Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Something about Belgians today

At the end of 2001 Euro () became Europe's common currency. It'e been 5 years already from that day.

My last visit to Belgium was right before the Euro existed, my memory had all prices in Belgian francs. So I can see how the price of a beers and many other things have raised, this thinking has been shared by many Belgians.

And in my attempt to have new referrals of prices here I asked for the price of the houses in the suburbs of Namur, perhaps the most bourgeois city in Wallonia. The answer was "800.000" what my mind it became more than a million dollars. So the I was scared, because as expensive this area could be, this is far away from Beverly Hills or Bell Air residences. Then I asked once again, and they told me the same thing; adding the word "franc"; then I understood that they were talked about the old Belgian francs, the currency that I knew and learned to handle when I lived here.

And during my days in here, when I ask people about price of a Jaguar, a house, a 100m² apparment in Downtown's Namur, or anything like that they always have responded in Belgian Francs. Perhaps people around here already knows whatever is in Euros the things of the supermaket, for the household chores and stuff; but when it is about bigger investments, 5 years have not been enought to make those conversions.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

hi! my name's anita, and i'm a portuguese architecture student. i'm
currently doing a work about the city square in namur, but i'm
short on pictures! specially detailled pictures! could you perhaps
help me? do you have pictures? i would be very much grateful!!!


thank you by taking the time to read this!!


Anita Vinagre
anita.vinagre@gmail.com