11 replies to this topic

[Short Stuff]

Hey guys, again lol.

Been a lonnnngggg time....Again.

I honestly havnt been active on this Forum since I was 12!! it's amazing, haha, Im 20 and my account is still on here just cause I cant let this place go and visit every now and than!

Well, around a year ago I got on here, and Asked if anyone knew about Turkey, cause I was heading here for my first base...

Well my Tour here is almost over, and now Im heading to Belgium, and I know a lot of people on here live in the area....Any Good tips? Manners? Best ways of Travel? How much a house can cost...Cause Ill have to get a house while im there....So on so fourth.

Anyhow, Good to be back...Again haha.
I still have Shockwave on my laptop (Even though its not hosted here anymore) so I do get a little reminder every now and than haha.

Cheers,

Shortie

[Chyros]

The short man returns! Welcome back mate!

Ah, so you're going to be visiting our southern neighbours? Well their most important cultural items are their fantastic beers and a statue of a pissing child that gets dressed up every now and then 8) .

Manners shouldn't be a very big problem; Belgians are generally not hard to get along with; the fact that half of them only speak French might be though . We Dutch always joke about Belgians being very dumb . Travel is mostly by car, and everything is very cheap.

[Destiny]

Chyros, on 17 February 2012 - 18:50, said:

everything is very cheap.

Yeah, until you meet Belgian chocolate. The prices are from another dimension

[Short Stuff]

I will admit it...I google'd the keyword "Belgian Women" and even put the prefix "hot" and found very few pictures...Lol am I going to be upset with this side of Belgium?

Edited by Short Stuff, 20 February 2012 - 01:20.

[Destiny]

Nope, don't be. Finding a home and making it look nice will take more of your attention than hot, 3D women walking around. Trust me, I know it.

[Sgt. Nuker]

They always return.

Good to have you among us Shorty.

[Camille]

Chyros, on 17 February 2012 - 18:50, said:

We Dutch always joke about Belgians being very dumb

pas jij maar op jij

welcome back mister short, care to explain why you are visiting (living in, even) belgium?

i'll give you some tips on which cities to avoid and which are worth visiting/living in

avoid: Brussels, it's a large, vibrant city with more mixed up nationalities than you can count. lot's of french is spoken there but you will encounter pretty much any other language on a daily basis. very confusing city with lots of ups and downs in it's geography. the people there are generally pretty tense but tend to be rather welcoming, as long as you stay away from the cities outskirts. brussels' outskirts are comparable to paris' which means lots of criminal activity, ignorance and racism. there's some quiet spots but those spots are usually eerily quiet, i.e: very boring. the city's center is basically one huge tourist trap and i would NOT recommend living there or anywhere near it. it's good for a day of visiting but living there is nothing short of hell.

worth it: Gand, Bruges. these cities are both comparable in their visual appeal and generally friendly populace. they aren't the most interesting cities when it comes to going out, partying, etc (if that's your thing). they are, however rather calm and relaxed. Gand is in fact a pretty big city but it suffers from terribly boring neighborhoods, meaning that anywhere but absolute center is as boring as a bag of salted dust. if you like visiting museums and cultural activities alike both of these cities are more than adequate and i would say they are quite livable. Bruges is very expensive though, being (mostly) a historical city with absolutely beautiful buildings and channels. Gand should be very affordable.

recommend: Antwerp (city, the surrounding province is not quite as attractive). being one of the largest seaports in europe, this city is extremely vibrant and culturally active. living there should never be boring and there is loads of stuff to see and do. generally, people here should be more open and social than anywhere else in belgium and socializing should be easy as pie. the beautiful part is that living in the center of the city is very affordable and immediately places you in an ideal position, being close to everything. this is due to the city's relatively small size for it's total population. the added bonus is one of coziness though that varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. the commerce center is also pretty interesting if you like to go shopping for random stuff. if you like a cozy city with social and (generally) friendly people where there's a bunch of fun stuff to do pretty much all the time, come to Antwerp.

all the rest: avoid, avoid, avoid. smaller belgian towns and cities are notoriously boring and depressing places usually inhabited by peasants (figuratively speaking).

wallonia: if you didn't know already, belgium is basically split in two and wallonia is the french-speaking lower part that borders france. i think it says enough that even french people despise it's bigoted populace and stale environment. wallonia is depressingly stale and uninteresting. stay away from there.

belgian people in general: if you are from america, most belgians (excluding antwerp and brussels) will seem rather closed when it comes to meeting strangers/foreigners. it usually takes a while before people trust others and treat them with open arms. when they do, however, they will be very fair and polite and won't hesitate to help others out when in need. belgians tend to be heavy drinkers and 'going out with some mates' almost always results in rivers of beer following hilarity. when it comes to do's and don'ts it's pretty standard stuff AFAIK. don't talk too highly of the dutch (chyros included ) and keep an open attitude. do not attend football (soccer) matches as they can get quite violent and don't accept too many of people's offerings. when you get to know them a bit better they tend to give you a lot of stuff which can have an adverse effect in the long run. also do NOT mention politics as this can escalate far beyond petty squabble. politics here are a heated issue to say the least.

lastly, why in heaven's name would you come to belgium? of all places?

