I will like to visit these 3 countries some day in the near furture .

has anyone been in any of these countries of lived there ?

What about those three countries makes you want to visit them? And where are you based now?

I'm from Belgium. Fire away your questions

Been to Belgium, nothing much to see (apologies to nferyn) on my way to Amsterdam

ijebuman:

Been to Belgium, nothing much to see (apologies to nferyn) on my way to Amsterdam

There is a film about an american group of tourists on a trip in Europe, the title is "It's Tuesday, This must be Belgium"
Anyway, there's quite a lot to see, but usually Belgians are very bad at self-promotion and patriotism is very rare.

You have the historical medieval city centers of Bruges and Ghent, the art-nouveau buildings of Brussels, the old industrial belt in Wallonia (quite a sight)
Belgium probably has the highest concentration of excellent restaurants and pubs in the world (Belgium has more than 5000 different sorts of Beer - and not all varieties of lager)
Antwerp and Ghent have a very lively cultural scene.

In Holland, Amsterdam is OK, the rest is.... say no more
One piece of advice: do not eat anything in Holland, unless it's an Indonesian restaurant. Their food is awful.

Just pulling your leg    but it does seem that way if you're passing through to Holland
I 've spent a few days in Antwerp in the mid 90s as i had a friend living there and the nightlife is quite good. I've stopped by at Ostende on my way back a few times for some belgian chocolate  The beach there is great. 

Did you know Marvin Gaye lived in Ostende in the 80s ? He wrote 'Sexual healing' while he was living there.

i love the scandanavian countries save 4 the cold. Peaceful most of the way. hmmmmmmmmnn

If UK is like this, I wonder how all these 3 countries would be like. Much less good-looking.

@IAH i think all the scandanavian countries have a higher per capita income and better standard of living than the UK and the US. I guess they are not popular among Nigerian travellers because of extreme cold and Language barriers

How is life for a black woman in belgium @ nferyn ?

i heard belgium has the best educational system in the world is that true ?

if i could get a scholarship i will like to go to belgium to study nursing.

is the language difficult to understand or speak ?

k

jacq:

How is life for a black woman in belgium @ nferyn ?

It won't be easy. Immigration is fairly recent in Belgium. The attitudes are changing though. Your knowledge of the language is very important.

jacq:

i heard belgium has the best educational system in the world is that true ?

Maybe not the best, but certainly one of the best. Flanders (not the whole of Belgium) always ranks in the top 10 of OECD classifications and usually in the top 5.

jacq:

if i could get a scholarship i will like to go to belgium to study nursing.

This is probably one of the few jobs they would encourage immigration for. Do not forget that in Belgium, language is extremely important. If you're in the north, better speak Dutch, if you're in the south, better speak French. Flemish people are very touchy when it comes to language - and I know I'm Flemish

jacq:

is the language difficult to understand or speak ?

So they say, but if you want to learn, you'll have a lot of free help and support

debanjee:

Been to Brussels

They speak Flemish, French and German i think ( hardly any English but there are some Irish pubs . Most people who speak English there you'll meet work for NATO or the European union)

You've encountered a bad sample, I guess. Most people do speak english, but they will have trouble understanding you if you speak with a thick Nigerian accent. Flemish people are usually better at languages and as Brussels is majoritary French, you probably met the wrong people.
The biggest hurdle immigrants have to overcome when learning Dutch is that most people will automatically switch to English when they hear you're not speaking Dutch fluently - makes it harder to learn the language.

debanjee:

Brussels wasn't that great but was still some fun though. Pretty neat city- although i hear it has its ghettos too. nice buildings. Get to see the European quarters , royal quarters etc

It takes years to get to know the fun parts of Brussels. Belgium is very bad at self-promotion. Those ghetto's aren't really ghettos as you'd see them in France, there's much more of a social mix. Doesn't mean that those quarters don't have their problems, but I've lived in one of these neigbourhoods for two years and never had any problems, never been mugged and only been harassed once. Belgium is among the safest places on earth. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

debanjee:

Not much else I'm afraid . I hear Antwerp is a great place though

Cultural life (clubbing, pubs, concerts, ...) in Antwerp is off the chain. If you're young, you'll certainly enjoy Antwerp. Most Nigerians in Belgium reside in Antwerp.

]

@ debanjee
Chill It is I that wasn't clear enough
I really didn't mean to say that you were definitely speaking with a thick Nigerian accent. My wife did when she just came to Belgium and I was just introducing a possible cause for them not understanding you

As a matter of fact, it is very hard to appreciate Brussels if you don't live there. I studied in Brussels and stayed there for 4 more years afterward. I didn't even know Brussels all that well when I just finished my studies.

