Living in Luxembourg

Hi,

Moving to Luxembourg with another Irish student on the 30th December for a 8 month internship and we are wondering does anyone know of any accommodation 2/3 room apartments available in the city centre? It would be of great help.

Thaking you in advance,
Damien Mullally.

What do you consider the minimun net salary for having a nice standard of living in a Luxembourg for a couple with a baby?

How much expensive is the electricity, heat, water and landphone in luxembourg?

sooooo I have read all of the posts. Thanks for all of the posts. Just like anything else you will have good and bad!
We will be moving there by the middle of June. I am American and my husband is Belgian. We have twin daughters 13yrs old. Naturally my first concern would be the schooling for them. And I guess looking for a place to live would be based on the schooling.
I saw some areas mentioned above. And in fact I have been on the rental sites as well but it's helpful to know the area names for high schools. I guess I have to consider the public schools. Is there anyone here that knows about the public schools for grade 9?
Anyone could recommend a trustworthy realtor that we could work with and help us find a right place?

Thanks,

Luxembourg is a corrupt police state.I have had to live here for 10 years read my story on google and again in September in the Daily Mail and the Sun newspapers.My advise to any one being sent here by their company is stay away they have no law or justice only if your a rich burger,,repeat stay away

Hi stevenmarston,

Sorry for bad experiences. But but maybe you could share your experiences/tips/advices about living in Luxembourg so as to help those who want to settle in Luxembourg.

Regards,

David.

Hi

I have been living here for 1 year and I am leaving because if I stayed here any longer I would either end up an alcoholic/drug addict or beat someone up. Despite the cuteness of the old part and "closeness" of major European attractions,  Luxembourg is dark, provincial and inhabited by miserable angry people.

Having said that, I have met some really nice people, usually living out of town and working with animals/land.

I am talking as a mom of a teenager, so someone who needs to really get involved with the system, from installing Internet at home to familiarizing herself with public transport. It is possible that it is different for single people who can just live in a furnished studio and minimise their involvement with administration.

Pros: Beautiful countryside, it is a pleasure driving around on country roads, especially in spring and autumn. Cheap cigarettes, alcohol and gas do not excite me much, but I guess it is an advantage.  The country is very green. If you have a car, go see Saarburg, Trier, Strasbourg, Colmar, Aachen...

Cons: On those rare sunny days you cannot actually enjoy it unless you want to stand in line for a table in a nice spot and then when you get it wait for ages to be served. The close by attractions are only close if you can fork out  a fortune for a flight on the weekend.  Train to Paris on a normal weekend at normal times will cost you at least 150 euro.  For any cheap flights you need to drive to Frankfurt Hahn or Charleroi, which is no fun if you work and only have 3 to 4 days off. 

Despite all the wealth people here are always angry and will not volunteer information unless you specifically ask. It takes them 6 months to resolve (if) a complaint.  If you are entitled to VAT refund forget about getting it from Saturn. Do not under any circumstances allow anyone direct debit from your account for anything. You will never see the money they took out by mistake and they do make a lot of mistakes, usually to your disadvantage.

The worse part for me was that after someone makes a mistake (which I can totally understand) there is no way it can be corrected. The superiors are either unreachable or keep saying "this is impossible" so you have nobody to turn to. Your emails are consistently ignored.You just have to give in.

Honestly, and I am not trying to be nasty, I am just saying from my experience, do not come to Luxembourg for more than a week, but if you must come to Luxembourg for longer try to avoid any dealings  with any services, pretend to be a tourist for as long as you are here.  Enjoy the quiet Sundays when everything is closed, take a packed lunch and go to one of the parks. You have probably about 10 days in a year when weather is good enough for being outdoors. 

Good luck!

My husband and I are looking to close out his career on "an adventure" and Capellan mightn't the ticket.  We are well traveled and have lived in Japan in the past.  As memory serves me, people either love the change or hate it.  What I am most interested in knowing is: what towns are the best balance for price and convenience; what about work opportunities for spouses; what about American support groups; will we need 2cars; what about Internet and phone service; what about banking.

I have been living in Luxembourg for all my life.
I do not now where you comme from, but i think Luxembourg is a lot beter.
Luxembourg is one of the richest contries.

