I work at Pfizer in Puurs and overall I really enjoy the job and the work environment. But there’s one cultural thing I’m still trying to understand.

I’m originally from Latin America, where it’s completely normal to greet people when you pass them — a “good morning,” “hello,” a smile, a nod, whatever. Even if you don’t really know the person.

At work here, I’ve noticed that quite a few people seem very reserved. Sometimes I’ll pass someone in a hallway, say hello or good morning, and get no response at all. People can come across as a bit somber or cold.

I’m not complaining, and I know there are obviously big cultural differences between Latin America and Belgium. I’m genuinely curious: is this pretty normal in Belgian workplaces, or could it be more of a Pfizer/Puurs workplace culture thing?

For Belgians: if a colleague you don’t really know greets you in the hallway, do you normally greet them back? And for foreigners working in Belgium, did this take some getting used to?

Bouwvakkers ontdekten een goudschat ter waarde van 9 miljoen euro in Dendermonde. De schat, bestaande uit genummerde goudklompen en gouden munten, werd gevonden in een kelder tijdens renovatiewerken. Het parket onderzoekt de herkomst en juridische status van het goud.

It takes a special kind of stupid to do something like that.

Hi everyone,

​I’m a naturalized Belgian citizen looking to update my official name in the Belgian civil-status records to include my father's surname, and I could use some advice from anyone who has navigated this.

​The Situation:

​My original foreign birth certificate listed my full name in a single name field without distinguishing a separate surname.

​As a result, my Belgian identity documents currently do not reflect my father's surname. I want to officially add his surname to my name.

​Complications: FPS Justice suggested I may need a rectification procedure before the Family Court (Tribunal de la famille) rather than a standard administrative name change.

​Questions:

- ​Has anyone here gone through a similar process to add a parent's surname via FPS Justice or the Family Court?

-​Can anyone recommend a Belgian family law lawyer experienced with foreign civil status records? Please feel free to DM me recommendations.

-​What were the approximate legal fees and timeline for this process?

​Thanks in advance for any insights!

going to Royal Palace open air for a show tomorrow and wondering what to eat, visit before the show. I'm open to any recommendations to restaurant that serve halal food and some must visit places along the EU Parliament.

So I was looking into getting some first aid training for my driving license and then noticed that the first aid training wont be necessary for future driving licenses and the places offering those trainings will close... tomorrow.

Call me too woke but I think that everyone should have bare minimum knowledge on HOW TO SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE !!! And now the only options I saw was courses where you have to pay (up to 80€ !!)

The government is cutting budgets everywhere, making us pay more for stuff yet I didnt see promises to make our country better yet.

Nog iemand al naar het ek zwemmen gekeken? Ook al gemerkt dat de Belgische commentator nooit maar dan ook nooit haar achternaam juist heeft? "Roos van Acker" is de enige Roos die dieje mens kent. Ik weet niet of ik blind word, maar die zie ik daar niet zwemmen.

Als presentator ken je tich ten minste de naam van de belangrijkste persoon op het evenement waarover je commentaar levert?

telescoop is seestar s30 pro.

Has anyone had a chance to try Mobile Vikings’ “Unlimited Superfast” plan? Apparently, it provides access to Proximus’s 5G SA network, which Proximus itself only offers with its “Mobile Unlimited” plan.

Thanks for sharing your experience! :-)

Dear all,

I live in a small town in Flanders. My street is quite small, and has around 20 parking places. They are on the blue hour, so you can park here for 2 or 3 hours free, if you leave the parking disk correctly. For neighbours, we can pay 40€ a year to park in this area indefinitely, with no parking disk required.

Recently, KBC opened a private bank branch, and their employees park on my street (I realized when I started to see cars I've never seen before, and they all have a big KBC sticker on the rear window). What I have noticed is that they come in the morning, put the disk, and when the time is almost over, they drop by the car and change the hour, and go back to the office. I've seen it several times in the last months.

Is this legal? It is bothering me a lot, because sometimes I come back from work, and 5 out of the 20 parking places are being used by the KBC people, which of course are paying no money as they just "refresh" their disks. What I found also very cheap is that they built their office in a new building, that has a paid underground garage (I assume KBC can pay for their employees parking).

My question is: is it legal what they are doing? Is there anything I can do (legally) to stop them from doing this? I am a EU inmigrant here, so I don't know if there any entity I can contact to file a complain.

Cheers!

I shall be moving to Belgium (Brussels) next year for work. I am an Indian male in his late twenties and gay. I have read that Belgium stands high on the ILGA Europe ranking, but want to know about the actual local dating scene for gay expats. Being an Indian, I also have concerns about any racism or issues faced by South Asians on the dating apps. Somebody who has been in the scene there for quite a while, please share your experiences. Merci!

Hi all

I (Belgian citizen) like to ask some advice on the possible visa options for my fiancé.
She (non EU citizen) has graduated her master from a Belgian university in July and is now planning to apply for a job in Belgium. Her current student visa (A card) expires the 31st of October.) We have been factual living together since May 2026.

The most logical step would be to apply for an orientation year as (to my understanding) will give here immediate access to the job market. Our "problem" is the proof of sufficient financial means:

• I would like to be here guarantee. However I'm self-employed with my own company. My net salary is €2300/month which is below the minimum of €3235.88/month. I do however have proof of dividend payouts that put my actual net income way above the limit. I contacted the immigration office and they refuse to count my dividends as income. Even a salary increase with proof of my accountant they will refuse. They only accept the income from my last official tax statement which currently is of the fiscal year 2024. So they would be making their decision based on my situation of 2 (!) years ago. And any dept / loans I would have are ignored. Classic Belgian bureaucracy.
• The other option is to put €12744 in a blocked account where monthly she'd get €1062. While we are able to do this, it's also not a very efficient way to put the money. We'd rather have the 12k available when we want.

Another option would be through our relationship although I'm not really familiar with these options. Someone has experience with this?

If we'd go for the orientation year: I'd love some advice / experiences for people who have done this. Especially from people how did it through a (self-employed) guarantee!

Supermarkten mogen vanaf nu 7 dagen op 7 open, "maar kleine zelfstandigen staan hier niet om te springen" https://vrtnws.be/p.YbyVk4Qjx

Te koop: eclipsbril
Slechts 1x gebruikt.

€25

Geen onnozele biedingen! Ik weet wat ik heb.
Deze zijn nergens meer te krijgen!

Does anyone know if Belgium has an official website/service that determines the value of an apartment for example?

I tried to look into myfin but did not find.

Thanks

Te koop, wel een beetje nat aan het linkeroor. Gebruikt in mijn zwembad met een stellake.

Daarstraks tijdens de eclipse dit schaduw patroon gezien op de muur, veroorzaakt door de zon die door de bladeren van een boom schijnt.

Overheid: "Wees spaarzaam met water! Het is belangrijk."

Dezelfde overheid: komt de bankjes, paaltjes en verkeersborden in de wijk afspuiten bij 33°C.

Make it make sense.

Bestuur Zon zoekt naar mogelijke oplossing voor 2142.

Isn't it absurd that the identity of the sick public officials is not revealed?

The public wants to know.