[Destiny]

He's in the military. His tour of duty's next stop is in Belgium. His next base is in Belgium. Hell, everything's in Belgium!







Well, that's my guess.

[Alias]

Camille, on 21 February 2012 - 00:48, said:

Chyros, on 17 February 2012 - 18:50, said:

We Dutch always joke about Belgians being very dumb

pas jij maar op jij

welcome back mister short, care to explain why you are visiting (living in, even) belgium?

i'll give you some tips on which cities to avoid and which are worth visiting/living in

avoid: Brussels, it's a large, vibrant city with more mixed up nationalities than you can count. lot's of french is spoken there but you will encounter pretty much any other language on a daily basis. very confusing city with lots of ups and downs in it's geography. the people there are generally pretty tense but tend to be rather welcoming, as long as you stay away from the cities outskirts. brussels' outskirts are comparable to paris' which means lots of criminal activity, ignorance and racism. there's some quiet spots but those spots are usually eerily quiet, i.e: very boring. the city's center is basically one huge tourist trap and i would NOT recommend living there or anywhere near it. it's good for a day of visiting but living there is nothing short of hell.

worth it: Gand, Bruges. these cities are both comparable in their visual appeal and generally friendly populace. they aren't the most interesting cities when it comes to going out, partying, etc (if that's your thing). they are, however rather calm and relaxed. Gand is in fact a pretty big city but it suffers from terribly boring neighborhoods, meaning that anywhere but absolute center is as boring as a bag of salted dust. if you like visiting museums and cultural activities alike both of these cities are more than adequate and i would say they are quite livable. Bruges is very expensive though, being (mostly) a historical city with absolutely beautiful buildings and channels. Gand should be very affordable.

recommend: Antwerp (city, the surrounding province is not quite as attractive). being one of the largest seaports in europe, this city is extremely vibrant and culturally active. living there should never be boring and there is loads of stuff to see and do. generally, people here should be more open and social than anywhere else in belgium and socializing should be easy as pie. the beautiful part is that living in the center of the city is very affordable and immediately places you in an ideal position, being close to everything. this is due to the city's relatively small size for it's total population. the added bonus is one of coziness though that varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. the commerce center is also pretty interesting if you like to go shopping for random stuff. if you like a cozy city with social and (generally) friendly people where there's a bunch of fun stuff to do pretty much all the time, come to Antwerp.

all the rest: avoid, avoid, avoid. smaller belgian towns and cities are notoriously boring and depressing places usually inhabited by peasants (figuratively speaking).

wallonia: if you didn't know already, belgium is basically split in two and wallonia is the french-speaking lower part that borders france. i think it says enough that even french people despise it's bigoted populace and stale environment. wallonia is depressingly stale and uninteresting. stay away from there.

belgian people in general: if you are from america, most belgians (excluding antwerp and brussels) will seem rather closed when it comes to meeting strangers/foreigners. it usually takes a while before people trust others and treat them with open arms. when they do, however, they will be very fair and polite and won't hesitate to help others out when in need. belgians tend to be heavy drinkers and 'going out with some mates' almost always results in rivers of beer following hilarity. when it comes to do's and don'ts it's pretty standard stuff AFAIK. don't talk too highly of the dutch (chyros included ) and keep an open attitude. do not attend football (soccer) matches as they can get quite violent and don't accept too many of people's offerings. when you get to know them a bit better they tend to give you a lot of stuff which can have an adverse effect in the long run. also do NOT mention politics as this can escalate far beyond petty squabble. politics here are a heated issue to say the least.

lastly, why in heaven's name would you come to belgium? of all places?

>Ghent is a large city
>250000 people

wat

[Short Stuff]

Lol as they've been nice to enough to mention, My next station is in belgium, that's why I'll be there, and I'll be there awhile, So I have to get a house.


From what I've learned so far, ill be near a city called Peer? hard to find much info on it

[Chyros]

Camille, on 21 February 2012 - 00:48, said:

pas jij maar op jij

Niet "pas maar op gij" met mooie zachte g?

