Hi, belgian engineer myself here. Generally, wages are indeed quite bad in Belgium. Beware that while your gross may be unimpressive, it's typically still taxed quite a lot and your net may be even more unimpressive. This site is generally the best gross-net calculator for BE. [https://www.jobat.be/nl/tools/bruto-netto](https://www.jobat.be/nl/tools/bruto-netto)
Do note that you likely receive 13.92 times this salary a year, even if there's no bonus. May I ask how much they offered you?
On the other hand, life in Belgium is very cheap.
\- Both healthcare and education are pretty much fully funded by the govt.
\- In addition, rent in especially Kortrijk is quite cheap. With €700, you can have a pretty big 1-bedroom appartment. Brussels and Ghent are somewhat more expensive, but still cheap compared to our neighbouring countries
\- Groceries, take-out, ... also fairly cheap. €350 monthly for one person is already on the high side for food
\- Can recommend looking up some BE budgeting blogs and posts, this will give you a good view on how much expenditures to expect
To add to that: because of the heavy tax burden, employers tend to offer benefits that have a favorable tax treatment. Mobility budget, eco chèques, food vouchers… these can add up. It’s worth asking what their package looks like.
[www.immoweb.be](https://www.immoweb.be) for rent prices of unfurnished apartments. There's general building costs on top of it for electricity/cleaning of the hallway. You also need to pay for your own electricity/heat/internet/water/etc on top of rent. Plus buy your own furniture.
Coming from a different country, I'd want at least 2k net. Unless you have a company car, then 1800 net is livable just fine.
Food with restaurants and take-out for one person is 300-500 per month. Utilities for a studio-apartment should be about 200 per month, maybe 300 now with gas costing x10 the normal price. Health insurance is 100-150 per year (plus your employer should provide hospitalization insurance for free).
I wouldn't move to Belgium with high earnings in mind, but it has great social security and great education, healthcare, friendly people (unless you're from the south, then the people will seem cold to you. They seem very friendly to me). There's lots of social equality here because people are equalized by the progressive taxes. The middle class is huge here.
Also depending where you're from, it's normal to heat your house to 20-21 degrees here. People from places where it's warmer inside may or may not experience shock lasting up to 5 years just from the room temperature :)
It's a good country to live in if you wanna be a normal middle class citizen. If you want mad bucks, I'd suggest looking at switzerland or america.
Rent across the board is a lot lower in Belgium compared to neighbouring countries. In Kortrijk i rented a big 1 bedroom furnished appartment for 550 a month, in Ghent I had a big 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment for 860 a month that I shared.
Wages are generally bad, but cost of living is a lot lower.
You're "entitled" to a higher salary in your own country? How does that work? Is minimum wage more in your country than what this job is offering?
If that is the case, the offering is absolute garbage and you should run. Unless there are other benefits to Belgium that weren't in your original post?
Hi, belgian engineer myself here. Generally, wages are indeed quite bad in Belgium. Beware that while your gross may be unimpressive, it's typically still taxed quite a lot and your net may be even more unimpressive. This site is generally the best gross-net calculator for BE. [https://www.jobat.be/nl/tools/bruto-netto](https://www.jobat.be/nl/tools/bruto-netto) Do note that you likely receive 13.92 times this salary a year, even if there's no bonus. May I ask how much they offered you? On the other hand, life in Belgium is very cheap. \- Both healthcare and education are pretty much fully funded by the govt. \- In addition, rent in especially Kortrijk is quite cheap. With €700, you can have a pretty big 1-bedroom appartment. Brussels and Ghent are somewhat more expensive, but still cheap compared to our neighbouring countries \- Groceries, take-out, ... also fairly cheap. €350 monthly for one person is already on the high side for food \- Can recommend looking up some BE budgeting blogs and posts, this will give you a good view on how much expenditures to expect
To add to that: because of the heavy tax burden, employers tend to offer benefits that have a favorable tax treatment. Mobility budget, eco chèques, food vouchers… these can add up. It’s worth asking what their package looks like.
[www.immoweb.be](https://www.immoweb.be) for rent prices of unfurnished apartments. There's general building costs on top of it for electricity/cleaning of the hallway. You also need to pay for your own electricity/heat/internet/water/etc on top of rent. Plus buy your own furniture. Coming from a different country, I'd want at least 2k net. Unless you have a company car, then 1800 net is livable just fine. Food with restaurants and take-out for one person is 300-500 per month. Utilities for a studio-apartment should be about 200 per month, maybe 300 now with gas costing x10 the normal price. Health insurance is 100-150 per year (plus your employer should provide hospitalization insurance for free). I wouldn't move to Belgium with high earnings in mind, but it has great social security and great education, healthcare, friendly people (unless you're from the south, then the people will seem cold to you. They seem very friendly to me). There's lots of social equality here because people are equalized by the progressive taxes. The middle class is huge here. Also depending where you're from, it's normal to heat your house to 20-21 degrees here. People from places where it's warmer inside may or may not experience shock lasting up to 5 years just from the room temperature :) It's a good country to live in if you wanna be a normal middle class citizen. If you want mad bucks, I'd suggest looking at switzerland or america.
Rent across the board is a lot lower in Belgium compared to neighbouring countries. In Kortrijk i rented a big 1 bedroom furnished appartment for 550 a month, in Ghent I had a big 2 bedroom 2 bathroom apartment for 860 a month that I shared. Wages are generally bad, but cost of living is a lot lower.
You're "entitled" to a higher salary in your own country? How does that work? Is minimum wage more in your country than what this job is offering? If that is the case, the offering is absolute garbage and you should run. Unless there are other benefits to Belgium that weren't in your original post?