Getting settled in Brussels
First of all, we would like to wish everybody a Merry Winter Solstice and a Happy New Year! Yes, we're late. But then, so were you!
Anyway, back to the narrative of our suddenly less exciting lives. After a fun time with my family in the US, we have finally returned to Brussels to settle in for a while. Our trip to get here was prolonged by some of the biggest snow storms in Europe in 20 or 30 years, and we ended up spending a couple of nights in Dublin. Upon arriving in Brussels, we were pretty shocked by the unprecedented (in our lifetimes) sight of a foot and half of snow!
We have been here for about two weeks now, during which time we enjoyed the holidays with Venla's family and our friends, which was quite relaxing. It is now on to the the double imperative of settling into a new city: finding work and finding a place to live.
I can report quite a bit of success on the quest for a place to live. After visiting a half dozen apartments, we have finally found one that really makes us go "wow". It is in a wonderful location near the Atomium, just a hundred meters from the subway but up and away from the busy through-fare on a quiet side street. The place itself is beautiful: a newly renovated duplex with big windows and a friendly The shook hands on the deal, but it is not signed yet, so keep your fingers crossed!
The job search is going a bit slower. It seems, somewhat unexpectedly, that it is easier to convince somebody to take your money than it is to convince someone to give you theirs. We have each sent out a score of applications for what we would call "dream jobs," and are waiting to see if anybody bites. Venla has already gotten an interview, while I have just had a series of semi-automated "thank you for applying" emails. If nothing works out soon, we'll put the rubber on the road and start walking into places to see if they are hiring.
That is it for now, we hope everything is going well for you, our fair readers!
January 4th, 2011 - 07:24
Welcome back to Europe! We wish you all the best for settling down, finding work and slowly re-integrate into your daily life! It’s been so wonderful to read your stories, to look at your pictures from the last part of your trip – and it made me (tom) just a little jealous reading your posts while sitting at my desk in Switzerland… Hope to see you soon be it in Switzerland or Belgium!
Hugs nadia and tom
January 5th, 2011 - 14:08
Nous aussi, on a eu droit à Dublin !
Bon retour en Belgique.
On repart d’ici une semaine pour Toronto où la neige se fait vraiment timide ;o)
Gros bisous
Sophie et Pierre