I will be moving to the city of Brussels this January. IM a 24 yr old American (male). Im very involved in running and love to go to a nice gym. Id like to live somewhere that is American friendly and also where other younger people, maybe even Americans live.

Could you please suggest various neighborhoods where I can find a nice aprtment. I will also have a car eventually, so parking will be needed.

I really want to live near cafes and where nightlife is good, but safety comes first.


Thanks

Adam

Hello,
I'm not sure whether there are any areas of Brussels that couldn't be classed as "American-friendly" - it's an extremely diverse, multicultural city with people from every nationality.
In terms of nightlife, cafés, etc., you might enjoy the student area near the university (ULB) in Ixelles (near the Ixelles cemetary). I'm not sure how many American accents you would hear round there, but there are plenty of foreign students at the university and the area is definitely young and lively.
Another "international" area with lots of bars and shops is around the rue du Bailli (also in Ixelles), just off avenue Louise.

As for parking, it's hard to park in the street in Brussels but some apartments do have garages or parking spaces. Obviously that will be reflected in the rent!
To get an idea of rents and the sort of apartments available, have a look on www.immoweb.be and www.vlanimmo.be - probably the two most popular real estate websites. Most (but not all) ads are placed by agencies. (By the way, in Brussels it is the landlord or owner that must pay the agency fees, not the tenant.)

btilke...where are you?

I'm at home, watching the rain and hail and reading about the tornado in London. The wind is picking up here, too. Hmmm....

Hanl's right, living over by ULB would probably be the best bet or off rue Bailli. Many xpats hang out at the various Irish pubs on Bailli (Michael Collins, the Bank, etc.) and over by the Luxembourg train station (Fat Boys, Ralph's), but I wouldn't want to live that close to the Luxembourg station, kind of drab.
Focus your hunt on Ixelles (aka Elsene). There are one or two gyms in the neighborhood that are similar to a Gold's Gym. But if you want something fancy with a pool and so on, you'd have to try David Lloyd's out in Uccle (very nice), or Apria http://www.aspria.be/ (their clubs include the former Champney's by the Conrad Hotel on the Ave. Louise).

Parking is very tough in Ixelles. We keep a studio apt there, near the Parc Tenbosch, and we often have to park on the Ave. Louise. So you might want to keep your eyes open for a place with parking.

By the way, with the "safety first" consideration, I would suggest you avoid parts of the St. Gilles and St. Josse neighborhoods. OTOH, the Woluwes are quite nice and green, but have fewer people in your age group.

Back to Ixelles, stick to ULB or the Chatelain neighborhood (near rue Baille) or the area around the Jardin du Roi or Parc Tenbosch. Rue Livourne (below Bailli) isn't bad, but it's a common hangout for streetwalkers and associated criminals.

wow, well thank you for the input, lets pray I hope I get the job. I wonder if any fodorites can help me get and international job,,wouldnt that be nice. As far as gym, the most important things for me are a quality tv.

Also, speaking of tv, would I have to watch all of my favorite tv shows onmy laptop, or can I many of my old shows in enlgish on satelite or something?

Well, as far as the car, the company would provide it, although I prob dont have to use it if i can find other means and park it on street.

I love to run and would love to have a nice path near me. God, lets just hope i get the job so i can bug the hell outta u all

>shows in enlgish on satelite
You can watch all your usual US trash TV shows ;-) on BSkyB pay TV from the U.K. It's not officially available in Belgium, but there are many possibilities to get an official subscription nevertheless. (Happy zapping...) BBC national and local TV are available for free on the Astra satellite at 28.5 degree east.

In most parts of Brussels you can watch BBC1 and BBC2 on cable (as shown in the UK, not the "international" BBC channels you get on cable elsewhere in the world). They are the only channels I ever bother to watch

In addition to BBC1 and BBC2, you can watch English language shows on many of the Flemish channels...VT4 and Kanaal 2 in particular, but also VTM and to a lesser extent the Dutch channels. For example, the Simpsons are on VT4 every day. You can also find the Sopranos, Lost, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (on Vitaya), etc. And you may even get hooked on some of the Belgian shows (I admit to a weak spot for Patrouille).
Logos999, get over it. I've seen enough German tv to know there's plenty of homegrown German trash, not to mention pallid, lame imitations of American shows. By the way, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is coming to German TV next year.

As for running, the best running path in Brussels is (arguably) the old "rails to trails" path from the Woluwe Parc to Stockel on Woluwe St. Pierre. Just over 2 miles in length, a perfect surface for running.

Never said german trash would be less trashy the US trash TV. In fact don't you recall Tutti Frutti. RTL Germany turned trash TV into a form of art that is unrivalled by any US station. Whatever they may invent, RTL will make it a lot worse. But RTL wil be ENCODED from next year. No more quality trash TV for all you Belgiums and Brits

We used to get ARD,ZDF & SAT1 overhere in the US via satelite which we enjoyed watching for the better talkshows and series, but the German government pulled the plug this year. Now we can only get a combined selection of trashy shows from prosieben & sat1 "specially packaged for the US market". It's an insult to see what they show daily now: Zwei bei Kalwass and not one but two stupid judge shows along with AKTE & taff trashy news. That said, trash must sell well because the less trashy Dutch/Flemish channel got eliminated from the satelite.