I have been living in Luxembourg for almost two years. When I moved here or rather was planning to move to Luxembourg, little did I know back then, that I would face some challenges. In fact, there was not much information available about life in the Grand Duchy and I had to figure out a lot of things by myself.
I recently wrote a blog post about the Pros and Cons of Living in Luxembourg, where I spoke about what I learned while living in Luxembourg. In this blog post, I cover some general but important things to know before moving to Luxembourg.
Click on a section in the list to jump down the page.
- Renting an Appartment in Luxembourg
- Registering Your Arrival in Luxemboug
- Shopping on Sundays
- The Dreaded Paperwork
- Not everyone speaks English
- Luxembourg is not as expensive as you think
Things To Know Before Moving to Luxembourg
1. Renting an Appartment in Luxembourg
Moving to Luxembourg is an exciting adventure but finding the right property can involve a fair amount of patience. There are certain rules to renting an apartment in Luxembourg that a newcomer should be aware of.
First, you are required to have a good amount of documents, some of which a newcomer won’t have upon arrival. And even if you have everything on the list, there’s still the little issue of making 3x the rent, something many people struggle with as rents can be ridiculously high. What’s more, you are likely to be rejected if you are a new hire and still on a probationary period or have a fixed-term employment contract.
Not to mention other drawbacks: Your tenancy deposit will be the same amount as 2 or 3 months’ rent. You will also have to budget the letting agency fee, which is one month’s rent plus 17% VAT, and, lastly, the home insurance.
2. Registering Your Arrival in Luxemboug
You do not need to wait until you get a permanent address to register yourself and your family members at the population office. You can use your hotel or Airbnb address to declare your arrival and report your change of address once you get a permanent home. Once registered, you’ll receive your ID card or residence permit, depending on your citizenship.
You will need then to go through the process of registering for other basic administrative essentials like your social security number.
3. Shopping on Sundays
Most Luxembourgers and expats coming from neighboring countries don’t question the fact that shops are closed on Sundays; however, if you come from Asia or the United States, you may not expect some of the differences in the business hours of local shops. In general, shops are closed on Sundays, exceptions are shops at gas stations. If you plan to shop for groceries on a Sunday, some supermarkets are open until 11 am.
4. The Dreaded Paperwork
Although I don’t think bureaucracy is a real problem here (I have seen worse), there are some contradictory rules that can be frustrating when moving to Luxembourg. For example, in order to rent an apartment, you often need to have a bank account in Luxembourg, but to open a bank account you need proof of residence – but fear not. If you encounter this kind of difficulty, there are a number of relocation companies that can help you sort things out.
5. Not everyone speaks English
While many foreigners who live in Luxembourg do speak English, most locals don’t. That means it can be quite difficult to communicate with cashiers in grocery stores, taxis, hairdressers…etc.
I honestly believe that speaking Luxembourgish, French, or German (Luxembourg’s official languages) is not an absolute must as Luxembourg is so cosmopolitan; English is widely spoken and you can live a great life without needing to know a word of the three official languages. However, a basic knowledge of Luxembourgish or French can really make a difference.
6. Luxembourg is Not as Expensive as You Think
You probably have heard before that Luxembourg is an expensive country. But if you can live without high-end dinners and spend your money in the right places, then you’ll find you can make it go far. From the free public transport (buses, tram, and trains) to budget food stores, and the free healthcare system, you’ll be able to spend less money compared to living somewhere else.
The points mentioned in this blog post are just some guidelines to help you know what to expect when you move to Luxembourg. It’s really important to do your research to avoid any unpleasant surprises upon arrival. That being said, I hope you enjoyed reading my post on the things to know before moving to Luxembourg
Ricky says
Your article is really great and so explicit but will really like to know and more
Ahii says
Hello Nesrine,
Thanks for this blog, I am planning to come to Luxembourg in the next months, and your blog was helpful, if you can update it with more details and data, it will be very helpful
Rajkul says
Hi Nesrine,
This has been super helpful ong with the other related blogs for Luxembourg. You have been a super help on some of my moving decisions.
Take care.
Nesrine says
Hi Rajkul, Thanks for reading, I’m glad you like my content 🙂