Short Stuff, on 21 February 2012 - 05:17, said:

From what I've learned so far, ill be near a city called Peer? hard to find much info on it

Oh, that's a tiny village near the Dutch border. At least you'll be in Flanders, not Wallonia, so people will probably be able to speak some English.

Best might be to pretend you're Canadian .

[Camille]

Alias, on 21 February 2012 - 02:25, said:

Camille, on 21 February 2012 - 00:48, said:

Chyros, on 17 February 2012 - 18:50, said:

We Dutch always joke about Belgians being very dumb

pas jij maar op jij

welcome back mister short, care to explain why you are visiting (living in, even) belgium?

i'll give you some tips on which cities to avoid and which are worth visiting/living in

avoid: Brussels, it's a large, vibrant city with more mixed up nationalities than you can count. lot's of french is spoken there but you will encounter pretty much any other language on a daily basis. very confusing city with lots of ups and downs in it's geography. the people there are generally pretty tense but tend to be rather welcoming, as long as you stay away from the cities outskirts. brussels' outskirts are comparable to paris' which means lots of criminal activity, ignorance and racism. there's some quiet spots but those spots are usually eerily quiet, i.e: very boring. the city's center is basically one huge tourist trap and i would NOT recommend living there or anywhere near it. it's good for a day of visiting but living there is nothing short of hell.

worth it: Gand, Bruges. these cities are both comparable in their visual appeal and generally friendly populace. they aren't the most interesting cities when it comes to going out, partying, etc (if that's your thing). they are, however rather calm and relaxed. Gand is in fact a pretty big city but it suffers from terribly boring neighborhoods, meaning that anywhere but absolute center is as boring as a bag of salted dust. if you like visiting museums and cultural activities alike both of these cities are more than adequate and i would say they are quite livable. Bruges is very expensive though, being (mostly) a historical city with absolutely beautiful buildings and channels. Gand should be very affordable.

recommend: Antwerp (city, the surrounding province is not quite as attractive). being one of the largest seaports in europe, this city is extremely vibrant and culturally active. living there should never be boring and there is loads of stuff to see and do. generally, people here should be more open and social than anywhere else in belgium and socializing should be easy as pie. the beautiful part is that living in the center of the city is very affordable and immediately places you in an ideal position, being close to everything. this is due to the city's relatively small size for it's total population. the added bonus is one of coziness though that varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. the commerce center is also pretty interesting if you like to go shopping for random stuff. if you like a cozy city with social and (generally) friendly people where there's a bunch of fun stuff to do pretty much all the time, come to Antwerp.

all the rest: avoid, avoid, avoid. smaller belgian towns and cities are notoriously boring and depressing places usually inhabited by peasants (figuratively speaking).

wallonia: if you didn't know already, belgium is basically split in two and wallonia is the french-speaking lower part that borders france. i think it says enough that even french people despise it's bigoted populace and stale environment. wallonia is depressingly stale and uninteresting. stay away from there.

belgian people in general: if you are from america, most belgians (excluding antwerp and brussels) will seem rather closed when it comes to meeting strangers/foreigners. it usually takes a while before people trust others and treat them with open arms. when they do, however, they will be very fair and polite and won't hesitate to help others out when in need. belgians tend to be heavy drinkers and 'going out with some mates' almost always results in rivers of beer following hilarity. when it comes to do's and don'ts it's pretty standard stuff AFAIK. don't talk too highly of the dutch (chyros included ) and keep an open attitude. do not attend football (soccer) matches as they can get quite violent and don't accept too many of people's offerings. when you get to know them a bit better they tend to give you a lot of stuff which can have an adverse effect in the long run. also do NOT mention politics as this can escalate far beyond petty squabble. politics here are a heated issue to say the least.

lastly, why in heaven's name would you come to belgium? of all places?

>Ghent is a large city
>250000 people

wat

it's in fact a bit larger than antwerp but far more spread out. and as i said, anywhere else but the absolute city center is dead-boring since no one lives there

Chyros, on 21 February 2012 - 07:08, said:

Camille, on 21 February 2012 - 00:48, said:

pas jij maar op jij

Niet "pas maar op gij" met mooie zachte g?

Short Stuff, on 21 February 2012 - 05:17, said:

From what I've learned so far, ill be near a city called Peer? hard to find much info on it

Oh, that's a tiny village near the Dutch border. At least you'll be in Flanders, not Wallonia, so people will probably be able to speak some English.

Best might be to pretend you're Canadian .

hey, ik ben beschaafd. oek nie oeverdroaijven eh moat

@short: ah that explains a lot. i still suggest you visit antwerp, if only for a night out or something