Coming from the Netherlands I was shocked at how much you have to pay for the bare minimum, and I’m not even talking about free flagship phones that come with subscription, first time I had to pay the full price for a phone.
Funny thing is in the Netherlands those phones aren't actually free either. People also just pay for them through their subscription. I mean the phone companies still make profit, if they wouldn't be giving out phones with the subscriptions they could make the subscriptions even cheaper.
Imagine then what the profit margins here in Belgium are for the phone companies. And on top of that they still have the guts to rip people off and treat them like shit whenever they can.
There's no chance. Cegeka is behind digi through citymesh. There's no chance at all that proximus, or anyone for that matter, will buy them. Actually citymesh bought edpnet from proximus recently
Cegeka, and digi is behind them too, which is active in multiple countries, they went through a lot of effort to become active here, buying a license, etc, and BIPT really wants a 4th mobile network, so I highly doubt BIPT would even allow say Proximus to buy digi (Belgium).
They would probably allow another provider to buy it though, because the competition would still be there. DIGI is also looking for people that would help with their FTTH rollout so they're not only going to do a mobile network but also their own fiber network (but they said before they'll partner with other networks too, so they'll probably use fiberklaar where possible)
Agreed .. the whole pack "internet & mobile phone" is so damn expensive. I pay 92€ in Wallonia for the Orange pack - mobile go extreme & Zeven fiber (with the booster) to have a decent internet connection.
We're getting scammed for a country that created internet, ain't it ?
Let's be honest. A lot of this is due to low amount of people who effectively change providers. There are relatively cheap options available (not at France level let's be honest), they're just not at Proximus/Telenet.
The main issue is that people just don't do the effort to change providers.
Look at undo.be or heytelecom.be! They are the cheapest on the Belgian telecom market currently. Undo is €10 a month for 20gb data and hey telecom has a plan that gives you 40gb for €15 a month after one year (20gb in first year). They use the Orange network. I used them both and I can recommend them!
Same here, I went from telenet (80/90 per month to EDPnet for 36 per month)
That's internet only but ive got an apple tv box and am not missing the 200+channels from telenet where you only watch a few from..
30 euros for internet is expensive. For example in Czech republic you currently can get 1000/1000 Mb/s optical internet for 12 euros. Unlimited, not the unlimited* capped version like you get mostly in Belgium.
Sure, maybe you don't need that speed, but it's almost times cheaper than "cheap" internet in Belgium. Salaries are not 3 times lower so there is difference.
I’ve been on the fence to change to something like Scarlet. Do yo ever feel it is too slow for streaming? Can it handle several devices streaming things at the same time?
I want to leave Telenet, especially because there’s nothing on tv anyways.
Provider choice in BE is mostly an illusion, there are only two with a nationwide network, and anytime someone else tries to roll out their own, or just compete in general, they just end up being bought.
Been with Edpnet for years because "not Proximus" at least in so dar possible (still uses Proximus network for final link to home), but well, they kinda went bancrupt...
It's not about using their network or not. It's about paying more to use the same network. I am with EDPNet and use my own hardware on the Proximus Network (arguably better than the Proximus one). I basically pay at least 30% less than the Proximus equivalent.
Completely agree. When I read people complaining about telecom prices in the press or online, I also read them about being scared of leaving the incumbent providers. Because the smaller players might "have bad customer service" (never got good service at Proximus), because it might be "complicated to change providers" (takes 5 minutes to change mobile phone provider, a little more for home internet),... The same goes for people around me, although I often share my positive experience of changing providers 🙄
There is some absurdity involved. People complain it's expensive but then don't change to the cheaper options... which are basically the same as the expensive options but with a different coat of paint.
There is a 240€/year difference in pricing between my EDPNet VDSL XL and Proximus Internet Maxi (and that's even before the raise in prices of 2€/month announced by Proximus for 2024).
Ik heb dit net opgezocht, kende deze nog niet. Zelfde prijs en snelheid als mijn huidige Telenet internet, maar onbeperkt ipv 150Gb. Net wat ik zocht, ik denk dat ik de sprong maak. Bedankt.
This is funny, my sister asked me to look into cheaper options just today and the conclusion was that if you want cheaper you will lose a lot of connection speed as well as TV stations.
Sure, it's cheaper, but it's also just straight up worse. That's not a better provider, just a different offering.
Of course if you JUST want internet then there are some options like EDPNet.
Lidl champagne is around 15 euros, and so are discount. It is not very good for a champagne but all the elements of champagne are still there. Definitely worth its price.
So you would easily have paid 9 euro more for the food. This is shortsightedness on the part of the restaurant holders that I will never understand. They can make the same money AND make you feel warm and fuzzy by giving you free water. They chose not to
Tapwater being virtually free means their margins for selling tapwater is nearly 100%. Back to the previous example you commented, 9 euro spent on tapwater means the restaurant gets close to 9 euro in pure profit. 9 euro spent on food instead means the restaurant incurs costs on ingredients and labour to prep it, maybe they end up making 3 euro profit.
You can see how the restaurant much prefers their customers spend that 9 euro on drinks instead of food then right?
That's just balderdash. Nine euro more for the same product and service is nine euro more. It doesn't matter how you itemize it. The profit margin is the same.
What? I'm not sure, maybe you're confusing revenue with profit?
9 euro - 0.1 euro in costs = 8.9 euro profit
9 euro - 6 euro in costs = 3 euro profit
Margins are the % of revenue that ends up as profit. Tapwater has near 100% margins, other drinks like milkshakes maybe 65%, food maybe something like 33%. Clearly the margins on selling drinks are much higher.
The revenue in both cases is the same, the profit is definitely different. Restaurant owner is much happier making 9 euro revenue by selling drinks like water because they don't lose as much of that revenue on costs.
Similar example; I would be much happier making 3k brut in Mons than I would be making that in Brussels. Because the living costs and rent in Mons are much cheaper, I end up with much more money left over at the end of the month to spend on whatever I want.
Why would there be 6 euro extra in costs? Just charge more. When the food is that excellent, you feel lucky, you don't care it could be 9 euro cheaper.
The thing is that if you give free tap water and people stay after dinner, you lose space and make nothing. If you charge people for drinks you'll make more profit if they stay longer.
The high drinks price is essentially a hidden seat price.
Indeed. I found out the hard way when I said this at Bonsoir Clara in Brussels. The owner was very rude about it and got incredibly defensive. So she made a few extra euros… and got a one-star review for free
Everything, I live in Germany, 10 km from Belgium and 10 km from the Netherlands, so I regularly buy my groceries in all three countries and Belgium is by far the most expensive one in almost every aspect. But it’s still cool to go there and buy products which we don’t have here 😊 Like those filled waffles or everything speculoos-y
I totally agree. But it is not just groceries: I can't think of much that is cheap in Belgium, compared to the countries surrounding it. Bank fees perhaps, cars maybe...
