From Scotland to the Philippines, the cost of living has many Canadians leaving in search of more affordable countries. One family shares why they decided to settle down in Belgium.
Dirk Claeys, 55, is originally from Belgium. After years of living in Canada, he returned to his home country five years ago with his wife Daisy, 45, and son Dylan, 13.
Dirk said he’d been driving trucks back home since 1996 and had always dreamed of driving “those big American trucks.” He moved to Calgary in 2004 and worked as a long-haul truck driver.
“I drove from Canada to the US, and the first couple of years were great, as I was living my dream,” he recalled. “I have to say that I did not move to Canada because of the money, as most people do; I was looking for an adventure.”
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He then met his wife, Daisy, and they married in 2006. He became a permanent resident in 2009, while his wife became a citizen in 2010. They had their son Dylan in 2011.
“I rented my first apartment in Calgary, which was $650 for a two-bedroom, the year after $725 and then $975, until the last raise to $1,025,” said Dirk.
After buying a townhouse in Calgary, the couple eventually became homeowners when the “cost of living was not that high yet.”
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However, when Daisy lost her job, they decided it made more sense for her to stay home and care for Dylan rather than pay $1,500 monthly for daycare.
But with just one income, the family struggled to make ends meet.
“As a long haul trucker in Canada, my net wage was about $4,000, but with a mortgage and a family, that was nearly not enough, so I told Daisy that it might be better to move back home to Belgium,” said Dirk. “She was there to visit my sister once before, so she had a bit of an idea of what it was like there.”
Comparing costs
In 2019, the couple sold their home and moved to Belgium, and the difference was surprising.
“I started driving trucks here again while my wife and son were learning the language, so it was just me working, but we could manage fine with one income and still have money left at the end of the month,” said Dirk.
Belgium is among the top European countries with the highest minimum wage.
Euronews reports that the minimum wage increased in April to €2,029.88 ($3,055.17) monthly. In comparison, the federal minimum wage in Canada is $17.30 per hour.
A street in Brussels (Adisa/Shutterstock)
Unlike his monthly pay of $4,000 in Canada, Dirk now earns €4,000 a month, or around $6,000, in Belgium. The family also rents a two-bedroom for $1,000 a month.
“We’ve been living here for five years, and our rent is still the same,” he said. “Cost of living is significantly cheaper than Canada.”
And it’s not just housing: the cost of living in general was cheaper than in Canada.
The family used to pay $200 for TV, Internet, and two cell phones with limited data and roaming charges “just to drive to another province.”
“Here, we pay about the same amount but for three phones with unlimited everything and no roaming charges within Europe,” stated Dirk, who added that it includes TV and Internet with 1Gbps download speed, landline, and free data sim card.
Car insurance is also more affordable.
“Our car insurance is €60 ($90) for Daisy’s car and €70 ($105) for mine, both with full coverage in Europe,” he said.
Daisy was learning the language for the first two years and wasn’t working, but they found that Dirk’s salary was more than enough to live on.
Dirk and Daisy Claeys (Supplied)
Last year, the family drove to Rome, where they spent two weeks on vacation. This year, they spent two weeks in Lloret De Mar, Spain, at the Costa Brava, where we rented a villa with a private pool.
“[Those are] some things we could never afford in Canada,” said Dirk. “Our vacation there was a week in a provincial park with a tent.”
Looking ahead
Dirk is now home daily, having quit long-haul trucking and has been making local deliveries. His wife and son also “settled in nicely and want to stay here.”
Dylan is currently studying STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) in high school, and their move means that a university degree is far more affordable.
According to a 2024 post by Study.eu, Belgium has some of the most affordable tuition fees in Europe: EU students can expect to pay an average of €1,000 ($1,500) a year in tuition.
“If he wants to go to university, that is also a lot cheaper,” said Dirk. “The registration cost is €250 ($376) a year plus the cost of books, which is a couple of hundred Euros depending on what he wants to study. Nobody here has student loans.”
The Claeys family (Supplied)
Looking back on their decision to move, Dirk feels more relaxed now that he’s back home, as he no longer worries about their finances.
“I am certainly glad I had the experience of living in Canada but very happy to be living in Belgium now as we both are working and able to save quite some money to be able to buy a house in the near future,” he said.
“I have read some stories of people relocating out of Canada due to the high cost of living, and they’re not different from my story.”
Have you relocated out of Canada due to the high cost of living? Email us at [email protected] — we might contact you for a story.