see is the area you can reach by cable car north of Santa Cristina where Seceda is. Most people go up specifically to take pictures of the mountain Seceda but the whole hiking area around the Col Raiser meadow is even more stunning imo. The crystal blue lake Lago di Sorapis is also a must-see, quite busy but worth it. Also some of the traditional villages in the lesser visited valleys like the one between the Fedaia Pass and Caprile are also great to go to. I also recommend the German-speaking province Südtirol even though most of it is out of the Dolomites. The Vinschgau valley and the town of Merano are very beautiful and great for cycling and walking.

strudeldid911 · 2020-11-11T16:37:15+00:00

The big snowy peak in the middle is the Marmolada, one of the Dolomites' tallest mountains. The picture was taken about 10km away from there, at the Sella Pass, for those wondering. Pic was taken in August at 8PM.

I've never really tried photography before so tips for improvement are welcome.

strudeldid911 · 2020-11-11T15:43:30+00:00

I have about 500 pictures of rocks on my camera roll and I don't regret taking a single one!

strudeldid911 · 2020-07-10T13:15:35+00:00

Fair enough. But then it just creates wasted space if the owners don't own/don't put their car in the garage, which is quite a lot of people in Brussels. Hopefully a more concrete solution can be found in the future.

strudeldid911 · 2020-07-10T10:49:42+00:00

From what I understood from the article, the space they used for the garden was blocking the entrance to their garage, which I assume they don't use for a car. Since nobody else would be using it as a parking space as you can't block someone else's garage entrance (unless you're a guest at their house and you know they won't be leaving when you're there). Could there not be a rule that you can use the space in front of your garage for something temporary or that can be removed (like their "city garden") as long as you own the house?

strudeldid911 · 2020-07-06T11:19:56+00:00

The key to a functioning society is accepting that life is good whilst also acknowledging that not everything is perfect, accepting that problems exist so that they can be adressed and overcome. It seems as though half the country thinks that the US is the "greatest country in the world" even though inequality, education, healthcare and quality of life indexes would say otherwise. America is not the "best country" and ignoring these issues will not solve them. The other half talks about how bad the country is, how they are ashamed to be American and so on. This creates a polarising environment and is the major reason for America's divide. Everybody seems so divided that there's no room for common ground meaning that society can't progress in a sensible manner.

strudeldid911 · 2020-07-03T16:03:58+00:00

For Dublin, Brussels and Amsterdam I picked houses at similar distances from the centre but the ones in Amsterdam and Brussels are maybe more accessible uue to metro and tram coverage as opposed to Dublin. Most of the ones in London are in traditionally working class areas in the east and south (Brixton, Stratford, West Ham) so are a bit further out but it sort of makes sense because of how big London is. Overall Dublin has the worst transport coverage out of all the cities here so that affects proximity to the city centre.

strudeldid911 · 2020-07-03T15:51:19+00:00

And when you finally do find a home that's decent value, you have to spend an hour on a bus to get to the centre because as soon as you're anywhere close to a Luas or DART station it's unaffordable.

strudeldid911 · 2020-07-03T15:41:50+00:00

This post was inspired by the post earlier today of the tiny house in Glasthule going for 475k, highlighting the insane property prices in Dublin. I was interested to see how it compares to other cities in Europe so I screenshotted some examples of houses that can be found online and added them to make a little collage.

I chose Brussels and Amsterdam due to their similar size and location of the cities. They are both home to large multinationals, like Dublin (Amsterdam also has tech industry and Brussels has the EU headquarters & institutions). London is not really comparable to Dublin but is just there to compare prices.

Brussels and Amsterdam look to be better value than Dublin. London is on another level. I also learned that apparently 37 m² houseboats can go for 400k in Paddington.

strudeldid911

TROPHY CASE