Banking

A major issue that people have experienced when coming to the UK to work is how to get a bank account. Such a simple procedure seems fraught with problems. To get paid you need a bank account, and to work you need somewhere to live, to get somewhere to live you need a bank account, to get a bank account you need to present bills from where you live (and bills from your previous place abroad do not count). This leads to endless hassle for the various people I have employed over the years from outside the UK.

So I was not expecting anything better when moving to Belgium. But here I am, not even moved to Belgium yet, with a Belgium bank account and an ATM card. OK things are a bit different from the UK, e.g. getting a credit card is a pain, and you have to pay for the pleasure of the banks taking a cut out of everything you spend. But that pain is nothing compared to the complete simplicity of sorting out a bank account before one arrives.

Let us hope the next steps in the move to Belgium are just as simple. Less than one month to go now before the big move, and all sorts need still sorting out.