Working in Belgium – Contractors vs Employees

Contractors VS Employees in Belgium

Over our past six years in Belgium, I haven’t written a lot about my working experience. Recently, a friend encouraged me to share my experiences, to benefit future expats or companies looking to move into the Belgian market. Please keep in mind my perspective is one of a North American working in Belgium and, more broadly, Europe. My opinions do not reflect those of my employers.

There are a lot of contractors in Belgium. This was one of the first things that struck me when I began working in the Belgian office of my previous employer. In fact, the entire Belgian organization was made up of contractors, including the management team.

Montaigle Castle Ruins, Falaën, Belgium

The atmospheric ruins of Montaigle are one of the many castles in Belgium you are free to explore. Learn about this family-friendly day-trip from Brussels to the Namur region.

Mobile Internet Operators in Belgium

Mobile Operators in Belgium

Looking for more recent information? Check out our newest post on Mobile Internet in Belgium from May 2012!

In my last post, I wrote about Alison’s new phone, the HTC Desire. After bringing it home and setting it up, the next question was: which mobile operator should we use?

We hadn’t researched mobile operators before, as we hadn’t any need for fancy packages. A pay-as-you-go model was fine for years. Now however, the new phone would also need internet access. Suddenly we needed to learn what operators were available and what they offered for data plans (aka mobile internet, 3G). So, with my usual penchant for details, I began to dig into what operators exist in Belgium and their offers for mobile internet on your smartphone.

Internet Service Providers in Belgium

Bringing the internet home

Our ‘Web Guy’ takes a look at how to choose an internet service provider in Belgium.

Most expats wouldn’t dream of living without internet access. We’re becoming more and more connected with our iPhones/smartphones, netbooks and now iPads/tablets. I’ve mentioned how important computers are to expats in my article, “Computer Shopping in Belgium,” but what use is a computer without access? For expats, high-speed (or broadband) internet access is as important as a telephone, maybe even more.

Our expat life is manageable because of the internet and even a day without access can be very disruptive. So how do you know what service provider to choose in Belgium?

Computer Shopping in Belgium

Got Ram?

Our resident ‘Web Guy’ looks at the options for shopping for computer hardware in Belgium.

When moving to a new place, it’s often difficult to find services similar to what you are used to at home. For some, this might be restaurants, sports, clothing, shoes, books, or … just about anything. For me, it was all about computer hardware.

Online Social Networks in Belgium

Social Networking in Belgium

Our ‘Web Guy’, Andrew, takes a look at social networking in Belgium and uncovers a few surprises.

A couple days ago, I read in a flyer from Numericable how pervasive social networking is in Belgium. Facebook alone counts more than 2.8 million Belgian users… that’s 25% of the country! While looking at these stats, I found it interesting that the male-to-female ratio is almost 1:1. Curious, I looked at a few other European countries and they are all within +/- 5% of a 50/50 split.

This got me wondering about the demographics of other ‘social’ sites frequented by Belgian users.