Costs of living in Brussels, BELGIUM

Rent: 1600 Euros two bedroom decent location

Food: 150 Euros for an adult and a child eating lunch at work or school, breakfast and dinner at home
Dinner for two without alcohol: 30 euros

Dozen eggs: twice as much as in the US, about 45 euros organic

Healthcare and education pre-college costs one tenth or less of the US

Train tickets can be a budget but can vary a great deal. Fast train round trip to Paris costs 50 to 160 Euros per person

appartment can be rented for 800 euros
energy and water would set you back 200 eors a month
1600 euros is rent of standard house in nice area

rob

Brussels is definitely less expensive than Paris or Amserdam or Copenhague.

You should count on 500€ per month for your flat but it depends about the location in the city.

You can go to a bar and have a beer for 2€ but special ones will be higher

Basic restaurant is already at 10-15€

We are a two person household with a college student who returns for weekends. We are not very frugal people nor are we extravagant.

Rent for good location, within capital Brussels area, two bedroom apartment, large dressing room, large living/dining, fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, shower room, toilet, cave and garage is 1200 Euro plus 225 building costs (water and heat).

Electricity is 50 Euro a month and cable TV/internet/phone is 150 Euro and cell phone about 130 Euro.

Food budget is about 2000 per month, which includes the cafe/meals out and non-food items. We eat well, buying meat, fresh fruit/vegetables, gourmet cheeses, desserts and bread from bakeries. We rarely eat out at restaurants that cost above 40 Euro per person.

Gasoline/petrol costs are only about 75Euro per month as we only drive for road trips. Unlimited use of metro/tram/bus for a year is 450 Euro, which is the easiest form of transportation.

We live much better than the average Belgian, as best I can tell from my items versus theirs in the grocery lines.