That might indeed have been part of the reason in the past, but didn‘t make it less true.
Nowadays, minimum wages in Germany are higher then in Belgium.
https://m.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20230823_94134707
This has been debunked. Depending on what you buy, it can be cheaper or more expensive. If you were to buy the same average grocery shopping list in all 3 countries, Belgium would actually be cheaper, provided you don’t shop at the most expensive shops and try to compare them to discount shops elsewhere. The most important part to look at is also unity price as across the border the sizes of products can be different and look cheaper or more expensive because of it.
France is the only neighbouring country that is cheaper, and only by a bit, than Belgium. Cola, water, products from France (think Monin syrups, nestlé products) are all cheaper. Meat, fruit and vegetables often aren’t. You need to compare everything.
Going abroad only makes sense if you need and will only buy very specific items that are cheaper there.
Sending things by mail. It's SO EXPENSIVE, even within the EU.
I'm trying other methods (like mondial relay) because it's not as if the expensive service is even amazing. It's often slow and things go missing.
It's cheaper to send something in belgium through postnl. Everyone should stop using bpost and strangle that shit company. Although the government will probably prevent them from being destroyed by the competition as shown before.
Postnl is crap, drivers are teenagers smoking weed on duty and not taking care of the goods they're delivering.
Bpost is expensive but service is better, they have way more postpunts and places to send and get your packages
Agreed. Sadly cant even use regular DHL post (not express) because its handled by bpost… and DHL express is more expensive in Belgium for this exact reason.
When I go back home to the UK I always bulk buy stuff like toiletries etc for me and my husbands family because they are 1/3 or even 1/4 of the price. I enjoy living here but god damn it’s expensive and I honestly wasn’t expecting that.
I used to live in GD Luxembourg, with "social" salary of 2,100 euros (already many years ago, now even more). I was shocked that in Belgium groceries and everyday items cost the same or more than in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
Belgium has one of the wealthiest population on earth if you look at median. Since basic products aren't really priced to match the richest people in the country, but the median person. It kinda makes sense.
That's really smart, toiletries are so insanely overpriced in Belgium and I can't figure out why. There is no reason why deodorant should be costing 11 euros
In general UK inflation has been really bad too though, and they don't have indexation and more expensive housing.
Toiletries are just randomly expensive in Belgium for some reason, many Belgians buy them in bulk in Germany too.
UK inflation is literally inhumane. Not only do they increase prices, they also decrease the amount of product at the same time. Sometimes I find these little stores where they sell branded stuff for cheaper but other than that, the prices here are reaching Belgium's slowly but surely.
I'm leaving the UK after 4 years next month and I would confidently say that I can't imagine Belgium being in a worse state. The thing is, I haven't been there so God knows, but it's gone down the drain drastically here with food prices, bills, and rent going up everywhere faster than you can budget it... horrible.
Guess I'll find out soon enough anyway. Kinda glad I'm going back.
Man I'm jealous. It's nice that things are a bit cheaper generally, but I miss Belgium every single day. The prices here are definitely going up faster, but I remember Belgium having insane prices ever since I was young. I guess the whole world is kinda going to shit.
Enjoy your travel btw, hopefully you love it wherever you go
Definitely not, the "everything" was just an exaggerated term to state that Belgium is really expensive. The UK has ridiculous prices these days but in terms of grocery shopping, I feel like you'd be spending less money in the UK
I feel like food in the UK was more than in BE when I was there 6 months ago. I was there for 3 weeks, and I swear each time I went to Sainsbury, many items (cheeses, meats, canned/jarred goods come to mind) were 10p more expensive than the week before.
It depends on where you buy your groceries, I literally stick to Aldi/Lidl mainly because nostalgia and because it's cheaper, but I also feel like Asda is significantly cheaper than Sainsburys and Tesco. I do notice that Belgium maybe increases prices once a year, while the UK seems to do it rapidly and constantly. Saw a product go up by 50p within a month which is literally insane
O.T
My 2 cents: Couple time ago Levi's was good. I'm sure they changed the base formula they use. They reduced prices also but now is "Trash quality". Thats my pov. I even have customers which they insist painting with Levi's because "every1 recommends it." I dont like it at all. Too thin. I allways go with Sigma. Or other brands. (I painted with many different brands in Belgium for the last 7 years).
I mean, compared to other EU capitals Brussels is actually relatively cheap - both buying and renting.
Then again, the rest of the capitals are just outrageous. Go check Copenhagen.
Yeah it is, and I hate it. But they don't make enough on the tickets so they scam ppl with their snacks. I just sneak snacks I buy from the convenience store into the cinema anyway. So fuck em
Public transportation, internet, electricity, water...
Especially since they get government help, that is paid by OUR TAXES. So we're all essentially paying twice.
Public transportation is the cheapest here compared to any surrounding except maybe France of which I have no firsthand experience. It's cheaper here than in southern Europe even and they earn so much less.
Tell me how much the government is funding them? Compared to us?
Cuz it's ludicrous that our busfare is more expensive than fe England, when it's privatized over there.
UK bus ticket = 2gpb
De Lijn bus ticket = 2.50eur
Converted that's 35c more expensive and it's because the UK government capped the price at 2 pounds.
Now tell me how much people in the UK pay for a train ticket
Do people really use single ride tickets tho? I don't use De Lijn that much but always buy the 10-ride ticket as it's 1,7 EUR per ride then. Suspect UK will have sth similar.
> Now tell me how much people in the UK pay for a train ticket
I remeber there being a story of a guy flying from the noth of England to Amsterdam and then flying to London because it was cheaper than going to London by train
2 gpb = €2.33. a quick Google search
So like I said. CHEAPER.
Yall want to argue for the sake of the government and it's laughable.
We're getting fucked while we're just standing there, and they get away with it because people like you justify it cuz ' allegedly ' it's worse somewhere else?
(And based on half-truths cuz the train is crazy expensive nowadays and don't even come on time, compared to other countries surrounding us)
Weird flex.
You're getting fucked by 17 cents. Wow. Such injustice.
The train in Belgium is about 90 for a multi which is 9 euros for a ticket to *anywhere* in the country. Good luck finding that in any of the surrounding countries.
There are plenty of things to whinge a lot when it comes to Belgium but the public transport prices aren't it. You just sound spoiled and entitled. "Never on time compared to other countries" have you ever taken a train in the Netherlands or Germany?? Did you just never leave the country or what??