The fact that Luxembourg is rich does not make it a nice place to be. In truly rich countries people are not greedy and mean, they can AFFORD to be nice and generous. So to me GDP in Luxembourg means nothing, sorry.

Hi everyone.
I have been living in Lux for 2 years. I'm 27 and i am single.
I'm a nurse and i came here to get my first job after school.

I don't regret my choice at all.

Luxembourg is a small country very clean and organized. All the services work very well and fast. Health system is good and cheap. The life quality is good. By the week is very calm is true, but when the weekend arrive you have always something to do (lots of nice restaurants, bars nightclubs, cinema, concerts and many more...) and when you have not you get a train or a low cost flight from findel and you go to Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, London, Barcelona or Milan. If you have a nice job (Nurse, engineer, bank...) you will have enough money to do that. 

The weather is bad but not worst than Belgium, Holland, north of France, Great Britain, etc..

I'm a Mediterranean so i found the people more close but i didn't have any problem to make my small group of friends to go out. By the time i hope the group will get bigger and bigger. I think you have to be lucky and meet the right people in the right moment as everywhere i think.

The people is very helpful anyway.

I know Madrid London Paris Rome Amsterdam Lisbon Brussels and im sure Luxembourg is not more expensive. You can have a pint for 3E or a dinner for 20E pax. If you want to pay more you will easily find where.

The big problem is the accommodation that's very expensive. A standard apartment 10 km's away from the city center can cost you 1000E If you get the minimum salary you just can't rent an apartment.

The best option for the one's that want to stay forever (like me)is to buy an apartment, is still expensive but you are paying for yourself.

There is good things and bad things but i'm sure is one of the best countries in Europe to work and live without the stress of the big cities.

Sorry but my English is not great.

It would be nice meet people in the same situation of me for a drink somewhere in Lux ville.

See you soon.

HI Beth,
did you ever make it to Luxembourg. My husband and I were planning to move to Lux last summer as well. We are expats currently living in Qatar. I am an American and He is a Belgian. I will be interested to know if you moved there and your findings?

Thanks,
Shabnam

Luxembourg is like a marmite. You either love it or hate it. I've been living in Luxembourg for over a year now and I love it. I moved here from UK, where I lived for over 10 years.

This place will be for you if:
- you like clean, very nice towns with very low crime level. On average around 40 cars get stolen here annually.
- you want to embrace the benefits of being part of a small nation
- you want to be in a country, where 40% of its population are foreigners, so you won't feel like being a minority
- you are planning to have a family or already have one, as there are very good tax breaks for married couples and for children if your work
- you like being surrounded by well paid and educated people, who speaks 3-4 languages as standard
- you love European culture and want to explore it more
- you love wine, as the wine here is truly great
- you love bread, as that's great too
- you love cheese, as the selection here is massive
- you love coffee culture
- you like travel, as there is so much to see and very close, only a few hours drive at most. To get to Germany, France or Belgium it takes less than 20 minutes.
- you love skiing, as skiing in France is only 2 hours drive away, or 5 hours to Alps
- you love driving at 250km/h, as Germany is round the corner for that
- you hate speed cameras, as there are none here
- you hate UK/US traffic wardens, as these here in Lux won't steal your money for no reason
- you don't mind get used to the fact there isn't Starbucks here, shops close at 6pm, on Sunday all shops are closed and generally service sector is different to the one you used to from UK/US+
- you don't mind the fact, that you have only around 790 soldiers to feed (450 professional soldiers, 340 recruits and 100 civilians) using 0.9% budget of the country
- and you don't mind cheapest petrol, cigarettes and alcohol in the west Europe,

The only problems I found here are the French and very high service charges. A lot of French won't speak to you in English, meaning, you won't be able to get things done if you come across a French person (accommodation, job, business deals), which from time to time you'll find frustrating. So, if you are planning to move here and stay, French must be on your to do list as the German, if you want to truly fit in. NOTE: some French will speak to you English, so not all that bad, but luckily, all the government workers are Luxembourgish and speak EN,D,F fluently.

So overall, I would say Luxembourg is an attitude thing. If you are coming here for the right reasons (mentioned above), you will love it. If you are not sure what you want and just looking somewhere to move to, then very likely you will hate it.

By the way, many young single people apparently hate it here. I guess it can be difficult to find someone in a town of 100,000 people only.

