English in Antwerp?

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Member since 02 February 2011

Liela0705Member18 March 2011 21:52:59

Hi there!
I am south african and Afrikaans speaking. I will be moving to the antwerp area soon and then by portuguese fiance will join me later this year. I am fine with Flemmish/Dutch but he is still learning and is only really fluent in English and Portuguese. How difficult will it be to find work for english speaking people or to just generally get along in the Antwerp area?

Melby Serial expat

Member since 29 March 2010

MelbySerial expat18 March 2011 22:04:45

362

It's no problem to live here without speaking the languages. As long as you can speak any of English, Dutch, French, or in some cases even German, it's not a problem. Young & old alike all speak English, and if you speak English to someone and others hear you and they end up needing to speak to you, they automatically address you in English. It's funny, 'cause my husband is a native Dutch speaker, so then he replies back in Dutch, lol. But yeah, not remotely a problem.

I'm not sure about work, but there are agencies that can help with that.

Liela0705 Member

Member since 02 February 2011

Liela0705Member18 March 2011 22:18:40

thank you so much! I think he will be VERY relieved to hear that! I will be living in Beerzel so I wont want him to be stuck alone in the city during the week with no one to speak english to. YAY, im so excited!

Melby Serial expat

Member since 29 March 2010

MelbySerial expat19 March 2011 08:25:13

362

Oh, so you're not actually *in* Antwerpen then, a little outside it. Well, the number of older people who speak it might be a little reduced, since it's not actually in the big international city, but I think the majority of people should still be fluent enough in it.

Liela0705 Member

Member since 02 February 2011

Liela0705Member19 March 2011 09:08:35

yup, well as i said, I will be living in beerzel, he will be living in the city... we will be driving back and forth and I was worried about him and the language barries. I have spoken to many other people, everyone said it is fine so Im pretty confident that it will go well

Melby Serial expat

Member since 29 March 2010

MelbySerial expat19 March 2011 11:17:22

362

Yeah. Most Belgians are fluent in several languages.

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