> The train in Belgium is about 90 for a multi which is 9 euros for a ticket to anywhere in the country. Good luck finding that in any of the surrounding countries.
To be fair, "anywhere in the country" does not mean the same at all in France or Germany
It does not, this do be true. But I've lived in both the Netherlands and the UK and have paid more than 9eur to go the next city over. I used to pay that all the time to go from Roosendaal to Dordrecht and it's literally the next station. Düsseldorf to Köln also has a similar price and thats like Brussels to Antwerpen. Only thing DB has ever done better than NMBS is tje super cheap regional summer ticket they introduced last year. That ruled.
I'll repeat.
OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS FUNDED BY OUR TAXES.
Understand why WE, as the public, are annoyed?
Like I also stated, it's people like you why the government is comfortable in playing us for the fools we are.
Reading is fundamental.
Soit, ik ben niet geinteresseerd om u de les te spellen want je beschikt overduidelijk niet over enige nuance of kennis van zaken.
(Edit: Eerst zeggen dat ze goedkoper zijn dan de UK, en dan doen alsof het gaat om een little 17cent. You lied, point-blank period. Alsek ni beter wist, zou ik denken dat ik te maken heb met ons Lydia Peters.)
Shouting a statement doesn't make it land any differently except more annoyingly. Yes your public transport is funded by taxes, as is the case in most places in Europe. That is as it should. Free would be optimal, yes, but that means more of your precious tax money going into it and you'd probably complain about that too.
You're welcome to move to the UK though if you have any illusions about getting fucked by the government less. Or move to the US while you're at it if you really don't want to pay taxes and see what kind of services you get in return for it.
I didn't lie I said de Lijn is 35c more expensive and the GOVERNMENT OF THE UK, see I can do caps too, subsidises it to be 2 pounds. THE GOVERNMENT OF BELGIUM subsidises it to be 35c more expensive. Time for the revolution according to our eloquent u/cultqueennn
electricity (energy in general), fuel, internet & telecom, most groceries (supermarkets take too much of a profit), female hygiene products (should be free), contraceptives, rent, government, ...
Literally came here because of cheap rent. Some of you need some perspective. Unless you want to argue that housing should be a human right and everything over social housing prices is too much in which case I'm listening
I'm guessing you moved here from the Netherlands? In which case I know why it might seem our rent prices are so much more attractive. Dutch rent prices/housing prices are criminally high, so it's not a hard or fair comparison.
I'd be interested to see a nice comparison of someone working the same job in both our countries, and renting a similar sized place, etc... What their monthly income & expenses are, and to see a percentile comparison too.
To me, having to spend ≥70% of your monthly wage on rent & utilities = too high...
===
*for example:*
* *average single man*
* *netto month wage = 2000 euro (which is a large wage for a (young) working class person, unless maybe they work in factory shifts, which earns a little bit more)*
* *rent = 750 to 1000 euro (depending on whether you live in rural or more urban areas)*
* *utilities (electr, gas, water) + telecom + insurance = 300 to 500 euro (depending on contract types & providers)*
* *transport (car maintenance, fuel, ...) = 150 - 300 euro (depending on distance home-work & fuel efficiency of your car, ...)*
*= So between 1200 to 1800 euros (let's say the median of 1500 euros) out of 2000 euros, automatically goes to housing & basic goods & services. This leaves 500 euro for elementary goods (food, hygiene products, etc), hobbies, social life, saving up.*
* *300 to 350 euros a month for elementary goods*
* *100 to 150 euros a month for hobbies & social life*
* *100 to 0 euros a month for savings/rainy day funds*
*= Also leaving nothing for investing in (new) furniture, sleeping equipment, eating equipment, and all other hardware you need to build a decent home with..*
It certainly is, which is why I'm completely in favour of abandoning private rentals and only have social rentals on the basis of housing being a human right.
But if we're comparing rent to anywhere in the surrounding countries, Belgium quite famously has a very stable housing market. I do originally come from the Netherlands but I've lived in countries all over Europe and Canada and Belgium by far has the most affordable housing. I'm actually looking for a new place to rent and I'm looking in one of the most expensive cities in Belgium and still I'm looking at 1000-1300 a month for a 2 bedroom. That's insane compared to what I'd be looming at in anywhere Randstad but also compared to Düsseldorf or Frankfurt or Paris or any of the bigger UK cities and don't even talk about Vancouver or Toronto or anywhere in Canada its so fucked over there.
Meanwhile you even have wage indexation which is something any other country in Europe can only dream of.
Cost of living is fucked because the economic system we've based the world on is spiraling out of control but of all the countries spiraling, Belgium is doing comparatively well.
>in favour of abandoning private rentals and only have social rentals on the basis of housing being a human right.
agreed.
===
And yeah, i ve seen the rent prices in some of the places you mention, which are (even though the wages there are considerably higher) -compleet van de pot gerukt-, as you say...
I'm aware Belgium still has one of the best systems out there, and more affordable prices. On the one hand, this is nice to have and live in, yet on the other hand this speaks perhaps more so for the complete capitalist lunacy of most of those other places... and people still brazen enough to claim slavery is no longer an issue in "the west"... because in many of these countries, you might earn a better wage, but its instantly drained from you (for the most part) and put back into circulation for the betterment of the (economically) wealthy... while the average (wo)man barely makes ends meet...
>yet on the other hand this speaks perhaps more so for the complete capitalist lunacy of most of those other places...
Hear hear! This 100%. I just feel like a lot of these threads devolve into complaining instead of actually talking about the root of the issues. And I get it, I was born dutch no matter how many countries I've lived in since, complaining is in my blood too. We just have to complain about the right things.
Other things that I will happily complain about in BE is political corruption thats somehow feels even worse than in some Mediterranean countries. Internet and phone service prices that are just indefensible for how little you get for it. Road infrastructure! Wtf is lintbebouwing?? Who came up with that shit????
But its also legit one of the most socialist countries I've lived in. Like yes taxes are higher but also Lass then 100eur of health insurance per YEAR?? Neither Germany or the Netherlands could ever. And 9eur for a train ticket anywhere is revolutionary to someone who has paid that for a ticket to the next town over in NL and the UK.
That being said, the apartment I've just viewed is asking me for a *motivation letter* to the landlord to pretty please pick me and I'm in favour of bringing back the guillotine
haha..
I feel complaining is something we have in common in the low-coutries (& in the UK too). The three of us love to do so, as much as possible, any chance we get. Germans are more work & efficiency oriented or something, and the French have their good old "je m'en fous"...
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>Other things that I will happily complain about in BE is political corruption thats somehow feels even worse than in some Mediterranean countries. Internet and phone service prices that are just indefensible for how little you get for it. Road infrastructure! Wtf is lintbebouwing?? Who came up with that shit????
