adminee
From: United States
5/10/2011 09:06 EST
If there was one thing that you wish you had known about living in Luxembourg before you arrived and started to settle in, what would it be?
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breevesdc
5/10/2011 10:48 EST
That's a hard question to answer since everyone's situation is different. But for me it would be the weather. It can be wonderful and it can be dreadful. Just dumb luck really as to what kind of weather you'll get no matter what the month. For instance, the Fall was rainy and cold just about every day. But the spring so far has been 80's every day with almost no rain. The bottom line is pack to be prepared for any weather (no matter when you make your move here).
Brian
PS- If you're coming without a job, I can tell you from my own personal experience (IT manager) that finding work without an EU work permit is bordering on impossible.
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tracyofnorfolk
10/4/2011 15:28 EST
That it wasn't half as scary as I had imagined! I'm really good with hand gestures to get my point across, I can drive anywhere with a GPS, fun and exciting things to do are all within 2 hours from home and finally, I spend more on umbrellas than shoes every year!
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avital
10/4/2011 16:45 EST
Brian, I think we have discussed it before but if I come to Luxembourg without a job, without French but with a EU passport what are the chances of finding a job as a .NET software developer?
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DavidBoyle
10/26/2011 08:01 EST
Just how quiet it is here. It's good in some ways, nothing like the traffic you get round London, lovely unpoilt countryside but social opportunities when you are on your own can be a bit limited.
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didi2l
11/9/2011 04:07 EST
The big dread for us was the certification of paperwork while in the US. It turned out to be much easier than all the official documents were indicating! The other is patience with the system and not needing to accomplish anything official during July and August. I second the comment on this being quiet. It caught us off guard but we've grown to really like it. The only other thing I wished we could have known and truly understood better was how challenging it was going to be to find a place to live. It's difficult to look at places when most of it occurs during the business day and then to wait up to 3 months before taking possession of it. It's not like the US where we had evenings and weekends to look at places. The American Women's Club book about Living in Luxembourg was the best (though a bit outdated) for information and helped with some of the other little things.
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arizonalux
1/22/2012 09:04 EST
I wish I'd known that to find a rental house, the athome.lu site is the place to start, but you have to contact all the rental agents individually - each agent is limited to the properties registered with their company. Not like in the US where any agent can access a property to show it. Also, you can often send a request and nobody will call you back! You have to be persistent. Agents will try to tell you "No, this is not what you want..." or they will tell you there is a problem with a property (if it not in their listing, they will try to steer you toward ones that they want to get off their books.) So drive around and find a neighborhood you are comfortable with, and do your research on athome.lu, and be very clear with your criteria of must-haves. Housing availability is hit or miss, you can find beautiful homes a little further out, or if you want to be right near the city, you might have to compromise. Some landlords will be willing to do some renovations for a little extra rent, but I think attempts to bargain down are not really done.
I also wish I'd known that the International School is basically the only schooling option, and academically it's comparable to an average US public school. All the Brits I know say St. Georges is crap, and unless you work for the EU, it's next to impossible to get into the European school.
Also, cost of living is comparable to NYC + 30%. Very expensive.
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