HI, I am just moving from North Wales, UK to Luxembourg this summer where's my partner living and working here. The impression that I got is the city despite being a small city still have something to offer.

I find it very safe here, I couldn't agreed more, the lowest crimes,and its good to settle with family etc.

I like the fact its population nearly half foreign,meaning many interesting different background, languages, cultures, etc etc.

If you are an outdoor person, there are so much to do at countrysides or nearby  countries, for instance the river of Mosel, the wineries, the hikes, walks, camping (during summer) etc.

The playgrounds and parks in the city centre here are benefitial  for us if you are into running, jogging even walking.

The local, well who are we to judged them instead of blending in?? I am desperately in need to learn French at affordable price haha. Coming from the place where education mostly free or affordable, you will find this a little appalling.

Recently I noticed, the city centre shopping areas have Wifi free zone, nice!
Rented Homeowner or apartment, yes there are digital tv services and wifi provider easily can be installed without hassle, check on Tango generations.

Cons : The national services for EU etc you need to go to soo many national services offices and very not straight forward.

If anyone have any advices about registering resident status, banking and driving lesson for British national, I would be grateful.

Pretty much enjoying settling here..

Liana

Well this blog is a surprise and a shock.  I've just accepted a job as a post-doc researcher which is based at the University by Esch.  I was contemplating living in Luxembourg City and commuting as I used to live in Bristol, UK, and I like the city feel.  I should probably add that I'm in my late 20's, single, love sport and like to socialise.  Am I going to hate Luxembourg? Is it better for me to live in Thionville in France or Arlon in Belgium? The commute from Metz would probably be too far away.  I speak a bit of Italian and will be learning French.  As the previous comment said, as a UK national what would be the best way for me to sort out healthcare/banking/accommodation etc.

Thanks for your responses.

Pete

I have now read all the replies in this thread and I am really surprised:
my husband my 9 month old girl and myself are planning to move back to Luxembourg after having lived for 10 years in Switzerland.
I will try to relate to the points I read the most on this site:
-Living is expensive: having lived in Switzerland, this is one of the main reasons for us to move back. Yes, renting or buying is expensive, but compared to Switzerland the houses are less expensive even considering the state they are in. We will definitely trade up by paying the same we rent we did in Switzerland. Grocery shopping is less expensive (an entrecote in Switzerland bought at retail will cost you around 18-20€). Also the quality of the restaurants and shops is really high.
-friendliness of the people: the only point I can relate to: yes, the typical luxemburgish people are not friendly, they are even grumpy and unhelpful. I hear them complain a lot about unimportant stuff. When we visit I often hear myself say tat they really have no reason to complain, as the issues are not that big of a deal. But there are many friendly people and a positive attitude will go a long way :-)
-services: shops are open until late at night and even on sunday mornings.
-languages: yes, not many people speak english, but on the other hand, if I go to London I don't expect people to speak french, spanish or german. You have to at least learn french or german and even luxemburguish, it is not that difficult. And even if you don't manage completely, people will appreciate the effort.
-healthcare: having lived in Switzerland i am really looking forward to the luxemburgish system. Luxemburg has a top notch health care system and good doctors. in Ch we found ourselves often sick and not willing to go see a doctor because you would have to pay all the costs. Also you would have to pay a fairly high amount in healthcare insurance and having dental coverage is nearly impossible.

So overall, Luxemburg is certainly not the most attractive country when it comes to sightseeing or nightlife, but it is small nice and clean. I do not understand how some people in this thread can be so negative about this country.

I myself are really looking forward to moving back and for all those that are considering the move, evaluate your options, go visit spend some time there and then decide.

@ Going Back: Welcome to Expat.com and thank you for the sharing of information

You mentioned:

"..and the people. it also depends on what you're used to. if someone is used to Mediterranean mentality, then locals would seem too reserved, i guess."

According to the 2011 Statec report: out of a total population of 512,353 - at least 104,000 come from the Mediterranean (i.e. Portugal, Spain, Italy). Many are now 2nd/3rd generation locals. The Statec figures do not include those Mediterraneans that have Naturalized.

