The British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and BNP Paribas Fortis are this month hosting their annual Expat Financial Affairs event, providing expats with the opportunity to network with fellow expats and hear expert talks on money management in English.

Why is this important?

Three of the most pressing concerns among expats are building a new network – whether professional or social -, dealing with the language barrier, and their finances when abroad. Aside from online communities, finding like-minded expats in your new home can be tough and the chances are not often presented to you – especially on such a large scale.

The Expat Financial Affairs event in our opinion is setting a great example of how institutions and organisations can go about helping foreign residents. The free event will gather together a large number of expats of different nationalities in Brussels, giving them the chance to network over food and drinks, not only to share tips and advice, but also to forge new relationships.

The British Chamber of Commerce and BNP Paribas Fortis will address the other pressing expat issues as well: namely communication barriers and finance. Each of the five sessions given by industry experts will be delivered in English, clearing the ceaseless thicket that is understanding a new country’s finance system in a foreign language.

What’s on?

In between the opportunities to eat, drink and socialise, the sessions will cover a broad range of interesting topics on money management in Belgium such as:

• Trends and taxes in the Belgian housing market,
• How marriage affects civil and fiscal outcomes,
• Investing in Belgium,
• Becoming a successful entrepreneur in Belgium,
• and how to retire rich.

This is the start of what could be a great trend in institutions and organisations supporting and bringing expat communities together, one which would be great to see imitated in other expat hot-spots the world over.