Accommodation: This is probably the thing that will take the most of your time to organize, especially if you are looking for something in the private market. As a backup I applied to live in a res for exchange students at Ghent University. I did this as soon as I found out I was accepted as an exchange student. The sooner the better! However, living in these residences are expensive and I really want to interact with the locals, so I started looking for a room or apartment in the private market. To date I still haven't signed a contract, but I have one or two nice places lined up. I hope to hear from the owners soon! Some good websites to check out when looking for a place to stay in Ghent/Belgium are:
- www.easykot.be
- kotmarkt.be
- www.kot.be
- www.kotfinder.be
- www.allekoten.be
Remember that when you live in a room in the private market you also have to pay water, electricity and gas for heating, so make sure this is included in your budget. A good idea is to try call the owners of the accommodation via Skype.
Visa: So this is where it gets tricky... The first thing to do is to apply for a police clearance certificate as soon as possible! The process takes really long to be completed and when you're pressed for time, being dependent on other people is frustrating. Go on the Belgium consulate's website to see what you are going to need for your visa/long stay application or email them, they're really fast with replies! More information on this will follow as soon as I go to the consulate to apply for my visa, I'm still waiting on my police clearance certificate...
Flights: Go to places like Student Flights and other travelling agencies to see what they will quote you for a flight. Remember that you will need to take out travel insurance so budget for it! A good place to find the cheapest flight is www.travelstart.co.za, seeing which airline will take you where you want to be the cheapest and then book on their website. I paid with my credit card so I got travel insurance automatically from my bank. I took a chance by booking my ticket before I got my visa as I wanted to avoid unnecessary expenses.
Budget: Probably the most important thing you are going to need! Make sure you setup a rather detailed budget to make sure you have enough money!
Early expenses: Some expenses I've had since October:
- Passport: R400 (if you do this in Paarl you get your passport within 14 days, they're really fast!)
- Police clearance: R59 + R40 for postage
- Passport photos: R100 (you're gonna need a lot of those and they all need to be identical for each application)
- Internet and cellphone bills: I have no idea how much I've spent on this, but it's a lot!
- Airline ticket: R6700 (Price depends on airline and how early it's booked)
Hope this is helpful to someone out there! :) Happy planning!