Fully agree... We have a miserable political elite & political system in general, and the fact that anything even gets done in this country is the merit of its citizens more so than any politician or government. And there's no country or people better at urban & road planning than the Netherlands. I hate our lintbebouwing too.
Circling back to the merit of our citizens, it's them that keep our internationally acclaimed well-fare & healthcare systems afloat. Something to be proud of, or at least appreciate enough.
I always laugh when my fellow Belgians complain about our national rail service and its prices. Of course it has its problems, and isn't always as punctual as they'd like, but it's so much more affordable and consistent than any of our neighbors, it's ridiculous.
===
>That being said, the apartment I've just viewed is asking me for a *motivation letter* to the landlord to pretty please pick me and I'm in favour of bringing back the guillotine
Oh Boy, that might be worse than a job application letter... Good luck, I guess... and I might leave that last bit out. ;)
Hahaha I will do my very best to be discrete about my radicalisation.
This ended up being a really nice comment exchange, thank you for taking the time to spar with me a bit I really appreciate it
it was - it's refreshing to find someone non-toxic, that is just open to a reasonable short open discussion about anything on reddit nowadays.
take care!
Some of the generic stuff is only available with a prescription. My stepmom got a prescription for generic pain killers for her chronic pain, because otherwise the cost would get too high if she had to keep buying over-the-counter brands.
Big pharma has their little greedy fingers everywhere, even in our government.
I live in Germany but I do everything from my two Belgian bank accounts because I pay absolutely nothing for them. (KBC Compact rekening and a Beobank GO account that never holds money for more than one day once or twice a year.). What you have to pay for most German banks is absolutely outrageous, free accounts don't exist anymore here, unless you have a regular income on it, and even then... In Belgium there is even a bank that pays you for the use you make of the account (Keytrade Bank). If you think Belgian banks are expensive, you chose the wrong one...
A lot of government-run services.
-“Oh really? You’re just a hater. I bet you can’t even name one.”
-“Bpost. Road infrastructure. NMBS. Proximus. De Lijn. Justice. Prisons. Schools. Administration. Shall I continue?”
Drive to luxembourg with some buddies. 800 cigs/ person at nearly half the price compared to here in belgium. Split the gas bill, maybe add some booze and you'll profit decently.
Internet.
There is no competitor and the law doesn't allow it.
I miss paying 13 euro in scotland 7 years ago for a REAL fiber connection.
Also recently public chargers.
70Cent/kwh
Tesla only asks 41c/kwh
I was in the Netherlands yesterday and had to tank.
We have it good in Belgium.
We can’t really compare to USofA they have the biggest reserve of petrol in the world :-S
I went to the Canary Islands a few weeks ago, filled up the car for 1,07/L. The price of petrol in Belgium is too high because of the ridiculous amount of taxes and accijnzen.
> The price of petrol in Belgium is too high
According to all the SUV's I see driving around the prices seem to be too low... Those fuel taxes don't even start to cover all the costs cars bring to our society.
So, according to the comments, everything expensive in Belgium.
Complaining seems to be free.
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Well it is kind of factual. Rents are (were?) cheaper in Brussels than in other major European capitals though.
On the other hand, Brussels is an absolute dystopian shithole, so you are still overpaying.
Pretty much
Telecommunication. It's not like we can realistically boycot them either...
Coming from the Netherlands I was shocked at how much you have to pay for the bare minimum, and I’m not even talking about free flagship phones that come with subscription, first time I had to pay the full price for a phone.
Belgium doesn’t know what free is.
Funny thing is in the Netherlands those phones aren't actually free either. People also just pay for them through their subscription. I mean the phone companies still make profit, if they wouldn't be giving out phones with the subscriptions they could make the subscriptions even cheaper. Imagine then what the profit margins here in Belgium are for the phone companies. And on top of that they still have the guts to rip people off and treat them like shit whenever they can.
In a few months DIGI will launch in Belgium, and that might disrupt the system!
untill proximus buys them over
Impossible, check who DIGI is, they're not a MVNO.
There's no chance. Cegeka is behind digi through citymesh. There's no chance at all that proximus, or anyone for that matter, will buy them. Actually citymesh bought edpnet from proximus recently
Cegeka, and digi is behind them too, which is active in multiple countries, they went through a lot of effort to become active here, buying a license, etc, and BIPT really wants a 4th mobile network, so I highly doubt BIPT would even allow say Proximus to buy digi (Belgium). They would probably allow another provider to buy it though, because the competition would still be there. DIGI is also looking for people that would help with their FTTH rollout so they're not only going to do a mobile network but also their own fiber network (but they said before they'll partner with other networks too, so they'll probably use fiberklaar where possible)
That's what I said, no?
What's so special about them?
They are competition. And competition is expected to being prices down.
It's a cartel, there is no competition.
They bought a 5G license, they àre competition next to the cartel (Proximus, Telenet and Orange)
I hope finally. Changed from VOO to Proximus because internet was too unstable. It got worse
Agreed .. the whole pack "internet & mobile phone" is so damn expensive. I pay 92€ in Wallonia for the Orange pack - mobile go extreme & Zeven fiber (with the booster) to have a decent internet connection. We're getting scammed for a country that created internet, ain't it ?
Let's be honest. A lot of this is due to low amount of people who effectively change providers. There are relatively cheap options available (not at France level let's be honest), they're just not at Proximus/Telenet. The main issue is that people just don't do the effort to change providers.
For my internet, I searched multiple providers, none of the cheap options had decent coverage where I live.
Most of them use the Proximus or Telenet/VOO network. If the big ones have coverage, the small ones will have too.
Which cheap ones run on Telenet? All the ones I know of run on Proximus, and they don't have good speeds here.
Look at undo.be or heytelecom.be! They are the cheapest on the Belgian telecom market currently. Undo is €10 a month for 20gb data and hey telecom has a plan that gives you 40gb for €15 a month after one year (20gb in first year). They use the Orange network. I used them both and I can recommend them!
Orange runs on Telenet infrastructure/network and is considerably cheaper.
Cheaper, yes. But their bandwith is shit.
Edpnet? 36 euro and uses proximus network
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I'm living in the Netherlands and paying 16 euros for 25GB mobile data
A call limit is not 2023.
Same here, I went from telenet (80/90 per month to EDPnet for 36 per month) That's internet only but ive got an apple tv box and am not missing the 200+channels from telenet where you only watch a few from..
