r/Mechelen

I'm currently looking for a notary to assist with the property purchase in Mechelen (it will be my first property). I'd be grateful for any recommendations. I'm particularly looking for someone who takes the time to actually review all the documents and will be engaged throughout the process.

Hey!

Me and my fiancee are currently living in Leuven (renting) and we are considering moving to Mechelen and buying an apartment (or optionally house) here. Before committing to it, I wanted to ask couple of general questions:

1. Healthcare - This is probably the most important one. How is it with accessing (1) GP, (2) health centre and (3) hospital? We currently have a good GP, good health centre (MCH) and hospital (UZ Leuven), all within walking/biking distance. How is it with it in Mechelen? Is it easy to find GP and/or specialist? Importantly (as my partner is not fluent in Dutch), do doctors (GP, specialists, hospital) speak fluent English? We never had a problem in Leuven (to be honest, most doctors speak here C2 English that is genuinely better than most native speakers and make me feel almost intimated), but I just want to make sure it will be more or less the same (no need for perfect English, just ability to communicate well, explain diagnosis etc.)

2. Biking - Second most important point. In Leuven, to be honest, it is a mixed bag. Most times it is very good, but some huge SUVs with boomers/students driving erratically can make biking really stressful (rarely, but can happen). I wonder how is it in Mechelen? Is it in general safe and comfortable? We plan to bike everywhere (station, groceries, GP, restaurant), and in future have our kids also bike to school etc. We will be mostly moving around Mechelen and Coloma suburb, albeit we will also have to go from time to time to Lidl and AH in the north (is it accessible with a safe bike path?).

3. Integrating as an immigrant - would you say it is hard or easy to integrate as an immigrant from another EU country (I hate to mention my EU origin but I do know it sadly still matters at times)? In Leuven, making friends is in general relatively easy, since it is quite international, but I wonder about Mechelen - it is quite important for us to be able to make friends in apartment block or neighbourhood, invite someone for a dinner, have trusted people next door, etc.

4. Overall safety - I work in Mechelen so I do know the city quite well from pedestrian perspective, I do not feel like it differs a lot from Leuven (aside from clearly much fewer students, thank God!). But please share any concerns you might have.

5. Coloma - we might move in the Coloma suburb of Mechelen (or simply the city centre, to be still seen), so curious how you find it?

6. How do you see the city improving over the coming years - least important, but I am also curious how you see the city improving in coming years given its recent trajectory? I think it quite decent for biking now (still much to be improved, but it is not bad anymore), the new train station and district behind it also look like a great development for the city. I am curious how you find the current dynamics - my personal take is that it has much more room for the growth compared to Leuven (so much more nice new apartment projects compared to Leuven!), and the new station will also boost it a lot.

7. Last and minor question - please feel free to recommend any good fish, vegetarian, or vegan restaurants in Mechelen you like going to!

Thanks a lot for answers, all comments are welcome! Have a nice day.

I just moved to Mechelen and looking for a new GP (my old GP in another city stopped practicing).

Every GP I call they say that I am not in their 'section' of the city. Even the closest GP to my house said the same thing. What am I supposed to do here ? Any advice please?

PS: I didn't have this in my other city. You could go to any GP you wanted (if they have space ofc).

Ik word steeds vaker gebeld door scammers vanaf verschillende Mechelse telefoonnummers.

Vaak hebben de bellers echter een Nederlands accent. Als je details gaat doorvragen weten ze ook geen details, zoals als ze je adres oplezen dat ze de plaatsnaam uitspreken als Malines (maar dan met de Nederlandse tongval, dus de -es ook zo uitspreken).

Een paar nummers waar dit al van is voorgekomen zijn:

015790407

015790405

Gezien alleen het laatste nummer verschilt is het redelijk om aan te nemen dat de nummers eigendom zijn van dezelfde uitbater.

Als je de nummers googled zie je ook meerdere websites die tientallen klachten van deze nummers hebben genoteerd. Ze zijn dus overduidelijk consistent met deze praktijken bezig.

Ik sta al jaren in registers om niet voor dit soort zaken gebeld te worden en geef ook zelf mijn nummer niet uit. Dus het kan alleen zonder mijn wil verkregen worden.

Weet iemand wie er achter die nummers zit of hoe daar achter te komen? Moet je melding bij de politie maken om hier effectief iets aan te doen?

TLDR: Ik zou willen huren in Mechelen voor mijn nieuwe job, maar maak me wat zorgen of die problematiek zich in Mechelen even verregaand stelt als in Antwerpen?