I have been living in Luxembourg since 6 months ago.. At first I came with full of positive energy, laughter, and hope. But it's true that most of the time the government is acting so arrogant, some of them are even rude to the foreigner... They accused me for a false statement when I register myself in the community hall, while actually it was completely misunderstanding from their side. So I got delayed from having my social security, which was leading me to pay for €890 for my surgery (at that moment it was urgent), it didnt stop there, I started to pay a lot of parking fines, which is over priced and I agree the government offer you less than what should you pay for them if you make a small mistake. As if they don't have anything else to do than just giving you fines...

Ok social security is good, tax is low, salary is quite good, but still I'm not happy with this quiet life and very closed social...

I would love to live somewhere else I hate this country already...

I used to live in Lux for almost three years and I thought I should respond to some of the earlier comments.

I totally agree with the rants against low competition and slow service in the Service Sector, Public institutions inefficiency, the bad weather and empty streets.

But I am puzzeled and amazed that so many of you say it is difficult to get to know people? I think I had 300 additional Facebook Friends when I left the country compared to when first moved there (And I am an introverted type). There are so many people coming there to work without knowing anyone who are in the same situation as you, some of them you get to see everyday at work. If you want to meet new people here is your to do list:
- Suggest after work drinks and if someone else suggest it - join the crew.
- Go to one of all the sport bars to watch your favorite football (soccer) team. While in the bar start to chat with people about football and one thing will lead to another.
- Find expats from your own nation. As long as you are not German, French or Belgian there is probbaly a bar resturant replicating the food culture of your home country. Your fellow expats have lived there longer than you and then will be happy to help you settle and bring you in to the group.
- Go to the "fancy" night clubs. Though Luxemburgers at the country side tend to be more reserved - the one participating in the night life are quite international. In any case there will be other foreigners there who are most likely to be outgowing types.
If you follow these advice friends or at least acquaintances will come with time. And yes it will take some time but once you're in the number of contacts will grow exponentially
As for languages: I spoke only English and my native language Swedish and though it makes life much more convenient if you speak french (which is much more important than German or Luxembourgish) I managed to live there, with visits to doctors authorities and dentists and whatnot anyway.

Some of you argue that languages are being used as a barrier to cut people out. I couldn't agree less , quite the contrary, people are very flexible and sensitive when it comes to comunication. Many times you'll see a group of people having a conversation in one particular language only to switch to another the moment an additonal person unable to speak that language join in order to include him/her.

I would really like to know how you people were able not to meet new people during years of time spent in Lux. When i visit Lux today, several years after I left I bump in to people I know all the time so I really find it peculiar that you find it hard to get to know people?

i've been living in Luxembourg 5 years now. What can I say.
Pros: Its safe country, nature is good.
Plenty of cons: Luxembourgish people hate foreigners, they live on our Tax but treat expats as second class people. Only 21% of Lux. Citizens voted for granting foreigners voting rights - thats how much they are racist. Rent is a huge problem, dont be fooled by salary as you will pay huge part of it for yiur rent.
Last but not least, young/motivated people AVOID luxembourg you will burn out and fade away here, there is not much opportunities, parties or social life - go to bigger cities.

I just reviewed your comments. Thank you for sharing your experiences and opinions. We might be partial at some angle and I think depends on each of us point of view & values.
Snobbishness and arrogance are key point I deeply dislike. Good for this highlight, I will consider.
Well, my interest is to relocate from United Arab Emirates within few years in Europe as: Luxembourg, France, Liechtenstein;Switzerland. I thought about Luxembourg due to the U.E Court thinking that are much more opportunities to work in a Law Firm there and well paid.
I cannot adjust to hard weather! Regarding social life, I believe ''each of us sanctifies the place'',therefore I believe wherever I am going surely I will found new friends as long we share similar values.
I am very communicative & sociable, easy to integrate in any society except snobbish and arrogant environment.
I follow up and prepare my self for the next step preparing my bridge.
Is it difficult to get job in Law Firm? Should I consult a Recruitment Agency?
I am not planing to move immediately it will take few years but I want to move with a good job of course.
Whoever is aware of France life and how I can get a job in Law Firm or Lawyer in the house, do let me know!
Any opinion and suggestion is valuable for me.

Thank you very much!
I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards from Dubai,

Julia

Aliyas/Julia,

What do you specialise in? Corporate/Civil law?

Sam_Khan12 wrote:

Aliyas/Julia,

What do you specialise in? Corporate/Civil law?