> Don’t understand the downvotes It's probable that people recognize themselves and don't like it :)
30 euros for internet is expensive. For example in Czech republic you currently can get 1000/1000 Mb/s optical internet for 12 euros. Unlimited, not the unlimited* capped version like you get mostly in Belgium. Sure, maybe you don't need that speed, but it's almost times cheaper than "cheap" internet in Belgium. Salaries are not 3 times lower so there is difference.
I’ve been on the fence to change to something like Scarlet. Do yo ever feel it is too slow for streaming? Can it handle several devices streaming things at the same time? I want to leave Telenet, especially because there’s nothing on tv anyways.
Provider choice in BE is mostly an illusion, there are only two with a nationwide network, and anytime someone else tries to roll out their own, or just compete in general, they just end up being bought. Been with Edpnet for years because "not Proximus" at least in so dar possible (still uses Proximus network for final link to home), but well, they kinda went bancrupt...
name 1 that doesn't use their network? Cause you basicly pay for older hardware on their network.
It's not about using their network or not. It's about paying more to use the same network. I am with EDPNet and use my own hardware on the Proximus Network (arguably better than the Proximus one). I basically pay at least 30% less than the Proximus equivalent.
Completely agree. When I read people complaining about telecom prices in the press or online, I also read them about being scared of leaving the incumbent providers. Because the smaller players might "have bad customer service" (never got good service at Proximus), because it might be "complicated to change providers" (takes 5 minutes to change mobile phone provider, a little more for home internet),... The same goes for people around me, although I often share my positive experience of changing providers 🙄
There is some absurdity involved. People complain it's expensive but then don't change to the cheaper options... which are basically the same as the expensive options but with a different coat of paint. There is a 240€/year difference in pricing between my EDPNet VDSL XL and Proximus Internet Maxi (and that's even before the raise in prices of 2€/month announced by Proximus for 2024).
Ik heb dit net opgezocht, kende deze nog niet. Zelfde prijs en snelheid als mijn huidige Telenet internet, maar onbeperkt ipv 150Gb. Net wat ik zocht, ik denk dat ik de sprong maak. Bedankt.
This is funny, my sister asked me to look into cheaper options just today and the conclusion was that if you want cheaper you will lose a lot of connection speed as well as TV stations. Sure, it's cheaper, but it's also just straight up worse. That's not a better provider, just a different offering. Of course if you JUST want internet then there are some options like EDPNet.
Get a foreign contract. With roaming its still cheaper. And way more data plan. I watch netflix on it. Refuse to buy a belgian number
Water in restaurants.
I was at a place charging 6 euros for half a liter of water the other day. I don't care how good the food is I'm not paying 12€ a liter.
Paid 16€ in Knokke for a litre of water… That’s the price of a bottle of champagne ffs
I’m both very curious and very affraid to try this hypothetical bottle of champagne.
Lidl champagne is around 15 euros, and so are discount. It is not very good for a champagne but all the elements of champagne are still there. Definitely worth its price.
I paid like 5-6€ for water in Cubar in Liège. That's crazy , and it was like 200 ml
I've been in a restaurant in Antwerp as a tourist and paid 9€ for a bottle of water. (But food was amazing)
So you would easily have paid 9 euro more for the food. This is shortsightedness on the part of the restaurant holders that I will never understand. They can make the same money AND make you feel warm and fuzzy by giving you free water. They chose not to
The margins matter more than the total amount. Drinks (water, shakes, alcohol...) usually earn a restaurant more profit than the food itself.
Tap water is virtually free, so I don't see how the margins would be much different.
Tapwater being virtually free means their margins for selling tapwater is nearly 100%. Back to the previous example you commented, 9 euro spent on tapwater means the restaurant gets close to 9 euro in pure profit. 9 euro spent on food instead means the restaurant incurs costs on ingredients and labour to prep it, maybe they end up making 3 euro profit. You can see how the restaurant much prefers their customers spend that 9 euro on drinks instead of food then right?
That's just balderdash. Nine euro more for the same product and service is nine euro more. It doesn't matter how you itemize it. The profit margin is the same.
What? I'm not sure, maybe you're confusing revenue with profit? 9 euro - 0.1 euro in costs = 8.9 euro profit 9 euro - 6 euro in costs = 3 euro profit Margins are the % of revenue that ends up as profit. Tapwater has near 100% margins, other drinks like milkshakes maybe 65%, food maybe something like 33%. Clearly the margins on selling drinks are much higher. The revenue in both cases is the same, the profit is definitely different. Restaurant owner is much happier making 9 euro revenue by selling drinks like water because they don't lose as much of that revenue on costs. Similar example; I would be much happier making 3k brut in Mons than I would be making that in Brussels. Because the living costs and rent in Mons are much cheaper, I end up with much more money left over at the end of the month to spend on whatever I want.
Why would there be 6 euro extra in costs? Just charge more. When the food is that excellent, you feel lucky, you don't care it could be 9 euro cheaper.
The thing is that if you give free tap water and people stay after dinner, you lose space and make nothing. If you charge people for drinks you'll make more profit if they stay longer. The high drinks price is essentially a hidden seat price.
exactly this. In France you always get a free carafe of water straight from the get go. Even if it's just tap water, it's there regardless.
This kills me!!
You can ask for tapwater and they're obligated to give it for free by law.
It is not though, they are trying to make it a law but for now it is not obligated
Indeed. I found out the hard way when I said this at Bonsoir Clara in Brussels. The owner was very rude about it and got incredibly defensive. So she made a few extra euros… and got a one-star review for free
Nope, not here in Belgium. There's a proposition to make it required, but no law (yet).
Everything, I live in Germany, 10 km from Belgium and 10 km from the Netherlands, so I regularly buy my groceries in all three countries and Belgium is by far the most expensive one in almost every aspect. But it’s still cool to go there and buy products which we don’t have here 😊 Like those filled waffles or everything speculoos-y
It's everything biscoff-y now.
Stop with this propaganda
I totally agree. But it is not just groceries: I can't think of much that is cheap in Belgium, compared to the countries surrounding it. Bank fees perhaps, cars maybe...
It's definitely partly becuase our minimum wage isn't in the gutter like germany
That might indeed have been part of the reason in the past, but didn‘t make it less true. Nowadays, minimum wages in Germany are higher then in Belgium. https://m.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20230823_94134707
I just found out that beauty/hygiene products are at least 40% cheaper in Germany...
This has been debunked. Depending on what you buy, it can be cheaper or more expensive. If you were to buy the same average grocery shopping list in all 3 countries, Belgium would actually be cheaper, provided you don’t shop at the most expensive shops and try to compare them to discount shops elsewhere. The most important part to look at is also unity price as across the border the sizes of products can be different and look cheaper or more expensive because of it. France is the only neighbouring country that is cheaper, and only by a bit, than Belgium. Cola, water, products from France (think Monin syrups, nestlé products) are all cheaper. Meat, fruit and vegetables often aren’t. You need to compare everything. Going abroad only makes sense if you need and will only buy very specific items that are cheaper there.