You should calm down a bit debanjee

hello im a 29 year old female nigerian, i want to clear my account and relocate to europe not nessesary for greener pasture but to find in peace which i cant find in my nigerian enviroment, ive been to france, spain,italy n greece before but on holidays and i feel in love with europe in so many ways, odinarily i should look at d united kingdom or usa but i honestly dont like there. im very skillful i can type 80words in one minute, i can sew,cook and make hair very well skills i picked out of boredom. the countries i have in mind to relocate to are either denmark, sweden, norway, italy or greece. i dont know anyone in these places but that does not scare me cos i want to begin anew, what ill like to know is the way they live in these countries considering commerce, tax,racism,on what ground can i get residence permit n how long wiil it take and which of this countries are black populated

Hail, Nferyn.
I must admit that as a guy from Belgium, i'm impressed at your level of English, i just checked your profile and i saw a blue eyed handsome white Dude: i understand that you're an active poster and it pleases me to see a guy like you interested in Nairaland and that you're contributing to this forum positively. You're indeed our friend and brother.

I have been living in brussels for the last 2 years and I believe one drawback of living in Belgium is extreme rudeness in customer service and horribly defunct bureaucracy. No one, in a professional capacity, answers phone calls or emails, even when you need something very urgent. So living in Belgium requires some aggressiveness and a lot of patience.

I have been living in brussels for the last 2 years and I believe one drawback of living in Belgium is extreme rudeness in customer service and horribly defunct bureaucracy. No one, in a professional capacity, answers phone calls or emails, even when you need something very urgent. So living in Belgium requires some aggressiveness and a lot of patience.

I have been living in brussels for the last 2 years and I believe one drawback of living in Belgium is extreme rudeness in customer service and horribly defunct bureaucracy. No one, in a professional capacity, answers phone calls or emails, even when you need something very urgent. So living in Belgium requires some aggressiveness and a lot of patience.

I do occasional short contracts in Brussels and it is generally peaceful. I do speak French,so it helps me a lot more, but I agree with the bureaucracy and aggressiveness in order to get things done. Apart form that the people are like anywhere else.

I do occasional short contracts in Brussels and it is generally peaceful. I do speak French,so it helps me a lot more, but I agree with the bureaucracy and aggressiveness in order to get things done. Apart form that the people are like anywhere else.

i should look at d united kingdom or usa but i honestly dont like there

YOU CANNOT MOVE TO THE UK UNLESS YOU HAVE A MASTERS DEGREE. AND YOU CANNOT WORK IN ANY OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRY UNLESS YOU SPEAK THE LANGUGAE, ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING ?

@nordicrace, useless guy u again, why do u always insult sum1 here wen he/she is seekn 4 advise. u are reali unpartriotic, uselless self-acclaimed hungarian by birth. if u dnt repent on ur bastardly way of life, d wrath of people will rub u in mud in this 2010, becareful useless "BASTARD" where is ur father?

@nordicrace, useless guy u again, why do u always insult sum1 here wen he/she is seekn 4 advise. u are reali unpartriotic, uselless self-acclaimed hungarian by birth. if u dnt repent on ur bastardly way of life, d wrath of people will rub u in mud in this 2010, becareful useless "BASTARD" where is ur father?

i was in brussels belgium about 15 years ago and i was taken to the immigration office for questioning because one stupid worker decided that she didnt want me to travel. all in all the guy i spoke with was cool and he let me go before i missed my flight to ny. never going back to belgium again

Greetings my Brethren ,A footballer is about to travel to Belgium in this transfer window,in other to search for a football club,be it,div 1,2,3,4,pro or semipro or even regional football team , just for a start.Already in Qatar but Qatar is not yet developed in sports and need to move on with football career,because is always good to start from somewhere.Please your wise advice and help,direction is needed,God Bless.

nferyn:
@ debanjee
Chill It is I that wasn't clear enough
I really didn't mean to say that you were definitely speaking with a thick Nigerian accent. My wife did when she just came to Belgium and I was just introducing a possible cause for them not understanding you

As a matter of fact, it is very hard to appreciate Brussels if you don't live there. I studied in Brussels and stayed there for 4 more years afterward. I didn't even know Brussels all that well when I just finished my studies.

dunno if you could help me out please...

Do Belgian universities (e.g. Vrije Universiteit Brussel) accept second class lower division( CGPA 3.00) from Nigerian students for Master’s degree ( Biological Sciences)

JINCSON:
Do Belgian universities (e.g. Vrije Universiteit Brussel) accept second class lower division( CGPA 3.00) from Nigerian students for Master’s degree ( Biological Sciences)

Why don't YOU go to their website and ask them?
Then you would have FACTS rather than asking strangers here to guess.

jacq:
I will like to visit these 3 countries some day in the near furture .

has anyone been in any of these countries of lived there ?

I've been to Copenhagen. If you're a woman, don't be surprised if someone thinks you're a prostitute. There are a lot of black prostitutes there so someone might just assume you are one, esp if you're on Istedgade (the city's "red light district". As far as the city itself, it's ok. Everyone was really nice there but there isn't much to do. It feels more like a big town than it does a city. It seems like a nice place to raise a family but not that great if you're in your 20s and want a rowdy city to have fun in and have things to do. The only huge precaution I have about it is that it is VERY expensive. We had to eat noodles a lot while we were there lol Norway is even more expensive (most expensive of the Scandinavian countries so I've heard). Also, Danish is hard to learn but luckily most people we encountered there spoke English.