u/AdvisorTechnical7732

Moving to Brussels this October for a graduate job at a large vehicle manufacturer based in Zaventem, coming from the Netherlands (EU citizen, single). The company gives relocation help to find a place, so I'm not stuck on the apartment-hunting side, but I'd really value input from people who actually live here on two things a relocation agent can't tell me honestly:

1. **The Zaventem commute.** For those who commute out to Zaventem daily, what's realistic, train, car, how long door-to-door from roughly where? Trying to understand whether living more centrally and commuting out is sane, or whether people regret it and stay east/near the airport.
2. **Cost of living sanity check.** Salary is around €4,150 gross/month, which I work out to roughly €2,600 net after Belgian deductions (happy to be corrected, still learning the system). Living alone on that, what's the honest lived experience, comfortable, tight, fine with budgeting? Not asking which neighborhood is "best," just whether the maths works for one person living solo.

Thanks, trying to get a realistic picture from actual residents rather than just the numbers on paper.