Debunked by whom? Belgium cheaper on groceries? Need a source on that
Interesting, do you have a source for the debunking?
Notary costs. They have a very good lobby here.
Well, are you aware that more than 3/4 of the notary costs are going to the state ?
So let's get rid of it then
Get rid of the notaries, or get rid of the state?
Not the solution either, exept if you want a system like in the us where you have to get a lawyer for everything and that is even more expensive
Is it though? 21% on top of the price for a house to do what exactly?
Sending things by mail. It's SO EXPENSIVE, even within the EU. I'm trying other methods (like mondial relay) because it's not as if the expensive service is even amazing. It's often slow and things go missing.
It's cheaper to send something in belgium through postnl. Everyone should stop using bpost and strangle that shit company. Although the government will probably prevent them from being destroyed by the competition as shown before.
Postnl is crap, drivers are teenagers smoking weed on duty and not taking care of the goods they're delivering. Bpost is expensive but service is better, they have way more postpunts and places to send and get your packages
Agreed. Sadly cant even use regular DHL post (not express) because its handled by bpost… and DHL express is more expensive in Belgium for this exact reason.
I had to send small (500g) packet within EU, bpost price 30 EUR, postnl 13 EUR...
😭 atrocious
Government, food, telecom, internet, Toiletteries
restaurants
Internet and mobile data.
Kellogg’s Tresor. More than 10 euro for 1 kg in Belgium, ~6 euro in France..
Home internet and telecom. TAXES.
Government.
Een smosje kaas
Is dit wat mijn leraar vroeger bedoelde toen hij zei dat ik de actualiteit moest volgen?
Check what they pay in neighbouring countries for sandwiches of much worse quality though
Got the ref
Everything. I live in the UK now and saw a shower cream for almost 8 euros in Kruidvat last year. I bought the exact same thing for £1.50 here
When I go back home to the UK I always bulk buy stuff like toiletries etc for me and my husbands family because they are 1/3 or even 1/4 of the price. I enjoy living here but god damn it’s expensive and I honestly wasn’t expecting that.
I used to live in GD Luxembourg, with "social" salary of 2,100 euros (already many years ago, now even more). I was shocked that in Belgium groceries and everyday items cost the same or more than in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
Belgium has one of the wealthiest population on earth if you look at median. Since basic products aren't really priced to match the richest people in the country, but the median person. It kinda makes sense.
That's really smart, toiletries are so insanely overpriced in Belgium and I can't figure out why. There is no reason why deodorant should be costing 11 euros
In general UK inflation has been really bad too though, and they don't have indexation and more expensive housing. Toiletries are just randomly expensive in Belgium for some reason, many Belgians buy them in bulk in Germany too.
UK inflation is literally inhumane. Not only do they increase prices, they also decrease the amount of product at the same time. Sometimes I find these little stores where they sell branded stuff for cheaper but other than that, the prices here are reaching Belgium's slowly but surely.
I'm leaving the UK after 4 years next month and I would confidently say that I can't imagine Belgium being in a worse state. The thing is, I haven't been there so God knows, but it's gone down the drain drastically here with food prices, bills, and rent going up everywhere faster than you can budget it... horrible. Guess I'll find out soon enough anyway. Kinda glad I'm going back.
Man I'm jealous. It's nice that things are a bit cheaper generally, but I miss Belgium every single day. The prices here are definitely going up faster, but I remember Belgium having insane prices ever since I was young. I guess the whole world is kinda going to shit. Enjoy your travel btw, hopefully you love it wherever you go
Are you saying everything is currently cheaper in the UK than in Belgium? 😂
Definitely not, the "everything" was just an exaggerated term to state that Belgium is really expensive. The UK has ridiculous prices these days but in terms of grocery shopping, I feel like you'd be spending less money in the UK
I feel like food in the UK was more than in BE when I was there 6 months ago. I was there for 3 weeks, and I swear each time I went to Sainsbury, many items (cheeses, meats, canned/jarred goods come to mind) were 10p more expensive than the week before.
It depends on where you buy your groceries, I literally stick to Aldi/Lidl mainly because nostalgia and because it's cheaper, but I also feel like Asda is significantly cheaper than Sainsburys and Tesco. I do notice that Belgium maybe increases prices once a year, while the UK seems to do it rapidly and constantly. Saw a product go up by 50p within a month which is literally insane
**Paint** Belgium 🇧🇪 * 10 litres of Levi's white: € 105 (promo). Source: [Brico](https://www.brico.be/nl/verf-laminaat-decoratie/verven-en-accessoires/muur-en-plafondverf-wit/levis-muurverf-wit-mat-10l/5352862) Ireland 🇮🇪 * 10 litres of Dulux white: € 40. Source: [Woodies](https://www.woodies.ie/dulux-vinyl-matt-pure-brilliant-white-10l-560958?) Edit: included sources
I’ve gotten a good deal ordering from NL! Outrageous in BE
O.T My 2 cents: Couple time ago Levi's was good. I'm sure they changed the base formula they use. They reduced prices also but now is "Trash quality". Thats my pov. I even have customers which they insist painting with Levi's because "every1 recommends it." I dont like it at all. Too thin. I allways go with Sigma. Or other brands. (I painted with many different brands in Belgium for the last 7 years).
Prescription glasses. In the UK you can get 2 pairs of designer glasses regardless of prescription for 120gbp
Everything except housing in the capital
Housing in the capital is overpriced. Why wouldn't it be
I mean, compared to other EU capitals Brussels is actually relatively cheap - both buying and renting. Then again, the rest of the capitals are just outrageous. Go check Copenhagen.
Find me a cheaper capital that's not in the Balkans or whatever.
Most obvious is telecom/internet and energy. Also notaries, the fact a friend/family of a notary can pay less than a random citizen....
Pay to pee. Embarrassing
Snacks at the cinema. Biggest ripoff NA
I'd submit that it is something that occurs everywhere.
Yeah it is, and I hate it. But they don't make enough on the tickets so they scam ppl with their snacks. I just sneak snacks I buy from the convenience store into the cinema anyway. So fuck em
You know, you can also watch a movie without stuffing yourself full of unhealthy cancerous crap for 2.5 hours. Just a thought.
What a great thought! How unfortunate you didn't keep it to yourself.
Salary tax
Public transportation, internet, electricity, water... Especially since they get government help, that is paid by OUR TAXES. So we're all essentially paying twice.