Please remember the topic is "Living in Luxembourg".  Use PM to ask members questions about off topic subjects, or start another topic with your question please.

Romaniac

***
Well, I am in this forum in order to make an useful survey in which country I should relocate as next step of my life.
My thoughts for Luxembourg were, because U.E Court, therefore, surely, law firms are vast in Luxembourg.
The gentleman which has asked me in what I am specialized, perhaps he asked me to advice accordingly in my survey. If I am specialized in Criminal Law of course is not my place there.
Any advice is precious for me. I need to be updated in order to take the right decision.
Example based on this basic survey I have started, I am thinking further for other countries rather than Luxembourg.
I am simple person but I am not simplistic which make the difference.
May God help me in my seeking to find the right place in the right moment!
Any suggestion are valuable for me.
Many thanks,

Cu respect,
Iulia

Salutari din Dubai!

Foxo wrote:

Hello everybody,

I have been living in Luxembourg for two years and I strongly recommend to everybody:  AVOID LUXEMBOURG IF YOU CAN!!!

This country has absolutely nothing to offer. Only a depression for you (and for your family).
The weather is probably the worst in Europe. It rains, and rains, and rains all the year round. You live in constant darkness. Streets are empty. People stay indoors. Socializing is very limited. In general, luxembourgish society is closed and does not allow foreigners to integrate. Half of the people working in Luxembourg are either foreigners or french/belgian/german commuters. So, as a foreigner, you are no one special.
You are treated as a second-grade citizen. Luxembourgish are interested only in your money. It will be you who will rent their overpriced properties, which are far from being of good quality or in a nice location. You will not be able to buy the apartment yourself - the prices are so prohibitive, that even couples with good income can not afford to buy an average flat/house.

The Luxembourg city is an extremely expensive village. And it is sad. Sad buildings, sad people and sad life. Depression, darkness and artificial culture characterize this place.
There are no mountains here or close to here. There is no sea. There is just one sad lake and a dirty river.

According to the statistics, Luxembourg is supposed to be the richest country in the world. But it is far from being so. The high GDP per capita is caused by the fact that half of the work force commutes from abroad or does not have permanent residence here. Locals however think that because of this misleading economic indicator, they can ask horrendous prices for any service they provide. Rents are equal to Paris, New York or London. One luxembourgish pensioner showed me a studio of 35 m2 which he wanted to rent for 1000 EUR. I started to laugh about the price. The studio was 10 km from the centre. I asked him why is the price so high? His response was: "Look at Paris and London!" Luxembourg is not Paris or London!! Luxembourg is more similar to Minsk than to any other EU capital. Guys, there are cows, sheep and goats in the city centre, in the same area where the price of an apartment per m2 exceeds 6000 EUR. This is not normal!

Luxembourgish government protects interests of its citizens by blocking the area of land available for construction. It attracts the banking and investment fund industry by advantageous conditions. The banks save on taxes but their lux employees have to pay the price. The population density is lower than in neighboring Belgium or Germany, but the prices are two to four times higher. Many locals own big ugly houses which they divided into several flats. These flats are then rented expensively and with very unfavorable conditions. Consumer protection is also very poor here - as a tenant you have basically no rights - the reason is simple - most of the tenants are foreigners.

Expensive living, intensified by the provincial atmosphere, extremely bad weather, uninteresting landscape, and depressed people makes you think only about one thing: ESCAPE.

I recommend to all Banks, Investment Funds and International Institutions to avoid setting up a business here if they consider the satisfaction of their staff important. I also recommend to all the people who were offered a job here to avoid this trap.

Each of us has just one life, so why to waste it in Luxembourg.

Foxo.

As of today, that is the most accurate picture of Luxembourg. The fact that the review is written by a person from Finland should tell us something.