Context: Bijna elke LGBT persoon (buiten degenen die volledig straight passing zijn) die ik ken heeft ervaringen met homofobie in Antwerpen. Helaas zelf (27) ook al meermaals meegemaakt en dat tot nu toe enkel in Antwerpen (en los van wat ik draag qua outfit). Ook in Brussel of mijn thuisstad nooit echt last van gehad.

Dus 2 vragen:

1. Is de sociale sfeer (qua homofobe beledigingen op straat of het openbaar vervoer) eerder vergelijkbaar met Leuven of Gent of is die +- even gespannen als in Antwerpen?

2. Kan je 's avonds veilig alleen op straat stappen of zijn er buurten waar je mij dat zou afraden?

Iemand hier toevallig die langdurig in beide steden (of enkel in Mechelen) heeft gewoond en hun ervaring(en) wil delen? Of kennissen in Mechelen heeft aan wie die het kan navragen? Alvast heel hard bedankt en stuur gerust een privéberichtje!

P.S. Gelieve deze post niet te gebruiken als uitlaatklep voor racistische, homofobe of transfobe nonsens. Als ik die antwoorden zocht zou ik deze vraag gewoon op een sociale beerput zoals Facebook stellen 🙃.

Hi everyone!

I’m thinking about going swimming at De Nekker in Mechelen, but I’ve never swum in a lake in Belgium before, so I’d love to hear from people who have actually been there.
— What is the swimming lake like?
— Is the water generally clean? Does it feel/smell clean when you’re actually in it?
— Is the water very clear or quite murky?
— What is the bottom like — sand, mud, stones, plants?
— Does it get deep gradually, or does it become deep quite quickly?
—How cold does the water usually feel in summer?
— Is it generally pleasant to swim there, or is it more of a place where people just go into the water to cool down?
How crowded does it get?
— Is there anything you wish you had known before going for the first time?

I’ve checked the official information about water quality and the swimming zone, but I’m more interested in what it’s actually like from personal experience.

Thanks! :)

I am considering moving to Coloma, which would mean almost daily cycling along the Jubellaan to the station.

I went cycling there today and what surprised me is (1) how had the condition of the bike path is, (2) how fast cars are driving on Jubellaan and, most shockingly, (3) how there are some huge trucks parked along the street almost everywhere, some actually entering the bike lane.

It was honestly quite horrible biking experience, and I am wondering whether there are any plans to fix this street? The moment you reach intersection with F1 biking path the bike lane to the station is good, but up until that moment it’s really bad. I do not mind biking like that for a year, but I would really hesitate on moving there if it would stay like this for years (trucks everywhere, holes in bike path constantly, speeding cars next to you).

Thanks for any tips and info on wether it would be changed/improved anytime soon!

Hi Reddit! First time renter here, my partner and I are about to rent our first aprtment and have to choose an electricity and gas provider. Which are the best ones? How does the calculation of bills go? I read a lot about people getting money back, but I don't know how these procedures go exactly. Appreciate the help!

Hey! We are considering moving to (suburbs) of Mechelen, around the area mentioned in the title - Coloma/Ghandiwijk. We both really like Mechelen and consider settling down around that district.

Me and my partner commute by bike, so we would be biking almost daily to train station, to buy some bread, buy medication, for a dinner in city centre etc.

I wanted to ask how is your general experience of biking in that area? My partner is always anxious of speeding cars or aggressive drivers, so I want to make sure we can be comfortable there.

For the context, we currently live in Leuven, and while it’s by no means ideal for biking, it is surely decent - including suburbs like Kessel-Lo. I also biked on multiple occasions in Mechelen and it Is just fine - just do not know how it is on daily basis in suburbs like Coloma. Our goal is to make sure we will move to an area where we can comfortably and safely bike, more or less like right now.

Thanks for any information and feedback!

Hi, ik zoek een persoon met rij ervaring die zaterdag om 14u naar zee (Knokke) kan rijden, er blijven, en rond middernacht terug kan rijden, allemaal met mijn wagen. PM bij interesse. Bedankt!

Ik zag dat het dak van parking Keerdok was opengesteld voor het publiek, maar dat was blijkbaar met reserveren. Wij wonen in de buurt van Technopolis, dus de velden bij Rumst of het Mechels Broek zijn wel wat ver. Iemand tips, liefst bereikbaar met de fiets?

Waar kan ik een eclipse bril kopen?