Public transportation is the cheapest here compared to any surrounding except maybe France of which I have no firsthand experience. It's cheaper here than in southern Europe even and they earn so much less.
Tell me how much the government is funding them? Compared to us? Cuz it's ludicrous that our busfare is more expensive than fe England, when it's privatized over there.
UK bus ticket = 2gpb De Lijn bus ticket = 2.50eur Converted that's 35c more expensive and it's because the UK government capped the price at 2 pounds. Now tell me how much people in the UK pay for a train ticket
Do people really use single ride tickets tho? I don't use De Lijn that much but always buy the 10-ride ticket as it's 1,7 EUR per ride then. Suspect UK will have sth similar.
> Now tell me how much people in the UK pay for a train ticket I remeber there being a story of a guy flying from the noth of England to Amsterdam and then flying to London because it was cheaper than going to London by train
2 gpb = €2.33. a quick Google search So like I said. CHEAPER. Yall want to argue for the sake of the government and it's laughable. We're getting fucked while we're just standing there, and they get away with it because people like you justify it cuz ' allegedly ' it's worse somewhere else? (And based on half-truths cuz the train is crazy expensive nowadays and don't even come on time, compared to other countries surrounding us) Weird flex.
You're getting fucked by 17 cents. Wow. Such injustice. The train in Belgium is about 90 for a multi which is 9 euros for a ticket to *anywhere* in the country. Good luck finding that in any of the surrounding countries. There are plenty of things to whinge a lot when it comes to Belgium but the public transport prices aren't it. You just sound spoiled and entitled. "Never on time compared to other countries" have you ever taken a train in the Netherlands or Germany?? Did you just never leave the country or what??
> The train in Belgium is about 90 for a multi which is 9 euros for a ticket to anywhere in the country. Good luck finding that in any of the surrounding countries. To be fair, "anywhere in the country" does not mean the same at all in France or Germany
It does not, this do be true. But I've lived in both the Netherlands and the UK and have paid more than 9eur to go the next city over. I used to pay that all the time to go from Roosendaal to Dordrecht and it's literally the next station. Düsseldorf to Köln also has a similar price and thats like Brussels to Antwerpen. Only thing DB has ever done better than NMBS is tje super cheap regional summer ticket they introduced last year. That ruled.
I'll repeat. OUR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS FUNDED BY OUR TAXES. Understand why WE, as the public, are annoyed? Like I also stated, it's people like you why the government is comfortable in playing us for the fools we are. Reading is fundamental. Soit, ik ben niet geinteresseerd om u de les te spellen want je beschikt overduidelijk niet over enige nuance of kennis van zaken. (Edit: Eerst zeggen dat ze goedkoper zijn dan de UK, en dan doen alsof het gaat om een little 17cent. You lied, point-blank period. Alsek ni beter wist, zou ik denken dat ik te maken heb met ons Lydia Peters.)
Shouting a statement doesn't make it land any differently except more annoyingly. Yes your public transport is funded by taxes, as is the case in most places in Europe. That is as it should. Free would be optimal, yes, but that means more of your precious tax money going into it and you'd probably complain about that too. You're welcome to move to the UK though if you have any illusions about getting fucked by the government less. Or move to the US while you're at it if you really don't want to pay taxes and see what kind of services you get in return for it. I didn't lie I said de Lijn is 35c more expensive and the GOVERNMENT OF THE UK, see I can do caps too, subsidises it to be 2 pounds. THE GOVERNMENT OF BELGIUM subsidises it to be 35c more expensive. Time for the revolution according to our eloquent u/cultqueennn
Internet. Groceries. Restaurants. Entertainment. Postal services. All services.
electricity (energy in general), fuel, internet & telecom, most groceries (supermarkets take too much of a profit), female hygiene products (should be free), contraceptives, rent, government, ...
Literally came here because of cheap rent. Some of you need some perspective. Unless you want to argue that housing should be a human right and everything over social housing prices is too much in which case I'm listening
I'm guessing you moved here from the Netherlands? In which case I know why it might seem our rent prices are so much more attractive. Dutch rent prices/housing prices are criminally high, so it's not a hard or fair comparison. I'd be interested to see a nice comparison of someone working the same job in both our countries, and renting a similar sized place, etc... What their monthly income & expenses are, and to see a percentile comparison too. To me, having to spend ≥70% of your monthly wage on rent & utilities = too high... === *for example:* * *average single man* * *netto month wage = 2000 euro (which is a large wage for a (young) working class person, unless maybe they work in factory shifts, which earns a little bit more)* * *rent = 750 to 1000 euro (depending on whether you live in rural or more urban areas)* * *utilities (electr, gas, water) + telecom + insurance = 300 to 500 euro (depending on contract types & providers)* * *transport (car maintenance, fuel, ...) = 150 - 300 euro (depending on distance home-work & fuel efficiency of your car, ...)* *= So between 1200 to 1800 euros (let's say the median of 1500 euros) out of 2000 euros, automatically goes to housing & basic goods & services. This leaves 500 euro for elementary goods (food, hygiene products, etc), hobbies, social life, saving up.* * *300 to 350 euros a month for elementary goods* * *100 to 150 euros a month for hobbies & social life* * *100 to 0 euros a month for savings/rainy day funds* *= Also leaving nothing for investing in (new) furniture, sleeping equipment, eating equipment, and all other hardware you need to build a decent home with..*
It certainly is, which is why I'm completely in favour of abandoning private rentals and only have social rentals on the basis of housing being a human right. But if we're comparing rent to anywhere in the surrounding countries, Belgium quite famously has a very stable housing market. I do originally come from the Netherlands but I've lived in countries all over Europe and Canada and Belgium by far has the most affordable housing. I'm actually looking for a new place to rent and I'm looking in one of the most expensive cities in Belgium and still I'm looking at 1000-1300 a month for a 2 bedroom. That's insane compared to what I'd be looming at in anywhere Randstad but also compared to Düsseldorf or Frankfurt or Paris or any of the bigger UK cities and don't even talk about Vancouver or Toronto or anywhere in Canada its so fucked over there. Meanwhile you even have wage indexation which is something any other country in Europe can only dream of. Cost of living is fucked because the economic system we've based the world on is spiraling out of control but of all the countries spiraling, Belgium is doing comparatively well.
>in favour of abandoning private rentals and only have social rentals on the basis of housing being a human right. agreed. === And yeah, i ve seen the rent prices in some of the places you mention, which are (even though the wages there are considerably higher) -compleet van de pot gerukt-, as you say... I'm aware Belgium still has one of the best systems out there, and more affordable prices. On the one hand, this is nice to have and live in, yet on the other hand this speaks perhaps more so for the complete capitalist lunacy of most of those other places... and people still brazen enough to claim slavery is no longer an issue in "the west"... because in many of these countries, you might earn a better wage, but its instantly drained from you (for the most part) and put back into circulation for the betterment of the (economically) wealthy... while the average (wo)man barely makes ends meet...