This Foxo does sound rather depressed, either by living in Luxembourg of for other reasons. If this is a result of living in the country, then it's surely best for him/her to leave...
However, this emotional letter does sound like an overstatement to me.
Weather is not the strongest point here in Lux, this is true. But it's far from being the worst in Europe. Having lived in Brussels for a few years I can tell you, it's much better in Luxembourg: less greyness, more sun and real warm summer.
Indeed, there are many foreigners here, but to me it's an advantage rather than a drawback. I lived in Italy and Spain, where my social circle was vastly dominated by natives - this is where you really feel a second-rated person. It's an objective thing, nothing to do with whether you are liked or not. So, to me, being one of the 40% of foreign population of Luxembourg feels rather an advantage.
Yes, property prices are inflated, but it's not because "Luxembourgers think they are the reachest in the world" It's simply because of the high demand from the side of people with well-paid jobs. Most of these people are, by the way, foreigners:)
Consumer protection is rather good - an English speaking service is available for all those of us who don't speak German or French. Not sure it's the best in the world, but it's surely better than, say, in the Mediterranean countries.
And, yes you can afford buying a house here, especially if you are a family of two working persons. Luxembourg state offers plenty of benefits, starting from the 0.5% discount on mortgage per child.
There is a provincial atmosphere here, indeed. But it also has certain charm. I love my little children growing close to nature, with horses, cows and goats at the doorstep. And this, btw, means that most of the meat in shops is bio!
I love the Mosel river side, with its' picturesque hills and vineyards.
And, I appreciate a lot that we are centrally located - car trips to see friends and family in France, Italy, Belgium and Germany is part of our life.
I think, liking and disliking are subjective by definition. However, Luxembourg has plenty of comfort and security to offer. But, of course, it can't fit all, which is true to any given country in the world!
Stay positive and enjoy where you are!

We are English and have been living in Colorado this past year. We now have to move to Lux with my husbands job.
I feel so apprehensive about it. I'm worried the weather will be rainy all the time and I won't make friends. I'm pretty social but don't yet speak French (learning!)
I love CO but am worried about the schools in the USA and the safety aspect of it. Also would like the family to be less consumer driven and have a simpler way of life.
I hope I'm doing the right thing 😬
Can anyone tell me if there is lots to do with young children (under 3)? Thanks!

I  do not expect that  .. cost of living is high !

You may never read this reply to that ancient post of yours, but I just felt I had at least to try to let you know how spot on I find your remarks. I am a native Luxembourger, but I lived in England for a couple of years and still spend as much time abroad as I possibly can, for the simple reason that my own country doesn't agree with my mental health.

Sadly, I bought an - admittedly rather nice - flat in Limpertsberg recently, which means I can't afford to travel much this summer, so here I am, grounded and fearing for my sanity. :-P

Yet as you rightly pointed out, the Burgers do not tolerate the least criticism, as they are blithely convinced they are the bees' knees. If you beg to differ, they will consider you the enemy.

Hello,

I live in Luxembourg for more than 2 years now. Well, what can I tell you ? Before I was an easy-going person, you couldn't get me out of night clubs, I had many friends and was always up for something. NEVER had any problems of making friends... BUT Luxembourg is a ''special'' country.

And in theory, it should be a great place to live - it's structured, everything works. Healthcare is good. People pay taxes, taxes are used to improve the living of everyone. Roads are good, country is relatively safe, calm and quiet. There are many families and good conditions to rise children. Many good restaurants and few OK places to go out at night. In general, everybody agrees on one thing - it's good for money.

And MONEY is the reason why most of the people are here and probably why you're considering the possibility to move here.

HOWEVER, I found this country extremely depressing. And it's not only my opinion, I met a lot of people with the same attitude. People here are VERY pragmatic, practical, individualists, superficial, closed, snobbish. Yes, there are a lot of foreigners, but this mentality seems to spread around like an epidemic. For the first few months I didn't even notice that. People seemed quite pleasant ( and they can be on superficial level ), but once you get close enough surprisingly all you can find is cold emptiness. These people are opposite to creativity, simplicity, honesty. Selfish people with the mask of understanding, shallow, non-emotional, ''standard'... This country literally sucked the life out of me. Till the point I actually have no desire to get out of bed anymore, everything seems meaningless. It's the 4th country I live in and have never experienced anything like that. Was never prone to depression and in general positive, active person. So after few months of thinking, I decided that money just isn't worth the price of my life. I'm leaving in December !

Everybody are different though and I would suggest you to give it a try. You can never know unless you try. But if you start to slowly sink in the cold, grey, life killing place - RUN. If you didn't like this country in the first couple of years, you will not suddenly start to like it. There are PLENTY of depressed people and with time they're just getting worse.

If I would have to tell how I see Luxembourg, I would say - a luxurious place filled with robots programmed to make money.