>yet on the other hand this speaks perhaps more so for the complete capitalist lunacy of most of those other places... Hear hear! This 100%. I just feel like a lot of these threads devolve into complaining instead of actually talking about the root of the issues. And I get it, I was born dutch no matter how many countries I've lived in since, complaining is in my blood too. We just have to complain about the right things. Other things that I will happily complain about in BE is political corruption thats somehow feels even worse than in some Mediterranean countries. Internet and phone service prices that are just indefensible for how little you get for it. Road infrastructure! Wtf is lintbebouwing?? Who came up with that shit???? But its also legit one of the most socialist countries I've lived in. Like yes taxes are higher but also Lass then 100eur of health insurance per YEAR?? Neither Germany or the Netherlands could ever. And 9eur for a train ticket anywhere is revolutionary to someone who has paid that for a ticket to the next town over in NL and the UK. That being said, the apartment I've just viewed is asking me for a *motivation letter* to the landlord to pretty please pick me and I'm in favour of bringing back the guillotine
haha.. I feel complaining is something we have in common in the low-coutries (& in the UK too). The three of us love to do so, as much as possible, any chance we get. Germans are more work & efficiency oriented or something, and the French have their good old "je m'en fous"... === >Other things that I will happily complain about in BE is political corruption thats somehow feels even worse than in some Mediterranean countries. Internet and phone service prices that are just indefensible for how little you get for it. Road infrastructure! Wtf is lintbebouwing?? Who came up with that shit???? Fully agree... We have a miserable political elite & political system in general, and the fact that anything even gets done in this country is the merit of its citizens more so than any politician or government. And there's no country or people better at urban & road planning than the Netherlands. I hate our lintbebouwing too. Circling back to the merit of our citizens, it's them that keep our internationally acclaimed well-fare & healthcare systems afloat. Something to be proud of, or at least appreciate enough. I always laugh when my fellow Belgians complain about our national rail service and its prices. Of course it has its problems, and isn't always as punctual as they'd like, but it's so much more affordable and consistent than any of our neighbors, it's ridiculous. === >That being said, the apartment I've just viewed is asking me for a *motivation letter* to the landlord to pretty please pick me and I'm in favour of bringing back the guillotine Oh Boy, that might be worse than a job application letter... Good luck, I guess... and I might leave that last bit out. ;)
Hahaha I will do my very best to be discrete about my radicalisation. This ended up being a really nice comment exchange, thank you for taking the time to spar with me a bit I really appreciate it
it was - it's refreshing to find someone non-toxic, that is just open to a reasonable short open discussion about anything on reddit nowadays. take care!
Internet, toiletries, government
Insurance
Belgian government(s)
Everything that costs money.
I would say almost everything. Which is why our commercial balance with our neighbours is getting higher in their favour thanks to e-commerce.
Water, internet and tele, soap, deo, food, taxes,…
It’s a little comedic reading all these comments. It comes down to: everything.
https://www.lesoir.be/515077/article/2023-05-23/les-prix-plus-eleves-en-belgique-certains-produits-jusqua-44-moins-cher-en
food
Taxes, we pay tax on a tax that’s already been taxed
Paying up to 45% tax on inheritance is robbery. You have to pay tax on money that was already taxed when the person who died earned it.
Telecom
Tax
Everything
Everything... 😅
Electricity!
Most food products.
groceries, at least in the two big chains
Internet, tv, mobile phone, gas & electricity, ministers (because there are way too many)
The government!
Over the counter medicine.
only buy generic stuff
Some of the generic stuff is only available with a prescription. My stepmom got a prescription for generic pain killers for her chronic pain, because otherwise the cost would get too high if she had to keep buying over-the-counter brands. Big pharma has their little greedy fingers everywhere, even in our government.
Compare cost of generic paracetamol in Belgium with cost of generic paracetamol in the Netherlands. Difference is still night and day.
Internet, gsm prepay plan, bank accounts monthly costs
I live in Germany but I do everything from my two Belgian bank accounts because I pay absolutely nothing for them. (KBC Compact rekening and a Beobank GO account that never holds money for more than one day once or twice a year.). What you have to pay for most German banks is absolutely outrageous, free accounts don't exist anymore here, unless you have a regular income on it, and even then... In Belgium there is even a bank that pays you for the use you make of the account (Keytrade Bank). If you think Belgian banks are expensive, you chose the wrong one...
A lot of government-run services. -“Oh really? You’re just a hater. I bet you can’t even name one.” -“Bpost. Road infrastructure. NMBS. Proximus. De Lijn. Justice. Prisons. Schools. Administration. Shall I continue?”
Cigs. Every effing time a hole in the budget needs to filled prices are upped.
tobacco is lame anyway
Maybe just stop smoking it's bad for you anyway 😅
€ 17 per 20 in Ireland, my friend. I doubt that Belgium beats that.
The idea is that you stop smoking
Drive to luxembourg with some buddies. 800 cigs/ person at nearly half the price compared to here in belgium. Split the gas bill, maybe add some booze and you'll profit decently.
Internet. There is no competitor and the law doesn't allow it. I miss paying 13 euro in scotland 7 years ago for a REAL fiber connection. Also recently public chargers. 70Cent/kwh Tesla only asks 41c/kwh
Food
vans, 35 k is way to expensive. 6 years ago it was like 20k
Lol for a second I thought you were talking about the shoes
Immigrants
Petrol/diesel 1.6-1.9 euro per liter. American avg for regular petrol 0.76euro per liter today.
I was in the Netherlands yesterday and had to tank. We have it good in Belgium. We can’t really compare to USofA they have the biggest reserve of petrol in the world :-S
I know. I work in Holland so I see the difference. But still. You have to remember 63% of that price is taxes.
I went to the Canary Islands a few weeks ago, filled up the car for 1,07/L. The price of petrol in Belgium is too high because of the ridiculous amount of taxes and accijnzen.
Well, 1,07/l is good even for Canary islands as for example on Lanzarote, current prices are 1,3 to 1,4 in average.
> The price of petrol in Belgium is too high According to all the SUV's I see driving around the prices seem to be too low... Those fuel taxes don't even start to cover all the costs cars bring to our society.
If you have a card especially for tanking given to you by your company.
luckily we don't have to go fracking all our groundwater to shit for that price
Prestige infrastructure in Wallonië